Happy Summer Solstice and Merry Litha! Today we honor and celebrate the height of the sun’s power. Today we take time to celebrate the triumph of the sun, the time when the Oak King reaches his peak and is then struck down by the Holly King who will rule the waning half of the year through winter. While today we see the year divided into four seasons, in ancient times many cultures, like that of the Celts, divided the year into two halves, summer and winter. The winter solstice marked the beginning of the winter and the summer solstice the beginner of summer. Today we often start to feel the hints of summer during mid-spring and it’s not uncommon for some places to feel as though summer has set in during the spring equinox or Ostara. This is the time of year that we see the lush green that sprung up several months ago during the equinox give way to fruit and flowers. While today most of us celebrate the solstice on the date when the event actually takes place, usually somewhere around June 21st, in some traditions there is a fixed date of June 25th which is honored and often called “Old Litha”.  Litha is a favorable time to rededicate yourself to your path and the God and Goddess.

Litha is often a time when the faeries are honored and are thought to be particularly active.  Bonfires are common during Litha and it’s thought that lighting bonfires in forests or on hilltops attract certain faeries to the fires and festivals.  Leaving offerings of honey and cream at the edge of the fire for the faeries can keep them from causing any trouble or mischief and is thought to help create a connection between ourselves and the fae.

For Litha I thought we could do a short reading, a small glimpse with the help of the faeries through Brian & Wendy Froud’s The Heart of Faerie Oracle to see what the fae have to tell us for the coming half of the year.

The Faerie of Growth
The Lord of the Forest
The Elven Knight

Seeing The Faerie of Growth here is no wonder and no mystery.  Even though the summer solstice signals the coming of the waning half of the year, there is still a wonderful and powerful period of growth ahead.  Here the faeries remind you that staying stagnate for any length of time means that life is not expanding.  Growth is necessary otherwise we die; stagnation is like death.  As the summer months move on and we see the world around us growing we need to grow with it.  It’s a good time to stop and take a moment to see what areas of our lives need growth and allow the warmth of the sun to empower our paths to welcome and foster that growth.

The Lord of the Forest is part of the embodiment of masculine energy in the faerie realm.  He is the driving force of all that we are and all that we do.  We all have a masculine side just as we all have a feminine side, but sometimes we forget these things and we need to be reminded so that we can really sense that energy within us.  As the feminine side nurtures the masculine side impregnates and moves.  Here the Lord of the Forest comes to remind us that our thoughts and dreams are good to have, as this is the feminine side doing it’s job, but we need to also let the masculine side come in and act on those dreams.  As the Faerie of Growth tells us it’s time to start growing, moving and changing, the Lord of the Forest comes to help us take action.

Seeing The Elven Knight come in as well shows that we have come into a period of great opportunity and growth, more than we may even really realize.  Much like the Lord of the Forest, the Elven Knight is a driving force.  The Elven Knight is a guide, a leader, a driving force even stronger than the Lord of the Forest.  He leads us to our destiny when we are ready to move and seek it out.  Here we have the Knight letting us know that the way is clear and the path is open for us.  It’s time to set our sights on accomplishing things that, in the past, we may have seen as impossible.  Nothing is impossible when you have these faeries to guide you.

These are three very powerful faeries to have come together in a reading, and here in this reading, we see ourselves driven into a very powerful direction for growth and change as the summer season moves forward.  This is going to be a great chance for change and for accomplishing things that we have held off on either out of fear or not being confident that we can reach our goals.  Set your goals, ask the Faerie of Growth to guide you in where to go and the Lord of the Forest and the Elven Knight will be sure to keep you going and to drive you toward your goal and your destiny.

Have a wonderful and empowered summer season!