I posted a while back about Beltane, the witchy celebration of fire and fertility. It marks the halfway point between spring and summer. I had said that one of my goals this year was to learn more about the Sabbats. Over the years I had heard of all the witchy celebrations but was really too tied up in my own survival to have the capacity to learn and understand anything new. So, where is the best place to find everything about everything? Amazon, of course.

My Amazon cart is piled high with books about anything that I find interesting. Hunting, trapping, homesteading, raising animals for food, gardening, tea, solar power, greenhouses, cooking, and of course, witchy things. I knew I had all the books about the Sabbats in my cart, I just had to scroll really really far to find them. I came across the first book I had saved in my cart and clicked on it. Well, as you know, when you do that, it takes you to the product and shows you other things you might be interested in…sigh. I came across a book about the Witch’s Wheel. Hmm, ok….what is the Witch’s Wheel? Twenty minutes later…I discover that the Witch’s Wheel is a wheel of all the Sabbats, when they are, and spells and rituals that surround them. Freaking BINGO! New rabbit hole unlocked!

When I was a new mom and going through all the new mom shit of having no idea what I was doing – the school nurse, where I was teaching, overheard me talking about a situation with my son and said, “Did you ever think it might be the mom who has ADHD”? I was like, um…hmmm…(immediate self-reflecting)…interesting proposal. So, whether I have undiagnosed ADHD (total probability) or I just get fascinated with something, research and understand it thoroughly, and then lose interest (which doesn’t everybody?), I probably will not ever know, BUT, I do become super interested in many, many different things.

Back to the Witch’s Wheel. It is centered around the Solstices and Equinoxes. Which there are four in total. Spring and Fall Equinoxes and the Winter and Summer Solstices. The Sabbats are then celebrated on days in between them all, making eight witchy Sabbats. I am ordering the book, which will hopefully satisfy my current obsession and I can share it with you.

The book arrived and has been sitting collecting dust for a few weeks now. I finally have some time to dedicate to myself to learn about the next witchy celebration that is approaching, Litha. Prounounced LEE-tha, it is the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice. Litha represents the final opportunity to rest before harvest begins.

My garden is seeing lots of action with the pollinators. I have many flowers in bloom and even some that have started fruiting. I have already had to harvest some dill but when I went back for more, a little swallowtail caterpillar had discovered it. I believe I have plenty for when the cucumbers arrive, so I just let him be. The harvest is coming.

My garden typically never does well, but this year…it is! And because it never does well, I just kind of threw seeds wherever I thought something would grow. Of course, I never expected for it all to grow! And apparently, now is the time I need to rest up for that large harvest! I won’t be resting much though because I need to plan for what is coming. Dill is already done, for now, but I also have some lemon bergamont and yarrow that needs something done with it. Also, my borage is insane! The flowers can be eaten, but I’d really like to explore what else I can do with the plant. The leaves are insanely huge. I planted it next to my squash and that is insanely huge as well!

Litha, again, is for celebrating your rest before the harvest. Ways to celebrate Litha include having a bonfire to celebrate the journey the sun will take from us as the days become shorter. You can add some herbs like juniper and sage to offer protection to the sun on its journey. Make a Besom (BEE-zum) of Vesta (Vesta is the goddess of hearth and home) to sweep negative energy out of your space. I have always wanted to make a besom! And this photo in the book just makes it want to happen more! I already have one for the front door but clearly need one for my back door! And I think the energy is so much stronger when you make it yourself. On my list of things to do this summer!

Another activity is to make a Serpent’s Egg Amulet. That just sounds powerful in and of itself, but it is meant to protect against psychic attack and hexes. Carry it in your left pocket to help shield you from negative energy. Lastly, protection casting with herbs. You should find herbs or flowers that mimic the sun and the flames of fire (think ROY of the ROYGBIV). After gathering these herbs and flowers, save them until your Midsummer bonfire and then cast them into the flames while asking for protection.

Litha will be here this week, so be sure to rest up before your harvest, whatever that looks like. My garden will be ready soon and I will harvest those fruits but I will also be harvesting my self care. Doing things for me. Nurturing my body, expanding my knowledge, and exploring my curiosities. We all know how important self care is but most of us put other things before it. There is always something that seems to be more important. I really need to stop that bad habit. It is ok to take care of me and I hope you will do the same! Happy Litha!