5 Awesome Wicca Litha/Summer Solstice Festivals for 2016
- By Elisa Meyer --
- 18 Jun 2016 --
Top 5 cool places Wiccans and Pagans can celebrate Litha.
The summer solstice will fall around the 20th to the 22nd of June depending on an individual’s location on earth. It’s a natural phenomenon experienced by those living in the northern hemisphere wherein daylight hours are at their longest. For many, the solstice marks the beginning of astronomical summer but for the Wiccans or pagans, it’s a celebration of the power of the sun. For pagans, the sun represents energy, strength, and healing. Wiccans call their solstice festival Litha.
5 Awesome Wicca Litha/Summer Solstice Festivals for 2016[/tweetthis]
Wiccans and pagans around the world have their own summer solstice celebrations but they are usually characterized by almost similar activities which include: gathering, spending more time outdoors, doing bonfires or fire rituals, feasting, singing, dancing and general merrymaking. Looking for a solstice event where you can participate? Here are some of the biggest solstice festivals happening in and out of the U.S. this year:
Many Wiccans who have attended various solstice festivals consider the Wisteria Summer Solstice as the most magical. This year’s theme is Creating Peace wherein participants will “explore avenues of peace inside and out” through arts, spirit, knowledge and action. The highlights of the weeklong event include nightly bonfires, musical performances, dancing with the drums, rites of passage, workshops and vending. The festival will be situated at the Wisteria campground near Athens in Ohio.
On June 18, Reclaiming LA will host the Litha or summer solstice festival at The Green Man in North Hollywood, CA. Activities include a bardic pre-ritual gathering and the sharing of solstice-related songs, poems and other works of art. Reclaiming LA is a group of pagan women in L.A. which promotes justice in all its forms from social, political, gender, racial, economic and environmental.
For pagans located in the northeast, you could attend the Boston Summer Solstice Ritual at the Democracy Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This year’s celebration will focus on eco or environmental art with the participation of artist James Leonard and his ‘Tent of Casually Observed Phenologies.’ Aside from the eco art, tarot readings and sharing of potluck dishes of participants will be expected.
The Stonehenge or ancient monoliths in England has been an important ritual venue for pagans throughout history. Every year, pagans gather near the stones for four days of camping, feasting, music and other fun-filled activities. It’s a big event and there are provisions for transportation, various facilities, including food and other item shops.
Magic spells, healing, and psychic or tarot readings is also an interesting part of the pagan Litha celebration. And on July 30, a group of psychics, healers and artisans will hold their 7th annual Litha Faire at the Quaker Meeting House in Santa Cruz, California.
I've got a book of Summer Solstice spells & ceremonies in the works! What are some of your favorite Litha traditions? #wicca #pagan #witch
— Didi Clarke (@authordidi) May 16, 2016
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