Our Fabled Nest

Summer Solstice is here! Most folks love sitting in the sand, playing the oceans, lakes or pools. Some prefer to get their tan on and love soaking up the rays on these hot summer days. Then, there is a select few of us that can’t wait for autumn… the chilly air, crunchy leaves, pumpkin everywhere and living in those cozy sweaters sipping hot tea by the roaring fire. As a husky mama, I can attest that we are in the latter group.

But today we are celebrating Litha! I prefer to call the Summer Solstice Litha, but it is also commonly known as Midsummer. We all remember the horror movie a few years back called “Midsommar”. Since then, that name makes me shudder and I haven’t even seen it! The previews alone were enough for me to say nope! Horror movies can conjure the worst images and turn beautiful celebrations into a “nightmare”. I promise, there are no human nor animal sacrifices! That is all theatrics and for the views – promise! Litha is the welcoming of summer. We are celebrating all of the beautiful bountiful summery goodness our gardens are giving us. Litha is in essence a holiday to celebrate the end of planting. Now the gardens are producing an abundance of delicious produce from peppers to tomatoes. I feel blessed to have our small garden here at the RV Park. I love seeing mama earth in her full glory…. flowers are at their peak with honeysuckles and jasmine smelling absolutely divine. Herbs are at their peak too, and I am adding them to all sorts of dishes! Leaves are several shades of vibrant greens and give a lush canopy overhead. Quite a bit of relief from the heat and bright rays of the sunshine. Waking earlier to sunlight filtering through the blinds and dusk seems to hold on forever as the sky fades to night. Lightin’ Bugs showcase their beauty as they twinkle through the sky and warmer nights means watching the sky for comets, constellations, and falling stars. The little things bring my heart the most joy. Magical. Thundershowers are more frequent, but I don’t mind – a lovely reminder that even mama earth needs to scream once in a while.

As much as I have this love hate relationship with summer, I still make the best of it! Ebbs and flows. The Wheel of the Year is a cycle, just like life. To make the most of Litha, like the other Sabbats, I find something magical I absolutely adore about each celebration. Litha is technically the longest day of the year and from here on until Yule the darkness will slowly creep back in. Then the cycle begins again. Quite beautiful. Litha is my favorite one to simply greet the day. I have my morning tea or coffee outside with a small meditation, a simple tarot spread and a little journaling. Journaling for Litha would be metaphorically what I’ve planted since Imbolc and what abundance is coming through in this present moment. A lot of grateful thoughts and what I am excited is coming in the near future. A simple effective way to get me in the right mindset. Some folks depending on their path have altars for different Gods and Goddesses. Sometimes these are inside, others out. Either way is beautiful -just do what feels right or don’t – your choice! I prefer to celebrate the Goddess, Aine. She is the Celtic Sun Goddess, and her name translates to bright spark. I absolutely love so many aspects of her and the Celtic Pantheon. All of the lores, and tales are intriguing, fascinating and extremely thought provoking. Another beautiful feminine Goddess could be Brigantia. She is thought to be the Celtic Goddess of Summer. This Goddess is associated with spreading creativity and bringing inspiration. Other lores talk of couples jumping fires in which it was thought the higher they jumped the higher the crops would grow. I am so grateful we are not jumping fires nowadays!

Nowadays, handfasting ceremonies still takes place as with Beltane. Bonfires are traditional as with several of the other Sabbats. To make your bonfire more magical add herbs or write little intentions of pieces of papers… kind of like a visual representation of letting go and letting the universe take care of it. Other beautiful ways to celebrate our Summer Solstice could be make sun tea, enjoy a picnic, soak up some sunshine, take a hike, make jam with those fresh berries, or simply greet the day. Whatever you decide, let it be authentic.

I always get my kiddos involved! I love letting them “help” create little crafts and I am that dog mama that will proudly display whatever we create. Back at Atticus’ fifth birthday, I picked up some cute magnets and paint kits for these little sculptures… with pawpa being out of town and life being a little different, we just haven’t painted them yet. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get the babes involved! We can stay inside and beat the heat!

Food is always a good idea! I love cooking up a storm for celebrations. BUT it is 97 degrees out. The last thing I want to do is one turn on the stove or two stand in the sun and grill. Neither of those sound appealing or worth sweating over. I knew I needed to get creative and seeing the fresh garden husky tomatoes made me think of Greek food….. perfect! A Greek Pasta Salad and Gyros. Simple, delicious, minimum prep work and effortlessly cool for these hot days! Dessert again left me stumped. I love baking but again we are not turning on the oven. My daddy always made ice cream and we swore it was just like a “Frosty”… but I am not ready to tackle that just yet. With that in mind I searched through my cookbook collection for an icebox pie “something or another” …. hub says there is one too many and I say there’s one too less – agree to disagree, I guess. I landed on a lemonade pie… ooohh, that is screaming nostalgic nineties summer! I will definitely be posting that recipe later but lemme tell ya, easy, simply delicious and it gives all summery vibes.

I typically wouldn’t go so in depth with my spiritual world but speaking with an older Crone the other week left me musing. She simply said that is “a them problem not you.”. You don’t have to hide your magical life to make others comfortable. I understand we are not all the same, we all have different beliefs, experiences and things that have created our outlook. I see things differently and am open to learning and creating a beautiful meaningful existence in harmony with mama earth.

Cheers to our next adventure!