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Health & Fitness

Litha in the Suburbs

Happy & Blessed Litha, Everyone!   

 

That is, Summer Solstice!  What is dubbed the “first day of summer” is, in fact the place in the wheel of the year that we actually start to lose one minute of light per day.  So we celebrate the SUN in its pinnacle, the height of the season, and the longest day of the year. 

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And oh, what we can do in all those hours of light!

 

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We’ve all taken ourselves outside this spring; we’re gardening, barbequing, going for road trips and heading toward the beach.  The loss of one minute of light really isn’t noticeable until August 1st, at Lammas, the first of the three harvest festivals.

 

The local Pagans view the Sun as a masculine energy; a father figure and the Earth, a feminine, mother figure.  The correct combination of the two allows life of the planet to grow and evolve.  The Sun at the solstice exalts life and abundance.  These celebrations aren’t new.  The Solstices and Equinoxes are natural events that have been occurring on the planet long before the humans gave them names.  They did, however, take notice of the position of the sun in the sky as the earth makes her annual journey around him. (Lots of time and no TV) The position marked “time” and “seasons”.  Some of them built monuments to ceremonialize this fact.  We’ve seen them from all over the world on The History Channel.

 

Later, some religions recognized the natural events and dedicated them to a particular Saint or God-like persona.  I believe that June 24th is Saint John the Baptist’s Day.  In America, we celebrate Father’s Day on the 3rd Sunday in June.

 

We’ll have a special treat this month – there is a Full Moon on Saturday, June 22nd, and this one is going to be a big one, a perigee full moon.  Also known as the Mead Moon or honeymoon, this moon is especially energetic, as it falls so close to the Solstice.  Local Pagans will utilize the cosmic energy for personal growth, healing, prayers of gratitude.  So whether you’re in Stonehenge, Teotihuacán, Times Square or the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island this Litha – kick up your heels and celebrate like a Neo-Pagan!  OH!  I see you already do ;)

 

And to our friends south of the Equator – Happy Yule!

 

Peace & Love!

Doreen

 A Sample Lesson From the Path of the Goddess Workshop 
Facilitated by Doreen Lavista, RM/T, IARP


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