Summer Solstice: Litha
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| Photo by Lea Patterson: taken at 11pm in Grande Prairie, AB |
Wow, heavy preamble!
Yesterday was Litha, the summer solstice, and I loved it. You see, I've begun a spiritual journey into discovering my personal worship style. I've always been fascinated and drawn to Celtic Christianity, which is the form of Christianity which took hold among the British Isles during the rule of the Roman empire and into the middle ages. The druids of the British Isles knew about God, they just didn't know Him by name. In fact, there was even a legend that the King of All Kings, Son of the One God was killed on a tree. So when Roman Catholic missionaries came and explained Christ to them, they were overjoyed with learning the truth, and quickly "converted" to Christianity - if any converting was actually necessary. It was more like clarification.
One thing the druids did, back then, was revere and respect nature. They calculated and were attuned to things like the summer solstice. The rhythms of the earth were important to them because they were a reflection of the great Creator God who ruled everything with holy majesty. They had festivals to mark every solstice, every equinox, and even the halfway points in between. Litha, specifically, was also called Alban Heruin, which means "Light of the Shore." It was a celebration of light and of the sun, as without the sun there would be no life. It was a time to celebrate strengths and accomplishments. It was a time for gathering herbs to make into medicines. Modernly, people who still follow the druid ways (which have become more "pagan" than they used to be) will light a candle and pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the sun, for light, and for plenty.
So, true to my style, I appropriated that and "Christianized" it.
At midnight last night I met with a good friend of mine who is also into Celtic Christianity. We lit a candle outside, and had a really good prayer time. To God, the Lord of lords, the Almighty Creator God. His vastness was brought home to me. It was as though, for a moment, I could see things in a bit more of a heavenly perspective. God's majesty. His holiness. Exactly why he deserves to be feared, and loved, and obeyed.
After praying, we had some fun. We spent about 45 minutes finding plants in my yard that we could "harvest." Raspberry leaves for tea, bee balm, salvia, rose petals, even daisies. It was fun to look up what we could use, and we had some excellent conversation time.
I've decided I love Litha. Next year we'll probably do something more to celebrate, but this was our first festival, our trial run. We're planning on doing something more on August 1st, the festival of Lughnasadh (pronounced Loo-nas-ah). I don't think I'll be staying up past midnight regularly, though, makes for a late night. *grin*
I'd love to hear what you guys think about my spiritual journey. Comment here, on facebook, or send me a private message.
