Pagan holidays - Litha - summer solstice (Litha)

Litha is a pagan Celtic holiday when the Wheel of the Year, by the mighty power of the night, turns towards winter It is always celebrated on the longest day of the year, which, in fact, reflects the name “Lita” translated from the ancient Anglo-Saxon dialect It is expressed in the veneration of the sun, fertility, and belief in the animation of nature Interpretation of the holiday: the marriage of the Solar God, who gains maximum masculine power from the moment of birth in winter, and the Mother Goddess, who becomes a woman capable of filling everything around with fertility A holiday with such power, of course, has distinctive traditions, although some of the ritualism and ritualism echo those of the antipode - the winter solstice The ritual flame drove away the rampant evil spirits, because it was on this night that they were especially rampant Jumping over fires arranged in a special way cleared away negative influences, ailments, strengthened talismans and smoked heavily Other fires were set higher; pure fire burned there But there is a ritual that cannot be performed except on a special night - to find, pick and save a fern flower on the way back Only the bravest, luckiest, able to resist the rampant evil spirits guarding such a treasure, managed the impossible The meaning of this action depended on the conditions and lifestyle of specific settlements Protection from evil spirits, the opportunity to see fairies dance, to understand the language of animals - these are the simplest thoughts assigned to a mythical flower The gift of clairvoyance, the ability to show treasures, gain additional power, open any locks, transform into another form - more advanced hopes By the way, ferns reproduce by spores, but without belief in miracles it is difficult to live in any historical period The connection with the main source of life, the sun, was reflected in this Celtic custom - the rim of the sun wheel was tied with straw and set on fire By pushing it down a steep hill, they cast a spell so that the symbol would not go out while it was rolling, thereby prophesying a good harvest Wreaths are an invariable attribute of sorcery and fortune telling, because strong magic is intertwined in them The collected medicinal herbs are of particular value In many rituals, representatives of the green kingdom play an important role: oak, lavender, verbena The magic of water manifested itself in dew - they tried to collect as much of it as possible But the tradition of bathing among European pagans was not in use, unlike the Slavic ones Love witchcraft among some nationalities consisted of sealing a union by jointly jumping over fire And lovers who lived on the territory of modern Scotland swore an oath of fidelity, choosing a special place of power for this This custom has changed over the centuries, but even now for some regions June is the month of weddings In other religions, for other non-Celtic peoples, a strong astronomical event that occurs once a year also does not go unnoticed because of its direct impact on people's lives The ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, later supplanted by Islam, was also based on belief in the holiness of natural phenomena, the struggle of good against evil, and the great power of the Sun and fire In the Slavic East-West pagan religion, Ivan Kupala transformed into the Nativity of the Christian Saint John the Baptist Today, this pagan holiday is finding more and more followers, because the power of this magical night helps solve problems, and it can work, because the main thing is to believe