Litha: celebrating the Sun

Tommorrow is Litha, also known as Midsomnar. It is the longest day of the year, when solar powers at at their peak. When the sabbats come along, It always gets me thinking. Thinking about my Gods and how there own people may have celebrated these times of year. There is so little information to lean on when it comes to living with the Vanir gods, and honoring them.

What can one do but examine the common attributes, and find a new way to honor my Gods in modern times?

In most pagan cultures, the powers most separated on this day are the solar powers, usually in masculine form. There is also celebration of the young mother goddess. It is a bit confusing for me to interpret the holiday in relevance to the Vanir, because I see much to connect each of the main players to the Midsummer holiday.

Freyja can most definitely be described as a fire or solar deity. Her connections with gold, her description as "bright and shining," her association with fire itself in the guise of Gullveig. All these things point to her connection to the Sun, and the element of fire itself. It gives me some sense that Midsummer is a very relevant holiday to the Goddess Freyja, and one that should be explored more.

Freyr himself can also be associated with Midsummer and the solar powers. Gullinbursti, Freyr's golden bristled boar, has been seen by many as a possible symbol of solar powers. His obvious connections to plants, such as wheat, and the harvest in general indicate the importance of solar power as a life giving force. Though I don't see Freyr as a reflection of the sun itself, there is no doubt that the solar powers are absolutely relevant to him. The power of the sun is necessary to create the harvest, to grow the crops. It is the force that gives life.

And let's not forget Njord, god of the seas. What can be more commonly associated with the summer than the seas? To me Njord in relation to Midsummer can represent the equalizing forces of nature. One might pray to Njord during this time to lessen a particularly brutal heat wave, or to help stave off drought.

In my own practice, I have chosen to dedicate Litha or Midsummer to the Goddess Freyja and the God Freyr. For me it is a time to bask in the glorious energies of the sun itself, and the mutual passion of the sun and the earth. It is a time to celebrate passion, and to celebrate the powers of fertility in general. It is a time to create new things, and meditate upon the meaning of darkness and light. And also a time of purification, clearing away whatever darkens the mind, the heart, the body itself.