Litha The Midsummer Summer Solstice Sabbat JUNE 21st (NH) Yule (SH)

The gardens are blooming, and summer is in full swing. Fire up the barbeque, turn on the sprinkler, and enjoy the celebrations of Midsummer! Also called Litha, this summer solstice Sabbat honors the longest day of the year. Take advantage of the extra hours of daylight and spend as much time as you can outdoors.

Depending on your individual spiritual path, there are many different ways you can celebrate Litha, but the focus is nearly always on celebrating the power of the sun. It's the time of year when the crops are growing heartily and the earth has warmed up. we can spend long sunny afternoons enjoying the outdoors, and getting back to nature under the long daylight hours.

Month of JUNE - Dates and Events

June

• 1: England's Witchcraft Act of 1563 goes into effect
• 9: Celtic Tree Month of Hawthorn ends
• 10: Celtic Tree Month of Oak begins
• 10: Hanging of Bridget Bishop, first victim in the Salem Witch Trials
• 13: Birthday of Gerald Gardner in 1884
• 16: Father's Day
• 17: Birthday of Wiccan author Starhawk
• 21: Litha
• 21: Yule (Southern Hemisphere)
• 22: England's last Witchcraft Law is repealed in 1951
• 23: Full moon -- Strong Sun Moon at 7:32 am
• 27: Birthday of author Scott Cunningham in 1956

Celtic Tree Months Hawthorn Moon: May 13 - June 9

The Hawthorn is a prickly sort of plant with beautiful blossoms. Called Huath by the ancient Celts, and pronounced Hoh-uh, the Hawthorn month is a time of fertility, masculine energy, and fire. Coming right on the heels of Beltane, this month is a time when male potency is high -- if you're hoping to conceive a child, get busy this month! The Hawthorn has a raw, phallic sort of energy about it -- use it for magic related to masculine power, business decisions, making professional connections. The Hawthorn is also associated with the realm of Faerie, and when the Hawthorn grows in tandem with an Ash and Oak, it is said to attract the Fae.

JUNE 1st - England's Witchcraft Act of 1563 goes into effect

Definition: Until 1951, England had laws strictly prohibiting the practice of witchcraft. When the last act was repealed, Gerald Gardner began to publish his work, and brought witchcraft back into the public eye without threat of prosecution. Put into effect on June 1, 1653, the Witchcraft Laws mandated the outlawing of any kind of witchcraft-related activities. The 1951 repeal made it easier for modern Wiccans -- Gardner was able to go public just a few years later, when he published Witchcraft Today in 1954.
It's important to note that the 1653 Witchcraft Laws were not the first to appear in the English judicial system. In 1541, King Henry VIII passed a piece of legislation that made witchcraft a felony, punishable by death. In 1562, Henry's daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, passed a new law that said witchcraft would only be punished with death if harm had been caused - if no physical harm was done to the alleged victim, then the accused only faced imprisonment.

Examples:

Prior to the repeal of the English Witchcraft Laws, British pagans had to practice in secret to avoid prosecution.

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