Litha

As the Sun dips into the fiery heart of summer, July emerges—golden, long, and lazy. And right alongside it, the zodiac’s watery guardian, Cancer, takes the helm. July is one of the few month’s of the year (next to March or April, depending on the date of Ostara) where a pagan holiday or fire festival is not observed, yet the middle of summer seems almost ritualistic in how entrenched we become with the richness of the season. Looking further, it only makes sense as to why Cancer, summer’s sweetest star sign, is the mascot to the start of summer. Here’s why the vibrancy of July and the nurturing essence of Cancer are cosmic twins—bound by symbolism, season, and soul.

Known as Summer Solstice to most, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere has several names including Litha and Midsummer. It is a day of joy and merriment, as well as major witchiness. Litha comes from the old Anglo-Saxon name for June and July, given by an English monk named Bede. As the lustful and passionate energies of Beltane subside, they make way for the maturity and power of Litha. Spring was the phase of courtship and now summer has become the commitment to love as the...