Savannah Moon
Celebrations of the sun can be counted amongst the most ancient practices on Earth. Midsummer which is also known as Lithia to neo-pagans is one of those celebrations. The sun is an entity of pure, cosmic energy, bestowing the radiance of life, potential, passion, and growth upon the planet. Its bright rays lend cleansing to both our emotional well-being and physical health, invigorating our lust for life and eliminating the dreary memory of bleaker seasonal shifts.
Like any religious holiday, Litha gives us the chance to meditate on our own cycles and yearly progression as well as to celebrate the Earth’s changes. Just like moon phase celebrations and meditations, each Pagan holiday gives a chance to reflect and recharge from a different point of view according to the correspondences of each cycle. In a season innately woven with warmth, happiness and long days of light, Litha incites us to submerge ourselves in the sun’s zealous healing and inspiration so we too can take full-bloom in both our daily and spiritual lives.
Journal writing is one of the easiest ways to align yourself with the energy of each season, letting you think about different aspects of the holiday and how they can shape and empower your own life’s adventure. We’ve crafted some Summer Solstice inspired journaling prompts for you to try out, helping to preserve your positive summer perspective through the autumn and winter months to come.
"What are some ways I can attune myself with nature?">“Am I truly thriving at my full potential?”
As a time of growth and abundance, it’s impossible to miss the blessings of light upon the world at the time of the summer solstice, showcased through the abundance of wildflowers and green-gowned trees found thriving amongst the landscapes. As the sun brings life on Earth into full-bloom, it’s equally as important to reflect upon your own progression, such as if you’re really embracing life and the long days of summer to their utmost potential.
Write a couple of paragraphs exploring things you are succeeding in physically, emotionally and spiritually alongside areas which may require more attention in future, in order to become the most fulfilled and enhanced version of yourself. Litha is a perfect opportunity to seek equilibrium with the sun whilst harvesting your own inspiration from the vibrant life blossoming and blanketing the natural summer world.
“How can I embody the positive traits of the sun for my own growth and enrichment? ”
As a symbol of fire, the sun is honored for its powers of exorcism and cleansing, its bright beams representing the driving out of evil, flooding the bleakest void with unquenchable light and replacing emotional grayness with optimism. The destructive connotations of fire grants us the chance to let go of any remnants of the past still clouding our mindsets and to expel them for good, whilst inviting the warmth, positivity and nourishing energy of light and life into our beings instead.
This prompt flows neatly from the first. After exploring the areas in which you are thriving alongside areas which require more growth, start thinking of ways you can manifest the cleansing, nurturing and abundant energy of the Midsummer sun to re-inspire your perspective with positivity. Write a list of things you have been thinking of letting go of or moving on from, alongside positive, sun-rich replacements which will let you thrive this summer rather than wither beneath the chaos of heat.
“What are some ways I can nourish and nurture my loved ones?”
The sun naturally bestows warmth to our emotions, encourages love and connection towards friends and family through its long hours of light and opportunity, whilst being a symbol of fiery passion and the fertility of the summer months. This makes the summer solstice and the nearby summer holidays a great time for mingling and merrymaking with those around you and sharing the sun’s warmth and radiant energy with loved ones.
Start thinking of ways you can nourish and nurture those you care about by listing some activities you can spark with your partner, friends and family. Include some gestures which will show them your love and support on their individual journey, as well as strengthen your individual bond and that of your larger family or friendship group.
“How am I aligning myself with the great outdoors and connecting with the natural world this summer?
As the days attain their longest hours of light and life parades its natural wonder and full-blossomed beauty, it becomes instinctive to seek equilibrium with the planet itself during the Summer Solstice, as well as its nurturing star, and appreciate the bounties of life and color bestowed upon the Earth by the sun.
Meditate on things which might help realign you with the natural world and soak into the pure, lush energy of the summer world, before writing down some small changes to your lifestyle this season which will bring you closer to the Earth. Some ideas could include planning an outdoor adventure, planting and tending a herb garden or house plant, learning to identify a species of summer flower, or simply eating more fresh food.
“How am I embracing light?”
This is a page you can turn back to during the grey months ahead. Let your free-form thoughts flow on the topic of what summer symbolizes to you on an individual level, alongside the blessings it has brought you this year. Think about all you’ve achieved since early spring and the emotional / spiritual changes you’ve noticed in yourself since the days have settled in brightness. Maybe the sun has inspired you to explore more this summer and led you towards finding a new favorite place or person. Or perhaps your mind is feeling uplifted and clearer, inspiring you to finally achieve a goal you’ve been working on.
With the sun bestowing motivation upon life on earth, this page inked with your personal summer ambience will hopefully inspire you to persevere once the season has ended and the cold months have set in, keeping Midsummer’s thriving energy alive within your spirit whilst honoring the blessings of the season through their recollection.
Litha falls on Wednesday 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere, or December 21 in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Pagan festival of Litha, known more commonly as the Summer Solstice or Midsummer, embodies the sun’s natural power at its most influential time of the year. The Summer Solstice marks the longest day of the year, when the sun’s energies are extended and at their most powerful, dissolving the evening gloom with light, warmth, harmony, abundance, and elated potential.
Most Pagan traditions, both new and old, center their festivals around the cycle of the seasons; a practice founded in the roots of an agricultural society dependent upon the recognized shifts of the seasons. Their equilibrium with Earth’s rhythms and the need for a good year weather-wise inspired ancient festival such as Ostara, the Spring Equinox (the planting season) and Samhain, the Autumn Equinox (the harvest season), honoring each season’s unique blessings in the knowledge that it will inevitably subside.
Journaling is a simple and powerful way to connect with the seasonal changes of the year. Not only have we provided you with some Summer Solstice inspired journaling prompts, but you might find our upcoming Mabon and Yule prompts helpful too.
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A festival of fire, fertility, protection and purification, the Pagan holiday of Beltane roots itself in Irish / Celtic mythology. Known more commonly in the modern age as ‘May Day,’ Beltane marks the start of summer’s long-awaited beginning, a celebration of the warm sun as the daylight hours lengthen and bring the promise of hope and fruitfulness to plants, animals and human life alike.
There are endless ways you can celebrate Beltane, from traditional practices like May-pole dancing, bonfire lighting, tree/shrub decorating and ritual performance, to more contemporary techniques which reconnect us with the ways of the ancients. Here are some quick and easy things you can do to celebrate Beltane 2023
Beltane is the time to embrace floral decoration whilst adorning your home in bright and uplifting summer-inspired aesthetics. As a season of rejuvenation, we can feel free in redesigning and embracing our true passions when it comes to art, style, color and decor, bringing inspiring new pieces into the home, whether they’re nature’s creations or man’s. Here are some quick tips to help decorate your home this Beltane:
Beltane is predominantly connected to the element of fire, the Gaelic word itself translating to ‘bright fire’. The ravaging, hypnotic flames were believed by ancient religions to offer endless extents of purification both for the land and the soul, eliminating all traces of evil standing within the fire’s path, whilst igniting our senses and passionate adoration for life, being and for others. Fire signifies strength, the sun, and the fervent force of life energy which inspires our spiritual, physical and emotional beings to continue and prosper, attracted to the inherent freedom and the excitement that comes with the lengthening days of sunlight.
In both traditional and modern Pagan practices, bonfires embellish each Beltane celebration, embodying all symbolism brought to light on May Day. This concept was immortalized to the modern non-Pagan audience through the classic thriller movie, The Wicker Man, and whilst spun with many macabre, fictional motifs, the essence of the ancient practice remains the same: a monument of fire, communally honored to cleanse and protect their space from the threats which be, whilst inviting the sun’s warmth to bestow a fruitful harvest upon the community later that year.
In the Gaelic calendar, Beltane, like its opposite autumnal harvest festival of Samhain, was considered a time ‘when the veil was at its thinnest,’ allowing spirits of the other world to pass into the land of the living. However, compared to Samhain’s ghostly correspondences, Beltane’s symbolic apparitions occur in the image of fairies and forest spirits rather than those of the dead.
Other ancient customs focused upon the floral life which comes to blossom every mid-spring season. May flowers were woven into headdresses and garments, adorning altars, living spaces and spiritual grounds alike, gathered in their numbers and laying the groundwork of a summer-welcoming celebration.
But of all May Day’s countless symbols and characteristics as an ancient holiday, the May Pole stands out in our modern memory. A tall pole with a flower mosiac is erected and planted into the Earth, its crown streaming with ribbons, each held by one of the many dancing participants who criss-cross each thread whilst circling the pole, entangling and cloaking it in ribbon. With males and females dancing in opposite directions and entwining the ribbons around the central stem, the May Pole assumes its ancient symbolism of fertility and the natural, sensual and divine equilibrium of the male and female. Not only does this represent human sexuality, love and youth, but the May Pole also honored animal reproduction, the fertility of the soils, seeds and flora held so closely to ancient, farming communities.
This year, 2023, Beltane will fall on May 1, as it normally does
It’s easy to celebrate Beltane in the modern age, even for city folk who can’t spark traditional bonfires in their celebrations. By meditating on the symbolism of fire and flowers, whilst welcoming the blessings of the coming summer season, we ignite the spirit of Beltane within us as has been practiced since antiquity. If you are looking for more ways to get in tune with the energies of Beltane then try our Beltane Journal Prompts.
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The Pagan sabbath of Beltane roots has its origins in Celtic mythology. In modern times, this celebration is known as May Day and marks the coming of summer. Beltane is associated with the element of fire, fertility, protection, and purification!
Beltane marks the start of summer's long-awaited beginning, a celebration of the warm sun as the daylight hours lengthen and bring the promise of hope and fruitfulness to plants, animals, and human life alike.
As a celebration of summer's start, Beltane ignites our instinct to thrive beneath the sun and embrace the long nights full of fiery romance, fertility, and youthful adventure. It's also a time linked to hand fastings (weddings) and family planning, entwined with the theme of fertility and prosperous, blossoming love. Like any spiritual holiday or day devoted to nature, Beltane is the perfect time to reflect and restore your sense of direction as you evolve with the seasons, both spiritually and in your day-to-day life.
Try out some of our Beltane-inspired journal prompts to align you with the season's true meaning and inspire the weeks ahead!
"What ignites the fire within me?"
In ancient days, Beltane fires were used to protect livestock herds while ensuring their health and fertility throughout the following months. While this significance is mainly lost to the modern mechanical age, the idea of fire as a symbol of life energy, drive, and protection throughout the coming year is easily transferred.
Write a paragraph or two about activities and changes you can make to help you embrace your inner fire, increasing your energy, motivation, and productivity for the months ahead. This is a great time to embrace your true self and get out there socially, whether you're looking for Beltane's blessing of abundant love or not! Some examples could be meditating on the sun's energy, waking up earlier in the morning, or trying something new and exciting that resparks your passion for life.
"What are some ways I can attune myself with nature?"
As nature thrives around us, it's refreshing to delve into the forests and harness the wild abundance of happiness threaded profusely throughout the mid-spring season. Beltane is an excellent time for wildflower picking and exploring your local parks, gardens, fields, nature reserves and river paths, or simply choosing to take the inspiring, tranquil, scenic route instead of the hectic main road.
Write down some activities to help inspire your love for nature and attune with the Earth's bountiful, blossoming energies. From meditating with crystals and connecting with fairies to planning a picnic and wearing some floral perfume on May Day, there are endless ways to find your sense of equilibrium with nature's riches.
"How can I ensure my aspirations come to fruition?"
Beltane symbolizes the fragile, newborn spring season finding strength as she grows into the first hint of proper summer. While the preceding holiday of the Pagan year, Ostara, symbolizes new birth, beginnings and the planting of seeds, Beltane is the natural evolution of this sentiment, being the time of flourishing, growth, and maintenance. Like the plethora of wildlife and plant life springing from seed to fully-fledged beauty, Beltane offers us the perfect time and sun-beamed motivation to embrace our aspirations and encourage them to spring to life in equilibrium with the season's growth.
Dedicate a page to bullet-pointing your plans, goals, aspirations, wishes and more, alongside some ideas on how you can inspire and encourage these dreams to come to fruition during the months ahead. It doesn't necessarily have to be physical goals such as learning to drive or changing a job; your aspirations could relate to finding a greater sense of emotional peace or spiritual equilibrium.
"What are things which can inspire more passion between me and my romantic partner(s)."
While being synonymous with fertility, Beltane's aura of zealous passion and love transcends its primordial significance, becoming a perfect time for mingling, exploration, and fiery rejuvenation. It doesn't matter if your romance is lacking or in full bloom already; embrace the seasonal opportunity of fulfillment and adventure, or if you're single, put yourself out there, flaunt your hypnotic inner fire, and let yourself thrive amongst others!
Write a list of ways to create more zest in your romantic life and reconnect with the wild ambiance of free-spirited, young love. You don't have to throw your mind into the gutters either: your ideas could be centered on soul-nourishment and tenderness if your love life is lacking, which would reignite your fire.
"Which bad habits and behaviors could my partner and I banish into the flames?"
While being a season of sex and passion, Beltane's bonfires also symbolize the purification of negative energy, which may manifest through bad habits, sour attitudes, and lethargy regarding romance.
Think about some areas where your love life might be faltering on a spiritual and emotional level, alongside any negative traits and habits which might have dowsed your initial enthusiasm for your partner. The mid-spring's optimism and fruition is the ideal time to start recognizing and working on these things as you cast your old ways into the Beltane fires and make way for the new.
Unlike some other ancient holidays whose celebration dates shift slightly with each yearly turn, Beltane / May Day falls on May 1 each year without fail, marking the halfway point between Ostara, the spring equinox and Litha, the summer solstice. This year, 2023, Beltane will fall on May 1, just as it has for millennia.
Use the time over the summer season to learn more about the energy of Beltane. Meditate on this pagan sabbaths meaning and and what mythologies are connected to it, then create meaningful rituals of your own.
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The Pagan holiday of Ostara refers to the ancient celebration of the Spring Equinox; the occasion where the day and night return to equal length. Ostara is one of the 8 pagan sabbaths on the Wheel of the Year. It marks the period before the daylight starts to sprawl evermore over summer’s evening hours, diminishing winter’s long nights into a distant memory.This is a season rooted naturally into our spiritual beings; encompassing all aspects related to new life, growth, resurrection, fertility and spring-time cleansing. Sound familiar? Globally, many cultures celebrate the coming of spring, and festivals. It wasn't until Christianity became the dominate religion of Europe that this celebration later became known as Easter. Keep scrolling to learn more about how to celebrate Ostara !
Ostara always falls on the Spring Equinox or Vernal Equinox as it is called. The exact date can change from year to year but it's usually toward the middle end of March. The day begins on the start of Aries season which can fall between March 19-23rd, but for the next 3 years it's on the 20th.
| Ostara Date | Day of the Week | Year |
| March 20th | Sunday | 2022 |
| March 20th | Monday | 2023 |
| March 20th | Wednesday | 2024 |
| March 20th | Thursday | 2025 |
If you were raised around Christian beliefs, celebrating Ostara is easy - it’s practically Easter but with Mother Nature in the place of Jesus. A myriad of seasonal Easter traditions we’re accustomed to in the West transfer perfectly over to your Ostara celebrations, from egg decorating to egg hunting and eating, baking and sharing time with loved ones, alongside taking the meditative space to connect with your spirituality and find a new sense of self.
One of the easy ways to celebrate Ostara is to decorate your home. The sabbaths decorations never go out of fashion and include things, like wild cut flowers, pastel painted eggs and bunny rabbits, each symbolizing the blossom and birth of spring. But it’s always best to set your own holiday traditions and make the celebration your own.
Here’s some easy ideas to inspire your own imagination when it comes to decorating your home this Ostara:
Regardless of your religious beliefs, the influence of the rising spring sun upon our mental health is undeniable, not to mention its impact upon agriculture and our day-to-day lifestyles as all life crawls from cold hibernation into happiness. You don’t even have to be spiritual to acknowledge the potential that comes with the year’s lengthening sunlight hours and honor it in your own way. Celebrating the holiday of Ostara brings us back into equilibrium with the transient seasons and cycles of Mother Earth, mostly lost to the mechanical, controllable nature of the modern world. It’s a time for reconnecting with the local, wild lands and ways of the ancients, whilst being the season of health, positive change, growth, new life and hope; sentiments so deep-rooted in our human experience that they transcend faith entirely.
Ostara is a time to think fresh, think new, and grow in equilibrium with the seasons around us. It's the perfect time to set new goals for the year, aided by the clarity of the radiant new season while striving towards the emotional, social, and spiritual harmony you likely spent the cold, miserable winter envisioning.
Keep scrolling for some Ostara themed journal prompts to help spring-clean your mind for the new wave of life waiting ahead!
Journaling can be one of the best methods for renewing one's self and keeping goals. Writing encourages you to take the conscious time to reflect upon your goals, inspire a fresh mentality, and nurture your sense of self-care, allowing you to rise in harmony with the sun's power. It also creates a time capsule of your thoughts, allowing you to return to your positive, springtime mindset any time you like.
Journal Prompt #1
"If I had a chance to relive the last year, what would I do differently?"
This question might be a little profound, but it captures the essence of rebirth, encouraging a novel attitude to life and the choices you've recently made.
Write a paragraph or two about the things you might have overlooked in the last year and decisions that have stuck in your mind. Focus on your accomplishments and downfalls; perhaps you'd decline to change anything for the blessings you've attained in the last year. Maybe you'd go forth with a new love interest you chose to ignore, or perhaps you'd study harder, be more optimistic, or start that new project you were putting off sooner.
Once written, your paragraph will be woven with the truth of how you should likely approach the new season ahead. Ostara is the perfect season to shed your old ways, start being the person you've dreamed of being and begin embracing the opportunities you may have missed. All these things you've written - do them! This can be your springtime bucket list. Take the leap, start fresh, and the season will be on your side.
Journal Prompt #2
"What do I want to embrace about myself this year?"
This prompt is pretty straightforward, allowing you to delve deeper into your insecurities, bring them to the surface and celebrate yourself for who you indeed are. Start listing your most positive traits. Maybe you'll find some other qualities you'd rather let go of along the way. Write them down too, and preserve your clean, springtime perspective throughout the rest of the year. You can keep turning back to this page whenever you crave an emotional uplift!
Journal Prompt #3
Ostara is all about being attuned to the Earth's natural cycles and the clear-headed ambiance of healing and cleansing deep-rooted in the early weeks of spring. It's an excellent time to start meditating if that's something you've been putting off for a while, to explore a new hobby or an old one that makes you feel like yourself again, or to try wandering further into your spiritual practices with the blessing of the season. Let your imagination run wild and vibrant, inspiring a list of activities and easy lifestyle changes which will bring you into closer equilibrium with the Earth's natural healing, power, femininity and your own spirituality. Some examples could be, "Explore a new park I've never been to before" or "Learn to identify a new species of a spring flower."
Journal Prompt #4
If you've been putting off starting a new self-care routine or exercise schedule or feeling like you're not allowing yourself enough space to breathe and be content, Ostara is the time to make that positive change. This also transfers to those around you, especially to parents, siblings, and those naturally aligned with their instincts to love, care and support others in their growth, just as much as focusing upon your personal progression.
Write a few lines about things you do to take care of yourself and things you can try doing better in the future before doing the same with those you love in mind. There's no sense in finding your peace and positivity if you don't share it with those around you!
Journal Prompt #5
"Which bad habit do I need to let go of? Which good habit could take its place?"
There's no better time to reinvent yourself than springtime. New Year's resolutions can feel like a lot of pressure, and during the middle of winter, when life is remarkably void, it's even harder to work up the motivation to address the things which need changing truly.
Ostara offers a second chance to start again, like your own rebirth or resurrection. Take some time to filter through the things that have been burdening you or holding you back. Think about the areas where you might be wasting your time, energy, happiness, or money, and contrast them with positive ideas which will help you heal and progress healthily as an individual instead. Don't be afraid to shed your old skin and leave the past behind you to make way for more fulfilling things - the Spring Equinox is the perfect time to do so.
Ostara always falls on the day of the Spring Equinox, which shifts around slightly every year, between March 19-23rd. This year, 2023, Ostara falls on Monday, 20 March, at 21:25 Universal Coordinated Time in the Northern Hemisphere