Merry Meet!
Welcome to The Rabbit’s Haven, the official newsletter of Rabbit Stew! We are delighted that you’ve joined us. |
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We honor the Sun at its peak, and the light within and around us.
Litha (Midsummer) is a pagan holiday and fire festival celebrating the summer solstice (typically June 20–22 in the Northern Hemisphere). As the longest day and shortest night of the year, it marks the pinnacle of the sun’s power, honoring abundance, fertility, and nature with traditions like bonfires, floral crowns, handfastings, and feasts.
Like Beltane, fire is an element of Litha. Bonfires were lit to assist the sun as it journeyed across the sky, changing course and shortening the days. It was believed that the faerie realm was the most accessible during Midsummer Night.
In some modern neo-pagan traditions, Litha is one of the times the Oak King and the Holly King battle for control. During the winter solstice, The Oak King (who represents daylight) is victorious and reigns from Yule to Litha, seen in the increasing daylight hours. However, during Litha, the Holly King wins this battle, and the days get steadily darker until Yule.
Every witch’s path is unique, but here are a few suggestions for your Litha activities: make a floral crown watch the sun set forage for wild herbs light a bonfire to celebrate the sun cook a feast with with solar-corresponding ingredients and fresh seasonal produce. make a sun wheel refresh your altar with symbols of the sabbat. Add sunflowers, daisies, wildflowers, yellow or orange candles, and solar-themed crystals like citrine, carnelian, or sunstone. make sun water walk your property; give thanks and ask for protection make an elderflower cordial or brew sun tea craft a solstice suncatcher
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DEITIES Áine Apollo Belanus Danu Helios Hestia Juno Lugh Sekhmet Sol Invictus Sulis Minerva Sunna (Sól) Vesta
SYMBOLS COLORS Gold: solar energy, abundance, vitality, and success Green: fertility, prosperity, verdant growth Orange: warmth, creativity, and joy Red: passion, fire, life force Yellow: solar energy, happiness, hope White: freshness & brightness
ANIMALS/CREATURES Bee: community, productivity Eagle: strength & power, connection to spirit Horse: power & movement Salamander: fire & rebirth Stag: virility & wild, untamed energy
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HERBS/PLANTS Calendula: progress, positivity, protection, prosperity Chamomile: calm, comfort, healing, purification Daisy: innocence & purity Honeysuckle: sweetness, joy, affection Lavender: harmony, peace, love Lemon Balm: positive energy, purification Orange: abundance & prosperity St. John’s Wort: protection, health, divination Strawberry: blessings, love, fertility Sunflower: happiness & vitality Vervain: purification, fertility, intuition, & enchantment
TREES Elder: prosperity, health, transformation, fae tree Oak: abundance, strength, success, confidence Rowan: courage & protection
STONES/CRYSTALS Amber: protection Carnelian: courage, action, vitality Citrine: abundance, prosperity, joy, & manifestation Clear quartz: amplification Garnet: motivation Moss agate: “gardener’s stone”protects plants, aids in growth Sunstone: leadership, self-worth, creativity Red Jasper: grounding & strength Tiger’s Eye: empowerment & confidence
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Stonehenge and the Summer Solstice
Aligning with the sun
The sarsen stones, put up in at the centre of the site in about 2500 BC, were carefully placed to line up with the movements of the sun. If you were to stand in the middle of the stone circle on Midsummer’s Day, you would see the sun rise just to the left of the Heel Stone, an outlying stone north-east of the circle. Archaeologists have found a large stone hole to the left of the Heel Stone which may have held a partner stone: if so, the two stones would have framed the sunrise.
On Midwinter’s Day, the sun would originally have set between the two uprights of the tallest trilithon (two upright stones capped by a horizontal lintel). It would have dropped down over the Altar Stone, a sandstone block which was placed across the solstice axis. Today, this effect has been lost because half of the trilithon has fallen. But a laser survey of Stonehenge has shown that the stones that framed the solstice axis were the most carefully shaped, with vertical sides that framed the movement of the sun.
The whole layout of Stonehenge is therefore designed in relation to the solstices, which are the extreme limits of the sun’s movement. The solstice axis is also marked by the Station Stones, which are placed at the corners of a rectangle around the edge of the surrounding circular ditch. The short sides of the rectangle are parallel to the main alignment at Stonehenge.
The late Neolithic monument known as the Avenue, made up of parallel banks and ditches, links Stonehenge to the nearby river Avon. And it is also linked to the movements of the sun – its final, straight stretch close to Stonehenge is aligned on the north-east to south-west solar axis.
Recent excavations across the Avenue have found that the earthworks appear to follow the line of some ridges, with gullies between them (known as periglacial stripes). These are natural features created by glaciation. But it’s possible that Neolithic people noticed that the ridges and gullies lined up with the solstice, and may have chosen to build Stonehenge here as a result.
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HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SERVES 10-12 | Fresh summer strawberries shine in this simple homemade strawberry shortcake recipe. The biscuits don’t rise super tall, but you’ll enjoy their crisp crumbly texture paired with the soft whipped cream and juicy strawberries.
Strawberries + Whipped Cream 6–7 cups quartered strawberries 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar, divided 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
Biscuits 2 and 3/4 cups (345g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for hands and work surface* 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar 4 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt (I recommend fine sea salt) 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed 1 cup (240ml) cold buttermilk 2 Tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream or buttermilk coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions Strawberries: Stir the strawberries and 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar together in a large bowl. Cover and set in the refrigerator until ready to use. This time allows the strawberries to release their delicious juices. Make the biscuits: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl or in a large food processor. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Pulse until coarse crumbs form. If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl. Pour buttermilk on top. Fold everything together with a large spoon or silicone spatula until it begins to come together. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be shaggy and crumbly with some wet spots. Pour the dough and any dough crumbles onto a floured work surface and gently bring together with generously floured hands. Have extra flour nearby and use it often to flour your hands and work surface in this step. Using floured hands or a floured rolling pin, flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle as best you can. Fold one side into the center, then the other side. Turn the dough horizontally. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time. Flatten into the final 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Cut into 2.75 or 3-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. (Tip: Do not twist the biscuit cutter when pressing down into the dough.) Re-roll/flatten any scraps and cut more circles until you have around 10-12 biscuits. Arrange close together on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet. Make sure the biscuits are touching. Brush the tops with 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or buttermilk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown on top. Remove from the oven, then cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before assembling. Make the whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until soft-medium peaks form, about 3 minutes. Slice the biscuits in half and layer with strawberries and whipped cream. Serve immediately.
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NOW AVAILABLE FROM RABBIT STEW
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Return to a time when receiving mail was magical with Rabbit’s Round, our new Sabbat-based collection of curated paper ephemera to use in your journal, book of shadows, grimoire, art journal, commonplace book, and more.
Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, and Litha 2026 are available online and in-store! |
We hope you enjoyed our Litha edition of The Rabbit’s Haven and we look forward to joining you for Lughnasadh! |
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