|
Litha by Yvonne Rathbone |
||
|
Wheel
of the Year |
Litha The Goddess and the God begin to show the results of their "labors".
The Goddess and the God have sex all during the month of Beltane. By Midsummer, the goddess is pregnant. But what is she pregnant with? The God. Midsummer marks the beginning of the decline of the God as his vitality is transferred back to the Goddess. In plants this is very evident. They make their fruit and seeds, giving their vitality to that which will both nurture the Earth, the body of the Goddess, and insure further generations of the parent plant. The God is now lord of the Green. He's at his strongest. Light is triumphant in this longest day, but also doomed for in the days following, the days shorten and night prevails until Yule. It is telling symbolism that at the height of our being and purpose is when we fail and die. Only room to go down. Conversely, Yule, the sun's weakest point is also the day of light's triumph over darkness. In many traditions, the two halves of the year are symbolized by twin gods. These are often likened to the Oak Tree, which represents the Sun, and the Holly Tree, which represents the darkness. In these traditions, the Oak King, who reigns between Yule and Litha, battles and loses to the Holly King, who reigns between Litha and Yule. The Oak tree is an almost universal symbol of strength and so represents the God's height of power at Midsummer. Because it is especially prone to being struck by lightening, many cultures connect it to their sun gods. In California, we have perhaps the most diverse and numerous amount of Oak species in the world, including the Valley Oak, Black Oak, Coast Live Oak, Interior Live Oak, Engelmann Oak, Blue Oak and California Scrub Oak. |
|
|
|
||