Litha, or Midsummer, is the quintessential solar celebration. It centers around the sun with good reason, as this sabbat marks the longest day and shortest night of the year. The sun is seen to be at the height of its power. For these reasons, it is a sabbat that often celebrates the divine masculine and corresponding male deities. However, the divine feminine also has a foothold on this day. Cultures around the world bring to us a plethora of solar associated goddesses, some who possess an inseparable link with Midsummer itself.
Aine (Irish)
The Irish goddess Aine is the embodiment of protection, love, fertility, and good health. It is said that her power reaches its pinnacle on Midsummer’s Day. Her associations with fertility also gained her status as an agricultural deity. She is petitioned for blessings of protection and success of the season’s crops. She is often depicted as riding a flaming red mare—which conjures a visual connection to the flaming sun that she is so interconnected with. Midsummer has bountiful lore and a long connection to the fairy realms—and so does Aine. She is so embedded into Irish culture that several modern families claim to have Aine in their ancestral line. She is associated with several sacred sites in Ireland, some of which bear forms of her name within the Irish form of their titles, such as Toberanna, which in Irish is Tobar Aine. The goddess Aine has even managed to survive the infiltration of Christianity among the Irish people by being reinvented as a fairy queen! If you honor the fairy folk on Midsummer, remember to give a nod to the goddess Aine as well.
Sol, or Sunna (Norse)
Another goddess of the Sun who is connected with its journey across the sky comes to us from the cosmology of the Norse. The goddess Sol, or Sunna, is viewed as the Sun personified. She travels across the sky on a horse-drawn chariot and rules the daily cycle of light and dark. Sunna’s journey across the sky, and rising and setting, became logically very closely associated with agriculture and the cycle of the crops. This continues a developing theme of solar goddesses with a good steed as deities of agriculture. Sunna’s constant presence in the sky in the form of the Sun is often said to be a visual reminder of the gods’ presence in our lives and reminds us to call upon them for assistance in times of need.
Amaterasu (Japanese)
As we have seen, many of these solar manifestations of the divine feminine often embody many maternal qualities. If we head to the Far East and to Japan, we are introduced to Amaterasu, who is a solar goddess that offers her followers compassionate and nurturing protection. She is actually properly categorized as a Kami. Kami are the indigenous spirits in Japan’s Shinto religion and Amaterasu is venerated as the top Kami of the Shinto pantheon. Further reinforcing her image as a maternal figure, the Japanese imperial family claims that their lineage descends from her. Her central mythology revolves around her retreat into a cave in reaction to rude actions on the part of her brother, Susano—a storm god, who defiled the rice fields of which she held dominion over. This in turn plunged the world into darkness as she is indeed considered the sun personified. This threatened the success of the crops and the health of the people. One version of the conclusion of the story sees Amaterasu drawn out of the cave by alluring reflections, including the beauty of her own reflection, from a mirror placed outside the entrance of the cave by other Kami. Legend has it that Amaterasu’s mirror, called “Yasakani no magatama,” hangs even today in the Ise Grand Shrine in Mie Prefecture, Japan. The cave in which she is said to have withdrawn into is also nearby. The round mirror’s appearance even conjures solar symbolism. The story itself fundamentally shows how the life giving power of the sun was attributed to the maternal divine feminine and the importance to and dependence of the people upon its powers for survival. When cast in that light, it becomes very easy to see the sun personified as feminine rather than masculine.
Bastet, or Bast (Egyptian)
One popular and very maternal goddess worshiped by many as a lunar deity, Bastet, in fact has origins as a solar goddess. More simply and popularly called Bast, she is now in many places worshiped as both a solar and a lunar goddess. Bast is not viewed as the sun personified; however, her solar links are undeniably strong. She is commonly considered the daughter, or in some circles the wife, of sun god Ra. Ra is considered to be the sun himself. Bast’s popularity among magickal folk is really no surprise. She holds dominion over a wide array of life areas including fertility, prosperity, healing, love, parenting, childhood, and more. Her dominion over cats is likely a solidifying factor for her relationship to many modern magick makers—as witches and cats are often an almost synonymous pairing. Her annual festival, called Bubastis, is a rowdy celebration of sexuality, music, dance, and great joy. Bubastis could be perhaps (and often is) described as a combination of Beltane and Mardi Gras!
Roman Goddesses of Dawn
The Romans offer us not one but two goddesses of the dawn. One of them is Mater Matuta. Among her areas of specialty is the protection of newborn babies. This is not at all surprising when we consider the symbolism of the dawn of a new day, and the growth of the sacred light on the horizon and into the sky, as parallel to the birth and raising of a newborn child. Both ring of the birth of life and new beginnings. Secondly, Mater Matuta falls into good company with the long line of solar goddesses with maternal instincts. The second solar goddess that comes to us from the Romans is Aurora. She is the light of the dawn embodied, and like the Norse Sunna, rides a chariot across the sky. It is important to note that Aurora is not considered as the sun, but rather the spirit of the dawn’s light. The sun and the moon are Aurora’s brother, Sol, and sister, Luna. A fun bit of lore is that Aurora is associated with the exotic spice saffron. It is said that the bed she leaves every morning for her chariot ride across the sky is made of saffron. Of course, the golden color of saffron is also the color of the radiant light of the shining dawn.
From the goddess-turned-fairy-queen Aine to the chariot rides of Sunna and Aurora, we can see that Litha is the territory of the divine feminine and solar goddesses as much as it is a celebration of the god. This Midsummer’s Day may you and yours be blessed with the abundance, protection, and maternal compassion of the solar goddesses!
Bibliography
Dugan, Ellen. The Enchanted Cat: Feline Fascinations, Spells & Magick. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2006.
Illes, Judika. Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses. New York: Harper One, 2009.
Krasskova, Galina. Exploring the Northern Tradition: A Guide to the Gods, Lore, Rites, and Celebrations From the Norse, German, and Anglo-Saxon Traditions. Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page Books, 2005.