Also known as Alban Hefin.
Deities: Apollo, Balder, Oak King, Holly King, Sul, Isis, Hestia.
Colours: Sea green, red, gold, brown.
Incense: Frangipani, violet, cedar, St John's Wort, basil.
Traditional Motifs: Oak leaves, acorns, antlers, straw wheels, bees, honey, floating candles, cauldrons, marigolds, ivy.

At the Summer Solstice the sun is at its highest and brightest and the day is at its longest. The Lord of Light has fought the powers of darkness, and is triumphant, ensuring fertility in the land. But in so doing, He sows the seeds of His own death. The Wheel turns and the Goddess shows Her Death-in-Life aspect, the Earth is fertile and all is in bloom, the Goddess reaches out to the fertilising Sun God at the height of His Powers. The Goddess is now heavily pregnant just as the Earth is full and ready to share Her bounty. The Summer Solstice is a time of fulfilment of love. Flowers are in bloom everywhere, ready for pollination, fertilisation, yet once fertilised they die so that the seeds and fruits may develop. At the same time, summer fruits appear, for a short but delicious season.

Although the days begin to grow shorter after Litha, the time of greatest abundance is still to come. The promises of the Goddess and God are still to be fulfilled. This is a time of beauty, love, strength, energy, rejoicing in the warmth of the sun, and the promise of the fruitfulness to come. It seems a carefree time, yet the knowledge of life is the knowledge of death, and beauty is but transitory. Pagans celebrate life, and the triumph of light, but also acknowledge death.

In many British Pagan traditions, the tale of the Oak and Holly King, the light and dark lords, is told. The Oak King represents the waxing year, Mid Winter to Mid Summer, while the Holly King represents the waning year, Mid Summer to Mid Winter. They are both necessary because without decay and destruction no new growth can begin. Twice a year they meet each other and fight. At Yule it was the Oak King who won the battle. At the Summer Solstice, although light is at its strength, it also is the peak of the Oak King's reign, he is conquered by his darker twin, the Holly King, and the inevitable journey towards the darkness and the depths begins.

The above information has come from a number of sources including "Magick without Peers" by Ariadne Rainbird and David Rankine, as well as articles written by Mike Nichols.