Set Up a Litha & Yule Altar for the Northern & Southern Hemisphere! (Patreon)

Litha is coming up for the Northern Hemispherr and Yule is coming up for the Southern Hemisphere! If you’re looking for some ideas to decor your altar, keep reading! These are two great resources that give good suggestions. How’re you decorating your altar for Litha or Yule?

t's Litha, and that means the sun is at its highest point in the sky. Midsummer is the time when we can celebrate the growing of crops, and take heart in knowing that the seeds we planted in the spring are now in full bloom. It's a time of celebrating the sun, and spending as much time as you can outdoors. Try to set up your Midsummer altar outside if at all possible. If you can't, that's okay -- but try to find a spot near a window where the sun will shine in and brighten your altar setup with its rays.

Colors of the Season

This sabbat is all about the sun celebration, so think of solar colors. Yellows, oranges, fiery reds and golds are all appropriate this time of year. Use candles in bright sunny colors, or cover your altar with cloths that represent the solar aspect of the season. If you have the opportunity to do an outdoor altar, consider painting a piece of furniture, such as a table or cabinet, in bright colors to reflect the solar theme. Don't forget the lights—candles, citronella lamps, and even twinkly string lights are available in every color, so bring that solar energy out even when it gets dark in the evening!

In chakra work, the color orange or red-orange is related to the sacral area, which is associated with creativity and inventive ideas. Using colors in orange tones is a great way to revitalize your passion for art, music, and other creative ideas. Yellow is tied to the solar plexus, and our need to develop a healthy self-esteem. If you're doing Litha rituals or working to improve the way your feel about yourself, and give your confidence and personal power a boost, you can't go wrong with shades of yellow!

Solar Symbols

Litha is when the sun is at its highest point above us. In some traditions, the sun rolls across the sky like a great wheel—consider using pinwheels or some other disc to represent the sun. Circles and discs are the most basic sun symbol of all, and are seen as far back as the tombs of ancient Egypt. Use sun masks or equal-armed crosses, such as the Brighid's Cross, or even the swastika—remember, it was originally a good luck symbol to both the Hindus and Scandinavians before it became associated with the Nazis.

Think about some of the other things that represent the sun to you. Are you growing a garden? Pluck a basket of fruit, or a bowl of vegetables, sun-warmed and fresh, to place upon your altar. Are you creative? Use watercolors to paint an image of the sun, flowers in a field, a beach, or other images that represent the sun's power and energy to you.

A Time of Light and Dark

The solstice is also a time seen as a battle between light and dark. Although the sun is strong now, in just six months the days will be short again. Much like the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King, light and dark must battle for supremacy. At this sabbat, darkness wins, and the days will begin to grow shorter once more. Decorate your altar with symbols of the triumph of darkness over light—and that includes using other opposites, such as fire and water, night and day, etc.

Other Symbols of Litha

Pick some midsummer flowers from your garden—or buy them from the local farmer's market—and display them in bowls and vases around your house. If you've got outdoor flowers of your own growing, great! Make sure you give them lots of water on hot sunny days.

Make some Gods Eyes in sunny colors to hang up around your home, and on your doors to greet your guests. They're easy to make, and you can use any color you like. Reds, golds, yellows, and oranges are seasonally appropriate this time of year.

Are you growing Sunflowers? They'll be well on their way to being tall by the time midsummer arrives, so harvest a few to decorate inside your home. Be sure to leave some outdoors though; birds love sunflower seeds as a summertime snack!

Oak trees and acorns are associated with solar power and energy, and they'll be flourishing at this time. Get out there and pick leaves and acorns, and bring them indoors to decorate your altar.

Setting Up Your Yule Altar

Yule is the time of year when Pagans around the world celebrate the Winter Solstice. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, this will be on or around December 21, but if you're below the Equator, your Yule celebration will fall in June. This Sabbat is considered the longest night of the year, and following Yule, the sun begins its long journey back to earth. Try some or even all of these ideas — obviously, space may be a limiting factor for some, but use what calls to you most.

Colors of the Season

Winter is here, and even if the snow hasn't fallen yet, there's a definite chill in the air. Use cold colors to decorate your altar, such as blues and silvers and whites. Also find ways to include the reds, whites and greens of the season. Evergreen boughs never go out of style, so add some dark greens as well.

In modern Pagan magical practice, red is often associated with passion and sexuality. However, for some people, red indicates prosperity. In chakra work, red is connected with the root chakra, located at the base of the spine. Holistic Healing Expert Phylameana Iila Desy says, "This chakra is the grounding force that allows us to connect to the earth energies and empower our beings."

If you're using white on your altar at Yule, consider incorporating it into rituals that focus on purification, or your own spiritual development. Hang white snowflakes and stars around your home as a way of keeping the spiritual environment clean. Add plump white pillows filled with herbs to your couch, to create a quiet, sacred space for your meditation. Since winter solstice is the season of the sun, gold is often associated with solar power and energy. If your tradition honors the return of the sun, why not hang some gold suns around your house as a tribute?

Use a gold candle to represent the sun on your altar.

Cover your altar with a cloth in a cool color, and then add candles in a variety of different wintery shades. Use candles in silvers and golds — and sparkle is always good too!

Symbols of Winter

Yule is a Sabbat that reflects the return of the sun, so add solar symbols to your altar. Gold discs, yellow candles, anything bright and shiny can represent the sun. Some people even get a large pillar candle, inscribe it with solar symbols, and designate it as their sun candle. You can also add evergreen boughs, sprigs of holly, pinecones, a Yule log, and even Santa Claus. Consider antlers or reindeer, along with other symbols of fertility.

Try incorporating sacred plants associated with the winter solstice as well. Evergreen boughs like pines, fir, juniper and cedar are all part of the evergreen family, and they’re typically associated with themes of protection and prosperity, as well as that of a continuation of life and renewal. Hang a sprig of holly in your house to ensure good luck and safety to your family. Wear it as a charm, or make holly water (which you probably read as holy water!) by soaking leaves overnight in spring water under a full moon. Use birch branches to craft your own besom for magical workings, and in spells and rituals related to enchantments, renewal, purification, fresh starts and new beginnings.

Other Signs of the Season

There's no limit to the number of things you can put on your Yule altar, as long as you've got the space. Consider some of these items as part of your Sabbat decor:

Fruit and nuts: add bowls of winter nuts, like walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts, or fresh fruit such as oranges and apples, to your altar

Mistletoe, which symbolizes fertility and abundance, is often associated with the winter holidays around the world

Snowflakes, icicles, or even a bowl of snow can come in handy for wintertime magic

Candy canes: although they're typically associated with the Christmas holiday, candy canes can be utilized in magic as a way to direct energy

Bells are often included in Pagan practice as a way of driving away evil spirits, but you can also use them as a method of bringing harmony to a magical space

Sun wheels and other solar symbols are a great way to establish your connection to the sun as it begins its long journey back to the earth

Sources:

Wigington, Patti. "Setting Up Your Litha Altar." Learn Religions, Aug. 28, 2020, learnreligions.com/setting-up-your-litha-altar-2562243.

Wigington, Patti. "Setting Up Your Yule Altar." Learn Religions, Aug. 28, 2020, learnreligions.com/setting-up-a-yule-altar-2562996.

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