Midsummer - the longest day of the year, and exactly opposite Yule in the wheel of the year. Litha, the Summer Solstice, occurs around 21st June - although the date varies from year to year depending on when the actual solstice occurs astronomically, so it's more accurate to say that it falls between 20th-23rd June.

Yellow is the colour I associate most strongly with this festival- which is why the circle in my garden is surrounded by plants which put forth yellow blooms at the time of the solstice. Yellow, gold, oranges, reds - all hot, fiery colours reminiscent of the Sun.

My celebration of the solstice is, as is my wont, quiet and 'low key'. It's perhaps a little more formal than the way in which I mark the equinoxes, but not markedly so. The one little 'ritual' that I always carry out is to pour a libation of wine or fruit juice at the base of my passionflower - an offering to the Goddess.