Litha is a time of magic and faeries. Also known as Midsummer, to many it seems strange to celebrate the halfway point when school vacations and warm weather have just begun! Today is the longest day of the year and the Sun is at the height of its power but it's a bittersweet joy as the days begin to shorten again, starting tomorrow.

This is a great time of year to harvest herbs for all of your magical workings. It's also a good time to begin your own witchy cupboard.  When harvesting herbs, remember to leave about 1/3 of the plant behind to propagate itself. This ensures a continual harvest throughout the growing season. Also, thank the spirit of the plant for its sacrifice and leave a small offering. Taking a page from Native American custom, a bit of tobacco is a good thank-you to the spirits of your garden but you could also sprinkle a bit of dried herb from a previous harvest. You can have your Mom help you bundle the herbs together and tie at the stems with twine or thread. Hang upside down in a cool, dark place until dry and then store them in pretty containers or even plastic baggies. Make sure all containers are labelled clearly as dried herbs tend to look a lot alike! (I'll never forget the time when hubby was making chilli and reached intomy witch's spice cabinet for something. He proceeded to add a generous sprinkling of  "dragon scales"  to the pot because I had recycled my old herb jars without taking the old label off! How he could have mistaken glittery pine cone shingles for cumin is beyond me but he did! We still laugh about that to this day but it wasn't very funny at the time.

One of our favourite activities at Midsummer is building a faery shelter for the little sprites to party and rest. Jett, my Cat, hunts for sticks, which he brings me to poke into the ground and then I lay large leaves over the top to form the roof. We decorate with flowers, bird feathers and smaller leaves. We leave out milk mixed with honey and bread and butter, cut into small pieces. We always get so very excited to find the containers emptied and the faery house turned upside down from their wild dancing.

You should always look around because many times the fae leave a small gift as a thank-you from the faeries. Things they leave could be many things such as shells from the sea, a small trinket that had been "lost" around the house (everyone knows they faeries love to play tricks!), a small bouquet of wild flowers,  It is a sure sign when they leave things  for you that they are happy that you thgout of them and they are happy with your creation.