St. John's Night: Pagan Origins, Magical Rites, and Italian Traditions
- Dott.Marco Matteoli
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
June 24th is the day that Christianity dedicated to the birth of Saint John the Baptist—a date very close to the night of the summer solstice (June 21st), the one Shakespeare called Midsummer Night.
Rome, May 21, 2025
Dr. Marco Matteoli
Radiologist, Freelance Journalist, Red Cross Volunteer.
The Christian tradition recounts that John the Baptist, the last prophet before Jesus, was imprisoned by Herod on charges of subversion. Herod's daughter, Salome—instigated by her own mother, Herodias—requested the prophet’s head to be served on a platter.
Salome and her mother Herodias were later portrayed as witches (in the negative sense of the term) following the beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Legend has it that they still wander as malevolent spirits, haunting men—especially on the night of Saint John. During the Middle Ages, Salome came to embody the archetype of the witch: beautiful, skilled, seductive, and treacherous.
In pre-Christian times, rural peoples—especially among the Celts—celebrated various apotropaic rituals on the day of the summer solstice (June 21st), aimed at protecting crops from summer drought and invoking abundance. In the traditional Celtic calendar, Midsummer’s Day fell between the festivals of Beltane and Lughnasadh, and it is now known in the Wiccan calendar as Litha.
The Night of Saint John (June 24th) is rich in esoteric and religious symbolism: it is one of the shortest nights of the year, falling just after the summer solstice. Although it originated as a pagan festival, it is still celebrated in many parts of Italy today as a distinctly Christian observance. Like many Christian holidays, the Feast of Saint John absorbed numerous ancient sun cults of pagan origin.
Tradition holds that one must gather the "dew of Saint John": at least 24 types of herbs and flowers, picked the day before, are placed in a bowl of water and left outside on the night of June 23rd. On the morning of the 24th, the dew is collected. According to folk belief, this dew-charged water holds powerful healing properties.
Legend has it that in the city of Benevento, during this Sabbat, the famous witches’ dances took place around a great walnut tree. It was said that the witches would gather herbs to craft potions with which to “enchant” men.
Some ancient texts—though often imprecise—describe the ingredients of the famous flying ointment used by these women to "fly." The recipe included psychotropic alkaloid-rich substances such as belladonna, henbane, mandrake, and datura stramonium, mixed with animal fat and combined with aromatic herbs, menstrual blood, saliva, hair, or nail clippings.
The effects of this unguent reportedly included sensations of levitation, trance states, out-of-body experiences, vivid dreams, and what was described as night flight.
“Sott’ a’ ll’acqua
e sott’ ‘o viento
jamm’ a’ ‘o noce
‘e Beneviento”
—Phrase spoken by the witches of Benevento before taking flight.
In Rome—especially in ancient times—this celebration was known as the "Festival of Saint John's Snails" (la festa delle lumache di San Giovanni). It was a time when people who had argued or fallen out during the year would come together to reconcile and share a meal of snails in tomato sauce, a traditional dish also called ciumacata.
To ward off witches, Romans would light Saint John's fires at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, ring cowbells, and place brooms at the threshold of their homes. According to folklore, a witch trying to enter would first be forced to count every twig of the broom or every grain of salt, thus losing her focus or interest.
Even today, in many homes, the night of June 21st, the summer solstice, is an opportunity to honor the brightest moment of the year with small domestic rituals inspired by Neopagan and Wiccan traditions.
In particular, the celebration of Litha, the Summer Solstice, is seen as the peak of solar energy—a moment when light temporarily triumphs over darkness, just before the cycle of shadow begins to return.
Freemasonry, particularly of the Anglo-Saxon and Scottish traditions, also honors June 24th—the day it commemorates its own founding, which took place in London in 1717.
Saint John the Baptist is considered the patron of the medieval guilds from which Freemasonry traces its origins. He stands in symbolic balance with Saint John the Evangelist, who is honored on December 27th.
Litha and the Night of Saint John are also associated with a time when “the veil between worlds is thin.” In many legends from the Apennine region, it was believed that on the night of Saint John, fairies danced in the woods, leaving behind rings of tall grass—so-called “fairy circles”—in the fields.
Those who dared to enter without respect risked losing their way or going mad. Some modern theories—mostly circulating online—draw parallels between alien abduction stories and fairy folklore, suggesting a shared mythological root.
On the other hand, those who left a bowl of milk or honey at the edge of the forest might receive prophetic dreams or a blessing from the little folk.
Those who wish to reconnect with this symbolic and spiritual dimension can create a simple Litha home altar, where each element and color represents the energies of this turning point in the year.
Here are some suggestions for setting up your altar:
A yellow or golden candle, to represent the Sun at the height of its power;
Fresh flowers, gathered at sunset on June 21st;
Sacred herbs such as St. John's Wort, lavender, mugwort, and vervain;
A small bowl of water with flower petals, to evoke the dew of Saint John;
Some authors recommend burning a blend of incenses, made from frankincense, golden copal, cinnamon, St. John's Wort, mountain pine, red sandalwood, dammar, elemi, and patchouli;
Decorate the altar with the colors yellow, green, and orange, and with stones such as amber, citrine quartz, topaz, tiger's eye, clear quartz, or carnelian.
During the night, you can sit in silent meditation, light the candle, and offer symbolic thanks to the light for its gifts—or to your personal deity or guardian spirit—asking for strength and clarity to face the second half of the year.
In this way, Litha becomes a bridge between cultures: a chance to reconnect with the cycles of nature and to rediscover how the memory of ancient rites continues to burn—quietly but vividly—in the hearts of women and men today.
“[...] If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended—
That you have but slumbered here
While these visions did appear”
— Shakespeare, Midsummer night dream.
To learn more:
1- Siliprandi, L. (2025) Il fascino degli incensi. Phanes Publishing;
2- Ferrante, D. and D’Alessandro, G. (2021) Tradizioni, riti e sortilegi del 24 Giugno: San Giovanni battista nella cultura Popolare Abruzzese. Tabula fati;
3- Gravina, E. (2014) Streghe e Magia. Storia, formule e rituali delle streghe di Benevento. Benevento: Edizioni B.B.T;
4- Cunningham, S. (2004) Wicca. Armenia editore;
5 - Spagnolo, F. (2004) Il piccolo popolo. Fate, elfi, gnomi, folletti e altre meraviglie nelle tradizioni dei popoli d’Europa. L’età dell’acquario.
Comments