January 29th
Imbolc is coming, and I've always struggled with the springtime sabats. I follow the wheel of the year more or less, and I do it because I enjoy it. Following the wheel of the year is very much a personal choice, like everything in the craft you can tailor your own experience to whatever you want. There is no "musts" or "must nots" in witchcraft, unless you're following a very particular traidition. Anyway, I like the wheel of the year for a few reasons. One reason is because it's based largely (but not fully) on what we know of ancient Celtic traditions, and as someone who's ancestors are Irish and Scottish that really appeals to me. I also love to recognize the changing of seasons as a witch who tries to be in touch with nature, and I also just have a lot of fun celebrating the sabats, I find they're fun holidays. But, especially with the spring sabats, there are some aspects that I find issue with.
As I mentioned, the sabats are roughly based on what we know of Celtic tradition, and the climate and season pattern in Britain and Europe is much different from the way seasons happen where I live, in North Western Ontario. So I find it frusterating, as someone who by February is incredibly OVER winter, that sabats like Imbolc are supposed to represent the coming of spring when it's still going to be very much winter until at least Beltane. There was a huge dump of snow here just yesterday, how am I supposed to feel like the days are getting warmer when at this point in the year there is no end in sight to the cold?
That's part of following a nature-based spirituality, I suppose. Nature is not going to adhere to the schedule that the wheel of the year sets out for it. So instead of focusing on ewes and warmer days and the first rumblings of new growth, on Imbolc I focus more on aspects of patience, of hope. I know the spring is coming, and the sun is out longer than it has been. It's started setting around 5 instead of 4:30, and that's a reason to rejoice for me. Instead of looking out for sprouts of growth in my garden I focus on keeping my sprout of hope for a better time alive. I start tidying the stale and stagnant winter energy from my home, a task that will take me through till Ostara. And I foster patience and try to apreciate this time of year instead of anxiously waiting for the snow to melt.
I am not a very patient person. My brain does this thing, where when it's in one state for too long I start to think that's the state I'll have to live in forever. When our pipes were frozen for around 8 hours earlier this winter I had a real moment of panic that we would never get our water back again. I don't know why, but whatever state I find myself in, it's hard for me to imagine things ever being different. So by this point of the winter, it's starting to weigh on my mind that maybe this time it will last forever. I know, of course, that it won't, but that's a rational knowing that does little to convince my emotional Picese brain. So Imbolc is a time to practice that patience and that trust in the natural world. The earth will continue to turn, the snow will melt, and summer will be here eventually. And winter should not just be a period of time I get through. Winter has her own reminders and lessons to give. Staying inside more gives us time to connect with the people around us. There is a certain kind of peace and tranquility that can only come when bundled up in a blanket on a cold day. And being outside in the winter reminds me of the resiliance of the natural world. If a tree can shed all her leaves and stand tall through -40 celsius temps only to blossom again in the spring, I can have ebbs and flows in my energy levels and know that I will return to full bloom someday. Winter reminds us that there is no such thing as perpetual growth, nothing in nature is in a constant state of productivity. Periods of rest are important, necessary.
So this Imbolc I will be resting, reminding myself how necessary it is to do so, and waiting. I'll also be cleansing our house with an incence blend of lavendar, birch bark, and lemon zest to promote peace, clarity, and energy. We still have a couple of months to spend mainly in the house, so I want to make it as nice a place to spend our time as possible. But mainly, I think, will be the resting and waiting and maybe some divination as well. I think that sounds just about right.
January 21st, 2025
well. three weeks into the new year, and I'm finally trying to be witchy again. I say i've been practicing the craft for 10-ish years, but it's been pretty on-and-off. i think that's normal, after all i regularily cycle between all kinds of interests. that's just how my brain works. I'm trying to be more regular with my practice, though, so that's part of what i'm going to do with this page, talk about my path to a regular practice that's sustainable for me. my issue, i think, is that i always start off doing as much as possible and it's never sustainable long-term. so, just like my current goal of building doable and sustainable morning and evening routines, i'm going to start small and build up as i go.
I haven't done any magical stuff since me and my wife moved to our new house a few months ago. moving into a new house took up all my time and energy for a long time, but now that we're pretty well settled i think it's time for me to really get back into it, especially because there are some things i want to do to ward the house that i just haven't got arround to. i'm not gonna talk too much about that online, bc what's the point of protective measures if you yap about them where anyone can see? but i will say that there are some things that i can't do until the ground thaws, especially because it's straight up too cold to be outside right now. there's going to be a lot of yard work to do come spring.
so. what is going to be my first little thing I add to my day to introduce more of that witchy energy? what should I try to introduce first. i'd love to say it'll be daily tarot pulls, or weekly spells or something, but honestly i think what i'll be able to do first is small acts of mindfullness and self care. pretty simple stuff, but my problem is it slips my mind. but here's what i'm going to try doing. every morning and night, when i'm brushing my teeth, washing my face, moisturizing, all that easy self care i do every day, i'm going to focus on caring for the soft body that is mine, and how that honours the animal and spirit that is me. One of my favourite books, The Altar Within by Juliet Diaz, talks a lot about how you are a holy thing, sacred, and by framing caring for yourself as worship you are able to recognize that you are not just a body, and you are not just a soul, you are a beautiful and unlikely combination of the two. Honestly I might want to read some passages from that book again, it is so lovely.
anyway, back to my plans going forward. I'm working on incorporating affirmations and redirecting my energy inwards daily, and hopefully when i'm able to do that reliably i'll be ready to add more elements of the craft. the first big thing I really want to do is a cleanse and ward of the new house, obviously, but I keep finding myself thinking that it's not the right time. We're not unpacked enough, the house needs to be cleaner, the moon isn't right, all that. I have to break out of that kind of thinking or else i'll never get anything done! the next new moon is in a week, and it's on a wednesday which isn't the best both because i work and because wednesday is associated with mercury and i would honestly prefer to do a big cleanse on a day associated with the moon, but again if i try to wait for the exact right time it's just not going to happen. so, let's make a plan to do it on wednesday. what do i need to do to make this happen then?
well, i want to have a clean house, and have it as unpacked and set up as possible. i don't have a lot going on in terms of stuff after work this week, so i can focus on getting the house clean and unpacking/organizing the few spaces left to get done, which is mosltly just the office and the craft room. And nothing has to be perfect either, just... a little more put together would be fine. and i mean, it's absolutley freezing out so getting some housework done now is a good a time as any, it's not like i'll be going outside. so, that's the mundane part decided on. now, what do i need to do magicaly?
well, i want not just to cleanse the house but to re-energize it with the vibes i want in there. and i will just say, there aren't really any bad vibes going on in there right now, like there's nothing that's making me feel like a cleansing is necessary other than the fact that i haven't done a full house cleanse yet and I'd like to. my favourite way to cleanse a space is smoke cleansing, but i'm also interested in doing a cleansing floor wash. idk, i'll have to think about that. but the energies i want to put into the house are ones that are comforting, clarifying, and energizing. i want my house to be a space where i recharge, discover, and find the energy to do my tasks and go out into the world. i could make a custom incence blend, that's something that i usually enjoy doing. and those three purposes could come together in some lovely ways to charge the house with. lavender for comfort, lemon or sage for clarity, coffee grounds for energy? idk, i'll have to check my correspondences to see what i want to use. i'll make a note to do that when i get home from work.
well, i think that's pretty much it for today. i have some good going-forward plans, and i'm feeling invigerated to be magical again after a while needing to focus on the mundane. my energies and where i'm able to put them ebb and flow, and though i haven't quite got used to the pattern yet, hopefully someday i will. or maybe i'll never be able to predict my needs, just acomodate them when they come up. that would be good too, i think.
