Seasons of Change


I read this post and it spoke to me. As I progress further in my path I am beginning to see that as the world changes, my practice changes; especially with the climate issues battering the world. The original calendar really doesn’t apply anymore. It has become evident to me that I must throw any notion of that calendar out the window and truly pay attention the land and climate around me in order to truly connect with seasons and the land. The calendar of Sabbat dates is fast becoming irrelevant because the Earth has changed, her cycles are not as they were with our ancestors, I’m not even sure our ancestors would recognise the land we live in today.

The seasons here have been interesting, a hotter than average summer, a deluge of almost never before seen proportions on one day in February followed by a sudden and unusual greening because of the moisture in the land. Autumn actually came swiftly but somehow lasted longer than it has previously. May saw some unusually warm weather after a fairly cool April, thankfully it was just gentle warmth. Nothing too spectacular or unpleasant. June has been cool but not the winter I had hoped for. As yet we’ve not experienced anything truly cold, it has been very wet so far though, which was a surprise considering it has been predicted that winter will be warmer and drier than normal.

The winter solstice is in less than a week, but I don’t feel it, I don’t feel that the time is quite right. We are not celebrating the renewal of the sun or the dark half of the year giving way to the light. We’ve barely experienced the dark half of the year yet. There is comfort in tradition, but when the tradition does not match the reality, sometimes it can confuse and confound. It has been something of a revelation looking to something other than tradition to begin building a more authentic self practice. I generally only celebrate the solstices and equinoxes, rarely the other four sabbats. However, for each Sabbat I do cook dinner for my family, this has become somewhat of a tradition and one I embrace.


My Oak is perhaps the best example of this change. She is still holding her leaves. She is slowly changing colour but not too many years ago, by this time she was bare. At this time, there are still so many green leaves. Even the Oak has recognized that the seasons are not what she has been used to in her previous years. While I will cook dinner for my family on June 21st, I know that Yule, for me, will likely not be until late July. The Spring equinox will be closer to the end of August when trees begin to bud and flowers start their showing. By the time September 21st rolls round, I imagine everything will be out in bloom and celebrating their welcoming of the sun. If I was to go by the past summer, the pinnacle of it was late January not December 21st, I think the Autumn Equinox was perhaps the only one that feel in or around when it was meant to. The weather had begun to cool, some trees had begun to change and the usual hot weather we experience in March had begun to fade.

Now I have to look beyond what has been ingrained over the years of my practice. Now I must walk to the tune of nature as she is now, not how I perceive she should be. I almost feel as though I should begin from scratch, as if I had never practiced before and am building my own path out of what is now instead of what is considered ‘right’. I am going to create a ‘Genius Loci Profile’; a good example of one is here; it is important that as the land around me changes, I understand it more, connect with it more and truly understand the spirit of the place where I live. My practice has stagnated, it has not grown nor evolved and I have become lackluster in my approach to anything Craft related. I think I have lost my inspiration and somehow I must seek to find it, to re-ignite the passion that drove me previously. I haven’t centered my spirit on my witchcraft in some time, so caught up with other things such as writing, creating herbal remedies and trying to get past ill health that continues to dog me.

I really do believe that the best thing is to start as though I know nothing and rediscover what I do know, what Spirit knows and what witch lies within. I don’t intend that this blog will become some 101 thing, but I think it will document the progress I make during my rediscovery. Sometimes I think we all have to go back to the beginning to find our way again.

Comments

  1. Very thought provoking. I read the other post you linked to and shared that on my FB page (http://facebook.com/ittybittycelticwitch). As a norther hemisphere witch its slightly strange hearing about you write about June as winter when I celebrated the summer solstice yesterday teehee. I think I’m somewhere in the middle the old traditions speak to me and yet I am consciously trying to adapt my lifestyle to help mother earth amidst climate change.
    All the best,
    Sarah

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  2. I too have found it challenging incorporating traditional holiday dates into my practice. Living Ina place where there is little to no seasonal change makes it difficult to relate to Yule. Being an eclectic helps me as it broadens the palette from which I paint my practice. Bright blessings to you as you explore your path.

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