Seasonal Magic
In this month of February there was the Celtic holiday of Imbolc and also the full moon which was the Quickening Moon. Both of these are supposed to signal the return to life and that our energy and power is coming back; the fire within us is growing. Which is all super cool and powerful and great and we love it! Except…
I’m a son of Winter. A Winter Witch. A child of the cold and snows. I don’t know why that is; maybe my northern European heritage where I am physiologically designed for colder temperatures (read: big ol’ Bear) or maybe there is something about the shorter days and longer nights that call to me and create the liminal spaces I like to work and play in. In the Fall when the days begin to get shorter and the air becomes crisp; that is when I feel my power getting stronger. By the peak of Winter Solstice, I feel like I am at my most powerful and there is no spell, ritual, or Will-Working I can’t handle. Then the thaw starts and the temperatures get warmer, my zest starts to diminish. I do not become powerless, but it isn’t the space I feel strongest in.
I am not sure everyone who practices magic feels these changes in the season. I am an Air magician after all and deal strongly with elemental and nature magic, making me keenly aware of these changes. I know not everyone is elementally connected as magically as I am or it is not super integral to their practice, but it is interesting how much of Sun and Fire worship we have incorporated to our magic culture and how we are supposed to go through these collective experiences with it. For those new to magic, what if they don’t feel the “Quickening” or the “Fire returning” because they never felt a dormant phase in winter? Are they just supposed to pretend and say the right code words to stay in the club? I don’t think so and I think we as a community need to broaden our lens on how we are viewing magic.
The magical landscape is changing and growing, and I believe some of the suppressed areas are coming to the surface again. Even Death Workers are become a larger movement. So why not have folks who celebrate to Winter and all the power it has to offer? Let each Season hold is power and let folks who revel and feel most powerful in their Season shine during those times. The reconstructionist “Old Ways” don’t have to stay the same just because it’s what feels right to the few. Why create walls where there can be windows.
