Spirits of Winter
As Witches and spiritual folk, we believe that we’re all connected, and that everything has a spirit.
In my practice, I believe that the entire point of life is to create memories, which are fed into the collective soul memory.
These memories endure.
These memories endure.
When Winter settles in, we are confronted by the reality of a world built on hustle culture, and as nature slows down and demands rest, we can feel deeply unsettled. We’re at odds with nature by trying to maintain a level of activity which is perhaps beyond us in the first place.
We find ourselves more exposed to sickness, and not just because sickness can thrive in wintry conditions… but because we’re exhausted.
What’s more, is that the modality before Christmas is built on commercialisation – you are bombarded by advertisements of how a “happy family” looks, and presents get more expensive (well, cost of living alone is putting people through the ringer…)
We are being influenced to jump through hoops, attend every party, fulfil every excursion and to spend, spend, spend…
We are being influenced to jump through hoops, attend every party, fulfil every excursion and to spend, spend, spend…
Which puts us out of connection with our human ancestors, who traditionally were pretty careful about their resources.
Lavish Christmas parties were traditionally the operation of royalty.
Lavish Christmas parties were traditionally the operation of royalty.
Winter was a time of lack, and death, to our ancestors.
It still can be today.
In some parts of the world right now, that’s all there is.
In some parts of the world right now, that’s all there is.
Perhaps we feel the mourning and the fear of our ancestors in the Winter months, remembering how they felt in lack.
Their worries that the Sun would not come back, or all of them would not survive the harshness.
Even today, not everyone survives the Winter harshness.
We are not always able to retreat, to rest deeply, to breathe that cold air into our lungs and take a moment.
Modern life doesn’t always permit it.
So at the altar I affirm to all the memories of my ancestors; we are warm, we are fed, we are housed, we are safe.
We might dream great dreams to make abundant in spring seeds.
We once again draw power from the evergreens, and we honour the energies of death in the Birch trees.
We cannot fight it, ignore it or resist it.
We simply walk along side it.
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