The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More - Arin Murphy-Hiscock 2017
Seasonal Cycles and Energy
Manifest the Power of the Seasons
Discovering the Green Witch
AWARENESS OF THE NATURAL RHYTHM of the solstices and equinoxes and how they are reflected in her own geographical location form the axis of the green witch’s practice. The solar year is made up of four distinct seasons, each with resonance for the green witch. These four seasons can provide the basis for personal practice and the creation of a unique tradition specific to you as an individual green witch.
The four seasons also allow you to formally recognize the flow of seasonal energy and honor it. Set aside some time on or around the first day of the season to meditate upon the changes in energy that you are feeling in your environment. Meditate on the part of the life cycle the season represents. This chapter will provide suggested meditations for the solstices and equinoxes. They follow the traditional symbolic associations of each season.
It is important to feel the rise and fall, the ebb and flow, and the different “flavors” of seasonal energy. This is key to harmonizing the self with nature. Nature has rhythms; you have rhythms. To harmonize means to match your personal rhythms with the rhythms of your environment. This maximizes your interaction with nature so that you can communicate more clearly with it. Observe and note the rhythms of the weather where you live on a regular basis. The weather has great influence both over your environment and over your own personal energy.
Seasonal Cycles and Energy
No matter where you live, your weather cycles form a recognizable pattern over a full calendar year. The vegetation grows and falls back in a pattern over the year. The animal population follows certain behavioral patterns. As the earth’s angle and distance from the sun change, the seasonal cycle embodies the basic relationship between light and dark. The concept of darkness is necessary in the natural cycle: without darkness, there can be no fallow period during which the earth regains its strength, seeds will not germinate, animals will not bear their young in season.
When we observe the four seasons, we can categorize the climate shifts and environmental responses that occur over the calendar year. When we observe a certain event happening in the natural world, for example, we can say, “Ah, now it is spring.” That event may be different for your neighbor, for someone in the next time zone, or someone in the other hemisphere or south of the equator. We all have personal associations with seasonal events that really bring home what time of year it is. These associations are part of our personal connection with the natural world around us.
In North America and Europe, there are four seasons that begin on specific days and at specific times. Climate changes are created by the orbit of the earth around the sun. As earth orbits the sun, the earth’s surface is exposed to more or fewer of the sun’s effects. This is caused by the angle of declination of the axis of the planet. The amount of sunlight triggers behavioral responses in plants and animals, including humans.
In ancient cultures, the seasons were often named according to the natural phenomena of the geographic location and were often calculated through observation of the movements of stars and planets, or events such as flooding or the movements of herds. Today, in some areas the seasons are classified by temperature (the hot season, the cold season) or by meteorological events (the rainy season, the dry season).
In North America, although the seasons are determined by the astronomical position of the sun and the earth, meteorologically the approximate dates March 21, June 21, September 21, and December 21 are used to mark the beginning of spring, summer, fall, and winter. If a different date in these months makes more sense to you where you live and corresponds to how seasonal differences manifest in your environment, why not use them? The point of living as a green witch is to be in tune with your surroundings. Adhering to a date simply because it is a standard date does not always make sense when it comes to celebrating the changing seasons. If spring arrives earlier or later than March 21 in your area, as reflected in the plant and animal kingdoms and in your own soul, then by all means, celebrate the beginning of spring at a different time. Spring doesn’t have to come on the same day every year, either. Perhaps one year you sense that spring has arrived on April 2, for example, and the next year you feel that it has already arrived on March 12. Trust your instinct. It is responding to the energies flowing through your locale.
As the green witch lives a practical life, the four seasons offer both practical and spiritual opportunities for learning more about nature and living in harmony with it. The beginnings of the four seasons are specific points at which to pause and evaluate your life. This isn’t only useful for spiritual evaluation; it’s also good for practical purposes, such as cutting back the dead growth in the garden, pruning trees, harvesting the last of your crops, washing windows, clearing out the garage, and doing general housecleaning.
The true feelings of the season can arrive earlier or later than the calendar indicates. It is up to you as a green witch to observe, trust, and choose to celebrate when you feel the season has truly arrived. Remember, the key to developing your own personal practice is forging your own connection with the energy flow of the year as it is influenced by the weather and climate where you live. If you live south of the equator, remember that these equinoxes and solstices are reversed, and use the appropriate meditation for your season.
TIDES OF THE YEAR
The seasonal tides echo the natural cycle in the inner life of the green witch.
1. Spring equinox to summer solstice: the growing tide
2. Summer solstice to autumn equinox: the reaping tide
2. Autumn equinox to winter solstice: the resting tide
3. Winter solstice to spring equinox: the cleansing tide
These four tides may be seen as stages of your life. The cyclic nature of life is reflected in your relationships and careers and what you learn as you grow. You can imagine it as a spiral. The energies of seasonal tides give the green witch opportunities to look inside herself and see all nature reflected in miniature there.