What a frosty wintry day!!

 Evening Greetings,

Oh my! Apparently here in New England we've broken the record for snowfall in a 24 hour period of time. We've had appx 27 inches in Manchester and surrounding areas.  An enforced snow day from Mother Nature and at times I'm convinced we need it. In a bit I'll tell you how you can magickally use some of this snow in your rituals.

Something about the storm today made me become philosophical.  Perhaps its the isolation a storm creates, and a witch should be good with being alone as witchcraft is primarily a solitary practice. I spend much of my time alone, with my cats as company at work. Its a way of life and a state of being. So days like today make me introspective and I started to think of how the storm was affecting me.  I'd like to share my thoughts with you.

We are known for the stress we have in our lives today, but a lot of our stress in self created.  We are still very similar to our ancient ancestors in many biological ways. Although our ancestors worked very hard physically  and had a much more challenging existence by many measures,  we have more stress today because of how we live, work and play.

Even when we go on vacation we are often heard saying "we need a vacation from our vacation" and we as a culture often cram as many exciting, fun and energy packed things into our time off. If we have kids, well then, just multiply that stress by an unknown number!!

So, what do we do when Mother Nature says, "um you're staying home today".  Some will immediately stress about it!! It's a change after all.  Some will work from home, no doubt with less stress just because staying home can be easier than getting up and out of the house, traveling and being in an environment that is not your home, and even with a nice work environment it is just more stressful because you're out.  

 What did I do today? Well, I took a moment to open the door and step out for just a bit. I like to hear the 'silence' of a winter snowfall.  It somehow muffles the typical daytime sounds and it can be very isolating and that can be comforting or not, depending on you.  I like it. The idea of being shut off from the world for a day.  I accomplished more today than I might have otherwise, but it was on my terms and that made for less stress the entire day.

One thing I try to do after a snowfall like this one, is to take a clean plastic container and fill it with fresh, clean snow.  This will melt of course when brought indoors, unless you store it in the freezer, but it can be used as the water for the blessed water during the ritual.  It can  be used as a base for potions and brews you might wish to stir up.  The energy of freshly fallen snow has a strong vibration I find cleansing, purifying and healing.

Store some of the snow in the freezer, just in case for the Imbolc ritual we find ourselves with no snow on the ground. At least not clean snow, and I use it to place little cups of fresh milk in for the cakes n ale ceremony of our Sabbat ritual. It can also be used to keep the cheese cold on the altar that I use for the cakes part of the ceremony.  Because the first milk of spring is such a big part of the Imbolc Sabbat I like the idea of milk and cheese rather than the typical cakes, cookies, crackers and juice or water. 

Because I'm not crazy about drinking plain milk, I make mine chocolate milk, oh yes I do!  The Goddess  loves chocolate, so do I. You can make your milk strawberry if you'd prefer.  The spring Sabbat rituals can be, I feel,  a happy and joyous occasion.

After a strong heavy snowfall like this one today may make for some potential harvesting in your yard. Notice if any evergreen bushes have snapped or broken branches. These can add a nice element to any altar you have set up.  Fresh evergreen in the house doesn't just have to be for Christmas. It brings the energies of life, longevity, abundance and renewal to your home. You can also fashion a wand or walking staff from broken branches. 

You may also wish to venture out in your yard in the next day or so, just to push some of the heavy snow off of your plants, as the weight over time will break even old, strong plantings.  We need to pay attention to our plantings year round. We can't always save them all from natural events like this storm, but we can utilize the gifts they leave for us.

Just the other day a great customer of Enchantments stopped by and gifted me with a cut slab from a Rowan tree that had to be taken down. It was a slice of the trunk about 1/2 inch thick and 4 - 5 inches in diameter. It was a lovely gift and in this way they were honoring the spirit of the tree. It was a very thoughtful, completely witchy thing to do. 

This is a time of year our ancestors stayed indoors for practical as well as environmental reasons and even though work was seldom finished, the chores adjusted.  The witch in me today tries to adjust  to the world around me, at the same time I try to keep around me that which makes me happy and comfortable. I like love hearth cooking but I don't cook in my fireplace. No I use my stove.  I love my candles, but I'm the first person to switch on the lights as I walk into a dark room.  I've studied the lives and culture of people in Medieval times for many years and I appreciate personally indoor plumbing, modern lighting and modern heating methods.


We really live in the most amazing time as far as I'm concerned. We can have it all. The security of modern technology, medicine and knowledge and the freedom to wear cloaks, worship in the woods or in our homes with no societal or governmental repercussions.  We have the best of every world available today.  I must admit after my moment of silence in the midst of the storm, I then spent a few hours just researching on the Internet today and looking up things not because of a writing project or teaching assignment, but just because.  The world, at our fingertips.  Amazing.

Peace and Happiness





© 2010 Enchantments, LLC Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. 

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