Blog Article

Seasonal Timing and Spell Casting by the Wheel of the Year

There is no right or wrong way to walk a magical path, but if you focus on working with the magic that manifests during the different seasons and follow the energy of the yearly cycle of birth, growth, death, and rebirth you may find a deeper connection to the energy that is present all around us. Since magic works with the natural cycles of the earth and the heavens, by using the festivals that occur within the seasons to time your spellwork, you will empower your magic.

Winter

It is during this time that the pace of the natural world slows down; some things die entirely and some merely lie dormant, waiting for the return of the warmth and the light. This is the time to turn inward, to be quiet, and to let your spirit renew itself after a long year of striving and dream the coming year into being. The element to work with for your winters spellwork is earth. Winter is good to work magic for: Protection, grounding, the home, prosperity, fertility, ancestors, stability, wealth, strength, death, and rebirth.

• Yule is the first festival of the winter season and is the longest night of the year – the time of greatest darkness and of severe cold in many areas of the world. The energy is slow, internalized and withdrawn. It is a time of incubation, hibernation, and conserving energy. This is a time for candle magic and divination. Spell cast for: feeling lost, finding your way through the darkness. Clearing of negativity and space clearing can also be worked with during Yule
• Imbolc is a festival of growth, mothering, new life, and nurturing the tender newness of the coming spring. Because of the newness there is an innocence and heightened sensitivity to the energy of this festival, it has a pure, invigorating, sweet quality that can be worked into your magic. Spell cast for: the future, new life, young ones, hopes, dreams, kindness, and care. To create optimism, self-love, tenderness, and new romance.

Spring

Spring is the time for birth and rebirth. This is the best time of the year to start new projects, focus on your goals for the year, and plant the seeds for what you want to achieve. Be aware that things move at their own pace during this time. Springs spellwork element is air. Spring is good to work magic for: Communication, travel, intellect, thought, mental powers, beginnings, freedom, teaching, divination, visualization, and study.

• Ostara is a celebration of fertility, abundance, and new life. It is linked to maturation, development, coming of age and initiation and is a joyful, hopeful time. As it is an equinox, the light and dark are in perfect balance, with the light growing stronger from the next day forth, so it is a celebration, too, of warmth. Spell cast for: emotional balance, sexuality, physical strength, health, and well-being. Fairness, abundance, friendship, beauty, and attraction as well.
• Beltane is the highly sexual fertility festival, that means ‘bright fire’ that will relight the fire within you when you observe its magic. It is a celebration of beauty, sensuality, and desire. Beltane is a cleansing festival, when the cold has released its grasp upon the earth and as the world begins to warm and freedom and freshness touches all. Spell cast: to focus on your health, desirability, and attracting love. It is a time of playful abundance, good fortune, and prosperity. Spells cast to attract these will be favorable during this intoxicating energetic time.

Summer

The earths energy is at its most abundant, and it is time to push ahead with whatever you’re working on. Growth is moving fast and changes may be more powerful. Tap into the energy of the sun and let the light shine clarity into murky situations, and don’t be afraid to charge ahead if it feels right to do so. The element to work with for your summer spellwork is fire. Summer is good to work magic for: Action, passion, sexuality, anger, desire, energy work, power, strength, destruction, protection, banishing, purification, and success.

• Litha is the festival of the faeries, it is intensely joyous, celebratory, and full of light. It celebrates and marks the longest day of the year and gives us all the opportunity to relax, have time to ourselves and friends, play music, dance and be enchanted by the full flower of summer. It is a festival that encourages us to slow down and relax and give thanks for the simple joy of being alive under summer skies. Spell cast for: physical strength, vitality, and health. Creativity, inspiration, and friendship spells are easily activated during this time. Parties thrown on Litha are extremely magical, and playfulness in encouraged.
• Lughnasadh comes upon us as the days lengthen and darkness falls earlier. This festival is the time to harvest and give thanks to the Universe for what we have created, and to be grateful. This is a time of balancing the efforts we have made with the enjoyment of what we have created, to celebrate the light that remains, and to make the most of every moment before darkness falls. Spell cast for: destiny, maturity and growth, peaks and pinnacles, luxury, and comfort, cleansing and preparation. It is a time to consider your future, plan and get organized.

Autumn

Things are beginning to slow down, and it is time to harvest the seeds you planted and celebrate what you have achieved. This is also the time to reassess, if things didn’t come to fruition, and figure out what stood in our way so that we can clear them away so that growth can happen in their place. When it comes to your spell work the element to work with for autumn is water. Autumn is good to work magic for: Dreams, emotions, compassion, love, psychic healing, rest, cleansing, astral travel, death and rebirth and fertility.

• Mabon is the time of the descent into darkness, to strengthen ourselves: to make sure that we are well physically and mentally and ready ourselves for winter. As the dark grows and lengthens there will be changes, and we are asked to be more responsible, serious, earnest, and honest with ourselves. This is a time of complexity, as the days have this one last moment of balance before the dark consumes the light once again. Spell cast for: dedication, energy, independence, intelligence, practicality, self-improvement.
• Samhain is the Witches’ magical New Year. It is the time of the ancestors, when ghosts walk with us and when we acknowledge and remember those who have gone before us. It is a time of harvest and a time to light the darkness, and we begin to make preparations for the cold times coming. Spell cast for: finding a mentor or guide. This is a strong time for candle magic, scrying, divination to forecast the coming year and connecting with ancestors.

The Wheel of the Year allows us to awaken the magic within us and can begin to live more intentionally, present, and abundant by embracing the beautiful cycles of the seasons. I hope that you feel inspired to weave the Wheel of the Year into your life, infusing each day with magic.