As we begin to approach the end of summer and will be shifting towards fall within the next month or two, I wanted to ask: what do you tend to do this time of year , in terms of magic or in terms of the mundane? What are ways you refresh yourself or wind down from the summer time? Is this a busy time of the year for you?
My birthday is coming up and Summer always has been a time for change in my life. Some good, a lot not so good. Usually I just try to ride it out and stay cool (as I abhor the Summer heat). When I was younger, the change was more literal; my family always used to move into a new place while my brother and I were away at my paternal grandmother's flower farm.
I don't believe I've ever done anything magically for the seasons. I'll nod to the solstices and equinoxes, but they aren't religious holidays for me (even though some are a part of Heathenry). If I started, it would be about immersing myself in the spirits and spiritual lay of the land, learning from their ebb and flow in terms of natural occurances. I'm also interested in how they are or aren't affected by the human lives around them (as it's not too far a stretch to consider them a part of environmental impact).
To be totally honest, I favor Fall and Winter and always have. It just feels more like my natural state of being when it's cooler and there is beauty to be found in the quietness of decay and solace. Fewer people are outside unless they are deliberate and this is the time I find I enjoy people the most; kids playing in the snow and people generally only outside unless they're enjoying themselves or they need to get somewhere and there are fewer people outside doing a whole lot of nothing. The reason for favoring this would have to be that I hate staleness in life and I find all too many people are willing to stay in that state for the sake of status quo. I'd rather people decide to enjoy themselves and actually live life, whatever that means for them, because it means they won't regret years of wasting their lives away.
If I were to honor the seasons, it would be to recognize the varying paces and cycles we go through each day in our lives. No, not every season is enjoyable, but that reflects life in that there will always be change; alternatively, we always cycle back to familiarities and that can be used to comfort and help us pull through trying times. It is sorely needed for many.
I tend to colect and dry a lot of plants that I let grow in my garden in order to use them later when they arn't growing anymore. I also like to do long walks in the forest and tend to be a lot outside with family and friends. In the end of august I also celebrate my birthday. It's a very happy and nice period for my part!
I was reminded by a lovely old black couple that Farmer's Market is around and will be until Fall and she specifically talked about how there was a nice smell of food, people enjoying themselves, and there was a really good breeze. Days like today are redeeming for Summer in my eyes and I'd forgotten that.
This is a time of year I spend a lot of my downtime relaxing along the shores of the beaches nearby. I like to go towards the evening, or in the middle of the night, to be alone. It's nice to sit on the sands and watch the crabs scuttle about. Sometimes I build a fire, hunt a few crabs, and make my own meal right there on the water. I like to take a flash light and spot shine the fish that come up close to the shore. Lots of neat things wash up at night that no one else gets to see.
I would agree with the lethargic thing, especially magically. I do jack shit in my practice. Around this time of year, I'm usually super busy in my regular life, and I'm not home very much this month specifically, so I don't have much time for anything else
Re: Summer Transitioning By: Amarandena
Post # 8 Aug 04, 2016
I'm gonna just dedicate myself to a sea witch path because I won't choose a definitive focus otherwise lol
Too many interesting things but I might as well start with the very force that gives life amirite
This GIANT sketchbook shadows book is going to take months lel what am i doing, this is actually a daunting task
I also want to turn vegan and do what I want and stop caring what everyone else is trying to do (control me into doing what they want because they think they hold some key in life that I dont lmao) and just be me for once in my life, which will probably make a lot of my bad mental health symptoms vanish!
And step 2 is finding like minded people for a support group and be a smelly hippy, but a mentally healthy hippy.
