Working with the Seasons

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Rachel Patterson, author of Curative Magic and the new Witch for Every Season.

Working with the Seasons
An alternative option to working with sabbats or months is to work with the seasons. This splits the year into four sections rather than twelve months. It does make things simpler. Obviously, the seasons will vary depending on where you live in the world.

Spring
For me, spring is the real start of the calendar year. Mother Earth begins to stir, and by the end of spring she is going full throttle. New life, new energy, renewal, and fresh starts are the key features of this season. Spring relates nicely with the element of air. This element is all about planning, plotting, and scheming to put your wishes and desires into action, which works perfectly with the season of spring.

Work Magic For: New projects, planning, setting goals, fresh starts, renewal, planting seeds, creativity, independence, inspiration, new beginnings, potential, spirituality, trust.

Summer
Summer means sunshine, warm weather, and lots of activity in the garden. Mother Nature is in her absolute element here. Growth and happiness are the two key features for the summer.
Summer relates to the element of fire and goes hand in hand with solar energy. Fire brings passion, transformation, and change. It is an all-action, kick-your-butt-into-gear kinda element. Fire can be destructive, but with that comes the power of transformation.

Work Magic For: Growth, prosperity, abundance, happiness, relaxation, family, friends, balance, fulfillment, harmony, healing, patience, power, protection, self-care, spirituality.

Autumn
A time of change and transition, autumn brings a chill to the air and things start winding down. It is a season of harvest, reaping what you have sown, and abundance of all kinds. Autumn relates to the element of water, which we have such a strong connection to; it is all about emotions and our subconscious. Water is releasing, cleansing, and purifying. It also covers healing, love, and psychic work.

Work Magic For:
Change, transition, harvesting, abundance, prosperity, confidence, knowledge, organisation, power, self-fulfilment, spirituality, travel, success.

Winter
Winter provides us with the opportunity to withdraw, hibernate, and spend time on inner work. We are being asked to recharge and replenish our energy so we’re ready for when spring arrives once again. Winter relates to the element of earth, which is the element that connects us to nature and Mother Earth herself. Earth is the soil we walk upon, the trees and plants around us, and the rocks, crystals, and gems we work with. Earth is grounding and receptive, absorbing negative energy and providing us with stability.

Work Magic For: Releasing, inner work, shadow work, letting go, protection, transformation, wisdom, knowledge, cycles of life, destruction, divination, guidance, justice, retribution, truth.

Our thanks to Rachel for her guest post! For more from Rachel Patterson, read her article “A Witch for Every Season: My Version of the Wheel.”