My Spiritual Cyclical Practices
As a part of my spiritual practice I work with some cyclical patterns that help me learn about deeper patterns within myself. These are primarily - but not exclusively - the lunar cycles and witches’ sabbats that tell of nature’s abundance, death and renewal.
The lunar cycles are quite popular, there are many blogs and Instagram memes of “don’t blame me the moon made me do it”. But there are some deeper meanings behind each stage of the life, death and rebirth cycle of the moon. The popular idea is to plant seeds on the new moon and allow for the harvest to emerge on the full moon for harvest, both within the two week cycle but also within the six month cycle under each astrological sign. For example, the seeds you sow on Virgo’s new moon in September will be ready for harvest on its Full Moon in late February/ early March. But there is also another analysis of this cycle that works with sexual energy and magic.
I work with both these systems in a more directed method through the combination of divination and astrology. This is one of my main revernations and I used tarot to assist myself as I sort through the intentions I want to create for the 2 week/6 month astrological journey. Both the cards I pull and my interpretations of them are something that I catalog within my journal as a way to revisit them when I’m intuitively pulled to reflect upon the past. I mainly pull cards on the New moon, first quarter, Full Moon and last/third quarter and find that these clear shifts in vibration give me very accurate readings for my current struggles, intentions and dreams. The other main way I celebrate is through cleansing my space and creating moon water… which is quite simply breathing intention into a jar of water and letting it sit outside overnight to collect the lunar energy. I use this water within my baths, to cleanse my altar and water-safe crystals, and occasionally when I’m feeling energetically low into my tea.
The witches’ sabbat, also known as the Witches’ wheel/holidays, are a much lesser known cyclical event that follows nature as well. They are in-tune with the shifts in the sun and fall on the solstices and equinoxes as well as the transitional times between the seasons. There are 8 within a year and differ in timing depending if you live in the northern or southern hemisphere. These Sabbat’s include: Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Lithia, Lammas/Lughnasa (depending on preference), Mabon, and Samhain. Each holiday is tied to the replenishment and harvest of the Earth, through the analogy of the maiden and her descent as well as the potency of the earth. Both Lord and Maiden are at the peak of productivity in summer and spring (Ostara through Lithia), harvested in Lammas and Mabon before the earth is barren to replenish its potency for the cycle to start in the new year.
Each holiday has its own specific correspondents; different activities, foods, rituals and that connect back to its phase on the wheel. For instance, Mabon is associated with squash and the final fall harvest and encourages practitioners to celebrate the harvest through seasonal vegetables and baking bread.
