Winter, and the Change that almost wasn't...

My backyard -notice the lack of Wisconsin Winter?

The weather, as of late, is troubling to me. I live in Wisconsin, and Winter is generally a harsh time. To say it is cold is an understatement when more often than not, venturing outside for more than a few minutes is to risk frost bite. There’s rarely any powder snow as the cold tends to make it freeze, rendering it hard, crunchy, sharp. Winter is a time of the Crone, of remembering our mortality, of taking stock, and letting go. But this year, when it’s nearly Imbolc and we’ve just gotten snow, I’m finding it hard to adjust to this change in the energy currents. 

Solar energies were off all last year; I’m sure I mentioned that elsewhere. And this made living in tune with the cycles of Nature to be rather difficult, as the rhythm was so different from the norm. Sabbat energy failed to peak as it should, and even Full Moon energy seemed off, as if the Lady was distracted, concerned for Her lover and His unusual behavior. 

---

Generally, the Winter is a time of quiet and solitude. Much like the Dark Moon, it is a time of turning inward and making changes. Come the thaw of Imbolc and this change is accelerated, assisted; gentle Zephyrus helps to blow any obstacles away. In Wisconsin, the week after the thaw is met with a furious storm. Stribog turns back Zephyrus for one last run, and the ice and snow blow back in. The world returns to ice and cold and these changes then become solidified within us, as we are once more bid to turn inward, to analyze the progress, and reaffirm its worth.

But not this year.

This year we have days of 50 degree weather –in January. My mind still can’t wrap around that one; it feels more like mid November, or the late October’s of my childhood. And the toll its taking on my emotions is obvious. 

Were it not for the particularly strong Full Moon we just experienced, I’m not sure I would have succeeded in the profound change that I normally experience in Winter. Rather, problem areas were let to build, to escalate, and to threaten relationships with those I care most about; thank the Lady that it didn’t.

As I sit here typing, a gentle blizzard plays outside the window next to me. Tiny snowflakes dance through the air, blowing up and sideways just as much as they blow downward. I feel calm; I’m happy for the snow. And though the usual pattern was disrupted, I feel it may have been to my advantage: I get a second chance this Winter to grow and come closer to being who I am meant to be, to doing what I am meant to do.