We’re coming out of Samhain season, and it’s a great time to think about how we celebrate our lives. I’ve talked before about how my local environment affects how I celebrate Lammas, and I thought that it might be worthwhile to present how I view the seasons as an urban druid for the whole year. I believe that it’s important for us to adjust and adapt our practices to our local environment. It makes no sense for me to celebrate the first snowdrops in an environment where they just don’t grow – and where we don’t have snow.
To give you some inspiration to adapt your celebrations, here is a quick overview of the seasons in my life.
Samhain is the start of the inward focused time of the year for me. The heat has broken and the days are noticeably shorter. The Goblin Walk happens in our city and the decorations for the Winter holidays are upon us. The fishmonger in the farmers market has oysters too! The Farmers Market shrinks as farmers focus on preparing for next year’s crops and the rains think about raining.
Yule is the time of lights. All the trees are lit up and there are decorations all over. In early December we have the Festival of Lights when the big tree in the city park is lit, and someone puts a Santa hat on the abstract humanoid statue in town. It rains often enough to always carry an umbrella.
Imbolc is our winter. February is the coldest month here and the winds whip through town as the city and makes standing on the train platform very uncomfortable. It rains most days now – always carry an umbrella.
Ostara is when the Farmers Market starts to grow again. There are fruit and green vegetables in the market again. It also means that asparagus will soon be here! The weather is starting to warm up and thinking about being spring as the rains taper off.
Beltane continues to get a bit warmer and the rains are usually gone by now. We start seeing signs for summer camps and movies in the park. Strawberries are in the Farmers Market and we buy asparagus every week until it’s gone.
By Midsummer, the city is preparing for the Independence Day events – there are “campouts” in the city parks and someone usually dresses the Balancing Act up in red, white, and blue. The weather is generally lovely, but we are starting to get occasional days that are warmer than we like. We might turn on the portable air conditioner one or two days.
Lammas is an odd time. We often get a little cooler where I live, and the big City is covered in fog and is cold and windy. I wear a jacket to go to work. Grapes are starting to show up in the Farmers Market and there are many wine and harvest oriented events.
Mabon is hot. September and October are our summer. In a world that was not created for air-conditioning it can be pretty vile. The Farmers Market is flourishing and the kids are back in school.
This is how I notice my Wheel of the Year. It’s likely different for you.
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