Hail Winter, season of earth! To the darkness from which the light returns. To snow, ice and water and the emotional depths of the season. To fire, the waxing sun and the warm of the hearth and good company. To the wintry winds blowing away all that no longer serves. Connect to the energy of the season through exploring elemental witchery, including a table of correspondences and a ritual.

There’s so much attention paid to the joyous festivities during the holiday season that the turning of the wheel of the year to winter often gets overlooked. I can’t help but notice when the first snowflakes start to fall. Those magical flakes call me to the woods where the drastic transition to the winter is well underway. The pond is frozen, the trees barren, and my animal companions are dressed for the season as they forage for sustenance. Such is the season of earth in her early days. This peace shall soon be replaced by raging nor’easters who rage until all is covered in white, bringing with them much destruction. 

The Elemental Magick of Winter

The barren earth holds the secrets of rebirth, what is it that you need to return to her dark embrace? From the fires that warm and the waxing sun, to the brilliance of The Starry Road on a winter’s night, the element of the south is a cold flame this time of the year. Turn to your inner spark for introspection. The winds of winter blow fierce, petition her power to remove barriers and to blow away psychic blockages. Water, whether ice, snow or slush, offers the promise of cleansing and freezing spells.

Winter’s beauty can be as quiet as a frozen pond or as loud as 90 mph wind here on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. The winter solstice may be the astrological beginning of the season, but here the meteorological commencement date of December 1 makes more sense. That places the solstice at midwinter (more or less) which makes more sense for the place I call home. Wherever you are, I urge you to step away from the business of the holidays to welcome winter and her elemental energies. I love studying how the landscape changes with the seasons. It’s striking here, but wherever you are there will also be differences, even if they are subtle. Explore how the elemental forces change before your eyes during winter. Draw these changes into your spells, rituals and practice.

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