Tips For The Dark Half Of The Year

Tips for the Dark Half of the Year

Winter is coming quickly. A lot of people see this time of year as bleak, depressing, or just boring. Here are some tips to stay attuned to nature during these months.

❄️ Go outside. Even if it’s cold, the trees are bare, and the only colors are muted and dull. We often think that summer is the only time to enjoy the outdoors—the only time to hike, meditate outside, etc. In winter, there are no lush green trees or balmy days filled with sunshine and the smell of flowers. While summer is intoxicating, winter is a time to contemplate and reflect. Go outside. Feel the cold. Feel the mud and the dead grass and the chilly wind. Listen to how quiet it is. Understand that the dark half of the year is a time of silence, stillness, and death. It’s natural to have an aversion to these things, but take some time to sit down and just listen. Breathe. Feel the reality of silence and death around you. It’s a sobering experience, but also a very insightful one. If you have any fear of death or quiet, now is the time to go sit with those things as they appear in nature and just meditate with them.

❄️ Eat cozy foods. It’s cold outside—warm up with hearty soups, stews, homemade bread, and root veggies. Warm spices and hot drinks will keep you feeling grounded. This is a wonderful time of year to practice kitchen witchcraft—focus on coziness, family, protection, and rest.

❄️ Study magic! The Dark Half of the year is devoted to self-reflection, rest, and contemplation. Snuggle up indoors with a fluffy blanket and devote some time to studying magic and witchcraft with a hot cup of magically-brewed tea.

❄️ Think spirits are sleeping along with all the greenery? Think again! The Dark Half of the year, in many cultures and spiritual traditions, is considered extremely spiritually active. Deities like Odin, Berchta, Hekate, and spirits such as elves and ghosts are very active this time of year. You can choose to honor them if you want, or practice various spirit-working techniques. If you’re into necromancy or divination, this is a wonderful time of year for those things.

❄️ Be kind to local wildlife by installing things like bird feeders outside your home. We modern humans may have an easy time of it in winter, but animals struggle to survive during these months. Any bit of kindness will be much appreciated.

❄️ Nurture your fire energy. During winter, it’s easy to internalize the cold and take on its characteristics—sluggishness, sleepiness, a foggy-headed feeling. Some crystals that are great for winter include golden rutilated quartz (aka Venus hair), citrine, carnelian, obsidian, and garnet. All of these crystals contain a strong fire element as well as offer grounding qualities, mental clarity, and protection.

❄️ Go out and forage for magical ingredients! Melted snow is extremely purifying and can be incorporated into spells for purification and cleansing. Icicles can serve as temporary wands, especially in spells that require a strong water element. The ash from bonfires (or hearth fires) can be used to make black salt. Fallen branches can be crafted into wands. There may be nothing growing this time of year, but you can get creative and still find magical ingredients in unexpected places. Just be respectful and don’t collect from places where it’s illegal!

This is by no means a comprehensive list—these are just some ways I’ve celebrated the colder months. I hope they’re helpful in any way!

don't interact with corporate tumblr accounts

yes even to dunk on them. i don't care if you have the sickest burn of the century lined up, don't even give them the time of day

the eventual and inevitable fall of twitter marks a change in the advertising industry, and tumblr is unclaimed territory. if we want tumblr to remain the social media bastion it has become, it needs to remain as unappealing to corporations as possible. do not engage. in a marketing strategist's eyes, any kind of attention is good attention. don't "silence, brand" them. don't kungpowpenis them. don't send them hate anons. don't hate-follow them. corporate tumblrs are not a single entity and they will not be harassed off this site. we only have a shot at repelling them because of tumblr's lack of an algorithm. so turn off recommended posts on your dashboard, put it chronological order, and install an adblocker. if you don't seek out these blazed posts and actively ignore them when they happen upon you, the corporations will starve. in this case, the best kind of protest is a silent one

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lycanwillow

6 years ago

S u s a n

brahms from the boy needs help making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and also his arms are just cloth

(prompted while @gayassflowers and i were watching the movie The Boy and wondered what it would sound like if brahms had porcelain hands and a porcelain torso, but cloth arms with no stuffing, so his hands just flop around when he runs)

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lycanwillow

5 years ago

ha ha yeah

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lycanwillow

4 years ago

Even Though I Don’t Really Play On This Bedrock Realm Anymore, I Wanted To Leave Behind Something Bigger

Even though I don’t really play on this bedrock realm anymore, I wanted to leave behind something bigger and cooler than my tiny hut, so I built a big base!! Maybe I’ll never log back in again, but at least I enjoyed building this lol

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lycanwillow

5 years ago

Communication goes a long way. If you’re busy, say it. If you’re upset, express it. If you’re late, let people know. If you’re unsure, ask. It’s so simple but so important.

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lycanwillow

5 years ago

not to be controversial but

mid season two zuko hair is his best

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lycanwillow

3 years ago

you are not a machine. you are more like a garden. you need different things on different days. a little sun today, a little less water tomorrow. you have fallow and fruitful seasons. it is not a design flaw. it is wiser than perpetual sameness. what does your garden need today?

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lycanwillow

1 year ago