Happy New Year!
Depending on what your personal Tradition is, you may be celebrating now, or you may have celebrated at Samhain. The month of January is named for Janus, the Roman God of doorways, and new beginnings, his two faces looking both back at what was, and forward, to what will be.
The Pagan Romans used the Julian calendar, which had 13 months of 28 days each, until first Julius, and then his nephew Augustus, decided to name months after themselves, and make them 31 days long. Before that, all months were 28 days long, mimicking the cycle of the moon. If you take 13 months, and multiply by 28 days, the result is 360, which left five days extra.
These five days were celebrated as Saturnalia, and belonged to no year. They were outside time. That meant the everyday rules for any other time were suspended. Sometimes I think about what life would be like, if there were a few extra days, that didn’t belong to any year. Even today, many people take the week between Christmas and New Year’s off from work, so in a way, you can say that without knowing it, they are still celebrating Saturnalia.
God of Change
The reason the Romans had a God of doorways and new beginnings, is because transitions are magickal times. The transitions between the seasons make up four of the eight holidays we as Witches celebrate. Anyone who has gone camping, knows that both dusk and dawn are extremely magickal.
Transitional times can be used to power spells when change is desired, or required. You are physically, emotionally and spiritually leaving the old behind, and entering the new. New can be scary. It is the unknown. That is why change frightens us so. Those who embrace change, learn that whatever change brings, it can be adapted to. Change can be good, but no one ever thinks about that. They either expect change to be bad, or they simply ignore the change all together.
As a Witch, you must embrace change in all its forms. Life is change, even if that change is just light to dark and back to light again, as the days progress. Change will happen, no matter what you want, so why not embrace it? Face change head on, and enjoy the good changes, and adapt quickly to the other changes.
Once a month, when the moon is full.
Witchcraft isn’t just a Spiritual Path, it’s the way you live. Everyone has challenges, most try to ignore those challenges in the hope that they will go away. You should realize by now, that never happens. Face your challenges, and work through them as fast as possible. If you put them off, they just become more challenging.
The New Year is sure to have challenges for you. I can say that with absolute certainty. Challenges require us to grow as people, and isn’t that what a Spiritual Path is supposed to do? Sometimes the challenges seem insurmountable, but even the Christians will tell you that God never gives you more than you are capable of carrying. Whatever your challenges, you will come out the other side, and you will be better for it.
As I said in last week’s blog, I’m not a big believer in Resolutions, but I want you to resolve one thing for the coming year. Resolve to face any challenge that presents itself, full on. Don’t run from it, don’t try to hide from it. Face it, and best it. You are in control of your life, so take charge of it. Make 2019 the best year of your life!
Let me know below, what challenges you see ahead, and how you plan to face them. I can’t promise any answers, but sometimes just stating what is going on is enough to help you find the way through.
