I do consider Samhain to be the beginning of my spiritual year, but I also cannot deny the status quo in regards to modern society. Generations have looked to the point between December and January as the threshold to a new year and the continual existence of all. I can’t deny the power associated with such a movement, even if I don’t always observe it with much excitement. Last year I spent it quietly with my husband. We relaxed. This year, I’ll likely spend it helping my sister move and then celebrating with some of my tribe.
Another thing I want to do is clean my home as best as I can. Many people believe that what you do at the end of the old year will follow you into the new year, and that we should strive to surround ourselves with the qualities we want to fill our lives with. I want my apartment to be cleaner and I want to take more time making it thus. I spent some time today cleaning and organizing the kitchen. There is still work to be done but it’s slowly getting better and more user-friendly.
I also find myself looking forward to the green half of the year. With the Winter Solstice pretty much over (I plan to take my decorations down on the 6th. There’s an old Irish belief that it’s unlucky to do so before or after.), I find myself excited for Beltaine. I feel a bit bad about that since I don’t feel as giddy over the next high day, Imbolc, which is sacred to my blessed Lady Brighid, but to me that’s more of a quiet holiday for counting one’s blessings. The Spring Equinox has never been that festive to me either. Beltaine, though, is another story completely. The ground will finally be completely or in the process of thawing. The leaves will be blossoming and the robins will assuredly be back by then. It is when my grove erects a May Pole and we dance about it to provoke the Earth Mother into fecundity. It is a flirtatious and celebratory time! I find myself excitedly looking through seed catalogs and humming Jonathan Coulton’s “First of May”…
This time of year is also when I find myself a new calendar. This year I am going to use The Artisans Guild of Ár nDraíocht Féin 2011 Calendar. It supports the guild I belong to and features the work of several amazing Pagan artists – including a couple of my dolls!
Author M. A. Phillips 