Turning the dial on the Wheel of the Year 

Part of Earth-Based Spirituality is attuning ourselves to the cyclical nature of the year: to the ebb and flow of the moon and tides, to the patterns found in ourselves and in nature, and to the energetic cycles within and around us. My practices follow the seasons. They are not rigid or consistent but flow as prompted and guided by the Goddess, the Earth.  

We are all part of this Great Spiral of Life - let us work with, rather than against, our natural tides and find harmony living alongside the Goddess. 

 In the Northern Hemisphere, February 1 marks the halfway point between the Winter Solstice passed and the forthcoming Vernal Equinox. On the Wheel of the Year, this is known as Imbolc or Candlemas. This is deep winter, when the season is usually coldest but this day marks the point where the light begins to turn. From this day forward, we begin to shed our layers, to clean out the heaviness, and introduce movement and vitality in preparation for the new beginning that is the Spring Season.

Following the Wheel of the Year and with the Seasons as your guide, you might feel a deep pull to go inward, to reflect, to re-arrange. Despite that the Earth appears to be unmoving above ground, there are shifts happening underneath and therefore within. Allow time for deep meditation and contemplation and allow the wisdom to unfold. Deep winter is the time to traverse the space in between realms. 

The answers you are seeking are within you. 

On February 1, we celebrate Lughnasadh or Lammas in the Southern Hemisphere. This Gaelic festival occurs at the midway point between the Solstice celebration just passed and the forthcoming Autumnal Equinox. It is often characterised as the first of three harvest dates that follow summer. In celebration of all that the Earth has provided, this is a time of preparation for the autumn and winter seasons, where we begin to enjoy and gather our bounty and reserves for the inward seasons.

I have a love/hate relationship with baking the daily bread. It is time consuming and requires care that I don't often have the time to indulge with so many moving parts in my household. But this ritual on this day specifically is, for me, a marker. It honours the work that is to come, the harvesting of all that I have cultivated thus far. It is a symbol of gratitude and respect for all that is. Bread making, as a ritual on this day, hits differently as I open myself to the prosperity that is to come. It is my way of telling the Goddess that I admire and respect all that is to come. I welcome the labours I must take on after all of hers and an invitation to connect to the natural world around us.  

We cultivate, incubate, and birth. We birth as a divine expression of ecstasy, of love, of creativity. 

It is my hope that we develop a more intimate relationship with the Earth and with the Goddess. To me, nature is our access point; it is the sacred portal that allows you to have one foot between the realms. It is the meeting place where you begin to recognise and honour yourself in relation to all of life and understand yourself through this unique lens, which continually meets us where we are to remind us that true magick is found within.

We embark on this journey, attuned to the Earth's rhythms, guided by the seasons as our ever-present companions. As we honour Imbolc and Lughnasadh, depending on our hemisphere, we partake in a global celebration of unity with the natural world. In these moments, we find not only a connection to the Earth but also to each other. Sharing our experiences and rituals, whether they involve the promise of the coming Spring or the appreciation of the first harvest in Autumn, strengthens our collective bond as seekers of wisdom and harmony. Together, we move through the Wheel of the Year, embracing the cycles that weave the fabric of our spiritual evolution.

With love,

Brooke xx