Reimagining Spring: Alternative Practices for Seasonal Energies
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There are plenty of ways to honor spring but they can get a little boring if you’ve been doing the same things year after year. Or perhaps you’re sick and tired of hearing us “gurus” tell you to start your own garden when you can’t even keep a plastic plant alive. And it's even harder to keep a consistent practice if you aren’t inspired. Maybe some of the traditional spring practices just don’t seem to offer you much and what’s the point of continuing a practice that doesn’t give you a lot of growth?
So I have put together a list of alternative practices to try in place of more common ones. These practices still invoke spring but will hopefully inspire you to have a fresh way to grow spiritually this year. Enjoy!
Bored with herbal magic? Try this instead…
Try observing a plant in its natural habitat. Study its environment such as the soil it's planted in, what other plants are growing around it, its structure and shape, smell, texture, and so on. Then invite it to share some of its wisdom with you. Listen closely to see what you hear or feel. You may wish to ask additional questions such as:
What’s something you can share with me that I won’t find in any book?
What’s your name?
How can I stay connected with you?
What kind of offering should I bring you next time?
What’s something about nature you wish me to know more about?
Describe yourself in three words.
If you were a zodiac sign or planet, what would you be?
Don’t want to go out in Nature? Try this instead…
Bring nature indoors. Buy yourself fresh flowers or clip some from your garden. Place them around your home to brighten up the space. Add them to vases or wrap twine around a bunch and hang them on the walls as decoration. Try making art by pressing the flowers and hanging them up later or decoupage onto them to notebooks, keepsake boxes or your favorite ritual spray bottle.
Open windows and doors to let in fresh air. Or add natural materials to your home through pillows, curtains, towels, blankets, sheets or even the clothes you wear. Look for natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, hemp or silk.
Great creative. Collect seashells and make art, order dried herbs and flowers to make your own potpourri or fill decorate glass for a decor piece. Make placements with things, carve crochet hooks out of sticks, or simply hang photos of beautiful natural places.
If you’re not motivated to build an altar, try this instead…
Try viewing your entire house as an altar. Put up meaningful statues, photos, heirlooms, or things which bring you a bit of joy and inspire you. Add tarot decks to your coffee table or use a cleansing ritual spray instead of air freshener. Add offering dishes by your doors, hang altar prints with your family photos or hang sacred tools around your home. A sacred space doesn’t have to be limited to one corner or room. Your entire house can be as sacred as you decide it will be.
If Herbal baths aren’t your thing, try this instead…
Make herbal sodas. Start by making a simple syrup. To do so, heat equal parts water and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Add a mixture of edible plants, herbs and spices and heat on very low for another 2-3 minutes. Allow the mixture to steep until cool then strain. If you’re using roots like dandelion or burdock root, make a tea first and then add 1 cup of tea to the sugar in place of water then follow the remaining instructions for your other herbs or plants.
Add desired amount to sparkling water for a refreshing drink that can have the same benefits as an herbal bath. You can make a soda for protection, one for money magick, one for spiritual cleansing, another for sleep and so on. You can really get creative here. Just make sure your plants are safe to consume and do not interfere with any medications, illnesses, or conditions.
Instead of cleansing winter, try this instead…
Throw a going away party just like you would a friend who’s moving. Make it a celebration of all of the wonderful things that have happened during the winter season. Express your gratitude and give a warm farewell. Invite your friends and family to celebrate with you. Make winter inspired cocktails and foods, play music and just have a good time. It doesn’t need to be overly spiritual just as long as you take a moment or two to share your thanks with winter for all it has done, even if you don’t know what benefits you’ve received. Doing so puts you in a state of gratitude which will only make spring more bright and rich for you.
Don’t have a green thumb? Try this instead…
Visit your local farmer’s market and speak to the farmers. Ask them to tell you about the process of growing foods. What kind of fertilizer do they use, do they practice crop rotation or companion planting, and how do they harvest food? Ask them what’s in season or their favorite ways to cook the fruits and vegetables they’re selling. You don’t have to grow your own food necessarily to connect with it. By connecting with the people who are involved in the process, you are taking steps to have better awareness about where your food comes from and what to do with it.
Can’t get into journaling? Try this instead…
Paint or draw your feelings and thoughts. Don’t worry about whether or not it's good. Just let yourself flow and express whatever you’re feeling in whatever way feels natural to you. It may not have a shape or look the way you’d hope but trust that what makes it onto the page reflects how you feel. Title your pages for future reference or leave them blank if you prefer.
Journaling isn’t the only way to reflect upon your feelings. Sometimes art can express things that words can’t. But you may also find that you’re an artist deep down and didn’t know it.
There you have it. Six alternative ways to practice more common spring activities. At the end of the day, this is your practice and you should follow whatever works for you. Don’t feel like you have to take anyone’s recommendations if that doesn’t align with who you are or who you wish to become. The idea of magic and what a witch is is evolving as it should. It's wonderful to keep the old traditions alive but it's also beautiful to use the old ways to spark and inspire new ideas.
