READING

New Year Musings: Tales from the Winter Woods

New Year Musings: Tales from the Winter Woods

new year musings Emma Kathryn witch writing the house of twigs woods cold winter

The Wheel continues to turn as Yule begins to pass. The old year gone and the new one already underway and perhaps, as to be expected, I find myself in the woods once more. After the festivities and celebrations of Yule and Christmas, the indulgence and glamour of twinkling lights and shiny trinkets, this is what’s needed.

A Blessed relief.

Mist shifts in the lifting gloom as dawn gives way to a low sun that casts the winter woods in a mirage of shadow and light, though darkness lingers still. Gloom gathers in the thickets and lingers in the undergrowth. 

The woods beckon with bony fingers, the gnarled and twisted wood of midwinter disguise the nodules that will begin to grow and bloom with the coming spring. But that is for later when the growing light chases the last of the lingering shadows. For now darkness holds sway in the winter woods. It draws me onwards, calling me to remember with my whole being, to feel the dead beneath my feet, the soft decay of the loamy forest floor, to listen to the stories they share with each footstep. The lessons they give. The truths they tell.

The trees sing with the biting wind, the bare boughs of the silver birch and the sorrowful creaking of the tall pines. It’s a fitting ode to this, the woods in deep midwinter. The tune carries me forward, beats in tune with my witch heart beating in time with it, that answers with a quickening beat.

Brave the mist, it sings to me

Embrace the half light. Step into the shadows.

 The half dark. 

Yield

Yes I whisper back and step off the beaten track, into the wild where I might lose myself for a while, slip out of my human skin and be a wild thing once more, my spirit free to dance with the spirits of the land.

This is the lesson of the winter woods, of nature. To slow down. To unwind. To unravel the pressures of the world and become wild once more, revelling in what is real. To draw solace and a quiet strength from the connection only half remembered but fully felt.

In the cold of the winter woods.

May the New Year be a blessed one, where we remember our wild hearts and lose ourselves beneath the boughs more often. Happy New Year.

  • Author Posts
My name is Emma Kathryn, my path a mixture of non-Wiccan Traditional British Witchcraft and Obeah, a blend that represents my heritage. A Devotee of Hekate, my witchcraft is what is needed when needed. I live in the middle of England with my partner, two teenage sons and two crazy dogs.
  • new year musings Emma Kathryn witch writing the house of twigs woods cold winter
    New Year Musings: Tales from the Winter Woods
    The Wheel continues to turn as Yule begins to pass. The old year gone and the new one already underway and perhaps, as to be expected, I find myself in the woods once more. After the festivities and celebrations of Yule and Christmas, the indulgence and glamour of twinkling lights and shiny trinkets, this is […]
  • Obeah Summer Solstice Litha Jamaica Witchcraft The House of Twigs Emma Kathryn thot witch school
    Summer Solstice Musings – A Witch’s Power
    The Wheel continues to turn as Yule begins to pass. The old year gone and the new one already underway and perhaps, as to be expected, I find myself in the woods once more. After the festivities and celebrations of Yule and Christmas, the indulgence and glamour of twinkling lights and shiny trinkets, this is […]
  • the house of twigs spring Emma Kathryn obeah woman whispers
    Spring Awakening – Remembering Your Power
    The Wheel continues to turn as Yule begins to pass. The old year gone and the new one already underway and perhaps, as to be expected, I find myself in the woods once more. After the festivities and celebrations of Yule and Christmas, the indulgence and glamour of twinkling lights and shiny trinkets, this is […]
  • obeah woman whispers new year
    Musings for the New Year
    The Wheel continues to turn as Yule begins to pass. The old year gone and the new one already underway and perhaps, as to be expected, I find myself in the woods once more. After the festivities and celebrations of Yule and Christmas, the indulgence and glamour of twinkling lights and shiny trinkets, this is […]
  • samhain blood harvest the obah woman whispers emma kathryn the house of twigs thot witch witchcraft
    Songs of Autumn, Harvests of Blood
    The Wheel continues to turn as Yule begins to pass. The old year gone and the new one already underway and perhaps, as to be expected, I find myself in the woods once more. After the festivities and celebrations of Yule and Christmas, the indulgence and glamour of twinkling lights and shiny trinkets, this is […]
×
My name is Emma Kathryn, my path a mixture of non-Wiccan Traditional British Witchcraft and Obeah, a blend that represents my heritage. A Devotee of Hekate, my witchcraft is what is needed when needed. I live in the middle of England with my partner, two teenage sons and two crazy dogs.
Latest Posts
  • new year musings Emma Kathryn witch writing the house of twigs woods cold winter
  • Obeah Summer Solstice Litha Jamaica Witchcraft The House of Twigs Emma Kathryn thot witch school
  • the house of twigs spring Emma Kathryn obeah woman whispers
  • obeah woman whispers new year

RELATED POST

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Creative Commons License
This work by The House of Twigs / Author of Article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.