Learning the Wheel of the Year and the cycle of the year is one of the core teachings in many Wiccan and witchcraft traditions. As a person learns and practices their path, they may find themselves becoming more and more attuned to nature. They may notice they behave differently during certain seasons or are more affected by things at other times of the year.
Over the years, I have learned to honor and accept the cycles I see in my life and my path. We are each the universe in microcosm, which means we each have cycles in our lives that are unique to us too. If we take a step back and look at our lives from a bigger perspective, we may notice there are cycles or patterns that our lives follow. These patterns may be dictated by work or school. They may be more influenced by family and traditions, or they may be all your own. Most people’s cycles are some combination of all of these.
I own a metaphysical store and a ghost tour company. My patterns and cycles often reflect the busy seasons of my businesses, with most of my downtime happening in January and February. The last quarter is our busiest time and there is no rest for the Wiccan until the new year.
We have more than just physical, busy cycles. Our mundane work and school life have their own flow. But our spiritual practice and our emotional lives also have their own patterns. Sometimes all these cycles align, but usually they do not. Which means we are often living in different cycles all at the same time. Perhaps that is part of the beauty of life.
There are going to be times when your spiritual practice is the first thing you do when you get out of bed. There may be times when you don’t even think to pray all week. I get it; I’ve been in both places on my path.
Try not to beat yourself up about missing your spiritual routine if it happens. Our spiritual lives often work in cycles just like our mundane ones. There are times when my guides are very active and close, and it gets very noisy in my head. Then there will be times when it’s completely quiet and I wonder if I’m alone in the universe. I’m not; I don’t really believe that, but at those times it does feel like all of my spirit team is off doing other things.
Sometimes when it’s very quiet, I reach out to see what is happening on the astral plane. Lately when I do this, I get the impression that everyone is busy, doing other things just slightly out of my reach. It can be annoying, but I understand. The gods, ancestors, and guides all have many things to do and many people to see, not just me. Your guides might feel like you are where you need to be and therefore do not need their constant attention now. Something might have happened to one of their other devotees that they need to attend to. Our guides are mighty beings with incomparable skills, but they cannot be everywhere at once.
Things happen in our lives that cause us to focus more on the physical world and less on the spiritual. It’s okay. Life happens. If you are working on a big project or have a lot going on, it’s natural to put off what you feel like doesn’t have to get done. Yet I know many of us will feel guilty for skipping out on visiting our altars or doing our regular meditation practice.
Every spiritual teacher, including myself, will tell you that the best way to grow your relationship with your gods and guides is to create a regular practice. Spirituality is something we learn by doing, just like tarot and divination or any other skill we want to acquire. But when we fall off our routine wagon, we have to learn to accept it and get back on, without guilt and without fear.
Emily Guenther is a co-owner of The Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.