The contemporary Pagan year begins and ends at the close of the agricultural season. Most modern-day Pagans celebrate the year’s turn on or around October 31st, often in conjunction with the Celtic holiday of Samhain (pronounced “sow-ehn”). The shifting of the year marks a transition between the outwardly-focused warmer months and the more inward, home-oriented focus of the cooler months of the year. This transition is honored in many ways by the large number of religions that fall into the category of “Pagan.” Along with customs specific to our individual paths and faiths, some practices are more widespread and occur across the different threads of belief. One practice that many Pagans engage in is Winter Work. During the transition period in late October and early November, Winter Work is selected and preparations for it begin.
Winter Work is an area of study, focus, labor, or creation that is well suited to the longer nights and cooler temperatures of the winter season. For our ancestors in northern climates, winter was the time of handwork and creation: mending, carving, sewing, and more. The center of home life involved activities that could be performed in limited daylight and nighttime firelight. By choosing a winter focus, we align ourselves with patterns of civilization from the times before electric lights and climate control. Rather than fighting the cooler, darker season and attempting to ignore it, we embrace winter by engaging with it as our ancestors did for the thousands of years before the industrial revolution. Continue reading….
