I’m so excited to give our community a glimpse into the magical path I’ve been devoted to for years.

Leveraging the energies present in any given season is a practice that is deeply ingrained in magical paths around the globe. 

In my tradition, we observe the Wheel of the Year, which is based on the Celtic agrarian calendar, updated for modern times.  We use the Wheel to align with the natural cycles of life. 

Seasonal changes were very important to the Celts, who looked to nature to know when to plow the fields, sow their seeds, harvest the crops, and rest.  

The Wheel that I (and many others) follow today is divided into 4 fire festivals, spaced evenly throughout the year.  

Each fire festival celebrates the transition of the sun through the 4 seasons— Winter, spring, summer and fall. The Wheel also include 4 ‘quarter’ festivals to celebrate the midpoints of each season— The spring and fall equinoxes and the summer and winter solstice. 

To keep things really simple, I find it easier to look at The Wheel as 2 halves: light season and shadow season.   

The light season, includes Ostara or Spring Equinox (March 20 – 23) through to Lammas (August 1) and the shadow season from the Autumn Equinox or Mabon (September 20 – 22)  through to Imbolc (February 2).  

Note that shadow season is not to be confused with shadow work, or the practice of consciously integrating the darker and more triggering aspects of ourselves so that we can become whole.  

That said… shadow season happens to be a great time to do this sort of thing. (More on that in a minute. 😉 ) 

For magic makers (magicians, priestesses, witches, etc.), The Wheel of the Year connects to the natural rhythm of life— birth, death and then rebirth.  Light season, shadow season and then light once more.  When working with the seasons, we experience our own cycles and we are reminded that there is indeed a time for everything.  

In the light we are meant to seed, birth and blossom, and in the shadows we
reap, reflect and rest. 

Working with the seasons and the natural rhythm of the Universe as you manifest is very powerful.  Since there is a cycle to everything in our Universe, when we work in alignment with nature, we set ourselves up for the path of least resistance.  We allow things to unfold with far more ease. 

So do you NEED to follow the Wheel of the Year for successful manifesting? 

Not at all! 

Sometimes the cycle that serves you best is within you.   And sometimes, you simply have to do what needs to be done. 

Personally, I’m just not going to hang out and wait to sign a contract simply because Mercury is in retrograde.  (I know plenty of people who do.) 

And….at the same time I do follow the natural rhythms and work with the cycles very closely.  Not because it’s tradition or to honor Goddess, but because it puts me on a path of accelerated manifesting success. 

My personal stance is to work magic and manifest with the cycles from a place of personal responsibility and personal power.  Not by giving over choice or decisions to “the powers that be.” 

All our Desires truly exist in the now.  We have the opportunity to allow them more quickly by working with the energies present in each season, when we can, without abdicating responsibility.  

We are at choice, always.  

Over time, we’ll share more ‘how to’ on manifesting with the energy of the seasons and other natural cycles.  

Right now, as we enter the darker time, I want to share 3 ways to manifest using the energy of shadow season.  

Shadow Season Practice #1: Celebrate Your Harvest & Release What No Longer Serves 

The shadow season begins after the 2nd of the three harvest festivals, Lammas, Mabon and Samhain, on October 31st.   

It’s the ideal time to give thanks for all that you’ve manifested by amping up your gratitude practice and to release what’s no longer serving you.   

Celebration and gratitude isn’t simply “a nice thing to do”. The energy of gratitude is highly magnetic.  It instantly raises your frequency and energizes abundance to call in more.  

If you’re already celebrating a bountiful harvest, amp up your practices and watch even more blessings appear.  

Key manifesting practices include:  

• Starting a daily gratitude practice.  Check out this article, Gratitude Practices of a 7-Figure Businesswoman for ideas and inspiration 

• Major tidying, decluttering and home cleaning.  (I recently stopped everything to do a major space clearing in my office.  $10,000 in new projects followed.  Coincidence?  Nope.) 

• Performing release rituals…because if you haven’t manifested what you Desire up to now, there is something you need to let go of in order to call it in.
  Here are 5 full moon release rituals to get you started

Shadow Season Practice #2: Go Within  

The shadow season is also a great time to really explore the parts of ourselves that need to be brought to the light to release.   (Indeed, this is one of the ways you can observe Samhain, a day traditionally devoted to the shadow.)  

Going within is an opportunity to get in reality about the habits and patterns that typically take us out.. 

Often (okay…always) these shadow aspects represent exactly what we need to let go of and integrate in order to call in what we Desire.  That which we cannot be with owns us... and keeps us from fully stepping into our true sovereignty to create as we choose.   

When we go within during the shadow season, we set ourselves up to show up in the light season more fully.  

Key manifesting practices include:  

• Connect with your shadow self in meditation, visualization or with oracle readings. Conjure up the version of yourself that represents the darkest, most unlovable qualities you notice without yourself and really speak to her from a place of compassion. Ask your Shadow… 

1. How does she serve you? 
2. What does she want to express? 
3. What actions can you take to allow her to feel welcome? 

• Performing self-love rituals. Because digging deep is exhausting…not going to lie. You’ll want to offset this kind of work with lots of self-compassion, self-love and self-care.  Here are 3 super easy rituals to do so: 

1.  Anoint your heart chakra with rose essential oil morning and night 
2. Consciously create the resonance of love for 2 – 5 minutes several times throughout the day or immediately following any triggering experience.  
3. Write yourself a short love note at the end of each day. 

Shadow Season Practice #3: Take Stock, Complete and Clear.

As you celebrate what have you called in up to this point, the shadow season also becomes a great time to consider any unfinished business and to discern what needs to be completed vs. what must be cleared so that we can start anew for the next cycle.  

This may mean kicking things into high gear to reap your final harvest. Or, it might be time to clear the decks and look at what you really want moving forward.  

This can be a really tricky one for ambitious peeps, I know.  

It’s not the green light to start push, push, pushing and working against the natural rhythms that invite us to slow down. 

You have to be really honest with yourself here. You have to connect with Essence and ask— “Is it really time to push… or is time to clear my plate?”  

And if the answer is “keep going”, you’ll want to really focus on aligned action, not  busy work, to make sure you’re manifesting from a place of Truth. 

Key manifesting practices include:  

• Reviewing your Desires and any goals set in the spring.  
• Working with Divination tools. Tapping into higher wisdom with oracle cards, tarot, pendulums, or automatic writing can offer clarity around next steps. 
• Taking massive, aligned action to manifest a big Desire. To begin to understand what “aligned action” really means, download the 4 manifesting tools and take aligned action today.

Shadow Season Bonus Practice: Plant Seeds For Spring 

Though this season is all about winding down, it’s also the ideal time to look ahead and to plan for the light season.  

This isn’t the time to do major sowing of seeds, of course, but it is a great time to get clear on what you really wish to create when the light returns and take simple actions to put you on that path.  

Key manifesting practices include: 

• Start or deepen your New Moon Ritual . New Moons are the ideal time in the lunar cycle to set intentions and your practice over the shadow season can deepen the practices above and guide you to what you want next.
• Begin journaling or meditating to uncover your biggest boldest Desires.
• Look at The Wheel of the Year to come, and consider when you might wish to manifest specific outcomes using the energies present. (a.k.a. create a loose calendar or plan for next year)  

Which shadow season practices are YOU most drawn to for the coming months?