The wheel of the year

Woodspirits celebrate the wheel of the year and work with its seasonal patterns. When we pay attention we see how the natural world is changing around us and how it influences us as the magic of the seasons unfolds.

The Moon and the Sun

The Moon and the Sun as well as other planetary forces influence us and the natural world. They are of cyclical nature. The moon is changing but unchanging. The sun rises and sets every day. 

The Sun grows stronger the first half of the year and wanes until Winter Solstice where the Sun is reborn.

The God and the Goddess

The God can be seen as solar energy. He rises and dies each day. The seasons hold a solar theme represented by 2 characteristics of the god. In the waxing year the Oak King rules, in the waning year the Holly King. They represent the battle between dark and night, day and night.  The Goddess represents the lunar theme. She is ever present as the Queen of Heaven unchanging but changing like the lunar.

The Earth as the great goddess, the mother of all ever nourishing and receiving from Father Sky. Woodspirits relate close to the woodland places therefore antlered deities are an inspiration for our work. Think Cernunos, think Artemis but also Elen of the ways, Hertha and Herne the Hunter. We connect with the wild powers of the land, the free untamed nature.

The Elements

The Elements are the essence of life: The fire of the sun, the water we drink, the air we breath, the earth we stand on – the spirit, the source before everything comes into being. The elemental qualities within us may present themselves as thoughts as the element of air, the fire that fuels our passion, the earth our body, the water our emotion, Spirit the very essence. Every Element has a personality and many aspects to connect with. The 5 Elements are a core part of our circle.

Animism

Experience the river as your ancestor, the tree as a being, the stone as a friend. In animism everything has a soul therefore it is not a thing to use to our human favour -No- we are in a relationship with the natural world. Animism is more an experience rather than a belief. You can’t connect with it from reading a book, you have to immerse yourself in it. Every hill, every wood, every lake has a personality. Every wild creature has a character like you. An ill river has not much to give such as not many fish, much like an ill person can’t give much. As the ill person may need support or left by themselves to go into homeostasis as does a natural being. How do you relate to your natural environment and what can you give? When Woodspirits work with the land we always give back.

Woodspirits currently resides at Queen’s Woods, Highgate, North London.