At winter's halfway point, take time to honor the past year's losses and harness the cleansing power of fire. Learn more about the spiritual meaning of Februalia.

In ancient Rome, before our modern calendar became what it is today, the year began in March, the month named for the war god Mars. Ten months of the year were counted up until December, which held the winter solstice, and what we now call January and February were unnamed, a dead zone in the year.

January is one of the hardest times of year to establish new habits. Instead, use these compassionate intentions to support your body through the hard winter.

While the practice of New Year's resolutions was once a commitment to spirituality and community, it has evolved to frequently focus on things like diet and exercise. While setting intentions can be wonderful and the New Year can definitely feel like a fresh start, it’s actually a terrible time to be making big changes, especially when it comes to adding exercise and reducing calories.

It’s early December as I write this, and we are getting into grief season. As the daylight gets shorter and the moon comes out more, it’s natural to think about what was gained and lost over the last year. Traditionally, the Winter Solstice was called Yule, a 12-day celebration of the rebirth of the light after the darkest moment of the solar year. It’s a time for revelry, food, and joy, but it’s also about remembering was came before, about being in the sweet, if melancholy, embrace of the darker season. It’s about looking forward to the next year, but also about looking back at the last one. It is a natural time to be engaged with the feelings and processes of grieving. 

The Harvest Moon, the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, brings potent magic and wisdom. Learn what this year’s Harvest Moon has to teach you.

Each full moon of the year has a special name that comes from cultures all over the world. Usually, these names refer to the season, and the moon’s appearance shifts depending on whether we’re in a year with twelve or thirteen moons. The Harvest Moon is a special name, as it refers to the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere). It’s called that because, at this time of the year, the full moon tends to rise around sunset for several nights in a row, giving farmers that little bit of extra light to work by during the vital harvest season. It usually rises sometime in September, but it can land in October as well.

At the cross-quarter date between the summer solstice and fall equinox, many modern pagans celebrate Lughnasadh. Learn more about this ancient Celtic harvest festival, and explore how to celebrate it yourself.

To align with the spiritual meaning of the full Hunter’s Moon this October, complete your internal harvest.

The Hunter’s Moon is one of the few traditional moon names that isn’t associated with the month itself, but rather with the timing of the autumnal equinox. While the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox is always the Harvest Moon, the moon that follows is referred to as the Hunter’s Moon, and it makes its first appearance in either October or November.

Feeling wilted in the middle of summer? Channel the spiritual energy of thunderstorms and heat with July’s Thunder Moon.

The Western Abenaki have named July’s full moon the Thunder Moon due to the likelihood of thunderstorms around this time. The Anishinaabe call it the Halfway Summer Moon, which places it right in the middle of the summer as it tends to be felt, rather than according to the seasons or the solstice. Several traditions also call it the Full Buck Moon, referring to the time when the male deer are showing off their impressive antlers.

April’s full moon has a traditional name given to it by indigenous peoples that would count time by the moons: the Full Pink Moon. It is named after the pink phlox that would cover the ground in April, indicating the first flowers of the spring season.