Witchy Wisdom: Practising Self Care as Winter Sets In

Late November can often be miserable, with cold weather settling in and the nights getting longer, as well as the worries and extra work brought about by the run-up to the festive season. This year will be worse than most with so much uncertainty and the probability that many of us won't get to visit our family at Yuletide. However, we can all engage in a bit of self-care to help us through the dark times.

Jane Mortimer wrote:

"I am trying hard to eat sensibly, drink lots of water and do a bit of exercise, though the weather's been too yucky for much walking and cycling. Yesterday I found myself thinking about Ganesh for no obvious reason, and I remembered I had a little brass Ganesh pendant that I bought in the 1970s and had never worn. I wondered where it might be, then it turned up in a box when I was looking for something else. I Googled Ganesh and found he is a deity for new beginnings and enterprises, so perhaps he was calling me. Anyone who's survived a head transplant is worth listening to! 

"The pendant's been Brasso'd and put on a chain and now it's polished I can see how beautiful it is. I think the fact that this happened on the day of the New Moon is significant too - a great time to start taking positive steps forward, however small. To this end, I am revisiting a book I bought early last year, the Witch's Book of Self Care, to add magick to the diet and exercise and stop it becoming a chore."

When it comes to practical and spiritual help for coping with hard times, I would also recommend the book Weathering the Storm, which I contributed to and is available for free in many places. Weathering the Storm was published earlier this year by Moon Books. It offers support to those who are isolated or vulnerable, and was written by the community of Moon Books authors and edited by Trevor Greenfield. We all offered our talents for free to try to help all who are dealing with difficult situations. 

Written in three parts, psychological, spiritual and practical, the ebook offers a range of articles, information, and inspiration. I wrote two chapters; a guided visualisation called 'Weathering the Storm', based on the book's title, and an essay entitled 'The Signs of Hope in Urban Nature'. The book has a Pagan focus, but  includes material suitable for anyone interested mind, body, spirit matters, alternative lifestyles and spiritualities. 

You can download it for free in the US, Canada, Australia and India via Amazon. It's also free on Barnes and Noble and you can read it for free via Google Books in the UK. For some reason Amazon UK and Amazon Europe listed it at £0.99 and 1 euro prices respectively, despite the publisher wanting it to be available at no charge. I also posted my guided visualisation from the book on my blog earlier this year, and you can find that here.

You can view Weathering the Storm on Amazon and view Witch's Book of Self Care on Amazon.

Note: If you are experiencing health problems, visit your GP.