Winter Finding | September 22nd (Observed 21st)

The ancient calendar only recognized two seasons. There was summer, and there was winter. Just as May Day was their first day of Summer, Winter Finding was their first day of winter. The temperature slowly begins to fall, the days get shorter. Those who grow their food begin preparations for the final harvests. The larders are growing full with the fruit of earlier efforts. Now it’s time to begin the hunt, to kill enough game to finish winter’s preparations.

Today, many of us don’t have the same connection to the need for food and preparation that our Ancestors experienced. Food has become easy to access, and therefore not so vitally important. Those who hunt, usually do it for sport not because without it they don’t have the food to survive the Winter. This doesn’t mean, however, that we cannot take the time to think and reflect. Thus begins the Winter season. Thus begins the death of the “world” too dark and cold. We can all see and feel the change in the world around us. Our days are shorter, the nights grow colder. The leaves change and begin to fall.

Get outside and find someplace to sit and feel the changes. Make a hearty meal to share with your family and with the Gods. If you hunt dedicate, your first kill to the Gods and Ancestors, to Ullr. Share a choice cut with them. Now is time to begin the “closing in.” Everyone begins to gather closer to home, sticking close to push away the wintery drear. Take time to remember what’s important.