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Things We Know About Our Current Season of Crisis, by Jo Graham

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

There is no longer a question of whether the Crisis of 2020 will happen—we are deep in it. The question has now become what will happen. Impeachment, which a few years ago would have been the event of the decade, is now totally eclipsed by the COVID-19 epidemic. By the end of the year, that, too, may be eclipsed by the next crescendo of the crisis. This is how the saecular season of Winter unfolds: one storm after another batters us.

The concept of the saeculum, the Great Year, comes to us from the Etruscans. Like the Wheel of the Year, the Great Year has four seasons, each about twenty years long, with the entire cycle taking about eighty years—the length of a long human lifespan. In other words, every eighty years or so, we pass through an era of crisis, our saecular Winter.

Let's count backwards. Eighty years back from 2020 is 1940, with the world at war and the US on the brink of World War II. Eighty years beyond that brings us to 1860 and the beginning of the Civil War. Eighty-four years beyond that brings us to 1776 and the American Revolution. And so on back: the rhythm of our lives is the rhythm of the long seasons. Winter comes, a crisis comes to a head and is resolved. Spring comes and we expand in optimism and hope. Summer comes and we are laden with passionate uncertainty as society undergoes social change. Autumn comes and we grow cynical at the same time that the pursuit of wealth becomes paramount. Each season repeats in its turn throughout history.

Therefore, it's no surprise that 2020 is a year of crisis in a season of crisis. While we cannot ever entirely predict the exact form of the crisis, we can absolutely predict there will be crises, just as we can predict cold weather in winter. We may not be able to say months ahead that it will snow on a particular date, but it's no surprise if you live in Minneapolis that it snows in January!

In other words, we might not have been able to exactly predict COVID-19, but we could certainly see the signs that our medical systems and infrastructure have been stressed for a long time, leaving them vulnerable to an outside event that would test them to the max. Sooner or later, some event would. It's like driving on a tire that's low. It might not blow this time, but sooner or later it will unless you fix the tire. When it does blow, it's not a shock.

History tells us that each crisis era lasts 4-7 years before it reaches resolution. Based on our Pagan understanding of the Great Wheel, in mid-2020 we have perhaps five years of Winter ahead of us. What can we expect in the next months? What is our long-range forecast?

In the summer and autumn of 2020 we can expect an increase in climate-related natural disasters. Record warmth over the winter has left sea temperatures unusually high, which often presages an active hurricane season with strong storms. What storms will reach the US and when is entirely variable, but it is likely that at least one major hurricane will come ashore in the Gulf or Eastern Seaboard with serious consequences. Likewise, the corresponding dry and hot temperatures in the West make an active fire season probable. It's no secret that fire season has been getting worse. We can expect that to continue.

The Election of 2020 will be unlike any other in our lifetime, perhaps unlike any other in American history. Bluntly, if Donald Trump loses, do you think he will shake hands, say the best man won, and quietly retire? Or do you think he will challenge the legitimacy of the election, refuse to relinquish power, and ask his supporters to rise in his defense? How this plays out depends on many things, including the makeup of state legislatures who will choose electors to the Electoral College and certify/refuse to certify their states' returns, the exact nature of election day disruptions, and whose orders various military and civil authorities decide to obey. Astrologically, we are headed for enormous upheavals in late December, just at the point when the election may finally be decided. By January 2021 we may have either president or multiple claimants to the presidency, each recognized by different states or different groups of people. The dice are rolling. The only certainty is crisis.

Early in 2021 we will be in the thick of it. As with hurricanes, it's impossible to predict this far out exactly which communities will see major disruption, though it's safe to say some will. Will this simply be a few armed radicals having stand-offs with local law enforcement? Or will it be official bodies squaring off—ICE against the Coast Guard, Blackwater-style companies against urban police departments, or National Guard units against militia? We don't know. But we do know that tempers are high, guns are available, rhetoric is increasing in intensity, and the cohesive bonds that prevent violence are waning. The momentum is running toward a change as profound as the American Revolution or the Civil War.

Spring will come. Somewhere around 2025 Winter will end. We will pass into the next season with this crisis resolved. What that resolution will be depends on the events of the next few years, but inevitably, certainly, Spring will come.

So how do we, as individuals and responsible members of society, weather these crises? First, we bear in mind that others always have. Because the Great Wheel is 80 years long, few people experience the same season twice except as very young children and again in old age. Today, those who took an active part in World War II are few and far between. We feel that our era of crisis is unique because we literally cannot remember the last time this happened. However, those who came before us left us road maps to the season, something I explore in my book, Winter: Rituals to Thrive in the Dark Cycle of the Saeculum. We can find and follow the maps our ancestors left us.

Second, we must each do our part. No one can sit this out. Whether it's by creating a haven for people displaced by wildfires and hurricanes or taking care of the children of medical professionals fighting an epidemic or by taking an active role as guardians of our communities ourselves, the way to the best resolution of the crisis is by being the heroes we need.

Third, we must conserve the things of value, protect the things that make life rich and beautiful so that in the Spring we will have nice things. Whether through the arts or through scholarship, whether through virtual curation of music or actual protection of cultural treasures, we can't lose sight of the things that make our lives and communities joyful.

As Pagans, we have an intuitive understanding of cyclical time. The Great Wheel is simply the Wheel of the Year writ large. We can use that understanding, and our connection with the gods, to do what needs to be done to resolve the crisis era well. In Winter I provide examples of rites for each of these actions, calling upon Classical deities such as Diana Nemorensis in her role as protector of the vulnerable, Mars the warrior who guards the community, and Mercury who aids clear and accurate communication. With their help, we can be our best selves and rise to the occasion of our times.

The main thing to remember is that while we may not be able to predict the exact events of the next five years, we know that they will challenge us. We are already in the Crisis of 2020. We are deep in Winter. It is going to get worse before it gets better. But it will get better. Just as winter inevitably comes, so does Spring. It's on us to make our Winter choices wisely so that when the time comes we can step into Spring unafraid.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2020. All rights reserved.

I have been dating my boyfriend for six years now, and we've been engaged for three years. My family and our friends keep asking us when we're getting married, and if it was up to me, it would have happened a long time ago. My boyfriend, however, seems to be nervous about it, and always finds some way to not get locked into a specific date. I'm 29 now, and 30 is right around the corner. I'm wondering what's really going on with him, and if I'm being a fool. Am I wasting my youth (and my best childbearing years) on this guy? I am ready to walk away if he is never going to really get married, because if he can't give me all of his heart, what's the point? We are happy together - he just seems to be afraid of taking this final step. When I try to talk to him about it, he assures me there is nothing going on, that he's just busy, or this or that or the other thing. Do you have a spell or some other spiritual tool I can use to break free of this stagnation and move forward one way or another? Thanks, I love your column!

- Andrea

Dreamchaser:

First, why do you think that you do not have all his heart right now? Does one have to be married to give someone all of their heart?

He loves you. You yourself said things are fine. You two have a GOOD relationship. He proposed because you were pushing to get married and he felt if he did not propose, you would walk. He does not want to lose you, but he also does not want to get married.

There are some people in this world (and I am one of them) who do not believe in marriage. Marriage is an antiquated, old-fashioned, outdated ideal. Women do not need a man for financial security, and men do not need a woman to take care of the house anymore. Our roles have changed greatly in the last 100 years.

Your man is afraid of marriage. He has seen friends who had great relationships get married and then have their relationships fall apart. He does not want to lose you. He is afraid if you two get married, your relationship will implode as well. I want to say for the record that people like me who do not believe in marriage can ABSOLUTELY believe in love and monogamy. Just because I don't want to marry a man doesn't mean I don't want to love, honor, support and care for him.

Your man is the same way. He loves and supports you, but he's really afraid of stepping into something he considers relationship doom.

If you want to get married to bear children, it's time you dump this man and move on to find someone who is on the same page, because your man is not ready to do this any time soon. His actions have shown that.

There is nothing that you can do with a spell or spiritual tool because you cannot mess with someone else's free will. That would not only be wrong, it would bring you bad karma.

It is his choice to remain the way he is. If you started dropping spells on him, would you really have him? You would have a husband who was a husband because you forced it. Is that what you really want? Or do you want a man who wants to marry you and chooses it of his own free will?

Only you can say if this is a waste; no one else can make that determination for you. In my opinion, however, real love is never a waste.

I pray that all your dreams come true.

2158

Astrea:

Magic is not supposed to be used to interfere with someone else's free will, but to your credit, you don't say that's what you're seeking. What a good girl you are!

You're asking for something to help you MOVE FORWARD, and there are tons of spells and rituals that can be applied to your situation.

Here is one that has been "road tested" by quite a few people I know well. They all say that if nothing else, it helps them focus on a new kind of goal.

This spell is for when we have outgrown a long-standing relationship with another person and wish to move on without hurting his or her feelings. This approach prevents the guilt-trips, emotional blackmail, button pushing, and other manipulative energies that surround breakups.

To start, carve your boyfriend's name on a white candle with a pin, and then hold the candle in your right hand. Think of all the positive qualities that you know he possesses. Anoint the candle with patchouli oil before putting it in a holder.

Next, carve your name into a pink candle. Hold that candle in your LEFT hand, and think of all the positive things about you and the great things you've experienced in your relationship with him over the past six years.

Trace two pentagrams (stars) with salt around each candle holder. The holders should sit in the spaces in the middle of the stars. Visualize your boyfriend shifting his focus to a joyful new interest, thus relinquishing his dependence and reliance upon you. Light his white candle and say:

"Candle light, by your might, assist in my plight. Free me from emotional fetter, past bonds now scatter. Unchained, I am free forever."

Next, light your pink candle and say: "Candle light, by your might, assist in his plight. Free him from emotional fetter, past bonds now scatter. Unchained, he is free forever." If you can get him to participate in this spell with you, it will be all the more powerful.

Note: I have also found that when a couple does this together, sometimes it has the OPPOSITE effect you might expect, and their love and commitment are renewed and stronger than ever. The idea of being apart scares them into finally getting their act together!

Good luck!

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.