I dislike seeing nature characterized as Light and Loving Nature Mommy in spring and summer and Dark and Unforgiving Nature Mother in the autumn and winter. Thou liest!
Nature is nature and the forces we've been taught to see as "light" and "dark" exist year round. The summer is full of rattlesnakes and parasitic insects. The sun is high but the heat can be as deadly as the cold. The winter is teeming with softness and life, and things are sleeping softly underground. The night is dark and the sunlight is short, but the snow glows and the ice sings.
Nothing is light or dark. It just is.
Ive said this before but I strongly believe that many people who identify with witchcraft spaces and animism would benefit immensely from physically demanding outdoor sports.
Obviously there are people who physcially can't but there are certainly ways to expiriance these things vicariously through books podcasts and shows.
There is nothing that gives you a deeper understanding of the indifferent and inhuman aspects of different nature spirits and forces than interacting with them in a physically demanding and competitive way.
Rocks absolutely do not care if you want to climb them. Rattlesnakes are fearful and their venom is a last resort that takes a great deal of energy for them to produce, but they will strike out at you if you invade their space during a hike. Plants that die back significantly in the fall and winter wouldnt be able to grow vigorously in the spring if they didn't. The threat of dehydration does not care if you believe the summer is plentiful while you're going for a trail run.
Spending time meditating in nature is wonderful, and something I like to do on my free mornings, but spending time physically relying on nature (usually through some kind of sports activity given that if youre reading this on tumblr its unlikely youre living off grid off the land) gives you a real insight into the different perspectives of nature spirits way beyond "winter cold = bad".
