The past week has been cloudy and rainy, with Maryland’s summer storms often coming in the afternoon and the evening. For the last five years, it seems our summers get wetter and wetter – but I’ve always enjoyed the rain.
It’s always felt cleansing.
Lately, I’ve been sitting on the balcony of my apartment, watching as the storms roll in. I like watching the streaks of lightning, trying to figure out what hue or blue or purple they are, and listen to the rolls of thunder get louder and louder. And without thinking, I’ve been asking and feeling as through the storms could charge me.
For what? I do not know. No reason at all other than to have a piece of the moment with me for longer.
I only know that the heat of the sun makes my skin feel like it’s absorbing energy, and the thunder and humidity of a storm can induce the feelings of being grounded and charged.
Earth’s weather has a funny way of influencing our moods, feelings, and bodies.
The rain, though charging and relaxing, has taken much of my motivation for work away. I would rather curl up with a good book or write my own.
Just as winter feels like a time for rest, so do lazy summer storms.
I find winter snows make my inner child’s toes squirm with awe; that weather makes me want to play – whether that’s with words or by watching movies or snowball fights or attempting to make the perfect hot chocolate, winter snow feels like time for the imagination.
I guess that’s why witches of the past and present bottle up this weather. Collecting jars of storm water for hexes or breaking barriers (mental or physical), or melting snow water for its properties of renewal - it allows us to hold onto these pure emotions for just a little while longer.
If only you could bottle sunlight for a doze of motivation when the clouds come, or wind for when you just want someone to go away.
Weather magick is funny like that. You are at the mercy of the Earth – a storm comes when it wants, rarely when it’s forced. Snow only happens when it’s cold. We must enjoy the emotions and the feelings they stir up when they arrive, sitting with them as we would a book or a pet.
We can store what we can for later use, though it may not be as potent. It may not conjure up exactly the same feeling as when the storm was right above us, cracking the sky open and shaking our chests. We may not be as motivated just by drinking sun-charged water as when we could feel the heat absorb into our skin.
So if we can, it’s best to give into the moment.
To step away from the slack messages or the emails to watch a storm come in, or to open the window on a breezy day to get it stir up old energy and get things going again. To giggle at the sight of a snowflake landing on the window pane.
Weather is fleeting, it’s magick powerful but just the same. And though I may not always like how it makes me feel, and while my to-do list might get a little longer on a cloudy day…it’s best to roll with it.
If I didn’t, if we didn’t, I’m not sure I’d ever find the time to rest or listen to the signs the earth is giving me. Maybe you wouldn’t either.