| Nature |
| Nature and seasons Attuning ourselves to the seasonal cycle is one of the most important things about becoming a Witch. This may seem surprising. After all, our Witch images were all of cats, capes and cauldrons. Why do witches celebrate seasonal festivals? Wicca is a Nature religion. The Divine is in-dwelling in Nature and Nature is its cloak and garment. By celebrating the seasonal festivals we reconnect with the rhythms of Nature and we reconnects with the Divine. This can help end the sense of alienation and anomie felt by many in modern industrial society. It takes us back to our natural origins. Our attitudes to Nature have evolved rapidly over recent centuries . The animist ideas of indigenous peoples and traditional societies � that Nature is alive � clashed with Western capitalism�s scientific materialism. This declared that living creatures were like machines. There was no spiritual dimension to the universe. Nature was natural resources; something to be exploited, regardless of the concesquences. Mining, logging, deforestation, the .lowering of the water table, all these short �term economic benefits were pursued at the expense of the long-term viability of our planet. Nature was seen as available for human exploitation; we were in control. We were wrong. The powers of the elements are not under our control. We cannot hold back the seas that erode our coastlines, the gales that destroy cities and forests, the raging forest fires of over-dry summers, or the earthquakes and volcanoes that threaten to engulf some of our land. Climatic change, global warming, environmental conferences, CFC gases; our newspapers are full of such of such phases. Nature is like our mother. We can abuse her and she will tolerate us because we are her children; but there will come a point where she has had enough. |