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Thursday, January 3, 2019

Creating Your Magical Calendar

Creating Your Magical Calendar

The New Year is upon us and for those of you looking to live a more magical life, one of the easiest ways to do so is to plan ahead by setting up a magical calendar. Whether you purchased a magical planner or not, it's important to map out important dates to get a sense of what the year has in store for you. But where exactly should you start? What dates are important? What else should go onto your calendar to live your best magical year? This step-by-step guide is here to help!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

1. Purchase, print, or create your planner. This seems like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised at the number of people who don't keep a calendar. Studies show that calendars are more effective than to-do lists, so if you are looking at creating a magical year, you should probably get one. There are several options out there depending on what you are looking for.

I know many witches prefer to purchase a magical datebook/calendar that has the most important dates already mapped out. I've used these in the past, including the Coloring Book of Shadows Planner and The Moon Sign Datebook. Another such planner that is highly popular Llewellyn's Witch's Datebook. All three are excellent planners, providing additional witchy information within the pages of the calendar, offering both monthly and weekly calendars. There is a downside to these, of course. First, because the dates are already mapped out, you don't have to do any of the work of committing the dates to memory, even if that commitment is just writing them down during the planning process. Because of this, dates are likely to sneak up on you or pass without your noticing. Second, these planners are not customizable. The format is preselected and you are stuck working with what they give you. This is great for those witches who are not particularly creative or who don't have time to create their own datebook but can feel restricting for those who want a more personal touch. Don't get me wrong, these planners are still great. I received the 2019 Coloring Book of Shadows Planner for Yule this year. Trust me, I'll be using it!

Maybe a premade magical planner doesn't quite "fit" you. I find magical planners too "dark" for my tastes. Witchcraft doesn't have to be spooky or dark or mysterious. My witchcraft is bright and colorful. I love floral prints if you hadn't already figured that out from my blog. I also love greens, pinks, and greys. Surprise, surprise. Purchasing a nonmagical planner is also perfectly acceptable, especially if you are looking for something brighter and airier to fit your personality. Maybe you prefer how a nonmagical planner is set up. Honestly, I like nonmagical planners the best to organize my life. Why? Well for a couple of reasons. First, a nonmagical planner forces me to write down all the important dates of the year, which helps commit them to memory. Second, I often like how nonmagical planners are set up better than magical ones. While the extra magical information is great, I really like to have a place to jot notes, phone numbers, contact information, or even have envelopes to store receipts, scrap paper, or anything else I believe is important at the time. A nonmagical planner allows me to do more with it long term than a magical one does. Guess what...I also have a nonmagical floral planner my mom got me for Christmas. This will likely turn into my preferred planner because I love how its set up and I adore the floral design and pink tones present throughout it. However, the negatives are the same for a nonmagical planner as they are for a magical one. They are harder to customize and may be missing important details.

If a premade magical or nonmagical planner is not for you, you can also print off a blank calendar, whether it be weekly or monthly, and customize your calendar that way. I love Thyme and Honey's free printable monthly calendar. I use her calendar for both works (planning lesson plans) and mapping out blog posts. I find a monthly view allows me to better plan longterm. A weekly planner gets in the way of me seeing longterm, but its great for writing down daily tasks for the short term. So when it comes to work and even planning rituals, I prefer a monthly printable calendar. With all the white space on these calendars, you can easily decorate the calendars however you please and place them in a binder to create your own planner. Combine it with some stickers, post-it notes, envelopes, and scratch paper and you got yourself a handmade planner! Another, more techno-friendly option is from Time and Date. They allow you to customize and print your own calendar, with all the major dates you want to be listed! The downside to printing your own calendar is that you have to have a print and ink to do so. Furthermore, they are generally full sheets of paper, so they take up some space and are not easy to transport, especially if you are bringing your planner with you back and forth between work, school, or other trips. They are also slightly more time consuming, as the calendar I love requires you put in the dates, instead of having them already mapped out.

Want to get more creative? Try a bullet journal. Instagram and Pinterest are full of beautiful bullet journal ideas, especially for witches. This allows the ultimate freedom when it comes to a planner. You can add, remove, and create pages of your own design. However, this is the most time-consuming option available, and most witches who use a bullet journal only plan one month at a time. Because of this, long-term dates are hard to recognize, but patterns in your personal life are sometimes easier to spot because the planner was created on a monthly or daily basis.

No matter which method you decide, make it work for you. There is no right planner to use, so be creative. Use more than one method if you need to. I sure do!

Creating Your Magical Calendar


2. Cleanse and bless your planner. Whatever your preferred method of cleansing and blessing is, use it. I prefer sage or palo santo, and when I carry out this ritual I say something like, "I cleanse and bless this planner to help me plan my magical year, reach my goals, and bring happiness and prosperity to all in my life."

3. Add important dates for sabbats, moon phases, retrogrades, and other astrological events. If you picked a nonmagical planner, you will need to begin adding major dates to your calendar. The most important dates include major holidays, full and new moons, retrogrades (especially Mercury Retrograde), and eclipses. You can also mark meteor showers, astrology dates, and other astrological events. Below you will see a list of major events for 2019.

2019 Sabbats

Imbolc- February 2nd (Lammas in SH)
Ostara- March 20th (Mabon in SH)
Beltane- May 1 (Samhain in SH)
Litha/Midsummer- June 21st (Yule in SH)
Lammas- August 1 (Imbolc in SH)
Mabon- September 23 (Ostara in SH)
Samhain- October 31st (Beltane in SH)
Yule- December 21 (Litha in SH)

2019 Full Moons

Wolf Moon- January 21st- Total Lunar Eclipse in NA & SA
Snow Moon- February 19th
Worm Moon- March 20th
Pink Moon- April 19th
Flower Moon- May 18th
Strawberry Moon- June 17th
Buck Moon- July 16th- Partial Lunar Eclipse everywhere but NA
Corn Moon- August 15h
Harvest/Sturgeon Moon- September 14th
Blood/Hunter Moon- October 13th
Beaver Moon- November 12
Cold Moon- December 12th

2019 New Moons

January 5th
February 4h
March 6th
April 5th
May 4th
June 3rd
July 2nd- Solar Eclipse in parts of SA and Pacific
July 31st
August 30th
September 28
October 27
November 26
December 26- Annular Solar Eclipse in South Asia

Mercury Retrogrades

March 5h-28th
July 8th-August 1st
October 31st-November 20th

For meteor showers check out Sky and Telescope.

Jot down other important dates as well, such as major holidays you celebrate that isn't pagan such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Boxing Day, Independence Day, etc. You will likely not do anything witchy with these holidays, but if they are a big deal to your family, they will interfere with any magic you may inadvertently plan. Also make sure you note major birthdays, including your own. Your birthday is an extremely powerful day for your magic. Don't waste it!

If you bought a magical planner, these dates should all be included in it. Find them and mark them any way you see fit. This will help you remember them and easily see when they will be occurring. Even if they are already written, its an important step in remembering to find them and highlight them or mark them in some way. Plus, it gives you a chance to also include dates important to you that may not be featured in your planner already.

Creating Your Magical Calendar


4. Begin planning your magic. Once all the dates for major holidays and moons are in your planner, you can begin deciding when you will set up altars, write rituals, or host a get-together. This may seem like a chore, but if you put it on your calendar that you will be setting up your altar or purchasing ritual supplies on a certain day, you are more likely to do so and therefore experience that magic. You don't need to plan your entire year, but I strongly suggest you at least plan through March. This gives you a good solid 3 months to get your year started right. I know some witches plan their entire year out before January 1st. You don't have to do this, but 3 months is a good start, plus it gets you through the first two sabbats and the first 3 full and new moons of the year. Why not start the year out right with a plan? Now, you don't have to plan something for every single astrological or "witchy" event occurring throughout the year. In fact, I have this nasty habit of missing full and new moons completely and just celebrating the sabbats by setting up an altar. In some people's minds, I may be considered a terrible witch. That's fine with me. I honor our Mother Earth and the changing seasons in my own way. This is your magical year, so plan it out how you want.

5. Set goals and plan how to meet them. Once you have a rough plan on how you will tackle the events you marked on your calendar, start thinking back to those magical goals you may have set for the New Year. How can you use your planner to help you meet those goals? For example, I want to read at least 6 witchcraft books this year, specifically about spirit work and the history of witchcraft. I went ahead and picked my top 6 books for the year and every other month wrote one of the books on the monthly section of my planner as the goal for the next two months. On the first of the month, I wrote "Begin reading [insert book title here]" to remind myself that I need to begin reading a new book if I haven't already. Another goal of mine is to finish writing my book on hedgecraft. I've made sure I marked down dates I want to have chapters completed by to force me to work on it.

Other witchy goals or ideas you can easily plan include:
  • Starting or continuing a magical garden
  • Beginning a witchy blog or planning posts for your current blog
  • Starting a witchy Etsy store
  • Working on your Grimoire
  • Practicing tarot or runes
  • Hedge riding
  • Self-care rituals
  • Ritual house cleansing or space clearing
  • Checking your wards
  • Organizing your magical supplies or just your home in general
  • Cleansing and consecrating ritual tools and altars
  • Communication or celebrating your deities
  • Ancestral communication and celebration
  • Familiar communication and celebration

Whatever your goals for the year are, a good way to meet them is to break them up into small manageable steps and jot them down in your planner. Remember to take it easy on yourself. Don't completely pack your schedule. Leave lots of wiggle room in case life gets crazy or you need a break and to prevent burn out. You'll get tired really fast if you have something scheduled every single day. And most of all, don't beat yourself up if you don't stick to your calendar. I always write in pencil, that way I can erase and move things around as I wish. Witchcraft isn't about being perfect and it most definitely isn't about sticking to a schedule you may have written months ago.

Creating Your Magical Calendar


6. Carry your planner with you or keep it somewhere you will see and check it often. Its all well and good to spend an hour or two putting together your planner, but if you aren't going to use it, what's the point? Don't let your time and energy go to waste! Use the heck out of your planner! Check it in the morning. Check it during lunch. Check it after work or before you go to bed. Add to it often. Move things around. Jot notes in it. Stick photographs in the pages to mark your progress. Turn it into a living, breathing, piece of magic. Trust me; if you take the time to create a planner and use it accordingly, you will find you are more productive, more magical, and at the end of the year you will have created one of the most powerful books you will ever come across. Your planner will become a Book of Shadows by the end of all this if you let it.

And there you have it! I know it was a slightly long read and will take quite a bit of work up front, but trust me, this is worth the time and energy you put into it. The hottest blogging topic recently has been how to practice witchcraft daily or live a more spiritual life. Those lists and ideas are all well and good, but they mean nothing if your schedule is in complete shambles and you have no idea when different sabbats or moon cycles are occurring.

How do you plan your magical year? What type of planner did you pick? I'd love to hear from you and see your planners in action. Please leave a comment below or feel free to tag me on Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, or shoot me an email! Happy planning, witches.


2 comments :

  1. Your article on creating your personal planner is as helpful today as it was a year ago❣️
    Thank you, Willow Blessings, Doree

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you found it useful! I changed up my planners a bit this year and just working with the paper ones at home and at work. Thank you for reading and commenting. :)

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