You can't call it Spring Cleaning if you don't do this...
Recipes to make the most of Aries Season
Inside: Thoughts on Spring Cleaning and a few humble brags. Plus, Spring Cleaning rituals to help you make the most of the season.
As of today, I’m back at school. Spring break is over, and the final quarter (!!) of my first year in my PhD program has begun! I can’t believe it.
I had big plans for all I would do over spring break to reconnect with myself and make my life easier once the quarter started. So many hikes, so many books to read (in preparation), hundreds of social media posts to be done so that I could have them ready to go.
As it happens, I went on no hikes, read no books that had anything to do with my classes next quarter, and completed no social media posts. Sigh.
BUT! I did complete several things that I had on my to do list for Aries Season.
As I discussed in the Aries Season Witch Guide (a download for paid subscribers), ‘tis the season for Spring Cleaning.
Because EVERYTHING I do takes me 3x as long as I think it’s going to, I don’t attempt to do my Spring Cleaning all at once. In classic ADHD fashion, I may not go fast, but I go deep.
Here are three things I’m proud to share that I did over spring break:
Before my beloved cat Pagan died two years ago, she took to hiding in a cupboard filled with tissue paper, wrapping paper, and ribbons. Even though it was all shredded up (and one of my new cats was constantly getting in there and making a mess) I hadn’t been able to touch it because thinking of her final days made me cry. But every time I walked passed it I would think of it. Well, I finally cleaned it out. Now I can remember our happier times together (and my new cat Graymalkin won’t be able to make such a mess!).
Here’s a drawing I did of Graymalkin, which I feel captures his malevolence. My female cat Moonin loathes him.
I cleaned out my Make Up Drawer. Lately I’ve found myself being seduced by make up offers that promise not to cake in older skin (ahhh! Instagram algorithm, you know me too well). So my make up drawer was OVERFLOWING. Now it is clean and I can get back to using the same five basic products as always. lol
Not only did I clean out my make up drawer, I cleaned my make up BRUSHES! (I’m embarrassed to say it had been, like, a year – or two 😬 – since I’d done that. ) Thank you, thank you. No need for applause, but flowers are welcome!
After I’d completed these feats of heroism, Spirit gave me a high five. As I was taking out the trash I’d accumulated in my make up drawer, I picked up the fallen cinnamon broom on my porch and found…
… the cocoon of a Great Swallowtail Butterfly on one of its switches. Now, normally when I find these cocoons, they have a little hole in them which means they’ve already been attacked and killed by parasitic wasps - but this one was in tact so I brought it inside.
Now I have to figure out how to keep it protected so that it can hatch without Graymalkin getting to it (he is DEDICATED to destruction, this cat).
If any of you are interested in Spring Cleaning, here’s a link to a song that can put you in the mood (especially if you’re a golden oldie like me!).
Love,
Amanda
Spring Cleaning Ritual (from the Aries Season Witch Guide)
(Duration: You can do this all at once, or do little bits and pieces throughout the month)
Items Needed: A selection of brooms (I’m using a cinnamon broom and a floor broom), a bucket and a mop, salt, water, protection herbs (see list of correspondences) or protection floor wash, fumigation herbs (like sage if you can get it ethically - garden sage works great, or mugwort, juniper, lavender, rosemary, cedar, etc.), onions and/or garlic, a glass bowl, black stones, bells or chimes.
Aries season is a great time to get rid of your old junk and to clear your home of any stuffy old energy.
Below, I’ve given you a list of 9 witchy techniques you can use for Spring Cleaning, including things like spiritual protection techniques, and how to use smoke to clear your space.
I have put them in the order I like to do them, but you can do them in the order that suits you.