BY JACKLYN JANEKSELA

Seemingly non-pagan holidays dwell in the midst of winter solstice – their roots are witches. During the darkest part of the year, when the veil is thinnest, we gather for ceremony. This is no coincidence – this is by design. While the days grow shorter and moon light lingers longer, what we really celebrate is not the birth of something or someone, but death. Capricorn season oozes with death. It is covering everything in colder temperatures and frosty layers – it is where things go to die. It is Saturnalia.

Capricorn – a mythical, Luciferian, pervasive energy, begs us to enter the underworld. The abyss equal to the peak. Capricorn is the fallen angel glyph – taking us from mountaintops to the bottom of the sea. Through this symbol, we build determination despite circumstances – hitting the bottom means climbing is soon to follow.

During winter, Satan performs with death drippings aplenty. He persuades us to have tomb mentalities and resurrection aspirations. Fear not, this death is only temporary, yet one that is absolutely necessary.

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First, realize that death is only a transition, one shadowed by rebirth.

As winter pulls life from all sources and seems to bury it for good, we need not stare into the grave for too long. We must remind ourselves, spring follows winter – witnessing life sprout again, the rekindling of that which rests just below the surface. This change is constant – it is cycle. And like nature, we follow a pulse, too.

Do not tremble in the face of impending death for behind it is evolution, teeming with manifesting powers. Nature does not lie, follow her lead. Listen to her cadence as if breathing – watch it fall from lips and dance into frigid evening airs like animated ghosts.

Second, recognize death within and without the body.

It’s no secret that humans get fucking depressed during winter season. Sure, with less exposure to sunlight, SAD settles into our bodies like seed. Capricorn burgeons with seed, albeit one that seems to take forever to germinate. And it burrows. What other seed blossoms bits of death, dirge, and drudge like the SAD seed does? We lament ourselves and sing the deepest woes.

But when we look a little closer something else rises. It’s the Satanic fumes that are liberated from Hades and waft through the land of the living like perfume rot with spruce, cypress, and yew. Satan is Saturn is Cronos –they are one in the same, reminders of impermanence. He tempts us every year – into death or some version of it. The goal isn’t to be seduced by death, but to lure ourselves into killing parts, of letting go.

Death goes beyond physical realms. Saturn, the keeper and breaker of boundaries/bones, and Satan, the ultimate redeemer, command transition – and initiate spiritual death.

Third, accept death.

Cronos, the timekeeper, reminds us that death is but a flash. Under the Capricorn season, Cronos seems to whisper – the clock is an illusion. If we can accept death as another moment in time, the process of living, then we can surely respect winter for much more than what it appears to be. Seeing death as temporary opens possibilities for growth. Winter leads to new chapters – well-worth the wait and full of exciting beginnings. Death is a stepping stone, so step forward – revel in death, be death positive.

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Whether we decide to burrow under blankets and gracefully pause or diligently carve out a space where death becomes friend rather than foe – we are larvae waiting. We are not as vulnerable as we think – we are braver despite and in spite of the cold. We are prepared.

Capricorn readies us for budding. Imbibe the season for what it is – a sampling of death with backdrops of super moons and seasonal ritual. It is inky skies where stars appear a bit brighter. A reminder that after the pith we, too, will sparkle again as if winking at life’s phases, as if understanding self a little more.

jacklyn janeksela is a wolf and a raven, a cluster of stars, & a direct descent of the divine feminine. she can be found; & elsewhere. she is in a post-punk band called the velblouds. her baby @ femalefilet. her chapbook fitting a witch//hexing the stitch (The Operating System, 2017). she is an energy. find her @ hermetic hare for herbal astrology readings.