Working with Snow and Ice

I was hoping to get a little more snow before writing this....the topic has actually been on my list for a while, but it's been so mild where we live that it felt kind of strange to be writing about working with snow when we hadn't seen any.  But we actually got snow last week, so here goes!

I have loved snow since I was little.  I always wished for a white Christmas, and there is still something very magical about snow on Christmas morning for me.  I love how the world looks when it is blanketed in fresh snow, and seeing track in the snow.  I saw bunny tracks outside my front door last week!  And when it is snowing and everything is sort of misty and still feeling....snow to me has a very tranquil feel to it.

When I think about working with snow, I think about freezing things, but snow is a softer freeze than ice.  The delicate patterns that form each snowflake are fascinating, and I love the idea that each one is different.  Hail has it's own energy, not only is it hard and often violent (getting stung by hail is not a fun experience!), but it's creation is chaotic and layers of freezing and melting and freezing again.  Then ice is just slowness and cold to me, a very static feeling.

Each one can bring things to your magic, and looking at it from an elemental approach, at it's base they are all water, but also different amounts of earth (for their solidity).  Ice is very commonly used to harden or effect emotional issues.

Some ways of working with snow and ice can be done year round, while others may not be accessible if you don't have cold weather.  With modern appliances, most of us have access to ice and the ability to freeze things.  You can capture snow (or hail, or icicles....) and save the melt water for use all year.  You could even collect snow in a container and keep it in your freezer (assuming you have room in your freezer)!

One of the most basic ice spells involves freezing a name in water.  You write the name of the person or thing that you want to 'freeze', and suspend it in water and place it somewhere that it will freeze.  This is often done with people to keep someone from doing harmful things, or to make them cold to you (for someone who perhaps has feelings of desire or anger that you want to cool off).  You can do this for things you want to stop movement on, freezing unwanted habits or situations that you want to slow down.  In winter months, when you know it will get cold outside, you can do this outside, slipping your paper into small puddles or simply leaving your container of water outside to freeze.

You can also do the inverse of this, naming something you want to unfreeze, suspending it in water and freezing it and then doing your magic as it melts.  This would help to warm situations up or free things (that were frozen in place or held captive).  Another way to do this kind of magic is to create a sculpture in the snow, name and imbue it with your desires, and then let it melt on it's own as the weather permits.

Writing in the snow is one way of leaving your mark on the world.  Write out your affirmations, really feeling into your desires, knowing that you have a unique perspective that no one else can give to the world.  If you are stuck for inspiration, you can write out a request for help, trusting that the exact things you need will come to you. 

Writing in the snow also reminds me of crop circles or those old stone pictures that can only be seen from the sky.  Why not write a message to a loved one who has passed beyond the next time snow falls?  Or declare your goals for all the world to see (though if you want to keep them a bit private still, consider using a magical alphabet)!

Snow-melt water can also be used to tap into the uniqueness of every snowflake.  Use snow-melt water for any workings where you want a creative solution, where you want to let your personal gifts shine or wanting to find the exact thing that is right for you.

Hail is a bit less common, but also has a lot of potential.  If there is something that you want to harden your emotions to, especially something that has been building up for a while, place a representation of it (either a small figure or writing on paper) outside while it is hailing.  If you feel someone is continually beating you up emotionally, always picking on you or making you feel belittled, place a mirror out in the hail to reflect all their barbs away from yourself.  If your emotions have been all over the place, running up and down and exhausting you, collect a bowl of hail and let it melt on your altar, to even out those emotional currents.

Hail-melt water can be used to help harden yourself emotionally, to build up your emotional shields.  You can also use it in release work on emotions that have built up over time and that you want to work through.  And it can be used to deliver a bit of an emotional sting, perhaps when someone isn't listening to how they are making you feel.

While we mostly encounter ice in more mundane forms (like ice cubes), winter weather often brings ice in the form of icicles.  Icicles are natural ice wands, which are very well suited for hard emotional work.  Sometimes, we need our emotions to remain still and solid so that we can examine them.  You can use an ice wand to direct your attention to the hidden things that you need to bring to light.

You can melt an icicle as part of your workings, letting the water drip down and focus into a single point or turning it upside down and letting it melt, allowing it to shrink and grow at the same time.

Winter weather brings a lot of things, and we may tend to avoid it as much as we can.  But we shouldn't forget how much potential there is in the snow, ice and hail.  We can tap into the power of this time of year and harness it's energy, whether we call upon it only during the winter season or save the melt water to use later.