Season of the What Now?

We entered the so-called Spooky Season on Mabon, when our nights began to be longer than our days. And do you know something? I don’t have a Halloween costume in mind. I think this is the first time that’s been the case in about a decade, the first time I haven’t queued up Cabin in the Woods and The Nightmare Before Christmas, made apple cider caramels and lit a fire even though it isn’t quite cold enough for it yet.

There’s a lot going on this October. My sister and stepkid are here visiting, to make ready for a wedding that has been a long time in the planning. Tonight we’ll go over to my parents’ house, where the wedding will be held, and we’ll test out the lights in the trees overhead. There’s something about that I like—that we’ll stand outside beneath trees that will canopy my cousin and her wife, calling up, “Move that strand that way—no, more fairy lights over here!” as if we’re arranging the skies to be just right for them, creating stars that will shine in case of rain.

And if the days are shorter than the nights, if we have to hold the light in our hands (for ourselves, for others) a little longer—maybe we can do that. And maybe it’s okay that I’m not feeling particularly spooky just yet; maybe the Season of the Witch is more about drawing power outward from within, as an offering. (But also, seriously, what am I going to be for Halloween?)