The days are long; mornings are sticky hot and by the midafternoon the storms have built and are ready to burst- transforming the desert into a dewy, thunderous scene. Monsoon season provides us with much needed rain that the desert uses to sustain itself year-round. As you can imagine, living in the Sonoran Desert is a gritty, dry heat which I’ve gradually learned to embrace during my thirty-three years of living within its ecosystem.
July has always felt like the peak of summer to me. It’s by far, our hottest month here and every day following July begins to cool a degree or two-nothing too noticeable, but eventually it adds up and moves us into the Fall. July carries the energy of fruit that has ripened beyond its point of editability and is slightly turning too soft, gently beginning its rotting process. It’s the peak of a pendulum before it sways to its opposite.
It’s important to note that I have also created a tarot and oracle deck list that embraces the hot, hazy, lazy, nostalgia of late summer on my channel which you can find here as supplement to this newsletter or if you’re simply looking for some further inspiration. (:
Hello & welcome or welcome back to Mediatrix of the Liminal where I write about all thing’s sovereign witchcraft, liminal space dwelling, and cardslinging related.
In honor of this monsoon season, I’ve decided to share with you some of my practical witchery for late summer that embraces the change in weather.
These first few ideas will ease you into late summer witching with aspects that are nostalgic and then I’ll move into a couple of ideas that are a bit more witchy in their roots.
ne-phol-o-gy: cloud gazing.
This is a practice that is incredibly reminiscent of my childhood, and I think it’s something many of us did before we even knew what we were doing. I would, and actually still do, get really intense spells of nausea while riding in the car and so as a child I’d try to combat this by finding pictures in the clouds to help pass the time. Cloud gazing/ cloud scrying is one of the first ways I can recall ever engaging with the craft. This is also something I’ve noticed my own daughters doing as we drive or even go on our evening monsoon walks together. They will point out shapes, animals, letters, and even ‘portals’ that they see in the clouds and then we open it up to a conversation on how we each perceive the images and their meanings. It’s a really magical practice at its core and I highly recommend it. It costs nothing yet you can receive so much from it.
Storms are notorious for bringing us beautiful clouds making this the perfect time of year for engaging in a little nephology practice. Plus, you get some experience working with the element of air (clouds) and the element of water (storms) and I absolutely love working with the elements. You’ll see this as a theme throughout. (:
collecting monsoon water.
Water witchery is a practice as old as humanity. There’s no denying the lore found within water and its many uses in magic and divination. Collecting monsoon water is a great way to connect with this transitory season and also add to your witchcraft repertoire.
Since there needs to be an extensive amount of heat to build a monsoon storm, rainwater collected during a storm could be used in both benevolent and baneful workings- the latter holds a special place in my heart. Collected monsoon water uses could range from cleansing rituals, candle anointings, and workings regarding love and relationships to the less desirable, hexes and curses- a topic I love to discuss and will plan to write on in the near future.
This practice requires very little supplies making it super accessible. First, grab a jar of any kind (I prefer a wide mouth mason jar) but any that has a lid will do. As you see or feel a storm brewing and the heat of the day begins to build, set your jar outside with the lid off and as it rains, the jar will fill! Once your jar is filled, place the lid on it and keep it on you alter for the uses we describe above or literally anything you can think of that requires a buildup and release. Again, if it would seem weird to others then it’ll be extra potent for you so get creative with your monsoon water!
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