Changing Paths challenge 19: Time 🕰️ ⏰

Humans haven’t always thought of time as linear. A cyclical view of time seems to me to be more in tune with Nature.

Many cultures see time as cyclical, or as a set of interlocking cycles: the cycle of the sun, the moon, the stars, the rotation of the Earth, the seasons, geological cycles, and so on. Many Pagans see time as cyclical, and we talk about the Wheel of the Year. The phases of the moon have always been important, as shown by the ancient moon calendar carved into a piece of horn or antler.

There’s an Indigenous culture (I think it’s the Hopi) where people are seen as walking backwards into the future, because you can’t see where you’re going but you can see where you’ve been.

People didn’t always measure time as precisely as we do now. It was only with the introduction of railways that time needed to be standardized and measured. Prior to that people were comfortable with local variations, as is explained in the fascinating book, The Reform of Time.

People also used to divide the daylight into twelve equal parts, regardless of day length, so in more northern latitudes, an hour could be much longer then it would be further south.

Ceremonial magic takes account of planetary hours, which provide a system of knowing the most auspicious times to undertake specific tasks.

The cyclical view of time is important to me because I feel attuned to the changing seasons and thereby to Nature.

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My award winning book, Changing Paths, is published by 1000Volt Press and is available from all the usual online stores. Ask your local bookseller or library to stock it!

The goal of the book is to help you decide your own path by guiding you through the perils and pitfalls of the terrain, and asking questions to help you deepen your understanding of the reasons for your desire to change paths.