Yesterday was November first, did you blow cinnamon through your doorway?
I had every good intention of writing this blog post yesterday to kick off the inward spiral portion of the year. The time between Samhain and Yule where many practicing Pagans take the journey inward, focusing our efforts on intentional introspection as the world gets colder and darker. Though I follow along with the well known gratitude project between Lughnasadh and Mabon, I also like to practice my own form of gratitude project throughout the month of November, making it less of a month about Thanksgiving in the traditional American sense, and more about the actual act of thankfulness. I also like to use this time to intentionally do something in kindness for another human being each day, whether it's something simple like a compliment or a tip to the barista that made my coffee, or something a bit more involved like volunteer work or setting aside time for one on one time with a friend who needs a listening ear. Either way, gratitude and giving back are the focuses of this month. As a bonus this year, I will also be adding some form of daily practice in regards to my spirituality. It's easy to fall out of touch with what connects us spiritually as we get caught up in the hustle culture we are inevitably a part of, but for me, connecting to my spirituality is the same thing as connecting to my humanity, and without it I feel untethered (and not in a good way). As I said in regards to the kindness practice, this can also exist on a spectrum. Whether it is as simple as standing barefoot in the grass to ground and center for three minutes, or doing a full blown ritual, a facet of spirituality will be touched on daily.
Now, back to the cinnamon. I'll be honest, this practice started as a bit of a joke. I started seeing the "baby witches", as they call themselves, sharing this simple practice on TikTok. At first it seemed utterly ridiculous, but if we're being entirely honest, all facets of spirituality and religion can seem utterly ridiculous when viewed from a skeptical eye. I told my mom about the cinnamon thing, sharing the belief that blowing cinnamon through your doorway on the first day of each month increased abundance, good fortune, and prosperity. From an herbal lore angle, this belief tracks. One of cinnamon's many accredited magical attributes is, in fact, prosperity. It was said that the ancient Egyptians used cinnamon in their magical practice, so who are we to scoff? Anyway, my mother is a huge fan of all things that increase financial security, right down to wearing green every single Thursday without fail. So you bet your sweet ass I was dragged to that threshold, Costco sized cinnamon jar in hand.
Here we are, several months later, still blowing cinnamon through the door on the first of every month. The kids love it now, too, therefore it's become tradition. If nothing else, even if there is absolutely ZERO legitimate magic in cinnamon, I will die on the hill that there is magic in tradition, and in ritual, which is what this doorway seasoning has become. A monthly ritual that takes all of twenty seconds, but somehow manages to unite a family, bring a sense of magic, encourage the positive belief that abundance is ever flowing, and as a bonus, it makes the foyer smell good. Magic is, and will always be, in the power of the mind. What we believe, we can in fact make manifest. Whether good or bad, positive or negative, our thoughts play a huge role in the manifestation of reality, so if blowing cinnamon through the front door entryway can cause even the slightest shift in mindset, I believe it can help manifest some good ol' financial flow. But even if it doesn't, that isn't really the point now, is it? The point is...it brings on the warm feeling of magic, and that is more than enough.
So today, I am grateful for cinnamon and doorways. I'm grateful for tradition. I'm grateful for the unwavering desire, not to see the glass as half empty or half full, but to see that either way, the glass still has water in it, and that alone is something to be thankful for.
Happy November, beautiful souls. May your journey inward bring rest, recovery, a good dose of self love, and some soul realizations that help you move forward into the coming year.
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