21 ways I'm changing my life this winter
Season of lists and switching perspectives.
Hello there, darling.
We’re officially two weeks into winter, and three days into 2026. How are we all feeling?
Usually at this time of year, my face is akin to a drained Podling from The Dark Crystal. But I’ve been on a mission since September to actually enjoy the colder months for once!
Have I succeeded? Well, I’ll tell you this:
2025 has been the first year since my personal records began that seasonal depression has not washed me away.
So, just maybe, I’ve cracked the code!
This revelation (I’m just as shocked as you are) is perhaps down to the book How To Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days by Kari Leibowitz, which has taught me to romanticise the colder months in order to flip my perspective - something which, I assure you, did not happen overnight.
“Our mindsets shape our attention: by influencing what we believe winter fundamentally is - dreadful or delightful, boring or fascination - and what we expect winter to be like, our mindsets subconsciously orient us to one version of reality or another.”
How To Winter, Kari Leibowitz
When I wrote The Wheel back in 2019-2020, I was in love with the Pagan Wheel of the Year, yet gritting my teeth against the darkening days and feeling myself fall into the all-too-familiar fug of seasonal depression once late September hit. I saw autumn and winter as a barrier to the coping mechanism I relied upon so heavily while struggling with my mental health: walking and hiking. If I wasn’t outside, I wasn’t happy. And who wants to leave the house in an iceslick or a spitting hailstorm?
I’ve felt it coming for over a week now, that slow, steady plink plink of darkness hitting the horizon, minutes earlier each day. Soon it will be out with the SAD lamp. I feel that post-summertime sadness trickling in, no longer energised by the effects of light triggering my normal circadian rhythms. After the euphoria of Litha and the green days of August, something darker has begun taking root.
The Wheel: A Witch’s Path Back to the Ancient Self, Jennifer Lane
Sharing the secret
The weather where I am, “up Narth” on the border of West Yorkshire, has its quirks: namely, driving rain and whipping winds that cause my sidegate to rattle off its hinges four times a year. Our little semi is perched on quite the hill, so we tend to get snow and ice more readily, and for longer.
The word “wuthering” comes to mind.
But, as Kari Leibowitz would say, I needed to change my perspective if I was ever going to crack a smile for half the year.
I have spent the past few months wrapping up and getting outside, whatever the weather, determined to find beauty and joy as the temperature plummeted. “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing,” as they like to say. In autumn - nostalgic, beautiful autumn - this isn’t so tricky: I happen to live close to woodland where it is easy to swoon over crisp blue sky against golden birches.
The true test has been winter. But I think I might have passed it this year…
Scroll down to be the judge of that.
Right now, people are sharing their lists of New Year’s Resolutions, but I’ll wait until the spring equinox for that. Instead, I’d like to give you a list of my fresh perspectives on winter that have been keeping me and my good mood going strong. If you struggle with winter, I hope this list can help to gently light the way forward throughout January and February.
Let me know how you’ve been viewing winter this year in the comments.
A list of 21 winter loves
This winter, I have fallen in love with:
pre-dawn walks when no one else is around and the first blue streaks of sunrise are just forming.
seeing the cosy glow of people’s homes (this spooky house in particular has stories spooling through my head).
evenings filled with hardbacks, crosswords and classic films (I just rewatched the Sound of Music for the first time since childhood and it was magical).
flooded farm fields coming alive with teal and other dabbling ducks - I love hearing them whistle; they have the prettiest sound.
delicious creamy curries that warm both the toes and the soul (we currently love this aubergine curry).
the fuzziest woollen socks. I have quite the collection now and am never without them around the house!
the influx of swans in places you never thought to look for them before (I’m relying quite heavily on birds right now).
eating veggie English breakfasts at Squeeze in Hebden Bridge (the BEST breakfast ever) as a weekend treat.
extra-bright sunsets and dawns - the stunning skies make up for the cold.
the first hints of robin song before the light is even a whisper on the horizon.
the Winter Writing Sanctuary with Beth Kempton - writers, it’s time to dust off your pen!
having the best little cat on my knee.
transforming my home into a hygge palace. I resisted for a long time, but the candles and fairy lights have made a huge difference.
planning for our very special Imbolc event in Oxford - come and join Laura Derbyshire and I at Blackwell’s to learn all about the Pagan winter fire festival of Imbolc. Book your free spot here.
putting out mealworms and suet balls in the garden, only to have them swarmed by starlings and garden birds moments later!
candles reflected in the dark window glass - it makes me feel like I’m in a 19th-century gothic novel.
Photo by Roxana Zerni on Unsplash baking sourdough late into the evening (because I skipped the 2020 trend).
the simple joy of a hot-water bottle on your feet after a chilly walk.
watching the sky turn sepia as a sign of coming snow.
becoming a small animal and getting more sleep, just as nature intended at this time of year. It’s science.
having more time to read about my witchcraft hyperfixations. In 2025, I did an astrology and Tarot deep-dive, but this year I feel like the Fae are coming to the fore for me already. What are you reading about or researching right now?
I hope this post was a gentle bolster against the storms! Have a beautiful start to 2026, and I’ll be back next week with a magick ritual you won’t want to miss.
Sending love,
Jennifer x
As someone that loves the winter may I also add - dark skies at a better time for star gazing, clear skies on cold nights, the beautiful icy patterns on frosty mornings, creating ice sun catchers - leaving a shallow bowl of water with leaves and berries in it out on cold nights then tipping it out and hanging it in the sun - creating ice bubbles (only possible if very cold) - creating snow sculptures - we rarely get enough snow on the South coast for snowmen but we DO have plenty of sandcastle buckets to repurpose :) - there is a fantastic book called 50 things to do in the snow by Richard Skrein - have fun out there and I totally agree about the fluffy socks - wintering is a “thing” and I encourage embracing it ❄️
I made my peace with winter many years ago and now look forward to Midwintering - a time to slow and relax into the softness of these darker months, a time for introspection x