I’m a January baby, so it’s probably very appropriate that I write about the God which gives my birth month its name. Janus is a Roman god, and is commonly depicted with a face looking in either direction. Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans may recognize a statue of him used by Ethan Rayne in the episode, “Halloween”, when every character’s inner persona (or Halloween costume) became a reality. Buffy became a witless maiden; Xander became a soldier; Willow became a ghost, who then realized she didn’t like being invisible and unseen. Janus is the god of doorways, time, transition, and gateways. With one face looking backwards and one looking forwards, he is the perfect deity to give January it’s name. We look back to the year that just passed and look forward to the year to come.
Janus can be a trickster, and it’s from him that the term “two-faced” comes, so magick done with this deity needs to be careful and constructed well. However, he is a good choice for time magick, releasing, gateways, and transitions.
Writers and creative people might be familiar with his guises in the form of the blessed muse, which comes and brings inspiration, and writer’s block, which makes it impossible to write. The agony and the ectasy of writing, or any creative endeavor, are well represented by Janus. Look to Janus to help you leverage the strength of your past and your previous endeavors as you branch out into a new genre or project. The closing of a past project and the opening of a new one are under Janus’ domain.
The muses might be fickle, but Janus is always there, always watching, and always leading us away from the old and into the new.
Alison Cross: 
Arwen: 
Christiana Gaudet: 
Koneta: 
John: 
Sharon: 
ivy: 
Aisling: 
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