We done did it. Another year, beloved. A wild year full of tenderness, vulnerability, rage, growth and dignity. And whether you sailed through (was that a thing?) or were pummeled by psychic lessons ALL YEAR LONG, I want you to know that I see you. I’m standing for you. I’m here for you as we transition into AND CREATE what’s next.
So, here are a few things I do at the end of each year to help me complete and move forward with grace:
- I make a list of key lessons // I sit down with my journal in a spot I won’t be distracted and recall my major lessons learned…now sometimes (distraction alert), I’ll scroll back through my emails to you and my instagram posts because that helps jog my memory from the first part of the year that the second half might’ve fogged up. I’ll also go back through my journal, duh.ACKNOWLEDGE AND HONOR what you’ve been through this year. What did you learn about yourself? About the collective movement towards justice and liberation that we’re all entangled with? Your relationship to those movements? What really supported you in thriving (ie a rich support system) and what was missing when you fell down (ie a rich support system)? What are you willing to leave in 2018 (a choice you’ll have to make over and over, honey) and what lessons do you want to carry forward into 2019? Focus in on where/when/how you were (or weren’t) in your power.
Then it’s time for a…
- List of blessin’s // I’ll use my lessons list to see my blessings. The gifts I’ve received/earned/unearthed along the journey this year. This can also function as a sort of gratitude list. But don’t bullshit your GRATITUDE! If you feel like there’s something you went through and you should be grateful for it but just aren’t, then DO NOT fake it. Don’t lie to yourself. It erodes your self-trust and your overall clarity.This list can include moments, people (strangers to beloveds), challenges, opportunities, places on this gorgeous spinning earth that helped you be here now. Note if there’s anyone you need to connect with and thank or send love up through the universal operator*–and do it.
- Ritual for honoring the personal and the collective evolution // Taking what you’ve done above it’s time to cast a spell…create a ritual, a container for your growth and understanding.Choose your spot (indoors or outdoors — I love including elements of nature for divine accountability), cast your circle/call in the directions/or ground**, read aloud 1) what you’re willing to release and embrace moving forward…speak to the VISION for how you want to experience this next year;
2) the power you’re feeling now in your heart/mind/body/spirit in this present moment and want to continue to embody and honor in 2019…speak to the COMMITMENT you’re willing to make; and
3) name aloud any celebratory and liberatory practices you’re calling in–this should not be a laundry list. Be intentional when speaking to the DISCIPLINE and DEVOTIONAL practices you’re naming for yourself;
4) if so moved, you can burn pieces of paper, plant them in the earth, place them on your altar to keep checking in on; and
5) finally, close your circle, thank the elements/earth/cosmos for witnessing you in your divine work.
If you have an oracle or tarot card deck you want to use, do it! This is your creation, follow your intuition. Let grace guide you here…and let that feeling saturate everything you’re calling in for this next year.
We’re in this together. We belong to each other.
PS icymi, here’s my healing your emotional triggers and working with your emotions training from a few weeks back. Make some room to build your emotional coherence.
*this is a way of appreciating someone without having to get directly intertwined with their energy field. Get still, really bring up the feeling of deep love, gratitude and appreciation in your body, be with it for a bit–feel it, and then imagine sending it up to a universal operator who knows exactly where it needs to go.
**witchipedia has a thorough yet simple circle casting how to. As always, feel your way through your own magic and do what feels best for you. It need not be complicated…pointing your finger in a circle around your space and declaring the intention to create sacred and protected space.
image via gnosis jewelry