Today, we are nearing the end of our Current Moon Cycle and the end of 2018, a year a lot of people are calling one of the longest years in their lifetime. Can you believe, these events all happened THIS YEAR: Pyeongchang Winter Olympics (yes, that was THIS YEAR!), “Black Panther” broke records and blew our minds, here in the US we elected more Women into political office than ever before, Prince Harry & Meghan Markle stole our hearts, got married, and announced their pregnancy (a very busy year for them), all this amongst countless other shocking, disheartening, and hopeful moments we have all experienced together. 

 

As the calendar year ends, it brings a wide array of feelings to the surface. Everything from hopefulness for the year ahead, a clean slate, regrets, nostalgia, good riddance, or possibly, a jaded perspective about beginning again. Regardless of our attitude, a New Year is on the horizon. 

 

New Years is one of my favorite times of the year. I am a person who builds my life around meaningful rituals, and ringing in the New Year is one ritual that the entire collective observes, together(even if only in a secular way). This is a deeply meaningful experience for me because as many of my fellow Mystic People believe, I believe that when setting a new intention, it becomes more powerful when others lend you their support. This can be in the form of visioning your intention coming to fruition, attentively listening to you speak your intention, holding energetic space, and even simply honoring the pivotal moment in time when your intention is created. 

 

The New Year offers us a special portal into the collective hopefulness, optimism, and honoring of new beginnings that we all hold somewhere within us (no matter how cynical we may appear). A unique moment when we are all aiming to do better, appreciate more, and dream bigger. What better time to set a new intention then when the whole collective has your back (even if they don’t know it)?

 

Below you will find a meaningful ritual to help you transition into the New Calendar Year. In this ritual I am going to speak as if you have decided to write your responses. If you decide to use movement, art, or anything else under the Moon for moving through this ritual, please replace these words with your action. May you use this ritual in a way that is meaningful and potent for you (thoughtful modifications are encouraged). 

Step One: Reflect, Release, and Bury the Dead

• Before beginning this ritual, carve out some sacred time for yourself. Get centered, get grounded, get into your heart, and tune into your breath. Set the tone in whatever way is meaningful to you. Perhaps you will light some candles, take a bath, put on your favorite music, whatever suits you. Please, do not overlook this step. 

 

• Then, spend some time simply reflecting on the past year. Maybe you will make a few lists: a list of the moments you felt gratitude, moments you felt loved, moments you felt the presence of a Divine Power in your life, moments you were proud of yourself, moments that shocked you, moments that were challenging, things you learned, times you stepped out of your comfort zone, and on. . . and on. . Reflecting on anything that feels especially potent or meaningful to you.

• Now, ask your guidance what it is you should Release. Write down those things that you feel you are ready to leave in 2018. This can be behaviors, habits, relationships, beliefs, physical items, jobs, anything. Usually, a good indication of something you need to release is that you feel heavy, resentful, or angry when you think about it (but only YOU know). 

• Next, and this one is a tough one- I’m going to ask you to write down what it is that you are ready to declare dead. This is different from your releasing because here you are naming the things that maybe you don’t want to let go of, but you know deep down in your guidance place that you must. There might be a mourning that comes with this, and that’s okay. Allow yourself to feel whatever it is you need to feel. I invite you to use the prompt “on this day, ____ was declared dead”. This might be a dream that you have been holding onto and recently you realized you were only continuing to hold onto it because of HOW LONG you have already held it, but it doesn’t actually ring true anymore. You might have held onto it for so long because: you have history with that dream, you’ve told a lot of people about that dream, you’ve put so much work into that dream, giving it up might feel like youare giving up, giving it up might feel like “they” were right, giving it up might feel embarrassing or shameful, giving it up might feel like now you have no dream, and on and on. . .  Or perhaps this is not a dream, but a relationship, a job, a habit, a home, a story you have told yourself, or anything else that is true for you. Through this process, remember that destruction can sometimes be a creative act. As you honor each death- you are making space for a new beginning. Pruning allows the roses to flourish. Be gentle here, we are all supporting you in this process.

• To close out this portion of the ritual, you are invited in some kind of way to give all of this to the Earth. You can burn these lists, you can bury them, you can speak them into water and then give that water to the Earth, you can speak them to the wind and feel them being carried far away. Make this your own special ceremony. Take your time. Feel the Earth supporting you. 

 

 

 

 

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