Welcome 2024!
Releasing 2023
Few words can contain so much hope tainted with a lot of implied stress than the words Happy New Year. If you are feeling pressured to make big plans, claim audacious goals and make resolutions right this minute, then I encourage you to stop and take some deep breaths. Shifting perspective, perhaps remind yourself that the first of the year is just a date on the calendar and actually has little astrological or other significance other than it’s when as a society we agreed to start the 365 day calendar count over again. Phew- what a relief!
Last night, on New Year’s Eve, I did my annual releasing ritual where I let go of things I do not want to bring with me into the next year. I used a finally and thankfully invalid contract that was the source of a lot of pain for me (and others) over the last two years, and as I burned each page of it, I let it also release something else that I no longer wanted in my life. Watching these pieces of paper and unwanted energies burn up in our hearth’s fire was extremely cathartic to say the least! Go cleansing fire element!🔥🔥
Today, I don’t set resolutions but lay the ground work for setting intentions on the first new moon of the year. For the last six years in December, I go through an annual end of year process where I review the year before, think about how I want to feel and be in the next one, and then plan to make that happen. During this process, I chose a word for the year, top ways I want to be or show up in the world, and a few goals. Then I use the cycles of the moon to align my intentions, plans and actions to support those goals. Using the 28-ish day cycle of the moon helps me stay grounded in nature and in tune and aware of how I am doing in experiencing the feelings I desire and achieving the goals I have for the year.
So, this first week of the year (and the last week of the previous one), I do a lot of thinking, meditating, resting, reading and journaling. I let my thoughts and feelings percolate and simmer until they start to form a cohesive dish of ideas that I can then serve up to feed my intentions and goals for the new year. When the first New Moon of the year arrives, I feel ready to set my intentions for the year and especially the ones for this first moon cycle. In upcoming posts, I will talk more about how I use the four main phases of the moon cycle to support me in moving ahead with my plans and making adjustments when needed.
I encourage you to take some time during this first week of 2024 to think about the following:
How do you want to feel in 2024?
What experiences do you desire?
What do you want to bring into your life this year?
Use your favorite processing tools such as journaling, meditating or taking walks in nature and let yourself marinate in the ideas until you feel ready. Then join me on the new moon to set your intentions for this first moon cycle in 2024.
**For this first new 🌑 moon, I will be hosting a free, live New Moon intention setting session via Zoom on Thursday, January 11th at 2p EST. Hope you will join me! To reserve your spot, click here (video recording will be available).**
End of 2023 and Beginning of 2024 Reads
📚 Bibliophile’s Corner 📚
Final reads of 2023 and first reads of 2024!
My favorite December read was Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher. A beautiful hug of a book where the characters and the setting warm your heart and soul. It focuses on the story of an elderly actress and a retired organist who find there way back from tragedy when they find themselves stranded in a snowstorm in a small house in Scotland with three other people who are in need of some healing and rebirth. Framed around the days of winter solstice leading up to Christmas, I will re-read this book annually during this time for the sheer joy the story and the characters bring.
Runner Up: The Recipe for Hope by Fiona Valpy. After a tragic loss, Evie, a chef who has lost her way and her desire to cook, runs away from Christmas and people to a french cottage in the country to be alone with her French grandmother’s recipe book. Instead of solitude, Evie ends up finding a small community that begins to re-awaken her soul and remind her what’s really important in life.
First Reads for 2024 include The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna and The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods.
I also found so many good book recommendations from Lucy at Tolstoy Therapy. You can check out her blog and articles on books here.
I will also be re-reading The Ever King by LJ Andrews as I am fortunate to once again be chosen as an ARC for the sequel to it, The Ever Queen coming out on January 26th!
What's on the top of your TBR (to be read) list for 2024?
Who is on Substack? I have been exploring and getting acquainted with it the last few months and am going to be publishing on there soon.