New Year Resolutions?

Do you make resolutions for the New Year?
How are you kicking off this new year?
There is so much hype around the New Year and doing things differently. 
“New year, new you!” right? 
Wrong! 
You are still the same you. In fact you are actually a wiser version of you than you were a year ago. 
The new calendar year is a time when we hype up making changes to ourselves, to our behaviors, to our way of being. 
But how many of these changes stick? 

What if you entered the new year without a resolution but instead with a word.

A word to guide you. To be an anchor point. To remind you to be a little more intentional in actions.

Maybe this word is one that invites you to strengthen certain behaviors, actions or thoughts. Maybe the word is one that invites you to strengthen your spiritual practice, to bring a little more magic into your day to day life to connect more deeply with yourSelf. 

What if I told you that you have a chance each and every day to begin again. That you have a moment each and every month that heightens this beginning as the New Moon begins her journey from darkness to light and back again. 

We are always changing. Always growing. Yes, a new calendar year is a beginning. 
Yes, you can harness this energy to bring some new energies or practices into your life. 
But this is not a one shot deal. When February 1st rolls around, if those things you wanted to shift or change are still hanging around, I am here to remind you that this is not a failure. It just means you might have to reevaluate and start again. Or differently. 

So this year, on this 2nd day of 2022, on this New Moon in Capricorn, I invite you to choose a word to guide you through this coming year. (Mine is LISTEN). Let this be a word that becomes a touchstone for you. Before you make decisions check in with your word. Are these decisions in alignment with it? Do they nourish and support this word, this intention? 

Write it somewhere you will see it. Revisit that word each day. Notice the way its meaning shifts and changes depending on the minute you are interacting with it, or saying it. 

Befriend this word and let it be a light that leads you and warms you. 

And then on the day sometime in February or March or April, where you notice a disconnect from the word, remind yourself that there is a new beginning in each breath. That you can begin again at any time. And that if you need a little more than a sunrise to inspire you to start anew,  the moon is there, preparing to cycle through her birth and death and rebirth and you can tap into that moment when she is new for a little extra energy, a little higher vibration. 

Happy New Year my Magical Friends!

A Vow to tend to your Sacred Self
Self care has become a buzz word. Connected to spa days and fluffy robes. Something we often feel we don't have time for or something we see as an act "other" people "indulge" in. 

The truth is different. Self care is essential. It is also sacred. When we intentionally take time to care for ourselves, to refill our energetic tanks and nourish our bodies, we are participating in a powerful act. We are making the statement that we have value, we matter and that what we bring into the world matters. (read that again. You have value)
Many of us probably have responsibilities to care for others, whether at home or at work. Or perhaps we have responsibilities to others (deadlines, expectations etc.)
And so often when I talk to people (especially women), I hear about the burn out, the exhaustion and often the self sacrifice that is happening to meet these responsibilities. 
What I have learned in my own workaholism and in the work I do with other people, is that once we are burned out, we are no longer meeting our responsibilities, nor are we functioning at our optimum (or feeling very good). 
When we ignore our needs or run out of “gas”, we are not acknowledging the value we have. We are not celebrating our sacredness or honoring ourselves. 

Self care can come in many shapes and forms. It can be as simple as taking quiet time with a cup of tea before you launch into your day. Or can be as elaborate as crafting a ritual for yourself with lots of tools and textures and songs. And self care can fall anywhere on the spectrum between these two things. 

You are invited to come and share in an exploration and practice of self care. Nourish the Self through the Darkness is 8 hours of intentional practices broken up over a period of one evening and one day (January 14th and 15th), during which we will gather virtually in circle, creating a sacred and safe space to delve into our inner realms and tend the soil within. 

During these Winter months the call to turn inward can be strong. Together we tap into this and keep our inner hearth fires strong. 

Throughout our time together we will 

• work with our dreams
• practice meditation and guided visualization
• utilize writing exercises to explore the medicine we carry within
• practice tools of divination to help us connect more deeply with our intuition
• learn about plants that can help support us during that time of year
• move our bodies with intention to help stuck energy flow
• be held and witnessed within the circle we create, to discover the way connection can nourish us
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Erin LaFaive of Full Circle Herbals and I are hosting this retreat via Zoom and we would love to have you in our Circle. 

Yesterday we hosted a little pop up Self Care Saturday chat and shared a few tools you might want to add to your toolbox. You can watch this 30 min chat HERE

To learn more and register for the Retreat CLICK HERE. 
We have Early Bird Pricing through January 7th. Use the code SOLSTICE2021 at checkout for 30% off!


PS Remember that you also have access any time to the FREE three day self care mini retreat. When you sign up you will receive three days of emails with a daily intention, ritual, activities, journal prompts and more.