Ringing In The New Year
New Year’s eve as a kid was a fun, free day. It was almost always snowy. My parents along with the parents of 3 other families in the neighborhood would get together for dinner and to play bridge. All of us kids were pretty free to hang together and play. At midnight, there was Ducky champagne (Cold Duck or some bubbly alcohol-free grape/apple juice) and the banging of pots and pans. A google search of this activity has several origin stories. I’m going to go with it coming from Ireland due to many long ago ancestral connections, and to drive away negative spirits. One story claimed that the banging of pots and pans comes mainly from places that have a lack of fireworks, which was done for the same reason. We definitely had pots, pans and wooden spoons for all to wield. I thought it was the greatest thing.
New Traditions I still have Ducky champagne, but have traded banging pots with a wooden spoon to ringing my singing bowls and gongs on New Year’s Eve. Whether or not you feel the presence of negative spirits in your home, the energetic space still benefits from clearing or being stirred up. Cleaning and clearing our spaces is as important as cleaning our physical body. Just think of Marie Kondo and her decluttering methods.
Clearing up physical clutter can reduce anxiety and help you sleep better (The Mental Benefits of Decluttering). To clear energetic clutter, you can use a rattle, a hand fan, a bell or other instrument to move the energy. Banging pots inside can be hard on your ears, so pop in some earplugs if you pick that method.
No More New Year Resolutions Instead of New Year’s resolutions, which rarely stuck past January, I pick a word/s or a phrase for the coming year. I was introduced to this idea by my office mate in 2016. It totally removed the resolution idea from my plate. That year, my word was Boundaries. Last year three words came to me in meditation: rebirth, expansion, and transform. And boy, was that true of 2022!
To receive my word, I sit in silent meditation. Focusing on the breath, the inhale and exhale, the pauses between, brings my mind to a more present and quiet place. I call in my spirit team and invite them to whisper the word that will take me through the next year. With a new journal in hand, I write down the word or words and ponder a bit on what that word means to me at this moment.
Supporting the Word of the Year with Tarot and Astrology I follow the meditation up with a look at my astrology chart for the year, and draw 3 cards from the tarot deck and oracle cards I have picked for the experience. This year I have chosen Tarot For All Ages by Elizabeth Haidle, and The Spirit Animal Oracle by Colette Baron-Reid.
Card 1: What I am ready to release
Card 2: How the card relates to my word/s or phrase for the new year
Card 3: Anchoring card to support the word/s or phrase in the new year
Photo by Ezra Jeffrey-Comeau on Unsplash
Burning Ritual for Releasing This begins by writing down all the things I am releasing from the year, things that no longer serve my highest purpose, or that I no longer want to hold onto or have holding on to me. These can be problems, thought patterns, hurts, any negativity. The writing can be simply a word or phrase, name or sometimes it is poems or prose. It doesn’t matter how you write them, but
writing with pen and paper is essential. When all is written, It is time to burn the page or pages. BE SAFE about this part please! I will either have a fireplace going while I’m writing, or some years I have used the outdoor grill or fire pit.
As you deposit your papers into the fire, watch as the smoke carries all those no longer needed things upward. Let yourself be open to feeling all the feels that this release may provoke in you. Feel the earth beneath your feet keeping you grounded. Feel the air that moves the smoke and feeds the fire. Let all these elements bring you back into balance in body, mind and soul.
When the ashes are all cool, if I am doing this outside, I will scatter the ashes as a final releasing to the universe. Again BE CAREFUL that the ashes are fully and completely cool before taking this step. After all is done, it is another powerful time for sitting with a journal to reflect on the way you are feeling (water), thinking (air), what is comforting (earth) and what is inspiring action (fire) as you look to the new year with this new available space to be filled.
Bath Ritual And then finally, it is time to wash all of the old year off with a bath. Set an intention, light a candle whether real flame or battery powered, prepare a cup of tea or water, turn on some music and make sure the room is warm and cozy.
Dry brush: Having a great body brush makes this ritual especially delightful and symbolic. Dry brushing while visualizing the old year sloughing off while the tub fills starts the ritual.
Meditate on the year that is ending, and visualizing the year ahead. The quiet and stillness of the bath is the perfect place to be in the present moment. Even if you are just soaking your feet.
Year End oil blend: I will usually create a scrub or simply an essential oil synergy especially for this ritual. The scents that are talking to me for this year end scrub are Lavender and Neroli for gratitude, Copaiba for releasing. When I haven’t had a tub to soak in, I have bathed my feet in a wash tub or simply taken a shower. When you are nearly done in the tub, use the scrub to complete the washing away of the things you are releasing. Like the smoke of the fire ritual, give thanks for the experiences of the year, and let the water take them away.
Anointing the body: The body oil or hair oil for entrance into the new year will have something from each part of a plant to create unity and wholeness. This year, my synergy is roots Vetiver, wood (trunk) Rosewood, leaves Palo Santo, flower Rose, seeds Coriander, fruit Pink or Black Pepper, resin Agarwood in a base of sunflower oil and jojoba. Oil from head to toe. Have socks or slippers ready to prevent slipping, or save oiling your feet until you get to your bed.
And there you have it. That is how I prepare for the new year. You can take several days to do these, or do them sequentially. And you can reorder meditation, card pull and journalling. Sometimes the word reveals itself because you repeatedly hear it. As with all things, this should be fun and not feel like a chore.
It is so much fun to have an aroma to go with the word/s or phrase for your year, and to see how your astrology connects you to it as well. Contact me here to create your 2023 blend!