A merry Winter Solstice to all of you, dear readers. I hope that this day finds you in tune with the darkness and the shadows, and feeling the pull of the return of the light. We light candles and share warm food with those we love in this season, aware of the long nights and shining our light and warmth in the midst of them to help lift each other up.

I hosted a party a couple of nights ago and shared a few of my favorite Solstice rituals with my friends: 1) Lighting a candle to set an intention for the new year, and 2) writing down something that you want to let go of and then burning it to release it and make room for new things. It was a sweet time of sharing, of lighting the dark places and of clearing out the clutter of the year to make room for new adventures.

To celebrate the Solstice this morning, I pulled a few tarot cards, asking for wisdom and a new perspective for the coming year. You can see the cards I pulled in the picture below. It was supposed to be a three-card reading, but the Ace of Wands popped out and decided to join the party. I always consider cards that present themselves randomly like that as a bonus, something extra the querent needs to hear in their life. I drew these cards for me, but I feel like there’s someone else out there who needs to hear what the cards are saying to them to. Let me know in the comments if any part of this reading speaks to you.

I’ve been reading Brené Brown‘s The Gifts of Imperfection recently, and contemplating my own struggles with perfectionism and imperfection paralysis, and the thing I burned to release from my life (again) during the Solstice ritual the other night was Impostor Syndrome. So the first card I drew, Five of Swords, speaks especially to me. Let go of embarrassment, disappointment, and the bruised ego. Laugh at your mistakes, learn from them, and keep moving forward. Anyone else feeling this card? Just me? I’ll take it. Shame resilience, as Brené Brown discusses in her books, is so important, and so hard to cultivate. It takes energy and effort. But so does sulking and brooding. I’m leaning into the discomfort of perceived embarrassment and reaching for what I want out of life this year. What about you?

In conversation with the ever delightful Stuart Horwitz the other day, I mentioned too, that I’m invoking the spirit of Baba Yaga this year. So when I drew this next card, The Moon, I felt the resonance in my heart like a tuning fork, bringing me into pitch with the melody of the universe. The Moon, and the Crone, and the shadow side all speak to honing your intuition, seeing past outer appearance, stepping into your power. These are all things I crave in my life, have craved for my whole life, and am manifesting in this new year. I’ll be carrying her around with me, the moon, the crone, Hecate, Baba Yaga in this new year, as a reminder of the wild magic that lives inside us. How are you recognizing and reconciling yourself to Crone magic (or Hag Fire) in your life? How can you tap into that power?

Finally (almost), the Eight of Wands, a sign that creative and business enterprises are on the move. I am looking forward to a big year next year. There are many accomplishments that I have been setting myself up for in this new year with my business and in my creative life. This card is to remind us that the setbacks and disappointment we think we see are illusions… that they’re really just steps along the path, and that if we keep moving, the momentum will carry us forward into making our dreams a reality. What are you setting your intentions toward in this new year? How will you make space for the goals you want to achieve? Keep moving! Keep coming back to your workbench, putting fingers to keys or brush to canvas. I can’t wait to celebrate your accomplishments with you.

The Ace of Wands, the bonus card, is a reminder that this is just the beginning. You may feel like you’ve been around the block a few times, and that there’s nothing new under the sun, but the Ace of Wands begs to differ. It’s calling out courage, motivation, creation, energy in your life. Look for it. Embrace it. Make space for it. Let’s all make the world a better place in the New Year.

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