new year activation: honouring endings
even as the energy of the new year begins to activate, we can honour the ending of the year that was. take some time to look back at the whole year… perhaps look back through your journal or notebook, look back at photos or screen shots on your phone, look back at your calendar, day planner, or notes app, look back at your social media posts. sometimes we forget all that happened over the course of a year!
contemplation:
as you reflect on the year that has passed…
what is the learning? the lessons?
is there a theme or a lesson or a message that stands out from this past year?
what can you explore? better understand?
are there any patterns you notice? anything that came up again and again? anything unexpected or surprising? or anything that you absolutely predicted?
what needs to be reframed or rethought?
is there anything that happened to you that you can now reframe that it happened FOR you?
was there a failure, set back, roadblock, or loss – perhaps something that stopped working for you or something that completely fell apart – that you can reframe as something that was no longer meant for you or aligned with what you realise you want for yourself?
was there anything that showed up for you that was hard or challenging – something you had to heal or face head on or complete – that you realise now came up because it cannot come with you into whatever is next for you?
try: use an oracle or tarot deck to reflect on and explore the year that is ending. try asking: what would you have me remember? what do i need to more deeply explore? is there anything i can reframe or rethink now that this year is over? ask one question and choose one card, or even multiple cards. whatever comes up first for you when you see a card is worth noting! cards are a great way to tune into our inner voice and our inner parts.
completion:
as you look back over the year…
what is finished? draw a line in the sand, mark this as an ending. this cycle, this pattern, this journey is finished now. i am choosing a different path, i am writing a new story for myself.
what can you release? i choose not to carry this forward, it no longer serves me. this is no longer the story i am choosing to tell about my self or how i get to show up in the world.
what can you make peace with? choose acceptance… it is what it is and i choose to no longer try to control, judge, fix, rehash, wish it were any different. allow what has happened… give yourself compassion, give yourself forgiveness.
try: perform a symbolic act of completing. write down those old stories and burn them. tear them to pieces and bury them in the soil or wash them down the drain. gather stones or shells as representatives of what you are finished with now and then throw them out to sea or over the cliff to symbolise what you no longer carry with you into a new year.
celebration:
as you look back on the year that was… celebrate your successes, achievements, moments of joy or peace, moments of strength.
do not only find gratitude and appreciation for what happened, remember to find gratitude and appreciation for WHO YOU ARE. for…
· how you have shown up for your self
· the version of you that got you through January to December
· the change you have created
· the new things you have tried
· the old shit you have released
· the healing you have done
· the hard you navigated
· the rock solid sense of self you have built
· the strength, stretch, or stability you have gained
· the way you have tried, practiced, explored, experimimented
· the resilience you have found within your self
· the patterns you broke, reformed, started anew
· the compassion you gave your self
· the intuition that turned out to be spot on
· the thing you gave yourself, maybe that you didn’t realise how much you needed
· the thing you manifested that you didn’t even know how much you wanted
· the thing that showed up unexpectedly but turned out to be just right
· the littlest thing that might not even have been noticed by anyone else, but that means so much to you
try: actually make a list of everything you are celebrating… be sure to include even the smallest things, and be sure to think back to every month of the year to include as many things as possible. NOW SHARE THAT LIST with someone else. do this with a friend and share with each other or turn it into a party where everyone gets a turn. share on social media and invite other to share.
try saying: i am grateful for the version of me who…. i appreciate the way i managed to… i am thrilled with myself for… it can be easy to say what you are grateful for, but much harder to celebrate ourselves for the part we play in our own success. if it feels weird to celebrate yourself, all the more reason to practice!
when is the best time to reflect on the year that is ending and try these tasks?
what feels like a good time to you? you might like to do a year end ritual on December 31st or January 1st.. January 4th is a super full moon, the first of the new year. full moons are a wonderful time for releasing, celebrating, gratitude, and illumination… perfect for additional clarity on your contemplation and personal revelations. the super full moon amplifies these intentions so this could be the perfect date to honour the end of the year that was. if life is busy over Christmas and New Year you may not have time on one of those days, that’s fine! simply choose a time that feels right to you… the key is noticing when you feel called to bring the year to an end, and doing so with intention.
as we come to the end of 2025 how will you honour the year that was?