​Year in Review Exercise
Here’s an annual mapping exercise I do every January. If you haven’t thrown away your 2017 calendar or diaries, they will come in helpful, although neither is absolutely necessary.

I draw a Wheel of the Year diagram with the Sabbats included. I add my birthday and significant anniversaries.

Then, I go back through the last year and pencil in events of the year, good and bad, that were significant. Deaths, births, new jobs, pets, large purchases, finished projects, goals met. Even direction or philosophical changes.

Next, add in important world events—global and pagan.

Finally, I consider my emotional health and well-being.

I have enjoyed keeping track of life this way as my son has grown up. 

For the last decade I’ve kept track of events in a 10-year diary, which lists every day stacked on top of the previous year’s date. The layout makes it easier to see the patterns emerge as the years pass. Some of the trends are dramatic!

Wheel of the Year Tarot spread
I mentioned here earlier that I’m working on my annual Wheel of the Year tarot spread. It’s a BIG project--this year I used the full deck, rather than only one card per month. It’s more work, but it gives a more comprehensive view of what’s coming in the New Year.

​Here’s how to do yours:

​Put one card in each of the positions around the circle. I put January in the one o’clock spot. You can then place a card in the center of the circle, which sets the tone for the whole of the year.

1. Go around until you finish the deck. If you are using a standard 78-card deck, you can complete 6 cycles.

This is a good spread if you want a general overview of your life for the next 12 months. You can then use other spread to add more detail in particular areas.
 
Version 2
 
This spread can also be used to represent the 12 houses of life in Astrology. If you decide to use the reading for astrology only, the 12 houses are as follows:

1. Personality, environment, how others see you (Aries)
2. Money, possessions, earning power and financial values (Taurus)
3. Travel and Communications, day to day activities (Gemini)
4. Home life, siblings, family, parents (Cancer)
5. Pleasure, romance, love affairs, holidays, self-expression, creativity (Leo)
6. Work and Health (emotional and physical) (Virgo)
7. Partnerships (professional/personal) and Marriage, legal issues (Libra)
8. Inheritance, death, other people’s money, endings/beginnings (Scorpio)
9. Philosophy, education, dreams, travel/long distance journeys (Sagittarius)
10. Career, profession, fame, reputation (Capricorn)
11. Friends, organizations, hope and wishes (Aquarius)
12. Burdens, restrictions, secret fears, enemies, dangers, subconscious (Pisces)

 
If, as you are going around, you get Major Arcana or Court cards of the Minor Arcana, they may pertain to certain personalities or types of people who are having a significant impact on your life, either in that month (if you are doing a 12-month spread), or in that area of your life (if doing the Astrology Houses).
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If the personalities of the people don’t mean anything to you, or you can’t relate to those type of people, the court cards can also represent aspects of your own personality that may be useful to you (if the cards are upright) and you need to develop more of and strengthen, or that may be hindering you (if the cards are reversed) and you need to be careful that those aspects don’t get in your way.
 
Version 3 (I used this version)
 
You can also combine the Monthly and Astrology spreads above.

1. Lay the first round as an overall 12-month spread.
2. On the 2nd and all subsequent times, use the houses.

This is good for answering questions such as, “What will my finances be like over the next twelve months?” and look at the 2nd house. Or, “What will family relationships be like this year?” and look at the 4th house as well as monthly.
 
NOTE: However you decide to use this spread, it’s important to decide in advance what the positions are going to mean for you. When you have decided, make your intention clear to your cards and they will fall correctly for you.
 
Also, once you decide what the positions are going to mean for you, there’s no going back! Don’t change your mind part way through the reading.

Until next Friday, Blessed Be. And don't forget to rub the  bellies of my new gnome buddies for luck before  you leave! 

​The joy that winter holidays bring to people all over the world is so strong it’s nearly tangible. But like a Christmas cookie high, the intensity of the holidays can bottom out and lead to depression when we hit mid-January.
The key is to capture that joy and attune with it instead of feeling bowled over. Here are some ideas:

1. Candle of Joy

Keep out one large pillar candle from the holidays (or buy one on sale! You know you want to.)

Inscribe the image of the sun and any other symbols you desire. 

​The “joy” rune of Wyn/Wunjo would be a nice addition. Anoint the candle with any solar or wintery oils such as frankincense spearmint, cinnamon, orange, bay, clove or high john. (Bring positive thoughts to you by anointing the candle from the top, toward you to the bottom). 

Take the dressed candle outside or to a window at sunrise. Let the morning rays of the sun fall upon the candle as you simultaneously feel those rays heating your skin. Visualize this light to be permanently linked to the candle, now and forever. 

When you feel connected to the spirit of joy and sun, light the candle and keep it lit for part of your morning. You can then light it every morning to give you a boost of joy in the day, or whenever you could use a dash of happiness.
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Joy comes in many forms if we pay attention. It comes from being present in the slowly turning tides of the Earth and her creatures, and holding space for whatever that turning brings.

Spell For Healthy SleepMake a tea from the following ingredients: Eyebright (herba euphrasia), Skullcap, and chamomile. Flavor with two drops of vanilla and a dollop of honey.

Eyebright

Drink before bedtime.

When you go to bed, repeat to yourself three times:
“Goddess of mine, Queen of the night
Help me sleep in your healing light.
Restful sleep come over me,
Relax my body and set my mind free.
Grant me calm and peace tonight,
Let me awake in your golden light.”

Eyebright is a natural remedy for nasal congestion, puffy eyes and eye fatigue. Because natural herbs are not sterilized, don’t put eyebright directly in or on your eyes.
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Skullcap is in the mint family, and is used to reduce inflammation and treat gout. It acts as a sedative for relaxation, to help with insomnia and anxiety, and to reduce fever from the flu.

1. House Purification Incense

Burn this in your home on the full moon, in a fire safe container. Walk the smoke clockwise throughout the house, beginning at the front door.
 

​3 parts Frankincense (sets a positive base)
2 parts Dragon’s Blood (positive strength)
1 part Myrrh (well-being, brighten disposition)
1 part Hyssop (cleanses both the physical and psychic planes)
2 parts Sandalwood (brings in positive spirits)
½ part dill seeds (protection & help achieve goals)
3 drops Rose Geranium Oil (cleanse and refocus)
 
Burn blue candles for additional calm.
 
I hope these ideas help you to fill your January with cleanliness, calm and even joy.
 
Until next weekend…Blessed be.

My blogs this year will be a mish mash of the Muggle and the Witch, the profound, the silly and the practical.
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I’ll introduce (or re-introduce) you to some of the celebrations that have been lost through the millennia.

Let’s start with a Roman deity, Anna Perenna, the goddess of the New Year. Never heard of her? Don’t worry, neither had I…until I stumbled across O.G.O.D. – The Obscure Goddess Online Dictionary. Isn’t that a great name?

Anna Perenna is the goddess of long life and renewal, health and plenty. Her two names both make reference to the year: anna means "to live through a year", while perenna means "last many years" (the root source of the English words annual and perennial).
 
This goddess is associated with cycles of renewal, and connecting the past to the present.  So it seems appropriate that Anna herself is described in some legends as old, and in others as young.
 
The Festival of Anna Perenna on the 15th of March (March being the start of the year in the old Roman calendar) was beloved by the common people. On the evening before, people would gather at the 1st milestone on the Via Flaminia in her scared grove of fruit trees by the bank of the Tiber. Revelers camped out, some bringing tents, others making shelters from leafy tree branches or by draping their cloaks over poles. There they picnicked through the night, feasting, dancing and singing, and celebrating with copious amounts of wine as they toasted to health and long life. They believed that one would live as many years as the cups of wine one could drink, so of course it was traditional to get quite drunk.
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Who knows? Maybe the current tradition of clinking glasses together to toast the New Year began with old Anna Perenna.

Filling in the Blank Slate of a New Year. Oh, so many choices!

I love buying new calendars after the holidays, and filling them in. It’s probably the writer in me, but using an online planner just ain’t the same. I know many people swear by their Google calendar or Microsoft or Android planning tools, but I get such pleasure from actually putting pen to paper.

I have a “family” calendar on the kitchen wall. We joke, “If it’s not on the calendar, it likely won’t happen.” Seriously, it’s like our appointment bible.
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In addition, I have my own specialized “writing” planner, where I lay out the whole year’s writing conferences and associated costs, track sales, and outline chapters of the book I’m working on currently, plus notes for the next one or two. Those chapter notes eventually end up in the manuscript on my laptop, but the ideas germinate in the longhand notes in my planner.

Tarot Wheel of the Year

Then, there’s the more esoteric part of my planning.

Every year I lay out a tarot spread in January, the Wheel of the Year, a card to represent my dominant theme, thought or challenge for each month of the year. This year, my January card is the Two of Cups.

In my deck, the Two of Cups depicts a man and a woman embracing while holding cups in what appears to be a wedding ceremony. The caduceus of Hermes spirals in the air above them.  The two-snake caduceus design has ancient and consistent associations with trade, negotiation, balance, duality (union of opposites), and cosmic energy. On the Two of Cups, the caduceus sends a positive message for new partnerships, and suggests that with honor, respect and balance, new relationships shall be rewarding. At the top of the caduceus is a lion’s head, a symbol of passion and fire energy.  The two snakes that wind up the caduceus represent dark and light and their coexistence within us.

A bond is forming between myself and someone else, be it a truce with a sworn enemy or an embrace with a new love. My initial feeling is it’s a budding love, and a platonic one with a large difference in ages.
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But the two of cups is a weak card. The cards around it in the reading hold great sway in determining the outcome of this deepening relationship. I’ll be taking a close look at the February card (2 of Wands) on one side, and December (3 of Pentacles) to figure out how they will influence this new “romance.”  I’ll let you know how things shake out later on this month.

What activities do you conduct to look into the future and make plans for the New Year?

• Do you buy a new planner and fill in important dates?
• Or, do you prefer electronic planning?
• Do you use any divination tools?
• Do you write a daily “To Do” list?
• Or maybe you let the fates determine your actions?

​I’d love to hear what you want to achieve in 2018, and how you plan to convert your dreams to reality. Remember, a goal is simply a dream with a deadline!

Next  week, I'll share a spell for healthy sleep, and a purification spell for your home, along with my favorite ways to add magic to your cleaning chores.
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!