Day 1/12

Today is the Winter Solstice and the first day of the 12 Days of Dreaming.

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and, as such, the longest night. During this time, the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky and is directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn, marking the first day of winter.

Yule and the Winter Solstice hold a mystical place in the cycle of the year. It is a time for reflection, renewal, and magic.

In ancient pagan traditions, the days surrounding the Solstice were seen as a sacred doorway, an in-between space where the veil between worlds is thin. The 12 days following the Solstice were believed to carry heightened energy, making intentions sent forth during this time especially powerful.

Today begins The Ritual.

This is your invitation. Let us dream big and leave space for the universe to bring its magic. So often, our dreams are but a breath of vapor compared to the vast ocean depths of what the universe has in store for us.

If you haven’t done so already, take time to write 13 of the biggest, juiciest wishes you have for yourself. Don’t hold back. Release limits and let go of mental chatter or “yes, but” constraints.

Be expansive. Be limitless.

Once your wishes are written, cut them out, fold them, and place them in a special place, somewhere meaningful. For me, I’ve chosen a small vase that was once filled with flowers gifted to me. This simple vase is a symbol of something that I’ve been practicing all year: Receiving.

My thirteen wishes, my offerings to the Universe, will live there until they are burned and released so that they can then return to me transformed.

Over the next 12 days of dreaming, draw one wish each day. Safely burn it, offering it to the universe with the belief that it is already yours.

Afterwards, draw a single tarot card as guidance for the month of January.

My first card was the Adjustment—the card of balance. In the Tabula Mandi Tarot, this is a card of constant motion and micro-adjustments. Calibration.

As we end the year of the snake, the year of shedding and enter the year of the horse, this feels appropriate. We are moving from shedding into momentum.

The skin that no longer fit has been stripped away. This process often requires us to be still and patient in order to allow a deep internal transformation. It is a year of molting and releasing the things we’ve outgrown.

The year of the horse, in contrast, arrives with breath in its lungs and fire in its legs. It is movement after the stillness.

Freedom after constriction.

It is time for our truth to be carried outward into the world.

However, the work isn’t done. As we step into action, January will be about fine tuning. A cosmic tuning fork tapped at the start of the year… bring things back into proportion internally and externally.

The scale that notices imbalance in order to direct destiny with integrity. It is to weigh the heart against the truth and use our discernment to make minute corrections still required of us.

I eagerly anticipate what January will bring.

Affirmation:
“I am in perfect alignment with my becoming. In stillness, I receive clarity. In darkness, I remember my own power. It rust the timing of my dreams and welcome the return of my light.”

Always,
Your Trusted Friend ✨