Why New Year's Resolutions Don't Stick: A Witch's Thoughts...

Why New Year’s Resolutions don’t stick…

January 1st rolls in and suddenly everyone is ready to jump start a new life. We resolve to eat better, work-out more, find a word of the year, etc. It feels like fresh energy and motivation is flying ALL around… for about a month.

Ever wonder why so many of us fall off of our well-intentioned “resolutions” by February? Well, here’s my witchy take on it. 

It’s the WRONG time to be setting resolutions and getting all revved up. Mama Nature doesn’t support it. From a pagan/earth magic perspective, Samhain (Oct. 31st) until Imbolc (Feb. 1st), is thought of as the dark time or the quiet time of the year. These months are about slowing down and doing the inner work, a time for rest and recuperation so that when spring comes, we are rejuvenated and ready to begin again. 

So if you feel like you’ve already slipped on your resolutions, guess what? You’re fine. You have three whole weeks before it’s time to make a real move.

Imbolc, February 1st, is known as the Return of the Light, and honors the goddess Brigid, a Celtic triple goddess of fire and inspiration. It is a day to sweep away all of the old energy and make room to plant seeds. It is a time to prep the mind, body, and spirit for new growth, yet to come. Imbolc translates to ‘ewes milk,’ and February was the time ewes began lactating. It was considered the first sign of early spring. In ancient times, people were grateful to have survived the winter because the winters were harsh. Imbolc marks a time of hope, a time to welcome the return of the light, as the days begin to lengthen and we look toward spring.

Imbolc also marks the end of what is known as the dark time of the year.  The dark or quiet time the year is a time for stillness, introspection, and reflection.  During the winter months, the energetic focus is on allowing ourselves time to turn inward, meditate, and contemplate our lives, goals, and choices. In contemporary society, we often spend that time in holiday madness… shopping. Then, we wonder why we feel so out of balance when the calendar turns to January 1st. (Hint: We didn’t take the quiet time to tune in and recharge)

At Imbolc, we take time to reflect and “till the soil.” Imbolc  is a time for early spring cleaning, for clearing our what no longer serves us. As we begin the transition from winter to spring, there is a sweetness in pausing to check in and see where we stand, and begin to think about where we would like to move forward.

My offering to you is to take the next three weeks and carve out some quiet time, some space in your schedule. Give your spirit time to rest and recoup, and really listen to what your mind, body, and spirit are calling you to do. How can you recharge your system, so as the days grow longer and we move toward spring, you have the energy you need to make this year amazing? 

Sometimes, a little physical clearing helps us clear out all the mental clutter we carry around. A good place to start is to take a look around your home, and notice the things that are cluttering up your space. Where can you clear out and release? 

If you would like to create a personal Imbolc ritual, take some time to write down things you would like to release from your life to make room for new growth and new ideas.  When you are ready, ask Brigid’s blessings and toss your paper into a fire. Make sure to give thanks.

When we choose to CREATE space, we make room to CREATE new growth in all facets of our lives.

This is a prayer to Brigid from Amy Marashinsky's Goddess Oracle:
”Let me come to you
through the mists
through the fire
through the plants
through the deep flowing wells
with ideas
visions
words
music beyond the tips of your ears.
Let me move you
enliven you
stimulate you
till your perspective shifts
and your mind/body/spirit explodes
and you are left standing
in the wake of something that has been revealed
and life feels very sweet”

Blessed Be!

XOXO,

Katie

Practical Magic

When I was 11 years old, I asked my mom for a deck of tarot cards for my 12th birthday. 

A little startled, she asked how I knew what tarot cards were. I replied, “I don’t know, but I know how to read them, and they should be given to you as a gift, so I need them for my birthday.” Being the best mom ever, she didn’t question me further. She simply bought me my first deck, and has bought me ALL of my other decks since then over the past 25 years. 

Tarot was one of the first true loves in my life. 

For me, learning to read wasn’t so much a learning as it was a “remembering.” I simply knew how to do it. Years after that first tarot deck was mine, my Nana casually mentioned, “You know, my Aunt Martha read those cards like you do and people said she foresaw her own death.”  It’s in the bloodline. 

Nothing calmed me when I was young the way that shuffling the cards did. It was always my quickest way to center my energy and one of the first ways I learned to work with energy. At 13 years old, that understanding led me to become a Reiki practitioner and began my work in energy healing. I was doing Reiki and reading for my friends while I was still in middle school. 

Throughout high school and the better part of my twenties, I was never without a deck of tarot cards in my purse. Like, ever. (I was also heavily covered in glitter in those days, so…) On my very first date with my now husband at age 23, we’d barely sat down to dinner before I blurted out, “I’m a witch and an energy worker and I read tarot.” #notsubtle

Throughout that period, I read for myself and others nearly daily and honed my intuition and practice with the cards. They were a natural extension of who I was and provided tools and a language with which to express my magical gifts and connect to others in a way that resonated with them. I taught classes on The Celtic Wheel of the Year and shared my process for creating ritual and tuning energy into the flow of the seasons. My natural empathy found expression through the cards and teaching others how to connect with universal energy.  

Sometime around the age of thirty, I found myself craving a quieter, more private practice of my magic in order to continue growing within it. This was a bit of a shift and for the better part of the past decade, my magical practice as well as my readings and teachings have reflected this need for quiet and greater privacy.

Recently however, I’ve felt another shift happening, a call once again to step back out of the “broom closet” and share these gifts more openly and publicly. I’ve had so many requests for readings and classes that I feel the time has come for me to once again formalize my offerings and make them available to anyone interested in learning with me.

I’m reminded of one of my favorite scenes from the movie Practical Magic, where Sandra Bullock’s character proclaims to a group of women, “Soooooo…I’m a witch!” 

And I am.

What does it mean to be a practicing witch and walk the pagan path?

For me, it means honoring the cycles of the moon and the cycles and transitions of the seasons, of nature. It means setting time for daily, monthly, and seasonal rituals no matter what else is going on in my life. 

It also means consulting cards, runes, and oracles when I’m looking for guidance. It means casting a spell for the perfect magical kitten to come to me by Litha (summer solstice), and then offering a ritual of gratitude for her arrival. 

My practice is incredibly sacred to me, and has been a source of peace, empowerment, and connection in my life. Now I’m called to share those gifts with others, to offer them in service to you, and to widen that circle of connection to include all who are interested.

Blessed be.