In popular culture, all around the world we celebrate the end of December and start of January as the new year. Prior to 46 BC, however, people followed the Roman Calendar where the new year was based on the lunar system and New year was celebrated on March 25th. In 46BC Julius Caesar introduced a new solar based calendar that he proclaimed was an improvement on the original calendar as it had become inaccurate over the years for he had Caesar had factored in the time for leap years. January 1st became the start of the new year some say the date was changed to coincide with the Christian Annunciation festival. Another reason Caesar was said to have honoured Janus, in naming the month the start of the year - Janus was the Roman god of new beginnings, he had two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future.
Many people still believe the true new year is in the spring. At the time of the equinox however, regardless of when the “real new year” is for you - there’s no doubt about the “new” energy that comes with January. So here are a list of things that I would recommend for the transition.
Before NY
CLEANSE
Declutter- get rid of everything that serves no purpose in your house, phone, mind & overall life. Spend a few days thinking about what things you are holding onto that just add clutter to your life. (REMEMBER: Negative energy clings to dirt & clutter, the fastest way to remove blockages is to have a clear out!)
Energetically- Do a cleansing ritual to cleanse yourself energetically. Before you start, journal a list of things that you want to leave behind in this year. What lessons do you not want to repeat next year? What emotions do you want to avoid? What situations, people, places to you want to call your energy back from? You could do a burn ritual, smudge, take a spiritual bath etc.
Home- Clean your house!! You’ve heard of spring cleaning right? Well it derives from the new year originally being in spring and needing to clear out the old to bring in the new. Make sure you cleans your home from back to front and sweep using a cinnamon broom if you can to ward off evil and bring protection and abundance to your home, sweep out the front door! Try to wash all of the dirty clothes in the house before New Years (and avoid washing clothes on NYD to avoid your abundance being washed away!)
Altar- Be sure to clean your altar. Take some time to wipe it down, wash/replace your table cloth, and replace water and offerings. It’s also a good time to spend some time with your ancestors and thank them for all the support and protection they have given you for the past year.
On NY
PROSPERITY
Cinnamon boil- check out the other blog posts for a tutorial on this easy to do prosperity ritual!
A Jar spell- This is a great time to make a jar for whatever you are calling in next year, be it self love, money, clarity etc.
Manifest- Any kind of manifestation is good for New Year’s Day and the first 12 days of the year to set intentions of prosperity for each of the months of the year. Making a vision board, scripting & visualising are all easy and fun to do!
Cook- Many people, especially in USA cook specific foods rooting from hoodoo traditions to manifest abundance, such as cornbread to represent gold, greens to represent dollars, rice to represent abundance and black eyed beans to represent coins. Cook whatever food you enjoy that makes you feel good! We always cook a mash up of each family members favourite foods and have a buffet style meal.
BE SURE TO SHOW GRATITUDE
I tend to spend New Years Eve alone, as a self reflective and self serving day. I fill my day with self care, meditation, and a positive mindset and try to keep my thoughts on what I want to bring into my love for the next year and steps on how I can make it a reality! What can you do to ensure you feel good on the 1st to set the tone for the next 12 months?
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