This week, the number of COVID-19 cases in Australia surpassed half a million, a new record for us, and the numbers are conservative. The pressure is mounting on hospitals, ambulance and testing systems. So, 2022, so far, is more of 2021, but I still find the opportunity to reset and refresh the magickal practices that help me get through challenging times. Here’s how I kicked off for a magickal New Year.
Personal cleansing
A bath with a unique blend of waters or herbs is a beautiful way to kick off the New Year. I don’t have a great bathtub, and I don’t think I would fill it with water if I did, but I had a purifying and refreshing shower using a special soap. I played uplifting music and concentrated on washing away that which doesn’t serve me anymore.
Serving the deities and spirits
I put on white clothing and took care of my orishas. I refreshed the water in Olokun’s container. Olokun is the orisha of the depths of the ocean. Out of respect to this closed, initiatory tradition, I will not disclose all the contents of Olokun’s container. Still, I can safely say that it has water in it, and initiates refresh it every year. Olokun likes to be covered, and I also washed a blue scarf I keep over the container.
I also cleaned my Guerreros: Elegua, Ogun, Ochosi, and Osun, and the space where I keep them. I made fresh fruit offerings to all my orishas.
On the 31st, I dismantled my December altar in honour of the Deer Mother. On 1 January, I built my January altar in honour of Prajnaparamita, the Perfection of (Transcendent) Wisdom In Mahayana Buddhism.
My January is about quiet reflection and cultivating my inner voice. Just as my morning can set the tone for my entire day, it’s important to me to start the year quietly and calmly. I am not a Buddhist, but the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple, where I study, has Tibetan Buddhist lineage. This aspect of the Temple, and the study of Prajnaparamita, contribute greatly to my contemplative start of the year.Â
I put down a clean, white altar cloth, new candles for my ancestors and Prajnaparamita, and a dedicated mala.
Purification of space
I smoked the house. You can use many herbs to purify your home, such as alder, ash, birch, cedar, dogwood, juniper, and mugwort. I use rosemary because it grows abundantly in our garden, and I also use eucalyptus because we have a tree. On this occasion, I carried a bundle of rosemary through my house and yard to cleanse and purify the space for the New Year.
Prognostications
This January, I’m using the Tarot de Carlotydes by Spanish illustrator Carlota Santos. It’s a beautiful, delicate, and whimsical tarot that is the right combination of quiet and playful for the start of the year.
The Tarot de Carlotydes is new in my collection. I began by waving a Selenite wand over it to cleanse the cards. As I shuffled the cards, I asked them to bond and collaborate with me. Then I interviewed the tarot deck. There are many questions you can ask. Here are the questions I ask:
- What is your most important characteristic?Â
- What are your strengths as a deck?Â
- What are your limits? Â
- How can I best collaborate with you?Â
- How can I make the best of our relationship?Â
Referring to Mary K. Greer’s method in Archetypal Tarot: What Your Birth Card Reveals About Your Personality, Your Path, and Your Potential, I worked out my Tarot Card of the Year: the Wheel of Fortune. I read up on that.
Finally, I did my New Year tarot reading. A popular way is to select a card for each month and see it as the guiding force of the month. My preferred 12-card reading, based on a New Year Spread by Biddy Tarot, looks at what’s passing and coming in various parts of my life (e.g. love, health, career, spirituality). I find this approach more cohesive and comprehensive.
Then I took a nap. It was a big day.
A few days later, I also read my 2022 horoscope by Chani Nicholas and the Letra del año, which is an annual proclamation of predictions and advice by babalawos for the coming year. Babalawos are similar to high priests in Ifá, which can refer both to the religion and the system of divination.
There are various Letters and I refer to the one produced in Miami. You can read the Letra del año in el Nuevo Herald. Google Translate will do an adequate job of translating it if you don’t read Spanish.
It was an excellent start to 2022. Moving forward, my morning practice will help me stay calm and balanced as I face the challenges ahead.
Whether your New Year’s was pleasant or not, I hope you can carve time to take care of yourself this week and take the steps you need to help set the stage for a good 2022.
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Still looking for my perfect deck for Jan. I love getting inspiration from all your decks.