New Year, New Me Vs Winter’s Slumber

Embracing the Contradiction: Winter's Call for Rest and Release

As we enter a new year, the air is crisp, the sky dreary, and if you’re lucky, a blanket of snow covers the ground. Earth’s rhythms are inviting stillness, yet society’s current mantra of “New Year, New Me” is trying to beckon. Over the years, this new year frenzy has less and less appeal.

The more I’ve attuned to the seasons, the more this time of year has bid my body and spirit to rest, hibernate, and be in stillness.

I admit, even writing this blog feels a bit like a pull away from what my body’s draw to cuddle up with my fur babies on the couch, so I will keep it short (Not to mention, my Seasons of the Witch Imbolc Oracle draw was “Dawn” for the 4th time this week).

Without spoiling the deck for you, Dawn’s message is about the intelligence in stillness. To rest and reflect. To see if ego is driving any sense of urgency (direct call out— at least over here!). Perhaps you too need this message. I’ve linked the deck in the photo if it speaks to you (I had no affiliate with them, just truly enjoy all of these decks for my own practice!)

We just had Winter Solstice, or Yule, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year. We know that more light is promised, and we can hold hope while we face winter. But the sabbat isn’t meant to be a moment in time and then “onto the next.” Rather, this is just the start of winter, and we are in the liminal space between Yule and Imbolc, which will mark the mid-point of winter, and the true promise of spring ahead.

In the mean time, winter invites us to pause, reflect, and experience the wisdom of stillness. I know for me, this is easier said than done. But I also notice my body and spirit are more aligned with this tug, as I find myself needing more sleep, desiring more time indoors, and feeling less inspired, but rather reflective. This can be a potent time to rejuvenate the spirit and body, a time of deep healing and transformation that comes from just being.

So I lovingly invite you to do the same. Perhaps try to wait on any grand plans for the new year, and hold onto ideas until spring is closer. You might find that this time of winter’s bareness, may reveal to you something that you could not have conjured otherwise.

In case you need one more nudge—- in parallel, our moon is currently in the last quarter phase, inviting us to release and surrender. This lunar phase aligns beautifully with the energy of winter, urging us to let go of what no longer belongs as we prepare for the dawn of spring to come. If you feel called to engage in some type of ritual for the year, instead of starting a list of resolutions, consider either restorative rest or reflective release. Our Beithe Moon ritual for rest is free to view on the website here.

Let us challenge the notion that the new year must bring drastic change, and instead try a more authentic and sustainable approach. Letting stillness be just as valuable as creation. I leave you to consider and perhaps implement this winter weekend—- I’m off to a cozy pallet of blankets, pillows, and furry baby cats + a good book and some cozy movies.

Winter Blessings,

Ashley