New Years EVe Ritual

Rituals pervade every area of my life and New Years Eve is no different.

I’ve never been a big fan of celebrating the new year (apart from some rather spectacular parties in my younger days).  However, since my marriage ended and I’ve found myself on my own at the close of the year, celebrating and ritualising the release of one year and extending an invitation to the next has become a ritual I cherish and look forward to for weeks.

The lead up to midnight is spent reviewing and releasing the year that has just been.  It’s not always an easy exercise but somewhere in there are pieces of gold which I want to acknowledge and hold close. There are also pieces of, well, not gold.  And these pieces I also acknowledge, thank and release.  Hindsight is a wonderful tool and I use it to find the insights and learnings I need in order to keep moving forward, growing and evolving.

So, what does my New Years Eve actually look like?

Here are the 5 things that make up my New Years Eve Rituals.

1.      Cleanse
I prepare my home to move into the new year with me by Saging and Blessing my space.  Saging is an ancient ritual using elements of earth, water, air and fire.  It removes and transmutes negative or heavy energy, and replaces it with light and love.  It’s like a spiritual spring clean for your home.

2.     Music
After cleansing my home, I turn on my iPod and play music that stirs my soul and lifts me up so high I sometimes feel like my feet are actually off the floor.  Music can have such a positive high vibration that it moves through everything and everyone it touches, leaving you brighter and lighter in its wake.

3.      Unravelling the year ahead.
I work through the highs and lows of the year.  The moments I was most proud of and those I wasn’t. I ask myself questions like, what did I learn? Why did I choose that path? Was I in reaction or response? Am I proud of how I handled the situation? Did I act in love and compassion? What would I do differently? I then look to the coming year. What would I like to experience? How do I want to feel? What can I do to bring those feelings into my reality? What goals do I want to meet? What do I want more or less of? Once that is all done, I write 2 lists. One of what I wish to release, let go and transmute. And one of what I wish to invite in. I then light a candle, sit quietly in meditation for a while and when I feel I’m ready, I burn each piece of paper. With each burning, I say a prayer of thanks.

4.     Bath
This is the best time of the evening for me. Shortly before midnight I run a bath, pouring in Himalayan Salts, Epsom Salts and Essential Oils. I light candles and make sure my music is playing softly in the background. Using the energy of the salts and oils, I cleanse my physical body as well as my auric field. Then I call my energies back into myself from the past year so that all of me is present, cleansed and ready to move forward.I spend time thinking of the gratitude and love I feel for my family, my friends, my soul sisters, my business and my life. I also spend time thinking on all the things I wish to call into my life, and send them gratitude and love as though they are already here. During this time, I am sending myself Reiki and Universal Light. This is a sacred time of healing for me.

5.     Fresh Linen
I make up my bed with fresh linen. For me there is nothing like climbing into a freshly made bed, the sheets crisp and white, welcoming my cleansed energy to dream myself into the new year.

There are many ways we can release the energy of one year and welcome in the next, these are the ways I choose to spend my time on the eve of each year.

How do you spend your New Years Eve?  Are there rituals you enjoy?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.