The Threshold of the New Year: Sacred Endings, Before the Beginning

As the New Year approaches, the quieter I become.

Not withdrawn - but attentive. Listening.

Aware of the weight of what time it is and all that has been.

I am not a numerologist. I don’t claim mastery over the mathematics of time or the technical language of cycles. What I do know - as a shaman, a visionary, a seer in many forms - is the significance of paying attention.

Of honoring what appears “coincidental.”

Of feeling into the patterns rather than dismissing them.

Of allowing ourselves not only to acknowledge the unfolding, but to experience it.

When we swim upstream against the natural rhythms and cycles of the Universe - against what is asking to move, die, or transform - we create unnecessary chaos.

Resistance doesn’t stop change...It only makes it harsher.

Yes, we are free to choose.

But make no mistake - those choices matter.

They shape whether we evolve and grow, or remain stuck repeating the same lessons in louder, more painful ways.

The Great Shedding: A 9 Year

Numerologically, 2025 is a 9 year - a year of big endings.

We are also on the threshold of a 1 year - a year of new beginnings.

A 9 year is about release, completion, and closure.

About letting go - not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually.

We’ve seen it everywhere:

• In the news

• In global systems

• In the lives of others

• And most certainly, in our own

This kind of shedding is essential. It mirrors the ancient cycle of the snake - outgrowing old skins so growth can continue.

And fittingly, this has also been the Year of the Snake.

Rest assured, there is nothing coincidental about that.

When the Last 9 Year Cracked Me Open

The last time I moved through a 9 year was 2016. For me, it was the death and rebirth of a consciousness I didn’t yet know needed to change.

That year brought a depth of loss and trauma I would never wish upon another human being - yet it was essential to my evolution into the woman I am today.

That year included:

• The loss of my greatest love

• Court custody battles with my children’s father (not to be confused with my greatest love)

• Survival of a home invasion and abduction while my two young boys slept in their beds (the anniversary of which I write this reflection on today)

I share this not for shock, nor sympathy - but for truth.

Those experiences were initiations.

They were opportunities to experience courage, not just speak about it.

To embody perseverance, not theorize it.

I was cracked wide open.

Every perceived safety.

Every identity I had built.

Every illusion of control.

Gone.

What emerged was not something I could have planned for - or prepared for.

But it was necessary.

I was stripped down so I could be forged.

The Medicine of the Years That Followed

To say the last nine years were not easy would be a grave understatement. The years after that initiation tested me again and again.

And yet…

I would change none of it.

I recognize the medicine in it all.

The wisdom cultivated.

The strength gained.

I have earned my place here.

There is no doubt left.

I know.

I see.

I am.

Loss, Revisited

This past year - this current 9 year - has also brought loss. But it lands differently now.

Loss is part of life.

It is woven into this world.

I do not cling to what was.

I do not suffer prolonged grief.

I honor.

I learn.

I love.

And I move forward.

There is always choice.

There is always opportunity.

Always.

The Ritual of Release

As this year closes - the Year of the Snake, the ninth year of great shedding - this is your invitation to participate consciously in the endings.

Do not leave it unmarked.

Consider writing down what you are leaving behind:

• Thoughts that no longer serve you.

• Beliefs that keep you stuck or bound to old versions of yourself.

• Relationships that drain rather than nourish.

• Emotions you have carried long past their purpose.

Be honest.

Be thorough.

Be willing.

Then...burn it.

Watch the paper curl and turn to ash.

Not with anger.

But with reverence, and with Grace.

This is not destruction.

It is release.

Let it go.

Crossing the Fire

Do not be afraid to fall and start anew in the year ahead.

Falling is not failure - it is passage.

You are stronger than you think.

Braver than you may feel right now.

Fire does not destroy what is true.

It reveals it.

And makes it stronger.

And understand this:

The only way to know what’s on the other side of the fire is by through it...on your own.

The Blank Page of the One Year

After the fire, there is always ash. Essential nutrients that help feed new growth.

Ahead of us lies the 1 year.

The blank page.

The seed.

The beginning.

The Year of the Horse - energy that is strong, purposeful, forward-moving.

Do not make light of this moment.

This threshold matters.

It is yours to honor.

Yours to harness.

Yours to shape with intention.

Where will you go with it?

These are not simply moments in time, they are opportunities to acknowledge, to experience and to grow.

This is only just the beginning...

Choose wisely.

Choose wisely.