As I start the midwinter ceremony of the 12 days of Yule, I am letting go of the first intention for the next year, sight unseen. I’m releasing the intentions to the Universe and my guides to take over.

The longest night today offers the internal darkness of fears over our home on top of work and health challenges that have been the color of this past year.

I didn’t sleep much last night because my dog was unwell, but I did set an intention to clean my home and begin my journey to my home country. Even if alone. I felt it was the right day to make the travels, working with the energy of liminal spaces. I often feel that I live neither here nor there, but rather somewhere inside myself. I take my home with me wherever I go, but every so often I lose touch with it. Today was one of those days.

Out of the blue, the owner of the apartment we are renting asked us to show a real estate agency the apartment we are in. Sure, but what does that mean for us? Is our home safe? Will we have to move? If yes, when? Where? How much will it cost?

The world suddenly started spinning around me as if I lost the ground under my feet. Even though I know that that’s just an illusion, it feels so real. Today I didn’t let it win.

When I drove between countries and homes, I found my footing in stories and in planning. Plan A, plan B, plan C … What ifs. Slowly, as the night lay on Earth and I got closer to my little apartment back home, my sanctuary, I am closer to inner peace. We will manage.

I entered a cold apartment filled with so much love and calm that I found inner space to begin the ritual of the 12 days of Yule. I wrote the intentions – one per piece of paper – and burned the first one. I observed the dance of the flame and drew a card from my Woodland Warden’s deck. The goat and willow showed up with the message of “overcoming difficulties”. How appropriate.

Even more fitting, because the goat and the willow are coming with the number 11 – the number of my next personal year, which starts in about 3 weeks. The goat, as a symbol of balance, and the willow, as a symbol of grieving and the entrance into the underworld, speak of renewed energy and the right balance to overcome difficulties.

This year brought many challenges and unfortunate obstacles sprinkled my life, but I’m ready to step into my power. This time with a different energy. With quiet joy and feminine strength. One step at a time. I missed the Mother’s Night, but I still want to honor the women and mothers in my life and my female ancestors.

I call on all the mothers in my lineage to stand by me through these 12 nights and help me set the right intention for the following year. I honor your guidance and wisdom from years past. I honor your hardship and the joy of life you’ve lived so that I can live mine. Thank you

Moving through the 12 says, these message emerged:

  • 21. December: Overcoming difficulties through The Goat and Willow
  • 22. December: Home through The Beaver and Birch
  • 23. December: Dreams
  • 24. December: Trust in the invisible through The Snail and Huckleberry
  • 25. December: Confidence through The boar and Pumpkin
  • 26. December: Home through The Beaver and Birch, but this time reversed
  • 27. December: Modest fortitude through The Horse and Bluebell, reversed
  • 28. December: Independence through The Cat and the Lavender
  • 29. December: Innocence through The Mouse and the Buttercup
  • 30. December: Safety through The Eel and Iris
  • 31. December: Success through The Chipmunk and Laurel

Looking through these messages I feel excited for the New Year and am curious to discover which of the 13 intentions set for the year will be the one that I’ll intentionally have to work on.

Until next time,
Pia