For the entirety of December 2022, I was doing a daily advent calendar of sorts to count down until the start of the new calendar year. I decided to split this into two posts because writing about 32 days of tasks would lead to a very long post. So here's the rest of what I got up to for this Magickal Advent!
For 16th December, the suggested task was to declutter an area of my home. I decluttered the majority of my home in November but I had forgotten about a particular shelf in my wardrobe that was full of bedding and the majority of it I haven't used or thought of using in months. So that's the last space to be decluttered and I'm glad I managed to declutter my entire home.
For 17th December, the suggested task was to add an item to my altar that represents light. I have a couple of candles sitting in the altar space that I used for the moon water and crystals. I have a pale purple candle and then a pina colada scented candle with a cactus shaped top. But after attending the virtual Yule ritual that Emily hosted, I thought about putting the spiced orange candle on my altar instead.
For 18th December, the suggested task was to sit in the dark in silence for 20 minutes and then journal about it. Usually seen as something cold and "not-nice", it provides the opportunity to look within for the light we each hold. The stars can only be seen in the darkness, so it's not as unfriendly as it appears. It is only with the help of darkness that we can see and recognise the light and love that surrounds us. With darknes, we can find our inner strength and recognise it before putting it to good use. Darkness is a part of the balance of life: we need darkness just as much as we need light but neither is more important than the other. Darkness should not be feared - it is as necessary as light, for it shows us where we can find light, love and hope. Darkness does not last, just like light, but it is useful as we can navigate through the darkness. Even if we don't want to admit it: darkness helps us to recognise the light.
For 19th December, the suggested task was to write down what I'd like to invite into my life with the return of light. This was interesting because I rarely have a definite intention - this is possibly as a result of just wanting to go with the flow in life. But this means that I don't have a goal to work towards most of the time as I just follow my heart and gut feelings. Something I would like to invite into my life is a greater sense of purpose, maybe through helping others to heal in whatever way feels right.
For 20th December, the suggested task was to celebrate the night before the Solstice by making tea or running a bath using some Moon Water. I chose to make some tea, specifically some Lady Grey tea as I feel like it's appropriate to this time of year. This blend has some orange peel in it which is what makes it a bit more festive to me.
For 21st December, the suggested activity was to greet the Solstice dawn with song. I don't tend to sing unless it's to something I really like but I did choose to listen to a couple of songs by Wardruna. These were Solringen and Sowelu. Solringen is all about the sun and the light it brings, the general effect the sun has on the world. This is one of the songs Wardruna performed when I saw them back in March 2022. Sowelu is all about the sun and its return to the world, lifting us from darkness back into the light which is what the Solstice is all about - the Sun being reborn into the world and bringing back hope and light.
For 22nd December, the suggested activity was to pick a card or do some sort of divination to set a new moon intention. I chose to use a Magickal Incantation deck I received from Witch Casket for this and I ended up with 2 cards. The first was Open-mindedness and the other was Creativity. Each came with a rhyming couplet as the cards can be used in spellwork and/or rituals.
For 23rd December, the suggested activity was to choose an altar item to symbolise or support my new moon intention. Because I chose to pull two cards to set my intention, I decided to use the cards themselves as my items. They'll stay on my desk so that I will see them daily and be able to reinforce them every time I look at them.
For 24th December, the suggested activity was to set a reminder on my phone to remind me to take 5 deep breaths 3-5 times during the day. This was rather timely for me because I had some excitement happen that I had to stay calm about. This time of year is usually filled with last-minute shopping, visiting family or being visited by family, so it can be quite a busy time for most people.
For 25th December, the suggested activity was to choose a portable item that makes me feel grounded and carry it with me all day. I have two crystal pendants that I rarely take off because I love their energy and how they help me to stay grounded. I have noticed when I'm particularly anxious that I hold one and then the other. One is on a shorter necklace than the other so I can't hold them together at once without it feeling really strange. I have a flat amethyst tear-drop shaped pendant that has the Icelandic Vegvisir ("Way-Finder") engraved on it and the other is a wire-cage pendant that holds a piece of Dragonstone. It's really interesting that earlier this year, I chose to put this particular pice of Dragonstone in the cage because I've recently been doing a lot of work with my personal dragon, and I feel like this is encouraging me to keep going and it was always meaant to be.
For 26th December, the suggested activity was to set up a "joy jar" for the coming year with strips of paper, a jar (of course) and a pen. The paper could then be used to note down at least one thing that brought me joy per day. Then at the end of the year, I can use the jar to look back and see all the joyful things that have happened. I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to do this but while rummaging through my magickal bookshelf, I found a gratitude tin that I received in a past subscription box that I will be using instead of a jar. I placed the tin on top of my desk so it is within easy reach and I can be reminded to add joyful things every day.
For 27th December, the suggested activity was to choose something I consider to be self-care and do it. So I gave myself the day to just do things that I wanted to do, without worrying about anything else, apart from nourishing my own being. I dusted off my gamer self, spent the day playing a game I treated myself to for Yule, and almost completed the main story of the game (I like to fully 100% complete a game so this will be something I do moving forwards with my self-care routine).
For 28th December, the suggested activity was to choose a word for 2023 and then journal about it. After sitting with this, I feel like my word is going to be Perseverance. I want to keep going with the habits and work that I've done in 2022, buildng on the foundations I've laid and making everything stronger and more durable. I don't want to lose this positive forward momentum because I don't want to revert back to how I used to be. I am enjoying being this person that I've become and that is rather an interesting feeling - I'm not used to feeling proud of being me and who I've become but I'm learning how to embrace this.
For 29th December, the suggested activity was to reflect on the last 12 months and also journal about it. I feel like I've achieved a lot on a personal level: I'm in a better mental frame of mind where I can properly take care of myself and my home; I've done a lot of Shadow Work this year that has really impacted how I look back on my childhood and other events in my life; I've gotten more organised with what I want to write about and ideas for my YouTube channel; I've decluttered my entire home so I have a greater amount of space available to me now because I removed all the things I no longer needed. I feel like the last 12 months have been really positive and I've realised that I am capable of doing certain things that I used to doubt I could do.
For 30th December, the suggested activity was to do a tarot or oracle card for myself for the upcoming year. I've kind of taken a little bit of a short-cut with this as I'm using the Become the Seer - Prophecy 2023 workshop for this as it is about reviewing 2022 and then looking ahead at the next year. (If it's anything like last year's one, I have no doubt it will be amazing!) However, I have found an astrology inspired tarot spread that I may do as well.
For 31st December, the suggested task was to create a vision board of what I want to achieve in 2023. I don't really have a lot of things I can use to physically make one, so I made one using my preferred image website and have set it as my laptop's lockscreen so I can see it as often as I use my laptop (which is pretty much daily). Here's the meaning behind what is on my board: dragon to deepen my relationship with my personal dragon but also to increase my knowledge about them; scroll to complete all the courses that I've signed up for; books to remind me to read and expand my knowledge; two different loose leaf teas because I want to expand on my collection but also because I want to use them more in my Craft; a crystal ball to learn more about them and to use mine for divination; a small selection of crystals to work with them and learn about them; a cross-stitch project I did for myself last year because I want to stitch more; the heart to help me expand on my self-care practices.
I really enjoyed doing all of these things throughout December 2022 and I look forward to a year that is full of success and expanding my knowledge. I hope this inspires you to consider what practices you could do on a day-to-day basis.
Peace and love to all!!
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