What Will 2018 Bring?
By Mystic Kat
It’s the big question of the New Year—what’s to come?? Love and romance? Big adventure? More money? Better health? A new home? Great happiness? An appealing exercise regimen?? The possibilities dazzle our imagination, inspiring many of us to set intentions that we solemnly resolve to fulfill with fresh zeal and vigor starting January 1st and continuing throughout the year without fail.
How’s that working out for you?
Setting an intention to achieve a goal has been proven to work remarkably well. When we back a desire with our will and step into the feeling of what we want, we can change our lives. So why can’t we stick to our New Year’s resolutions?? Why does our zeal and vigor fizzle out before February even hits?
Some researchers say that we set big, game-changing resolutions at the new year and, indoing so, set ourselves up for failure. Sticking to large-scale goals demands a great deal of commitment and discipline. It’s pretty unrealistic to expect ourselves to suddenly turn on a dime and make all the big changes that we hadn’t been able to manage making any headway on all year. Other reasons why New Year’s resolutions fail are: impatience; not believing in ourselves; little to no social support; time management issues; financial difficulties; not having a plan; or focusing on the negative.
Now what??
First of all, the “new year” is only a new year because we’re told that it is. Western culture has created a division in time called a “year” and January 1 was chosen as its starting point. This is said to have started in 45 BCE with Julius Caesar, who changed the calendar from lunar to solar and set January as the start of the year. The symbolism worked—Janus was the god of gates and had one face looking forward and one face looking back—but the reasoning was weak. January 1st was merely the day that the newly-elected consuls started their year-long term. After Rome fell, some countries set the new year on Spring Equinox; some set it on Christmas day; some set it on Easter. Pope Gregory put an end to the free-for-all by designing a new calendar (the Gregorian calendar, natch), and most of Western culture got on board eventually.
But what are the ramifications of setting the beginning of a new year based on political expedient rather than the wheel of the year? In the northern hemisphere, January is a terrible time for rebirth and renewal! The natural world is largely cold, bleak, and dead.Even in warmer areas, the days are shorter, the sun is weaker, and new growth falters.In the southern hemisphere, January is full blazing summer at its peak. The days are long, the sun is strong, new growth is all around, but it’s not the beginning of anything. It’s the climax before the denouement.
Is the season the real reason?
Many cultures begin their new year in March or April, a time of year that seems, in the northern hemisphere, far more appropriate to new beginnings. In the southern hemisphere, however, March and April herald autumn and hint at the winter ahead. The new year there would more appropriately start in September or October. But no!! We can’t have half the world on a different year!! That wouldn’t do at all.
What’s a determined intention-setter to do?
The best way to set an intention and have it come to fruition is to follow your own calendar. Know your numerological influences and your astrological chart. Familiarize yourself with the general numerology and astrology of the day, week, month, and year. Set yourself up for success by working with the energy of the natural world and your sacred contracts rather than against them or in complete ignorance of them.
Get started with Mystic Kat’s podcast The Year to Come 2018 for a full year tarot card reading at greeninkradio.com. And maybe make yourself your own calendar à la Julius Caesar. What gives him the right to legislate your renewal? Take ownership of your transformation process and start the year on your own terms!