5 Powerful Ways to Prepare for the New Year

Yet another year is coming to a close, and even in the midst of the busy holiday bustle, many of us are beginning to turn our attention to our New Year’s intentions.

During this time of the year, the many indulgences and distractions can end up taking over, causing us to fall out of our healthy habits or practices, and get caught up in the stresses of the season. For some, the holidays are a really difficult time of year. And for others, they are fun, but can be busy and overwhelming if you’re not taking time to be mindful and get grounded.

When the New Year comes, we are often exhausted, depleted, and off center. And from this place, we try to turn our attention toward the start of the year with discipline, excitement, and good intentions. 

But what if you took a little bit of time during the coming weeks to prepare for the New Year, so you can kick it off feeling balanced and aligned?

Here are a few of my favorite ways to make the most of this time of year and prepare to enter the coming one feeling centered and grounded:

1. Take time for reflection 

Finding moments for reflection during this bustling time of year may seem challenging, yet it holds immense potential for shaping the kind of New Year you desire. 

Personally, I find journaling to be an invaluable tool for reflection. However, you could also plan to write down your reflection questions on a note card and take them with you on a long walk in nature, or you could talk them through with a friend. 

There’s no right or wrong way to reflect, but taking the time to consciously process and sit with what has happened this year will help you enter 2024 with the feeling of a fresh start. 

Here are a few reflection questions you could use, or you can come up with a few of your own! 

1. In what ways have you grown personally and spiritually this year?
2. What were the biggest challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?
3. Reflect on moments when you felt truly present and alive. What were you doing?
4. How well did you take care of your physical, emotional, and mental well-being?
5. What thoughts, beliefs, or habits no longer serve you that you’re ready to release?

2. Celebrate your wins

I’m a big fan of using the New Year as a time to review my intentions and connect with my vision for the year ahead. That said, there’s one important step far too many people miss at the end of the year – celebrating your wins! 

Instead of setting intentions for 2024 from a place of pressure or needing to change something about yourself, focus first on celebrating and appreciating all of the amazing things you’ve accomplished and experienced this year. 

Then, you can set your intentions from a place of joy, celebration, and gratitude. The energy from which you set your New Year’s intentions matters!

3. Do a New Year Ritual 

Rituals are a wonderful way to get an emotional and spiritual reset as we enter the New Year, and to invite a little bit of magic into our experience. Rituals allow us to make our actions sacred. And the right ritual can leave you feeling much more connected to your inner-self, your intuition, and your Higher Power. 

What better way to prepare for the New Year? 

Try planning a New Year’s ritual for one of the last days of this year, or one of the first days of the year to help you call in the 2024 you’re dreaming of! If you’re staying in for New Years, you could even design your ritual right around the turning of the year at midnight! 

The great thing about rituals is that they can be incredibly simple, and yet deeply impactful. The most important thing is to design them around practices that resonate for you. Here are a few things you could incorporate into your New Year’s ritual:

●  A period of silent meditation or guided meditation – use this practice to come into the present moment. I always like to start my rituals with meditation, even if it’s just sitting in silence for 5 minutes and focusing on the breath.

●  A cleansing salt bath – take the time in your bath to think about all of the things you want to leave behind in 2023, and anything you want to release. 

●  A gratitude exercise – pull out your journal or do your ritual with a friend or two, and talk about everything you’re most grateful for from this year. There’s no higher vibration than gratitude, which makes it the perfect way to kick off the New Year. 

●  Visioning and setting intentions – choose your favorite way to set some intentions, or connect with your dreams and visions for 2024. 

●  Pull an Oracle Card, or do an Oracle Card spread (more on this below) – start your New Year with guidance from the conscious Universe by using Oracle Cards. 

●  Light a candle, have a dance party, or find another way to celebrate and ring in the New Year energy!

4. Oracle Card spread for the New Year

An Oracle Card reading is a fabulous way to prepare for the New Year.

An Oracle Card spread can give you an opportunity to gain clarity about what you want to focus on in the New Year, what you’re releasing and leaving behind, where you should put your energy and focus, and really – anything else you want to ask about your transition in the New Year! 

Oracle Cards can help you tune into the messages Spirit wants you to hear, and give you information and guidance to create a prosperous and inspired year. There are many different configurations and questions you can use for a New Year’s card spread, and you can absolutely design your own. That said, this simple three-card spread is one of my favorites for the New Year.

1. Start by choosing your favorite Oracle Card deck, or use my free online pick a card tool if you don’t have a deck of your own. 
2. Pull three cards to answer the question, ““What do I need to know as I move into the New Year?” 
3. The first card represents what brought you to your current situation – this represents the overall themes going on in your life as this year comes to a close. 
4. The second card represents what you can focus on in the current situation in order to create your highest good – and what actions you can take to help this happen. 
5. Finally, the third card tells you the potential outcome of your previous two cards – in other words, what might the outcome be if you take the actions to create your highest good.

Remember, Oracle Cards aren’t going to predict what WILL happen in your coming year, but they can help give you prescriptive guidance that will tell you what influences and energies you might be working with, and how you and make the most of them.

5. Get involved in a community 

Of all of the practices and directions I’ve explored over the course of over 35 years on my spiritual path, my community has been hands down the biggest support and catalyst for my growth. I can truly say that so much of the life I have today is because of the incredible community I get to surround myself with. People who lift me up, share my values and interests, and hold me to my highest self. 

If you want to create an amazing 2024, my recommendation is to get involved in a community that feels like home! 

My Oracle Circle Membership is an incredible place to connect with like-minded individuals around the world, get accountability and support on your path of personal transformation, and to deepen into your relationship with your intuition and with Spirit. If you want to learn more about joining the Oracle Circle, click here to get all of the details.