2024 Year of Spells

Happy New Year! The calendar year has begun and even though we may be in the depths of winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) or the height of summer (in the Southern Hemisphere), we stand at the threshold of fifty-two weeks filled with promise. Legend has it that this month is named to honor the Roman god Janus, a god of new beginnings and doorways, but it is also associated with Juno, the primary goddess of the Roman pantheon. Juno was said to be the protectress of the Roman Empire, and Janus (whose twin faces look to both the past and the future simultaneously) encourages new endeavors, transitions, and change in all forms. Since this month marks the beginning of the whole year, we can plant the seeds for long-term goals at this time, carefully plotting the course of our future success.

In the United States, there are three important holidays occurring in January: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Inauguration Day. Each of these days exemplifies powerful change and transition. The dawn of a new year heralds a fresh start, and whether snow-covered or bathed in summer heat, January offers renewed possibilities for all.

Michael Furie

3rd F

Color of the day: Silver

Incense of the day: Narcissus

New Year’s Day - Kwanzaa ends

Ring in the New Year Spell

Cast this spell on New Year’s Day to manifest good luck throughout the year ahead. You’ll need a calendar, a blue ink pen, and a bell.

Place the calendar before you, then close your eyes and take some deep breaths to help you relax before you begin. When you’re ready, pick up the pen. Turn to each month of the calendar and think about what you want that month to bring. Choose a keyword or symbol to represent your wish for each month, and inscribe it on the calendar page beside or above the name of the month or on the picture portion. Envision yourself experiencing the month of your dreams as you slowly form the word or symbol on the calendar page. Ring the bell and state in simple terms what you welcome each month to bring.

As you turn the calendar page at the beginning of each new month, ring the bell again as you focus on your wish for the days ahead.

Melanie Marquis

3rd F a v/c 6:36 pm a → G 7:47 pm

Color of the day: Gray

Incense of the day: Cedar

Replenishing Breath Exercise

Today is World Introvert Day. Most of us are actually a mix of both introverted and extroverted, depending on the situation and our personal comfort levels. Even if you feel you’re definitely an extrovert, exploring the introvert perspective can help you practice better boundary setting and self-care.

This is easier to do when you’re more aware of the energy you’re taking in from the world and how you’re distributing it. Focused breathing is an easy way to do this.

To recharge yourself, take a deep breath in, feeling the external air fill your core. Exhale softly, imagining that your breath is adding a layer to the outside of your body instead of being dispersed into the world. Inversely, if you’re feeling overstimulated, take a gentler breath in, and exhale in a strong, short burst, visualizing excess/unwanted energy leaving your body and releasing tension. You can repeat either option up to three times if you need to.

Laura Tempest Zakroff

3rd G

4th Quarter 10:30 pm

Color of the day: White

Incense of the day: Lavender

Unblocking Ritual

Today, perform this simple unblocking ritual to proactively reestablish a swift and harmonious life momentum after the recent Mercury retrograde period. (Mercury went retrograde on December 13, 2023, and resumed direct motion on January 1.)

First, open all the doors inside your home. If anything is obstructing a door’s full range of motion, such as furniture, remove it so the door can open all the way. Safely light any scent of incense you have on hand. Carry the incense, with a dish or sufficiently large incense holder beneath it, to the threshold of one open door, and cleanse the entire inside of the door with the smoke. As you do this, feel that you are getting stuck energy moving and opening doorways of opportunity and blessings in your life. Repeat with each additional door on the inside. Finally, open your front door all the way and repeat the process with the threshold of your front door. Close your door and extinguish the incense. Smile and feel grateful for your newly activated life flow.

Tess Whitehurst

4th G

Color of the day: Turquoise

Incense of the day: Apricot

Yuletide Undecorating

Decorating often feels magical, undecorating not so much. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Putting away the Yuletide decorations can be a magical experience, too!

As you box up your lights, stockings, and other holiday decorations, take a moment to connect with your most treasured items before packing them away. Hold them close to your heart and reflect on the energies and history those items contain. If that energy makes you feel loved and wanted, open yourself up to it, absorbing it into yourself. As you pack away each item, give thanks to it for being a part of your holiday.

Once everything has been packed up, draw a pentacle on the outside of every storage box while visualizing you and your loved ones celebrating Yuletide with those items again next year and saying:

We celebrated Yuletide with good cheer And shall do so again come next year!

Our memories have been packed away, But in our hearts they’ll always stay.

Blessed be!

Amanda Lynn & Jason Mankey

Friday Saturday January 5 January 6

4th G

a v/c 6:41 am a → H 7:39 am

Color of the day: Purple Incense of the day: Yarrow

A Purification Spell

During the winter our homes are closed up and may trap dark energies. This spell will help cleanse your living space.

You’ll need one bayberry-scented candle. Safely light the candle. Gaze into the flame. Visualize a white light coming out of the flame growing until it surrounds your home. See the white light absorbing any negative energy until it is all harmlessly gone. Relax and breathe deeply. When you’ve returned to a calm daily state of mind, safely extinguish the flame. Your home is now free of unwanted energies. Put the candle away and use it for other positive magic.

James Kambos

4th H

Color of the day: Blue Incense of the day: Sandalwood

Divination Tea Spell

The beginning of the year is an excellent time to perform divination for information on how the rest of the year will go. This tea will help you open your third eye and open up to the messages that you most need to hear. To prepare the tea, you will need the following:

• 1 part mugwort

• 2 parts hibiscus

• 1 part nettle

Boil water, and as the water heats up, mix the herbs together in a bowl, holding the intention of seeing clearly. Put the tea mixture into a strainer, place this in a teapot, and pour the hot water over the herbs.

As the tea steeps, set up your space for divination. Set out candles if you so desire, and get ready to step into divinatory space.

Carefully and intentionally pour yourself a cup of tea from the pot. Sit down in front of your divination method of choice and see what unfolds. Make sure you take notes!

Phoenix LeFae & Gwion Raven

Sunday January 7

4th H a v/c 3:22 pm a → I 4:08 pm

Color of the day: Yellow

Incense of the day: Frankincense

Winter Wind Cleansing

The nature of winter is cold and clean. The dry air is clear so that everything is easy to see. By day, the sun sparkles on the snow. By night, the stars twinkle sharp in the sky. Winter brings clarity of thought and vision.

For this spell you need only yourself and an open space outdoors where the wind blows free. It doesn’t have to be a fierce wind; even a breeze will do. Dress appropriately for the weather. Just make sure you can still feel the air on some part of your body.

Stand outside and turn your face into the wind. Feel it flowing over and around you. Then say:

Winter wind, wild wind,

Blow so clean and clear;

Sweep my body and mind

Free of doubt and fear.

Visualize wind blowing through you and clearing away anything that doesn’t belong, such as negative thoughts, stray bits of foreign energy, unhelpful ideas, and so on.

When you feel refreshed and clean, go back indoors and warm up.

Elizabeth Barrette

Notes: