I haven’t written my New Year’s Resolutions yet.
It’s not even something I usually do, but this turn of the calendar page felt somehow more meaningful. For much of my life, I’ve painted New Year’s as an arbitrary annual ritual and dismissed its concomitant Resolutions as pointless pronouncements of intent. Wouldn’t I already be doing this if it mattered to me?, I would muse, and What is so special about January 1 anyway?
And now I find myself thoroughly appreciating this collective chance to pause in the present moment, to spread my awareness equally between the established experiences of the past year and the prescient possibilities of the year to come.
A lot happens in a trip around the sun. And while there is no true beginning point to any continuing circular journey, a year is a consequential quantity of time and the First of January is as worthy a starting line as any. So this time around, I’m going to put the proverbial pen to paper and challenge myself to clearly articulate my hopes, dreams and desires in a way that works for me.
As it happens, reflecting on the spirit and significance of New Year’s Resolutions is very much in keeping with the cosmos as we take our first steps into 2023. I say this because Mercury and Mars, our respective planets of planning and action, are both currently moving backwards in the sky:
Mercury looks after thinking, communicating and linear processing, and its retrogrades mark a time when our intellect turns inward to integrate the knowledge we have gathered. This Mercury retrograde comes to us from Capricorn, which is the natural home of strategy, ambition, and long-term projects. It is asking us to review, deepen and strengthen the very planning process itself before we solidify our next move.
Mars gives us the drive to move forwards, and its retrogrades can scatter and drain our energy. This Mars retrograde is lighting up Gemini, where its usually directed force is especially scattered. It is calling on us to revise, prune and focus our commitments before we press the gas pedal.
Mercury will be crawling in reverse until January 17, and Mars will make an about-face on January 12. Both planets will take their time to pick up speed after they change direction, so we may not start seeing tangible progress on our New Year’s Resolutions until February.
In the meantime, I invite you to consider how you wish to engage with the blueprint for your next twelve months. You might set aside some quiet reflection time this Saturday, January 7, when Mercury moves through the heart of the Sun and offers a clarifying burst of divine insight. Here’s what I’ll be thinking about:
What kind of planning brings me joy?
When and why do I avoid planning?
What inspires me to take action?
What stops me from acting on plans I have made?
Wishing you the most wonderful year ahead, whenever you choose to celebrate its commencement -
Love,
Patrick
What wonderful contemplative questions, Patrick! While I've already been considering them, I've written them onto a post it for my Saturday journal entry. As someone who often rebels against my own plans, or stocks myself so full of plans that it's impossible to achieve all of them, these questions feel especially rich right now.