In the Northern Hemisphere, when I say “January 1st,” what comes to mind?  Your first thought is probably New Year’s Resolutions, but beyond that you might think of the cold, dreary, dead of Winter.  Without realizing it, you are thinking two incompatible thoughts.  A fresh start, a new beginning, and the energies of awakening, are not compatible with the retraction, hibernation, and death of the Winter Season.  However, if I ask what comes to mind when I mention “Spring,” you may think of the thaw from Winter, awakening, and growth of new life. 

Barbara Hand Clow is a Mayan Elder, Cherokee Record Keeper, and astrological author.  Full disclosure, I am not drawn in any way to Astrology.  It doesn’t resonate with me and I am not interested in it.  However, one day, shortly before the Spring Solstice, Kelly Howell had Barbara Hand Clow on her “Theater Of The Mind” podcast to discuss the energies of the Spring Solstice and how we could use them to manifest our desires.  She explained that the calendars are all wrong.  The “New Year” actually starts at the Spring Solstice, not January 1st — which explains why our New Year’s resolutions almost universally fail.  The energies of Winter are all about deep reflection and developing what is existing, while the energies of Spring are about creating and growth of new life.  This was the first time I had ever heard this teaching, but it makes complete sense.  Nothing grows in the dead of Winter.  What would happen if you planted a seed in the ground on January 1st?  It would die.  So you should keep your seeds and plant them when the actual energies of awakening and new life are all around us — the true New Year, the Spring Season.  She goes further to explain how exactly to use the energies of the Spring Solstice in meditation to manifest your desires.  Listen to that podcast here so you can receive the lesson directly from her.