We are about to start a new year! Everyone try to calm down your excitement. I know plenty are going out tonight. Some of yall are gathering grapes and will be held up under tables. There is a drill. We know our routines.

And yet………. A lot of people don’t tend to have the best possible year. (No hate no shade, I am just saying). It seems like whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Something about that isn’t right. It might be that we aren’t setting up our year correctly.

New year is in the winter. The winter is good for letting things go and letting them die off. It’s time for things to end. That’s the power and embodiment of winter. A lot of people use this time to manifest and depending on our astrology chart. That won’t work for you. That’s why you start goals and never achieve them. 

Some of us might have a generational curse. We need to work on it and break it to achieve what we want. Spirit won’t give us that high paying job if it doesn’t trust us. We will lose it or mishandle the money when we get it. Let’s prepare ourselves for that by taking things season by season. However, we also need to look at the year we are going into. 

2025 is the year of 9 in numerology. Which means it will bring that energy and will be the collective theme. Look for the yearly Odu that is released and see how that will also tie into the year for you. This will be the year of the snake. Which is also sticking to the transformative theme you can expect from the 9.

Winter 

For the rest of winter, I would focus on eliminating bad habits. Remove anything that is keeping you stuck. Get rid of stagnant energy in the home. Luckily, many of us move the energy around in our homes when we decorate for the holidays. This might be one less step that needs to be taken. If you still feel stagnant energy, rearrange your home. Declutter your car and your desk.

This is the season of getting rid of things. A tarot reading will help you see what needs to be removed as a person. (The yearly odu is for us in general from Orunmila mouth; you get this from your Babalow because it usually affects their house only. The year of 9 is what we can expect again as a collective. This is solely for you).

While we are at it. Shadow work. This world needs healing. Take the shadow work questions as if you are talking to a friend. I write in my journal as if it is me and a friend sitting down and having this discussion. Sometimes things come up that I don’t like. Sometimes I realize someone did me dirty and that disrespect went by unchecked. Both times I learn a little more about myself

Each time, I get a little closer to the healing. I am deserving of this healing and want to receive it. 

Book for emotional healing 

Now I am not in the business of handing out advice I can’t or won’t take. I have been working on my healing journey and as I am sure anyone who is healing will tell you. It is not a quick fix. Often a lifetime journey that needs to be done.

This year I was planning on making “Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability, edited by Stephanie Y. Evans, Ph.D” my healing book for the year. It is suppose to tell you the HOW side of healing that a lot of self help books leave out. They tell you, don’t spank your kids its wrong. However you’ve never seen discipline done any other way. You don’t know where or how to start. The purpose of this book is to give you the how behind the why. That ‘how’ is exactly why I want to read it. 

Book for breaking bad habits and creating new ones

I don’t want to keep making the same mistake over and over again. I was supposed to start this blog three years ago. Now that I have it I don’t want to fall into a habit of inconsistency. Horrible self-talk. Just self sabotage. It’s all me, I will have people encourage me and will push me. I just don’t push myself.

This can’t be a repeated cycle. Ready for the new and improved version of myself. I am happy and finally realizing my worth. I decided to add The New Black Woman: Loves Herself, Has Boundaries, and Heals Every Day (Empowering Book for Women) by Marita Golden to the reading list. 

One thing about me I love an outline and I love a guide. I understand that not everything in this life is going to be done for me. If I can get it done the easy way, let’s do it. We can just cut out some of this leg work. I love the theme. The idea behind this book is entirely upgrading every aspect of your life. This ensures you’re not able to fall back into old habits. We need to continue our healing. We need to continue our growth. Stand firm in our boundaries. We should not let people who don’t value us back into our lives. This book is definitely a book to help you stand on business. 

Spring 

Spring is the time that you truly start your new beginnings. This is when you need to be manifesting. This is your fresh start. The flowers are blooming signaling a new life. The rainy days symbolize that not everyday will be a great day. But if you just wait and see, tomorrow might be better. 

Now that we’ve done the groundwork we can bring in something new, we can bring in something better. We have no stagnant energy lying around keeping us complacent. We have done our shadow work in order to not push away our blessings when they come. The readings for the year are done. We understand what it is that we need to be looking at. What it is that we should watch out for. Any necessary steps that we should take. 

However we still need a little more help. We’re at the start of this new journey at the beginning of our new goals. We are not prepared for the obstacles that we don’t know are even coming yet. Everything is so new. A lot of us might still be on the high of just starting a new goal.

Others aren’t seeing results as quickly as they would like. They’re starting to slow down. They might need a little pick me up. They might need a little something to push them on their path. This path can be rough. I have found it and it has won each time.

A book on being single

Spring is also associated with love and romance. I would love to leave that little tidbit out. However, I feel it is important to focus on that part of the theme. Since it also plays in with the number nine. 

I have reached a level of singleness where I’m finding comfort and the idea of not finding a partner. I’m not saying I’m going to be completely dismissive if the opportunity presents itself. I am saying that I’m done with the dating apps. I don’t want my friends to set me up with anybody. There ain’t going to be no two men missions.

I just want to be left alone, I just want peace. No need for insecurities. I don’t have to compromise with anybody. Now, there is a huge chance this is being spoken from a place of fear. It also comes from a place of hurt because I have been hurt before. 

And it is that hurt that I want to FOREVER avoid. I added this book to gain more insight. It helps me understand my choice to remain single. Sole Sisters: The Joys and Pains of Single Black Women by Deborah Mathis.

Find your purpose

Some of us may not fully know what it is that we want to manifest. And that is okay. There are people in their 40s who have made entire career changes. Some people in their 50s or even their 60s have also become millionaires doing so. You might have started at the beginning of the year knowing your path. Now you realize it is not for you and that’s okay. Springtime is around this time that a lot of people start to realize that anyway. 

Some people might already know their purpose in life. However, they might not feel encouraged. They want something to reassure them. There are some people out there who’s like this is my purpose but it feels like something’s missing. Maybe you’re on the right road but headed in the wrong direction.

You might have a calling to teaching. However, whenever you step into the classroom, the vibe is not there for you. You’re not feeling it. Maybe you’re about to teach at a higher grade level. Possibly you’re not supposed to be teaching traditional education but instead courses. Maybe you’re supposed to be running your own tutoring program. Hell theres a chance you’re going to start a blog to educate the masses on spirituality and witchcraft.

Life Visioning: A Transformative Process for Activating Your Unique Gifts and Highest Potential by Michael Bernard Beck with might be a needed read. I haven’t fully decided about reading this book yet. I feel like I know my purpose. However, I am still interested based on reviews I have seen. and who knows it might help me tweak a few things that I could be lacking on .

Book to keep you motivated

I tend to be an instant gratification type of person. So when I’m not seeing the results I want to see, and not within the time frame I expect, I do start to get discouraged. Spring is definitely a time when I give up on goals. I have set these goals on New Year’s in the past.

Having a book to motivate me and to push me some days is Heaven Sent. I have watched vloggers on YouTube tell their story. When they were just about to give up, that’s when they start to get their 1K or their 2K. Then they start to go viral. Finally, they start living the life of their dreams.

A little motivation is sometimes all it is that you need in order to keep going. The work has already started. You’re already on the road, you’re already on your path you might as well keep going. That’s what led me to decide. I realized I wanted this to be on my reading list for 2025. Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now by Maya Angelou.

Summer 

This is the playful season. Everyone wants to go outside and have fun. Me, I be half dressed. Yall gonna have to judge me. (Silently, keep it cute or keep it quiet). Something about the way the sun feels on my skin. That’s the top tier for me. It feels like forehead kisses and hugs. 

Everyone wanting to have fun and enjoy the heat can sometimes go left. Encouragement is this season’s theme and depending on where you are in life. This can be negative encouragement or positive. Hence why so many poor choices happen. Getting caught up in the moment.

Healthy Eating

I never think about getting my summer body until summer is here. This year, I am focusing on making sure I have a healthy body. I am putting my action into plan before the new year starts. Hopefully, by the time summer hits, I might actually have a chance of getting a summer body. However, we’re not holding our breath for one.

This is the time of farmers markets and when food is at its freshest. The summer and the fall that’s practically our Harvest seasons. I am very much aware of the negative relationship I have with food. It is a generational curse. I am actively trying to fix it.

Having a condition that makes me predisposed to cancer. I want to avoid that, I have a job to do. A kid to take care of I can’t be laying up in somebody’s hospital bed. This is my opportunity to take my health seriously. Take myself seriously.

Knowing that my relationship with food stems from a place of generational trauma. I know that there is a high chance that this is ancestral trauma. Whether we like it or not a lot of our ancestral trauma stems from what happened during slavery.  To improve some of my eating habits, I will use Decolonizing Wellness: A QTBIPOC-Centered Guide to Escape the Diet Trap, Heal Your Self-Image, and Achieve Body Liberation by Dalia Kinsey. This will help me with my nutrition. It will also help me love whatever ends up being my natural body type and size.

Ancestral Worship

I am always working on my relationship with my ancestors. I try to treat the relationship like how men chase you in the beginning. Putting a lot of time and devotion into them. My ancestor’s altar changes every couple months. Some are good chances, some I hate. Change is growth.

In my blog post scheduled to come you will hear me mention the ancestors a lot. That’s because they are first. Always. In every tradition I practice, you honor your ancestors first. Don’t get so lost in other deities that forget about them. I have been to drummings and I know first hand the energy of the Orishas. 

A good Babalow will tell you. Ancestors first. The book I chose for this focus I picked because I listen to her podcast. I root for her when she posts. I hate it when she has to stop for one reason or another. The Book of Juju: Africana Spirituality for Healing, Liberation, and Self-Discovery by Juju Bae

Fall

This is the season that makes me feel like a witch. Fall is my favorite season. With my new knowledge I would have gotten from Juju Baes book. I am hopeful that I have satisfied any itch and hunger I have for my witchy knowledge. Now, I can focus more on my third eye.

This can help me in my mundane life, warning me of fake friends and blocked paths. In my spiritual life, I should be able to strengthen the relationship with all my spirits. Communication and veneration should now be one step easier. It should pay off in my career and finances. I am trying to get into the business of being a practitioner full time. 

Money management

If your goals for the year were career-centered like mine. You might be seeing the fruit of your labors by now. You might be stuck. Not sure where to go next. Either way, we know this isn’t the last step. It’s time to take a step back. Let’s look deeper into our finances inside and out.

The career/business is the “out” when looking at your finances. One thing I have learned and noticed is that you can have a thousand books on budgeting. Those won’t work if you simply just don’t make enough to cover everything. You can’t tell me to do the 70/30 rule with my finances. There are safe places to live that allow me to have that budget. Not on my current budget.

I am focusing on elevating myself and that includes my career. Where I am now and where I will be when it’s time for me to read this book. That’s two different places in life. I just know it will be.

The determination within me won’t allow me to just give up and fail. I am setting myself up for success as best as I can. It might take me longer than it would have taken someone else. The point is, it takes me where I need to go. The best book I could think of for this is The Financial Abundance Blueprint: A Black Woman’s Guide to Achieve Financial Literacy, Build a Successful Career, and Break Boundaries. It is written by Amanda Henry. 

Might as well do something mental

Meditation is often something a lot of people get wrong. The importance of getting it right is there. I like trying out different techniques. Finding new favorites or variations of the ones I already regularly do. Sometimes these kinds of books can remind me of something I may have forgotten and bring it back into rotation. 

That’s kind of how life works in general. The cycle of forever being a student, even when you think you’re the teacher. Never leave the place of being the student, even if you think you are skilled. You can always learn something. If you are at a place where you can no longer learn. Then you’re doing it wrong. There’s always something to discover or be taught.

You have to be open to learning and developing in a way that allows spirit to teach you. That can be hard. This world is designed to keep us moving. It can feel like a luxury to have time to breathe. Oftentimes I find myself multitasking when I read my blogs or listen to podcasts. 

That’s how I know it’s time for me to focus on meditation again. It’s time to refocus and recenter. I picked this book solely on reviews. The description that I found makes me feel like it’s general information that is regurgitated. I am keeping my hopes and my spirits high that it’s not. Stay Woke: A Meditation Guide for the Rest of Us by Justin Michael Williams.

Last remarks

This my last blog post of the year and it is the longest. When I first started it I just knew this post was going to be quick and easy. I had no idea my damn self that I had so much to say. Starting next year. 2025! All blog post will go out on Wednesday at 8 am instead of Tuesday.