A Year-End Reflection for Success in 2022
As a spiritual business owner, you are aware of the seasons on a very different level than the rest of the world. You do your holiday purchasing while everyone else is thinking “back to school,” you look ahead toward Valentine’s Day in December, and plan Halloween decor while people are in bathing suits on the beach. That constant awareness of lead times to serve our customers can take us out of the present moment and drive us to always look ahead instead of being mindful in the present and take stock of what we have accomplished.
However, there is a beautiful moment in the cycle of the retailer’s year when it just feels natural to take pride in all that we have achieved, to look back on the creativity and ingenuity that we utilized to grow our business, and to set intentions for the future — that moment is the end of the year. That post-holiday week or two is the perfect time to review, renew, revise, and reflect. When you turn that reflection into a ritual, you recharge your batteries and feel reinvigorated for the year to come.
While you might think that these year-end rituals must be done on New Year’s Eve, they can really be done any time around the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one or even any time of the year when you need to take stock and set new goals. They can be a solo activity or expanded to your entire team to reignite enthusiasm, instill a sense of accomplishment, or replenish optimism after the holiday hubbub. If you set aside a little time to do one, two or all three of these rituals, you will start your year with high vibes, excitement and you will set yourself up for success in 2022.
A Year-End Candle Ceremony
Candles are inherently magical and a simple candle-lighting ceremony can bring everyone together in the present moment in a meaningful way to look back at the year. Gather your staff in your space and provide one small taper candle for each person and one extra for the group. If you are going to place these candles on a table, you will also need a holder for each candle; if you are planning on each person holding their candle through the ceremony, then poking a hole in the bottom of a paper cup and pushing the base of each candle through the hole can be an easy way to prevent hot wax from dripping on hands.
Put on some peaceful meditative music, turn out the lights and then light the group candle. Guide your team to reflect on something they are proud of that you accomplished as a team over the past year. As the leader, you begin the ceremony by lighting your taper from the flame of the group candle. As you do so, speak a sentence or two about a company success that you want to celebrate from 2021. Once you have finished, the person next to you lights their candle off your flame and states something that they are proud of the team accomplishing. One by one, each person in the room lights the candle off the flame of the person next to them and states something that they are proud of that required team effort.
As the room gets more and more illuminated by the light of the candles, it’s a visual reminder of how each member of the group contributes to the success of everyone and how you all bring light into the world through your spiritual business. It’s also possible to do this ritual on your own. Set up a candelabra with several candles and light each one with a reflection on each thing that you accomplished over the year and then bask in the glow of that beautiful light.
End of Year Tea Ritual
Holding a ritual tea for your team can also be a beautiful way to slow things down for a moment of reflection. Gather and prepare a special tea or mulled cider for the celebration. You might want to choose to work with herbs that will magically support community and connection:
- Cinnamon for Motivation
- Cloves for Friendship
- Star Anise for Spirituality
- Allspice for Abundance
- Honey for Optimism
You can prepare the tea or cider together with the team and, as you add each ingredient to the pot, each person can speak words for making the coming year personally and communally successful. After the mixture has had time to brew, serve a cup to each member of your team, telling them the special way they contributed to the success of the past year and how much you appreciate them.
You can also brew a tea for yourself as a solo ceremony. Hold your hands over your cup and list out loud what you achieved over the past year. Set the intention of even more success for the new year and then drink your tea to take in these intentions.
New Year Journaling
If you are a solopreneur, then it may be difficult to justify the time and energy for a full-blown ritual. Instead, you can do some powerful reflection on what you conquered and set the course for an even more successful year by spending some time cozied up with your journal.
To make this ritual extra magical, light some incense and put on some meditative music as you write. Wave your journal and pen through this incense to empower your reflections and intentions for the new year, then begin writing. The point of this ritual is not to make you feel like you didn’t do enough or weren’t perfect; think of it as sharpening your talents and gifts as a business owner.
Use these prompts to do a deep dive into your 2021 and make plans to have an even better and more satisfying 2022:
How would I summarize this past year?
What accomplishments am I most proud of this year?
What were my intentions for the past year? Did I manifest them? Were they important?
Where did I invest most of my time and energy?
What areas would I like to take a step back from?
What areas need more assistance?
What would a successful 2022 look like to me?
What intentions from last year can I roll over into the new year and what new intentions can I add to that list?
While we might often push ourselves to do more, be better, and have more abundance, it’s important to give ourselves a moment to get together with our team and on our own to look back and see all the goals that we absolutely crushed. While our minds are on all the gift giving at the end of the year, let’s also make some time to give ourselves and our staff a very special gift: the gift of pride, encouragement, and invigoration. By taking a look back and giving ourselves and our team praise, we can light a spark within that will create passion, enthusiasm and creativity to inspire a whole year of successes.
Author: Madame Pamita
Madame Pamita is a Tarot reader, spellcaster, teacher, author, and a Maker of Magic, music, and mischief. She is the author of The Book of Candle Magic recently published by Llewellyn, and Madame Pamita's Magical Tarot published by Weiser Books. She is also the owner of an online spiritual apothecary, the Parlour of Wonders and lives in Santa Monica, California. You can find her at:
Website: https://www.parlourofwonders.com
