A Liminal Time: Life Review, Life Intentions

It's that liminal time of year again . . . the "time out of time," as my friend Waverly Fitzgerald calls it. These are the magical days between Solstice and New Year's or Twelfth Night, which I extend to my birthday on January 7th.  Here's what Waverly wrote about it in 2003:

For many years I've been celebrating the famous Twelve Days of Christmas, a magical time between the end of the old year and the start of the new one.

The idea of twelve significant days is an ancient one. In Babylon, the twelve intercalary days between the Winter Solstice and the New Year were seen as the time of a struggle between chaos and order, with chaos trying to take back over the world. The notion that these are days outside of ordinary time shows up in many cultures.

In Scotland, no court had power during the twelve days. The Irish believed that anyone who died during these days escaped purgatory and went straight to Heaven. . .  In medieval England, work was forbidden. That was why the Monday after the Twelve Days was called Plough Monday (back to work for the men) and the day after Twelfth Night was St. Distaff's Day (back to spinning for the women). In Germany, it was said that no wheels could turn during this time (no milling, no spinning, no carts) and the goddess Holle would punish women she found disobeying. In Jewish homes, no one is supposed to work while the Hanukkah candles burn and in some Sephardic communities, women are not supposed to work at all during Hanukkah.

It seems clear that this is a magical period, a time out of time, whatever dates you choose. It is a special time, existing outside of the usual rules, when work is forbidden and all routines should be turned upside down.

I like to use this time period for reflection and review of the year past and incubating visions for the year ahead. . .

Following Waverly's lead, I always do a Life Review at this time of year and set intentions for the year to come.  Waverly has some great new ideas for celebrating the "Twelve Days of Transition" in her latest newsletter, some of which came from her students in a course she taught this time last year. 

Michele at New Moon Journal has even more interesting ideas for working with the Twelve Days. (I really like her suggestion of making a soul collage for Saturn in Leo -- structure and support for creativity -- but I think I'll work on my own Gaian Minors instead.)

Before I did my Life Review for 2006, I had a sense of not having accomplished much.  I was thinking about my "failures." (Oh we Capricorns are so hard on ourselves!)  I didn't make much progress on the Gaian Minors, I didn't keep to a consistent weight management/exercise program, I didn't keep up with the coursework in the Avalon Mystery School.  So it was really heartening when I wrote down everything that I did accomplish in the past year, even with the overriding priority of caring for my father through his last months and days.  It's an illuminating exercise to do, and I highly recommend it.  (I see Teresa over at ShadowMeTeresa has done the same thing!)

Here are my categories: 
- Spiritual Practice
- Family
- Community & Friends
- Tarot/Art/Writing Career
- Web Design Biz
- Finances
- Health
- Home/Garden
- Travel.   

I went back through my 2006 WeMoon datebook, where I wrote notes each day not only for appointments, but on the weather, the hours I spent working on art or for clients and any other significant happenings.   I also read over my Life Review for 2005 and goals for 2006.  I was really pleased to see how many intentions manifested, how many goals were achieved.  I won't bore you with the details.

As I wrote down my intentions for the year to come in the same categories, I kept thinking about priorities.  Last year, my overriding priority for most of the year was to care for my father.  This year, my overriding priority is to finish the artwork and book for the Gaian Tarot, and to secure a publishing contract.  Two other key priorities are a consistent weight management/exercise program (oh, don't I sound like every other overweight American at this time of year?) and making progress towards the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral household (I'll write more about this later).  There are other important intentions and goals, but basically, those three are It. 

Then I did a little divination for the New Year . . . but that's another blog entry.

How are you doing on setting your intentions for 2007?