We’re at the end of 2023 and it’s a period of reflection and planning ahead for 2024. Before I continue I want to say that if you haven’t had time to start or finish this process, it’s okay. I realised yesterday that I was feeling a bit anxious about it all. While I have chosen my word, and have reflected on my creative life, I still haven’t done a full reflection on 2023, set up my new bullet journal and craft planners, or set major goals and intentions. My plan was to jump out of bed early today and get it all done, but happily I remembered that my approach has always been to work on all those things during January. There’s no need to have it all set by December 31st. So take a deep breath. You have time.
2023 Reflection
When did I live my word this year?
Which goals did I meet?
To help you figure these out, you can go through your bullet journal, regular journal, or calendar for the year, and make a note of significant events, positive or negative , and achievements throughout the year. Another good way to see your year in one go is to scroll through the camera roll on your phone or in the cloud.
What didn’t I complete? Do I want to carry it forward to 2024?
What got in the way of not meeting my goals? What do I need to tweak?
What are my main takeaways from 2023?
What am I keeping?
What am I leaving behind?
Looking Ahead to 2024
A few days ago, I started getting familiar with my word for 2024 by doing some preliminary journaling. I looked at the definition of the word, as well as its synonyms, and I did a few Oracle and Tarot card draws to gain insight and guidance. My experience with using these cards is growing. After taking classes with Susannah Conway, they have become part of my journaling practice. Like her, I use them as a way of reflection, not for divination. You can see my process in this video.
The Year Ahead Spread
I drew seven cards to reflect on the year ahead using my Light Seers deck.
This spread comes from Tarot.com
The cards I drew are:
The Hierophant
Page of Pentacles
Strength
Judgement
10 of Wands
The Fool
8 of Swords.
If you have your own deck with a guidebook you can use it to reflect on these particular cards, or feel free to do your own draw. If you don’t have a deck, you can spend some time examining the images, and see what themes speak to you simply by looking at the art.
During the first week of January I will start a chat on Substack so we can talk about what we have taken from this or our own personal spread.
If using Tarot doesn’t speak to you, I invite you to use any of your usual mindful practices to help you think about the year ahead.
Journal on,
Francine
P.S. Today is really the last day to lock in the current subscription rates for the Journal Your Year Workshop and other perks of a paid subscription. I extended the date when I decided to add the non-fiction book club to upgraded subscriptions. :)
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If you’d like to have a consistent journaling practice around your word outside of this workshop you can purchase my Journal Your Word of the Year Journal here.