Shedding, Trusting, and Riding Forward: A Solstice Reflection

As the wheel of the year turns and we arrive at the Winter Solstice, we are invited into a sacred pause: the longest night giving way to returning light. This moment asks us not to rush forward, but to trust the quiet, to sit with what has been, and to consciously choose what we carry with us into the next season of life.

This past year has held the energy of the Snake: a powerful symbol of shedding, renewal, and transformation. The snake does not cling to old skin. It releases what has grown too tight, too heavy, too limiting. And even as the year comes to a close, this energy reminds us: we are still allowed to shed. Growth doesn't follow the calendar. There is still time to let go of habits, beliefs, relationships, or identities that no longer serve the life you are becoming.

"The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind." -Fredrich Nietzche

The work of the Snake is subtle and internal. It asks for honesty. Awareness. A willingness to sit in discomfort while trusting that renewal is underway, even when we can't yet see the outcome. If the Year of the Snake taught us how to shed, it also reminded us that release is not an ending, it's a preparation.

And then... we arrive at what's next.

2026: The Year of the Horse

As we move toward 2026, the Year of the Horse, the energy shifts dramatically. Where the Snake teaches us to release, the Horse invites us to move forward with freedom, courage, and trust.

The Horse is a symbol of vitality, momentum, and aligned action. It does not second-guess its instincts, it runs when it feels the call. After a year (or many) of deep inner work, the Horse asks us to live what we've learned. To trust ourselves. To choose a life that feels expansive, honest and fully alive.

"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do." -Benjamin Spock

The Horse doesn't demand certainty, it asks for presence. force direction, it responds to it. And that is the invitation of the new year: not to control every outcome, but to align with your truth and ride forward with trust.

My Solstice to New Year Ritual

From the Solstice until the New Year, I'm honoring this threshold with a daily ritual rooted in trust, surrender, and devotion to what I cannot yet see.

I've written 11 intentions for the year ahead and placed them into a jar. Each day, begins with a gratitude meditation, anchoring myself in appreciation for what is already here. Then, without looking and without reading, I draw one intention at random and offer it directly to the flame.

I never read the intention. I let it go before my mind can attach meaning, expectation, or control. The act of burning becomes a practice in faith, trusting that what is meant for me will unfold whether I witness it consciously or not.

On the final day, the New Year, one intention will remain in the jar. This is the intention I will carry with me into the year ahead, the one I allow to walk beside me, shape my choices, and gently guide my growth.

Everything else is released to the unseen, to timing beyond my own, to life itself.

"Surrender is not giving up, it is opening up." - Judith Hanson Lasater

Living Your Best Life Requires Trust

As we stand on the edge of the new year, I invite you to ask yourself:

• What am I read to shed once and for all?

• Where am I being asked to trust myself more deeply?

• What would it look like to live my best life, not someday, but now?

The coming year doesn't require perfection. It doesn't demand certainty. It simply asks for presence, courage, and willingness to move forward aligned with your values.

"Leap, and the net will appear." -John Burroughs

May this Solstice mark a turning point, not just into a new year, but into a more trusting, embodied, and intentional way of living. Shed what no longer fits. Honor the stillness. And when the moment comes, ride forward with confidence.

The light is returning. And so are you!