12 Nights of Christmas...

When reconstructing Notre Dame after a disastrous fire, scaffolding was used to ensure the safety of those workers.

I, too, am using scaffolding.

What do I want life to look like?
What do I want it to feel like?
How do I embody main character energy?

I spent a good portion of yesterday and this morning journaling, searching for the intentions I want to release over the next 12 nights… a ritual that has become steady in my life.

This ritual is fondly referred to as Rauhnächte, meaning the rough or smoky nights. Our ancestors, living by ancient Gregorian calendars, realized something curious: a solar year is 365 days, yet there are only 12 lunar cycles of roughly 28 days each. That leaves about 11 or 12 days unaccounted for at the end of the year.

They believed these days existed outside of normal time… when the veil was thinner, fate could be influenced, and the future could be glimpsed and shaped.

The ritual begins on the Winter Solstice and continues for 11 more nights.

You come to the first evening with 13 intentions for the year ahead.
What do you want to accomplish?
Where do you see yourself this time next year?

Think carefully.
Think honestly.
Imagine it in both your heart and your mind.

Write each intention down on its own piece of paper. Speak them aloud. Feel them. Envision them. Then fold each paper toward you at least three times. I keep mine in a beautiful velvet bag to hold them safely for the next few nights.

Each of the 12 nights, you get quiet. Blindly pick one intention… without looking… and burn it (safely; I use a candle) until it becomes nothing but ashes.

Do this for all 12 nights.

You will be left with one intention.

That one, you get to look at.

For 12 nights, you release the others to God, the Universe, or whatever higher power you believe in… trusting they will be handled for you. But that last one? That one is on you. Over the next year, you take steps, big or small, toward honoring and achieving it.

This ritual first called to me because I was learning how to release control without losing myself. Previous attempts at letting go had left me wandering aimlessly.

The first year I did this, the intention I was left with was simple:
I will be happy.

And I did it… even though it ruffled feathers. I began therapy. I started unwrapping my true self. I learned how to recognize happiness within me, without attaching it to people or things.

It worked so well that I did it again.

Last year, my intention centered on trust… after the depth of abandonment I had felt in my life. I was shocked when the Universe plucked my marriage away… along with friendships and long-held thought patterns. But what remained was for ME.

I remember the intentions I released, and just before the end of the year, the Universe hit the gas. And here we are. I have never known this kind of peace… even when my life may look chaotic from the outside. And the intention I was responsible for? That one’s covered.

This year, I want to remember how to stand in wonder again. I want to restore the balance of giving and receiving.

So here I go again.. this time with the deep knowing that this practice works for me. It has strengthened my faith in timing, my trust in the unseen, and my understanding that I play an active role in constructing my life.

Tonight, when I release the first intention, I trust that the Universe will adjust the experiences in my life… guiding me toward the arches, steeples, and color selections I’ve chosen for myself.

Because my foundation is strong.
It always has been.

What intentions will you set for 2026?
(Don’t tell me… tell the stars. They love you as much as I do.)