New Years Witch-olutions

How to Craft Intentional Goals for a Magickal Year

January is a month of alchemy. From the mixture of frost and smoke to the crackling of fires and the glittering clear nights, January really makes us use our senses. Our ancestors would have used this time to huddle around a communal fire and tell stories, nowadays we huddle around the television instead, but the need for entertainment and the stories of others to distract us from the biting cold is still prevalent. The story I’m offering you today is one of a tug of war between those who believe that New Year is a time to jump in with planning and setting goals, and those who believe that it’s a time for rest- that we should take cues from nature and use this time to refresh, ready to set goals as the buds start to emerge in the Spring.

I’m stuck between the two, watching the rope pull back and forth, knowing that neither side is wrong nor right. Perhaps you feel this way too?

At the start of each New Year, I recognise and often get swept up in the urgency to have all of my ducks in a row. I love a fresh planner, a blank notebook, and I revel in the feeling of planning out a year of abundance and best laid intentions. What I don’t like is feeling like a failure when some of these ambitions and goals don’t come to pass. So here I stand in the middle of the planners and the resters.

When it comes to Witchcraft, it is important to recognise that there needs to be a bit of planning involved at the start of the year, not for any sense of smug satisfaction that comes from a false sense of organisation, but from a tangible realisation that there are seeds to be sown… quite literally.

As a Hedge Witch, my work is done with the plants I grow and tend to in my garden and on my allotment, the magick happens only thanks to my deep relationship with these plants and spirits. If you are a gardener you’ll know that there is no rest, only gaps between growing conditions, spaces between sowing seeds and harvesting gluts. As a witch, it is within the spaces and gaps that the work is done, the setting of intentions, the tending to seeds, the planning of the magick that needs to be done.

Nature herself appears dormant in the winter, and for most it is so, but there is so much going on on a cellular level, unseen. Some seeds and bulbs are stirring already, green shoots getting ready to appear,the stored energy in their bulbs getting used up as they begin to push through the earth. Leaf buds are emerging, small and stiff but getting a good headstart on what will be an explosion of green in late Spring. Even hibernating animals awake periodically, to twist and stretch, groom and sniff, as if checking the glowing digits on their bedside alarm clock. This is not my way of tempting you into the frenzy of New Year goal setting that capitalism and productivity influencers demand, this is me explaining that some planning done now, will pay off later.

One of the best things I started doing for my craft was to take a ‘spiritual inventory’ of rituals and spells that I know need to be done throughout the year, and marking them down on my calendar. Sitting at my altar with a cup of tea, a candle lit and the year laid out in front of me became a strong ritual in itself… noting that I needed to sow my Calendula seeds at the end of February alerted me to the fact that I needed to do ritual work with them a week before, and if I wanted to tie that in with a particular phase of the moon I might need to think about it a week earlier. Writing down celestial events, personal events, equinoxes and sabbats, etc, help me to plan my witchcraft so that I can get the most and the best out of it.

It could be that you have one big goal, or resolution that you really want to accomplish in the coming year… taking the time to sit and ponder what that might look like when it is realised is part of the planning itself. For example… One of my goals this year is to really start the ball rolling with my ultimate dream of running my own flower farm. This seems like an enormous task and a lengthy one, but broken down into smaller manageable chunks it doesn’t seem as daunting, and feels well within reach. As a business woman (I own and run my own brick and mortar book and gift shop) I know just how many mundane tasks have to be done in order to get started, as a gardener I recognise the sheer amount of work this sort of undertaking entails, but as a witch… as a witch I know what spells, rituals and spiritual work will bolster my chances of success. Taking the time to plan my craft alongside my everyday and business life is invaluable. All goals, mundane and magickal, require thoughtful planning, but there are some that believe that ‘manifestation’ is the way forward…

On Manifestation:

‘Manifestation’ is a word that is bandied about a lot at the moment, and quite a lot of creators in other spiritual sectors believe that just writing a goal down or wishing for it hard enough will make it so. As witches, we know that there is always an exchange of energy involved in any kind of magick... including manifestation. Believing that coveting assets will lead you to your ultimate happiness is a mistake that a lot of people make.

My ultimate manifestation is to own my own flower and rare breeds farm, and a cottage the Cotswolds, but my happiness is not totally dependent on that... the journey that it will take for me to get to that point will be the part that brings me joy and pride and all of those other emotions that go along with success and achievement. Instead of manifesting the result, manifest the stepping stones that will lead you to your end goal. Breaking manifestation down like this clearly shows that we have to put in a lot of work to make our dreams a reality. So really, manifestation is bringing clarity to how you want to live your life whilst you are doing the tasks that sustain it. Life is not an 'end product' there is no destination, and at the risk of sounding very cliche, we should be focusing on what we manifest whilst on the journey.

If you eventually get that flashy car the initial buzz will be fantastic, but after a year, maybe two years, you'll start to see others that you like, that once coveted car will be replaced and the cycle will continue. This is perfectly fine if it brings you joy but what else have you manifested into your life that is a little more longstanding and doesn't rely so much on instant gratification, or wordly goods?

Perhaps it might be a good idea to take a step back and imagine what your ideal life may look like on just an average day. The accumulation of happy small moments is what makes for an ideal life, taking joy in small things like a really good cup of tea or a refreshing walk in your garden. Instead of envisioning being handed the keys to your country cottage, imagine instead cooking in its kitchen with your family or friends. Manifest life moments, material objects break and are replaced all the time, but memories are forever. This kind of ‘day dreaming’ is the perfect way to spend a cold winter’s evening, tucked up in bed and imagining the small things amidst your ultimate goal.

It feels good to be back and writing in 2025, I have so many fun and interesting topics lined up for Substack, as well as a couple of marvellous personal projects that I cannot wait to share.
As for that flower farm… they may be another substack showing up soon, with the behind the scenes of us starting out on our journey. Keep your eyes peeled.

Laura x