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An uphill climb is usually related to some kind of struggle in your waking life. This dream could involve a hill, a mountain, a ladder, etc. How steep the climb is and how much difficulty you have making it can be a reflection of similar circumstances in your waking life. If the climb is really difficult, it could be that the obstacle you are facing or the thing you hope to achieve is turning out to be more than you bargained for. You might be trying to grow your circle of friends, join a team or club, or reach some other new goal. If it feels like things are going too slowly, maybe you need to step back and evaluate the situation and come up with a better path to get you to where you want to be. Success is in your future if you approach it the right way.

January’s Full Moon is also known as the Cold Moon, and most likely a large majority of us are feeling a wintery chill about now.  Many of us are also slowing down and hibernating—becoming more reflective about the world we live in and our place in it. I find it appropriately intriguing that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on this date of the Cold Moon this year. To reflect what Dr. King accomplished in his lifetime, as well as mourn for all the more he could have done if his life had not been cut tragically short are definitely issues to be meditated on for Monday, January the 17^th, 2022.

It could additionally be a time to get out your journal and write your thoughts down. See what comes to the surface when you let yourself go for three pages straight without stopping. You may find patterns, an old habit to lose, or some new ideas to implement. If you were to record yourself in a confessional format, what sorts of things would you talk about? What would you choose to share with people? Would you keep your cards close to your chest? Or would you bare all—being honest and liberated in the process?

I have never really celebrated Independence Day with parties, parades, and patriotism. I was raised in Germany and studied history and - well, let’s just say patriotism makes me deeply uncomfortable. For many years I fled into the woods and celebrated InterdepenDance Day at rainbow gatherings, far away from drunken revelry and fireworks.

To this awakening goddess, celebrating holidays has more to do with personal history than traditional roots.  Imbolc, the modern Pagan celebration of an ancient Gaelic festival, means so much more to me now than it did when I first started studying Wicca and Paganism thirteen years ago.

Thirteen years ago, I found a home in Paganism at my very first public ritual, which was a celebration of Imbolc conducted by popular Pagan writer Ann Moura and her Ladies Tea Circle.  I entered my first circle at that festival, and won a raffle for the first time in my life – an amethyst earring and pendant set and an hour-long session with a psychic who would become my mentor on my path to developing my own metaphysical interests and abilities.

Though we've moved beyond the longest night, the winter prevails upon us a time for darkness and reflection.

Since mid-November, when the air filled with the scent of wood smoke and the days were growing ever shorter, the darkness has been heavy on me.  I worked hard to celebrate the light's return at Solstice and made many children smile from homemade gifts and books, which was delightful for me

On this last day of the year, many of us will reflect on what has transpired in these months prior. We leave behind many things as we joyously embrace a “clean slate”.  Every year on this date I review and analyze the failures and successes of the year and make plans to bring new light and a fresh perspective into the upcoming year. 

For me personally, the year began as a year of challenge and unavoidable growth from what loomed large in expectation. So it is fitting that the end of this year marks another phase of challenge and growth, my second Saturn return.  A Saturn return occurs when the planet transits or moves in direct alignment with the astrological sign and degree it was in when you were born. The importance of this event lies in the opportunity to steer course in an entirely different direction as you restructure your life. I began the 1st Cycle of my Second Saturn Return this month. I have diligently done the work to prepare for this and the result has been productive at many levels and the Dark Mother has been watchful and vigilant in her demands.