Time

The Year

The year has its doorways: the first day, the feasts, the turn of the seasons, the last night. And it has one doorway that is yours alone, your birthday.

January 1: blessing of the four elements

To give thanks, as the year begins, for what holds up your life and your home.

You need: An electric light · A small bowl of water · An artificial feather, or a drawing of one · A magnet
When: January 1.
Time: Fifteen minutes

Set each object on its side, as the table shows. If one is missing, write its name on a piece of paper.
If you hold the ceremony away from home, add a photograph of your home.
Turn on the light, face east, and say the first words.
Turn to the west and say the second.
Turn to the north and say the third. If you like, trace a star or a cross in the air.
Turn to the south and say the fourth.
Face your home, or its picture, and say the last.
Put away the feather and the magnet, clear the water, and turn off the light.

“Brother fire, thank you for the will and the warmth that keep life going. May my strength show in work that cares for others.”

“Sister water, thank you for nourishment and for the gift of flowing. May my feelings be heard and my bonds have room.”

“Brother air, thank you for breath, for words, and for give and take. May I speak clearly and hear what I need to learn.”

“Sister earth, thank you for the ground, the food, and the shelter. May I know how to care for what holds me up.”

“Thank you for this roof and for the chance to make a life here. I bless those who live in this home and those who help care for it.”

Facing	Element	What you set there
East	Fire	The light
West	Water	The bowl of water
North	Air	The feather
South	Earth	The magnet

January 6: the gifts of the Three Kings

To dedicate your home to care and kindness.

You need: Three cards · A pencil · A potted plant
When: January 6.
Time: Ten minutes

Write one word on each card: gratitude, care, and generosity.
Draw a rose on one of them.
Set the three cards beside the plant, without burying them.
Say the words.
Today, do one generous thing that you can keep up.

“In memory of the gifts of Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, I dedicate this home to care and kindness. May we know how to offer something of value from what we have. May there be food, shelter, and opportunity for everyone.”

Good Friday: welcoming a protective plant

To welcome a plant into your home and commit to caring for it.

You need: A potted plant: basil, vervain, or mugwort
When: Good Friday, at noon and again after three in the afternoon.
Time: Five minutes each time

At noon, set the plant in front of you and face south.
Say the first words.
After three, come back to it, face east, and say the second.
Give it a name. If it is your custom, make the sign of the cross.
Take it to a spot where it gets the light and water it needs. Repot it only if it needs it.
If it ever looks sick, watch it and tend to it: this is a plant that asks for care.

“I honor the life I receive in this plant. I promise to care for it, and I take it as a reminder to care for my home.”

“Welcome to this place. May your presence remind me of patience, of renewal, and of the protection that is built day by day.”

Spring: the four winds

To open the season of beginnings.

You need: A small bell · Paper and a pencil
When: When spring begins where you live.
Time: Fifteen minutes

Face east, ring the bell softly, and say the first words.
Turn to the south and say the second.
Turn to the west and say the third.
Turn to the north and say the fourth.
Stay in the center, bring your attention to the ground, and say the fifth.
Look up without straining your neck and say the last.
Three times, say a wish of happiness and peace for all beings.
Write down one intention for a beginning and one act of care that will make it possible.

“I welcome new ideas and new beginnings. May I recognize what wants to be born.”

“I tend my enthusiasm and my passion. May joy find a way to last.”

“I welcome harmony and steadiness. May I know how to stay where there is still life and growth.”

“I accept the closing of what has run its course. May I say goodbye with respect and leave room for what is new.”

“Thank you, Mother Earth, for food and shelter.”

“Thank you to the Source of life and to everything that walks with me as I learn.”

St. John's Eve: beginning again

To name what you want to renew at the midpoint of the year.

You need: A light · A red card and a pencil · A small red pouch
When: The night of June 23, at whatever hour suits you.
Time: Ten minutes

Turn on the light.
Draw a fern on the red card.
Take seven calm breaths.
Name out loud what you want to renew.
Say the words.
Put the card in the red pouch and carry it with you.

“I welcome the chance to begin again. May what I have learned take a new shape in what I do.”

The St. John's Eve herb bundle

To hang the herbs of the shortest night at your door as a sign of protection.

You need: Seven fragrant herbs you know well: rosemary, fennel, lemon verbena, spearmint, lavender, basil, bay laurel · A length of string or ribbon
When: St. John's Eve, June 23, at dusk.
Time: Fifteen minutes

Gather seven herbs, from the market or from your own pots. Cut only what the plant can spare.
Tie them together at the stems with the string.
Hang the bundle on your front door or in a window.
Say the words with your hand on the bundle.
Leave it there all night and, if you like, all year.
When St. John's Eve comes around again, return the dried bundle to the soil of a pot or to the compost and make a new one.

“Herbs of St. John, watch over this house. May whatever comes through this door come in peace.”

Summer: aloe, knots, and a braid

To care for what is growing.

You need: A potted aloe vera · Three ribbons, each one meter (about a yard) long: one red, one green, and one yellow
When: When summer begins where you live.
Time: Twenty minutes

Sit beside the plant and think for a moment about the earth and the Sun.
Choose seven qualities you want to tend. For example: love, clarity, perseverance, gratitude, service, prosperity, and rest.
Hold the three ribbons together and tie seven knots at one end. Say one quality with each knot.
Braid the other end. As you braid, name health for the green ribbon, love for the red, and prosperity for the yellow.
Say the words.
Lay the braid around the pot, loosely, without pressing on leaves or roots.
In the weeks that follow, look in on the plant and give it the water and light it needs.

“May what is growing be cared for. May fullness turn into generosity, and may I know how to sustain what I want to see bloom.”

Fall: clearing out and letting go

To put one corner in order and say goodbye to what is finished.

You need: A card and a pencil
When: When fall begins where you live.
Time: One hour

Write or draw four herbs on the card: basil, mint, rosemary, and sage. Set it where you can see it.
Choose one small area of your home.
Sort things into three groups: what you use, what you want to repair, and what can leave your life. Keep the mementos you treasure.
Say the words.
Finish with one action: repair, donate, recycle, or put something back where it belongs.
If what you are letting go of is a relationship or a chapter of your life, write down the boundary or the goodbye you need. Do not send anything today.

“I am grateful for what kept me company. I see what has ended and I let it find another place. May the space that opens up welcome something that makes sense for my life as it is now.”

An ofrenda for your dead

To remember those who are gone and welcome them home for a few days.

You need: A small table or a shelf, and a tablecloth · Photographs of the people you are remembering · A glass of water · A small dish of salt · Bread · Yellow or orange flowers: marigolds (cempasúchil), if you can find them · A candle in a sturdy holder · Something they loved: a piece of fruit, a sweet, their coffee
When: October 31 through November 2.
Time: Half an hour to set it up

Wipe the table clean and cover it with the tablecloth.
Set the photographs in the highest spot.
In front of them, place the glass of water, the salt, the bread, and the flowers.
Add the things they loved.
Light the candle and say the words.
Stay a while and tell one memory of each person out loud.
Put out the candle before you leave. Light it again each night, for as long as you are there with it.
On November 3, clear the table: share the food that is still good, take the flowers to the compost, and put the photographs away.

“I set this table for you with the things you loved. In this house you are remembered and you are loved. Thank you for what you left me.”

Care: Never leave the candle unattended, and keep it away from the tablecloth, the flowers, and any paper.

The Advent wreath

To get ready for Christmas week by week, with one more light each Sunday.

You need: Green branches arranged in a circle on a plate or a tray · Four candles in sturdy holders
When: The four Sundays before Christmas.
Time: Ten minutes each Sunday

Arrange the circle of branches and set the four candles inside it, clear of the greenery.
On the first Sunday, gather the people you live with and light one candle.
Say the words.
In a few sentences each, share what you are hoping for in these weeks.
Put out the candle when you finish.
Each Sunday, light one more: two, then three, and on the last Sunday all four.

“I light this candle in the season of waiting. May hope, peace, joy, and love grow in this house.”

Care: Put out the candles before you get up from the table, and replace the branches when they dry out.

Winter: the inner light

To turn inward and look after what is still taking shape.

You need: A small light · Paper and a pencil
When: When winter begins where you live.
Time: Fifteen minutes

Find a quiet place and turn on the small light. The room does not have to be dark.
Picture the flame of your heart.
Say the words.
Write down what you need to protect in this quieter season: a process, an idea, a grief, a rest, or something you are learning.
Decide what can wait and what needs support now.

“Even if I cannot see the whole road yet, I can tend the light of this moment. May I find rest, clarity, and company while things are still taking shape.”

The spirit of Christmas and the letter of wishes

To welcome the spirit of Christmas with a letter about what you wish to receive and to nurture.

You need: A small light · Paper and a pencil · An envelope
When: The night of the December solstice, the 21st, after “Winter: the inner light.”
Time: Half an hour

With the light on, write a letter in the present tense about what you wish to receive and to nurture.
Include one request for other people or for the world.
Read the letter out loud and say the words.
Put it in the envelope and write on the outside the date when you will read it again.
Turn off the light.
Do one thing within your reach to offer hospitality, company, or help.
When the date comes, read the letter again. Then keep it or recycle it.

“I welcome the spirit of generosity and of coming together. May my wishes be tied to caring, and may I recognize the gifts I have to offer too.”

December 31: closing and welcoming

To say goodbye to the year that is ending and open your home to the one arriving.

You need: A sheet of paper and a pencil · A yellow light
When: December 31.
Time: Twenty minutes

Make seven marks on the paper and write beside each one something the year taught you.
Walk through your home from left to right. In each room, give thanks for the year and name what you want to close.
Say the first words.
Walk through your home again, this time from right to left.
When you reach the place where you practice, turn on the yellow light and say the second.
Keep the sheet with your notes from the year.

“I make room for all I have lived. I am grateful for what held me up, and I stop feeding what is already over.”

“I open space for a new cycle of care, work, and affection. May my home receive what it needs, and may we have well-being to share.”

New Year's Eve lentils

To start the year with a gesture of abundance at the table and in your pocket.

You need: Cooked lentils for dinner · A handful of dried lentils · A small cloth or paper pouch
When: The night of December 31.
Time: Five minutes

Serve lentils at New Year's Eve dinner, even if it is only a spoonful for each person.
Before you eat them, say the words.
Put the handful of dried lentils in the pouch and keep it in your wallet or in the pantry.
In the first week of January, write down one decision about your finances and give it a date.
When the year ends, take the old lentils to the compost and put in new ones.

“May this house never lack food, or someone to share it with. I am grateful for what we had, and I am ready to care for what comes.”

The twelve grapes

To welcome the year with a wish for each month.

You need: Twelve grapes for each person
When: At midnight on December 31.
Time: As long as twelve chimes last

Before midnight, wash the grapes and count out twelve for each person.
Think of a wish for each month of the year that is beginning.
When the clock strikes twelve, eat one grape with each chime.
With each grape, silently name the wish for that month.
When you finish, hug the people who are with you and say the words.
For small children, cut the grapes into quarters and let them eat without hurrying.

“Happy New Year. May each month bring what it has to bring, and find us in good health and together.”

The wheel of where you live

To follow the cycle of the place where you live, and not that of some other landscape.

You need: A sheet of paper and a pencil
When: Whenever the season changes, or the rains, or the rhythm of your work.
Time: Ten minutes

Draw a circle and divide it into four spaces. Call them sprouting, fullness, harvest, and rest.
If there are not four seasons where you live, write the changes you do see: the rains, the dry season, or your own cycles of school, work, or family.
In the space you are living through now, write one real sign: the light, the temperature, the plants, the habits of your neighborhood, or the time you have.
Add the question for that space and answer it in one sentence.
If you celebrate a solstice or an equinox, note the date separately, along with what it means to you.

Space	Question
Sprouting	What is beginning?
Fullness	What needs support?
Harvest	What can I gather?
Rest	What needs rest?

Your birthday as a personal new year

To take stock of all you have lived since your last birthday.

You need: Paper and a pencil
When: The day before your birthday, or the day itself.
Time: Fifteen minutes

Write down what you are grateful for in this year of your life.
Write down what changed.
Write down what you want to care for in the year that is beginning.
Read it all the way through, without comparing your year to anyone else's.

The birthday letter and its nine days

To give direction to your new year of life.

You need: Two sheets of paper and a pencil · An envelope · A white light
When: After the hour you were born, on your birthday, and for the nine days that follow.
Time: Half an hour the first day and five minutes on the others

Write a letter in the present tense: how you want to live this year, with what actions, relationships, projects, and ways of caring for yourself.
Check that it does not rest on results that other people would have to produce.
Make a copy.
Turn on the white light, read the letter, and picture a scene that stands for your intention.
Say the words.
Put the copy in the envelope.
For the next nine days, read the letter again and write down one possible step each day.
On the ninth day, look back at what you did, give thanks, and keep both letters or recycle one.

“I welcome this new year of my life. May my wishes find their direction, and may I learn from whatever does not go the way I expect. I ask for clarity to choose, strength to act, and the sensitivity to see what deserves care.”

The first twenty-four hours

To plant the seeds of your year with three small gestures.

You need: Paper and a pencil
When: The twenty-four hours after your birthday.
Time: One day

Choose three modest gestures: one for your body or your rest, one for someone you love, and one for a project.
Do them within those twenty-four hours.
Write down what each one means for the year that is beginning.
If the day was hard, start the next day: one bad day does not decide the year.

The sweet birthday bath

To get ready to receive the sweetness of the year that is beginning.

You need: A card · Colored pencils
When: On your birthday. Also on December 31 or January 1.
Time: Ten minutes, plus your bath

On the card, draw six apples, a cinnamon stick, and flowers.
Write seven words you want to nurture.
Leave the card where you can see it, outside the shower.
Bathe the way you do every day.
When you finish, say the words.

“I am ready to receive the sweetness of life while still taking care of myself. May this new cycle hold affection, possibilities, and the actions that sustain them.”

Everyday Rituals