Birthdays are an important moment – they can become a potent marker of time and of your personal evolution.

So, every year on my birthday I make time for this sacred and soulful ritual. It helps me make meaningful time and space on my special day just for ME. It connects me to my truest self and desires and helps me celebrate in deep ways. It also allows me to gracefully and joyfully let go of one year and powerfully move on to the next.

The ritual is simple, but really quite profound. Here is what I do:

1. Create a Ritual Atmosphere: I create a ritual atmosphere that allows me to really connect deeply with myself. I move away from the computer, turn off the phone, put a pillow on the floor, get comfortable.

2. Set Sacred Space: I usually do this by closing my eyes, breathing consciously to connect with my body and my self, and then I light a candle to signal that I am moving into sacred time and space that’s just for me, for my soul, for my psyche.

3. Honor all of the Past Year’s Celebrations: I review the year that has just past, and I note and write down all the things that I am grateful for, all the things I’m proud of, all the things I really want to celebrate. I really make the time to honor my accomplishments and blessings. With each item I write down, I take a brief moment to pause and be grateful and feel proud. Honoring what is going really well and what you feel proud of is such an important element in the process of feeling satisfied about the year that has past and moving forward into the new year with resource and excitement.

4. Acknowledge What Has Not Been Great: Next, I acknowledge and write down all of the things that happened during the last year that aren’t serving me, and that I am ready to let go of. Things on this list might be disappointments about losses, ways that I am judging myself, relationships that are no longer working. I honestly and lovingly get very clear with myself on all the things that I don’t want to take with me into my new year. Then I breathe each of those things out of my system. Slowly, with focus. I set the intention to release them so that I can move forward without anything holding me back.

5. Create a Vision for My New Year: After reviewing the year that has passed, I look forward! I sense into the coming year of my life and set inner and outer goals and intentions for the year. I write them all down and get excited about the year to come.

6. Set an Intention for the New Year: Finally, I take in all the review and visioning work I have done and ask myself, what is the highest intention that I want to set for my new year. I journal on this and then draw a tarot card to get deeper information or insight. From there, I get clear on my highest intention for the year…something that can really encapsulate my vision and goals. I then ritually infuse the intention into an item that I keep with me for the entire year – a candle, a new scarf, a necklace, a new pocketbook, a new plant. Every time I wear the scarf or water the plant, I am reminded of my intentions for the year!

Going through this sacred birthday ritual each year has allowed me to move forward in my life and work in HUGE ways. It supports me to process my emotions about the year that has passed and get excited & focused about the year to come. Mostly, it allows me to celebrate me and celebrate my life in ways that are meaningful.

If you decide to do this ritual – or shift it to better suit your needs – I’d love to hear how it goes!