new year blues

when "new year, new me" just doesn’t sit right

We’re two weeks into 2025, and I’m feeling…tired. December always wipes me out with its long list of obligations, never-ending demands, irregular schedules, and holiday-related pressures, and I often forget just how long it takes for my body and my mind to recover. There’s nothing wrong, per se — I’ve been really enjoying staying in, spending my days off reading in bed, and leaning into all of the creature comforts that get me through the winter — but there’s always this nagging feeling that it shouldn’t be this way: that January is for starting new things, reinventing yourself, and greeting the new year with endless wells of enthusiasm and motivation. I understand the sentiment, and I love the idea of a fresh start — but my energy’s just not there. The more I resist the urge to slow down, the more my body shows me just how much rest it needs during this long, cold month.

Photo by Daniil Silantev on Unsplash

This isn’t the first time I’ve considered (and taken issue with) all of the messaging around a new year: the shouts to dive in head first, the self-improvement marketing ploys, the “new year, new you”-type slogans that make the rounds each January. Each year, there’s the same pressure to flip the calendar and instantly morph into your best self — and each year, I feel far from it. But it doesn’t take much to see why there’s such a disconnect between how I feel and how society tells me I should feel. My body knows that it’s still the dead of winter, and that this isn’t so much a time for doing as it is a time for resting, recalibrating, reflecting, and dreaming.

I look around and I see the outside world mirroring my inner world: there are clear signs of slowness, stillness, and dormancy all around. The cold, biting winds keep me indoors, and the sky’s early darkening lures me to bed hours earlier in the winter than in the summer. There’s a sort of biting harshness to this season that warns us not to do too much — not to expend too much energy, lest we bleed our reserves dry. It’s a season of conservation, discernment, and boundaries; for remembering that energy is a finite resource, and that saying no can be a powerful act of self-preservation when it’s in short supply.

That’s not to say that we have to become stagnant this time of year: there’s so much important and meaningful work that’s supported during these cold, dark days. Rather than getting frustrated by our slower pace or lamenting our lack of external growth and progress, we can take this time to turn inward and do a little excavating: to reflect on what’s been working and what we’re ready to leave behind, to reassess our goals and dreams, and to identify and prioritize our needs so that when the time comes to take more tangible action, we’re feeling strong, energized, and empowered. The quiet inner shifts we make are just as important as any sort of outward achievement or measurable growth, even if they’re not celebrated in the same way.

Many folks honor the spring equinox, rather than January 1st, as their new year — and for all of the reasons mentioned above, that feels like a much more aligned date to me. I appreciate that the Gregorian calendar gives us an easy, socially-accepted way to wrap up a period of time in a neat little bow, but I can’t ignore the huge discrepancy between my body’s call to slow down and the societal pressure to meet January with the fiery passion that I hope to bring to the rest of the year. No matter what anyone says, I refuse to buy into the belief that this one month sets the tone for the entire year ahead. We’re not robots, and we’re meant to cycle through seasonal ebbs and flows. If we were to follow the rhythms of the natural world around us, we’d see that it’s springtime — not January — when the earth begins to thaw and new signs of life spring up all over.

I’m doing my best this year to keep all of that in mind: to remember that the cold, quiet days of winter serve their own purpose, and that spring isn’t all that far away. If I were to push ahead now — ignoring my waning energy, fighting my natural rhythms, and battling it out against the fierce winter weather — I’d be doing myself a disservice. Our bodies are wise, and they know when it’s time to go full steam ahead and when it’s time to lay back.

I trust that if I take this time to dream, I’ll be met with the energy I need to bring those dreams to life when the time is right. ✿

Tarot Allies for Easing into a New Year

When I think about the energies and archetypes of a new year, my mind automatically goes to any card related to fresh beginnings and new journeys: The Fool, the Aces, the Two of Wands, and so on. But those aren’t the only allies we can look to at the start of a new year, and I’ve been trying to shift my perspective away from that go-getter energy to embrace cards that invite in rest and recalibration. Here are a few that I’m turning to this month for guidance.

✷ The Star: For me, the imagery of The Star card in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck conjures up feelings of peace and tranquility more than any other. It’s an archetype of deep healing and renewal, and because it comes directly after the Tower in the Major Arcana, it’s a helpful reminder that we need to prioritize our wellbeing after phases of turmoil, transition, or chaos. I think of The Star almost like a healing retreat: an opportunity to unplug from the noise of everyday life, turn inward, and make sure that my needs are met so that I can emerge rested, refreshed, and ready for whatever’s next.

✷ Temperance: Temperance is all about balance, harmony, and equilibrium: themes that feel important to consider after the hectic energy of the holidays and the onslaught of messaging around a new year. I’ve written about it before, but I see balance less as the exact midpoint between two extremes, and more as an ongoing quest to recenter or course-correct when I feel pulled too far in one direction. This card reminds me that it’s natural and expected to require more rest, quiet, and solo downtime after the energetic demands of the holiday season — and it also asks me to consider how I might find balance between the inclination to slow down this time of year and the desire to hit the ground running.

✷ Four of Swords: The Four of Swords is card of deep, rejuvenating rest. When I see this card, I often think of all of the ways in which I “rest” without really resting: laying in bed scrolling endlessly on my phone, taking mental health days off but stealthily finding ways to work from home, carving out quiet time alone only to end up answering emails and texts and DMs. The Four of Swords reminds me that sometimes, I need truly bone-deep rest — with no multi-tasking or ulterior motives. It’s hard to truly disconnect in a world that asks so much of us 24/7, but that makes it even more important to intentionally set aside time for resting our bodies and clearing our minds, completely and wholly.