As we welcome in the New Year and let go of the old, we thought now would be a wonderful time to remember how we can access our inbuilt magic to create our own joy for this new year ahead.  And how do we do that, you might ask?  Well, the power of ‘ritual’ is something that we can easily incorporate into our lives to focus on what we desire to create more of - and plant medicine, in the form of essential oils, can be used powerfully in ceremony to set our intention for this New Year.

“Ritual” is defined in the Collin’s dictionary as “a ceremony which involves a series of actions performed in a fixed order… as part of tradition.”  Often this tradition is sacred, meaning it is too important to be interfered with.  There’s something very beautiful and intentional about using rituals to set us up for the year - especially if the previous year was traumatic.  I’m not a fan of making resolutions we might not stick to, as these often set us up for perfectionism and shame, but I am an advocate of helping people remember their own innate power and wisdom.  Essential oils are perfect for helping us to do this!  So, this January, we thought it’d be an ideal time to unleash some plant potions to help you cleanse in the New Year and access your own inner magic in order to inspire fresh creativity, cultivate a little hope and manifest some positivity for the year ahead (regardless of what is going on in the world!).

We’ve a series of Ritual Potions for you, and we will share the oils which can be used to best support with the intention for each, as well as some practices you might enjoy immersing yourself in this New Year to remember your own magic!  You could do one ritual per day for 5 consecutive days - let’s begin!

New Year Cleansing Ritual

There’s no point starting afresh without cleansing, and ridding ourselves of the energy of the previous year, so this is where we will begin our series of ceremonies.  There are many cleansing essential oils, and we will be using these in this passage to clear our headspace ready to invite in the new.  The following essential oils can help:

• Cypress – traditionally used as a purifying incense, this is a powerful cleansing ritual oil
• Juniperberry – ridding negativity, this oil invites in space for the new to arise
• Lemon – the ‘spring-cleaner’ of the mind, this purifying oil is a wonderful oil for ceremony
• Lime – known for cleansing, purifying, and reviving the spirit, this oil is wonderful for New Year ritual
• Frankincense – rejuvenating and meditative, this oil is perfect for ritual to set intention

As this is your personal ceremony, you must be guided by your intuition in your oil selection, as this is the most powerful way to cultivate your own desires.  Follow your nose, your body knows what it needs.  We do however have a suggestion for you below (our favourite blend) along with the rest of the three-step ritual. 

1. Cleansing Diffusion: Diffuse 3 drops Cypress, 3 drops Lime and 2 drops Frankincense in an aromatherapy diffuser or candle burner and enjoy for 30 minutes, whilst you perform part 2.
2. Journaling: As part of this ritual, we invite you to grab a journal and pen and write down what you desire to ‘rid’ from 2020.  This can be anything that you desire to let go of. 
3. White Sage Cleanse*:  White sage is a herb used in ceremony to cleanse and let go – so it is perfect to burn to rid the old.  You could use it to burn the paper you made your notes on, or just use it in the room.

*Avoid use in pregnancy.  Please also get your GP’s permission before using essential oils while pregnant.

Accessing your Inner Magic Ritual

The second phase of our New Year intention ceremonies is to access your inner magic.  We often assume that we are not powerful, which can leave us feeling hopeless, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.  We are made from the same as stardust; the same atoms as nature, and therefore we are exactly the same as the magical essential oils we use!  When we remember this, it helps us to know that we can create our own joy, no matter what, and this is a powerful part of the 2021 ritual!

Essential oils to help us with accessing our inner magic include:

• Melissa – known as the ‘oil of inner light’, this is the oil for spiritual freedom, helping us reconnect with our true nature
• Clary Sage – the oil of ‘vision’ and expansion, this is perfect for helping us visualise our magic!
• Patchouli – a confidence-instilling oil, this is perfect for helping us remember our own power
• Cedarwood – known as the ‘tree of life’, this oil helps us remember our courage and strength – wonderful as part of a magical ceremony
• Myrrh – a spiritual oil, this helps meditation which is a great way to remember our deeper connection and who we really are

Here’s our inner-magic ritual:

1. Magical Massage: Mix 3 drops Melissa, 2 drops Patchouli and 1 drop Clary Sage into 15ml Sweet Almond oil and massage into the skin in a direction towards the heart. This is the first step of this ritual, to help you connect to the power of your body.
2. Inner Magic Meditation: Sit comfortably with your massage oil absorbing into your skin and take 10 minutes to meditate on your inner power.  Can you see how you are the same power as nature?
3. Journaling: write down anything that came up during this meditation and reflect.

Accessing Hope Ritual

Harnessing our own power allows us to invite in hope for the New Year.  This next ritual is to invite in new for 2021, allowing yourself to dream and honour your heart’s desires…

Essential oils for instilling hope and dreaminess include:

• Bergamot – a calming oil that helps us connect to the truth and see hope and positivity
• Rose – a powerful oil to instil hope, its beautiful, gentle fragrance invites us into a yin, dreamy state
• Ylang Ylang – the oil of desire, this oil helps release inhibitions, allowing us to dream
• Lemongrass – a meditative aid for clearer thinking, this oil creates space to dream
• Black Spruce – this oil is perfect for instilling hope as it helps counteract low self-confidence and low-moral

Here’s our ritual for enhancing dreams:

1. Hopes and Dreams Bath: the first step into allowing ourselves to dream is to go more gently; we can’t be dreamy when we are running at 90 miles an hour.  So, to honour the state of hope, run yourself a nice bath, switch everything off, and allow yourself to have a beautiful bath with this dreamy blend. Mix 3 drops Rose, 2 drops Bergamot and 1 drop Ylang Ylang in 15ml Bath Oil or Bath & Shower Gel and add to your bath.  Lie back and allow yourself to truly dream about what you hope for in 2021.
2. Journaling: After your bath, write down all your dreams and desires for the year ahead – not as things to hold yourself to, but just to simply become more in-tune with what you are capable of creating and what you desire to do with your new year.
3. Speak out Loud:  Get more intimate with your dreams by speaking them out loud in a commitment ceremony.

Inspiring Creativity Ritual

As the fourth step in our New Year ritual, we want to invite in inspired action via creativity.  We are so used to taking action from logic, rather than our wisdom, so this part of the ritual is important as it helps us to connect to more inspired action, from the heart.  

Here’s some essential oils that can help:

• Jasmine – a soft and gentle oil, this floral scent helps us to tune into a more relaxed, yin state that helps us to connect to our creative inspiration
• Sweet Orange – a cheerful oil, this helps us connect with our inner creative
• Rosemary – a stimulating oil, this helps us take inspired action
• Peppermint – another stimulant, this helps us get in touch with our creative action centre
• Tangerine – an upbeat oil which is perfect for lifting the spirits

Here’s our ritual for inspired creative action:

1. Inspired Action Diffusion: Diffuse 3 drops Sweet Orange, 2 drops Jasmine and 2 drops Rosemary for the perfect blend to create the balance of yin, heart-led creativity with yang inspired action.
2. Intuitive Dance: pop some music on and, beginning from stillness, allow your body to move in any way it desires.  Be totally led from the heart and the calling of your body’s wisdom.  Allow your creativity to flow through you.
3. Journaling: notice how this ceremony felt – where can you move from stillness to creativity in your life via inspired action this 2021?

Manifesting Positivity Ritual

The final step is for us to allow ourselves to really be the powerful creators that we are.  Our innate power is to be a creative.  We can really make 2021 anything we desire, and this ritual will help us connect with this truth.

Here are some essential oils that can help:

• Yuzu – a cheerful oil, this is happiness in a bottle – perfect for positivity!
• Grapefruit – an uplifting oil for positive mood, this helps you remember your natural state
• Petitgrain – an oil which removes obstacles, this is a wonderful one for helping you create whatever you desire
• Cinnamon – invigorating and uplifting, this oil is the epitome of manifestation of our desires!
• Eucalyptus – a stimulant that offers clarity for the mind, this is another oil for putting our dreams into practice in 2021!

Here’s our ritual for expressing our natural positivity:

1. Manifesting Positivity Diffusion: Diffuse 3 drops Yuzu, 3 drops Grapefruit and 1 drop Petitgrain to help foster joy and help you live in inspired action for January onwards.
2. Vision Board: As you’re diffusing your powerful oils, allow yourself to create a physical representation of your dreams – such as a beautiful vision board, so you can look at this throughout the year.
3. Journaling: notice the thoughts that surface in this ritual – what beliefs are coming up to be seen and let go of – self-doubt, for example?  These are simply our ideas, which can flow on through and mean nothing. You might enjoy repeating the first ceremony to release these.

The power of ceremony is not to be under-rated, when done from choice, rather than ideas of ‘need’, as they illuminate so much for us.  I want you to know that 2021 is here for you to create any life you desire, regardless of any difficulties.  So, enjoy your rituals, and see what shows up for you as you remember your magic this January!

Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist

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