One good thing about facing into the New Year is that we are all in the same boat: between the past- and future-tense, in the dead centre of nowhere, held transfixed in liminality.
To be honest, I’ve always felt comfortable being in this liminal state, I like the chance to rethink my old patterns, to distance myself from the thread of mundane routines and thoughts that hold my days together throughout the rest of the year. It’s a rare opportunity to take stock, re-evaluate and attempt to scry into the new year, see what fortune it could bring. The borderland between the old and the new year is a place ripe with hopes, wishes, dreams and fears.
The traditional Irish New Year was Samhain, October 31st – modern Hallowe’en. One of the many rituals was to drive the livestock towards a bonfire, forcing them to leap through time/space from the old year into the new. This was thought to secure their health and well-being in the New Year, fire was considered a purifying element. I hope that this transition into 2010 has burned away all the bad, grim elements of 2009 and that we land square on a blank page of possibilities!
I hope that 2010 brings more magic, laughter and happiness into all of our lives, more kindness, dreams, love and wisdom, lots of wonderful books, and the chance to curl up with them!