Vedic Calendar: Ritual to Welcome the New Year in April 2024

Unlike the conventional January 1st, the Vedic calendar ushers in its new year on April 9th. Coinciding with the beginning of Navaratri, the nine nights honouring the goddesses and divine feminine, this period acts as a powerful catalyst for personal growth, self-empowerment and transformation. This auspicious date presents with a more opportune time to set new intentions compared to the traditional January 1st. The Vedic new year also overlaps with the arrival of spring, symbolising renewal and rebirth, consequently amplifying the potency of our resolution setting.

Opportunity to Plant the Seed

As the Earth awakens from its winter slumber, a surge of vitality courses through every living being, ourselves included. Rather than making resolutions while still entrenched in the deep hibernation mode of winter, setting our intentions during this fertile time allows us to harness nature's invigorating force, infusing our goals with a heightened sense of purpose and momentum.

By aligning our intentions with the first day of Navaratri, we invite the goddess's blessings, igniting our inner strength and cultivating an unwavering dedication to see our aspiration blooming into reality.

A Simple Ritual to Embrace the New Yearly Chapter

Begin by finding a quiet, clean and sacred space where you can connect with your innermost self. Light your therapeutic candle to create an atmosphere of serenity and place it in front of you where it can be seen. Wrap yourself in your temple blessed shawl and give yourself an accepting embrace. Anoint yourself with your sacred union spray and take a few deep breaths to center your heart and mind. Once you feel a sense of space and expansion, start envisioning the candle’s flame as your Agni, your internal fire, your digestive light within.

Then, with your Mauli journal in hand, reflect on the following prompts:

What brought me abundance, joy and peace in the past year? What do I want to celebrate and continue to cherish in this new yearly chapter?

Now, visualise the warmth of the flame giving an uplifting hug to each of the words you’ve inscribed, your heart and soul.

What didn’t serve me well this past year? What emotions, experiences, or thought patterns do I wish to process, digest and release for the new year ahead?

Now, picture the warmth of the flame melting away and dissolving the words you’ve written, softening any lingering resistance you may have to letting go.

What aspects of my life do I desire to nurture and cultivate more? What qualities or virtues do I aspire to embody this year?

Now, imagine the words you’ve written detaching from the page and levitating above the candle. With the power of the flame, let these conscious words transform into a bright golden colour, dancing around your aura, enveloping you in a blanket of new energy, and propelling you forward into a fresh beginning.