A bad witch's blog: New Year Resolutions: Looking Back at my 2019 Plans

Tuesday, 31 December 2019

New Year Resolutions: Looking Back at my 2019 Plans

This is the time of year I think about resolutions I made 12 months ago. I enjoy looking back at my blog posts and remembering things I've done as well as considering whether I've achieved what I intended. Instead of making just one resolution each year, I like to write a list of at least 10 things I want to do. The idea is that with a lot of goals there's a good chance of getting at least some of them done. Here's the list of what I hoped to do in 2019 and how well I succeeded:

1. Create a candle labyrinth.
Despite this being on my list for several years running, I didn't find the time or opportunity to do this in 2019. Maybe one year...

2. Completing and passing my MA course in Literary London.
This was the biggy - and I passed with merit. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was hard work, and probably one of the reasons I didn't find time to do the first resolution on my list. The picture above right shows the Painted Ceiling in Greenwich, at the Old Royal Naval College, which also houses Greenwich University, where I studied.

3. Visit some new London places connected with paganism, magic or witchcraft.

I went on a guided walk in search of the Hidden Goddesses of London. Although I was familiar with most of the places on the route, I was introduced to a new sculpture of a revealed riverbed near an ancient holy well associated with Brigid. I also enjoyed sitting by Pamela Colman Smith's Fireplace, a new addition at Treadwell's Bookshop, before running workshops there. In July I visited the new Moon Garden at Charlton House, which was created for the summer's Moon Festival. All of these things were new magical experiences.

4. Visit at least one big pagan event in or near London.
In May I went to Pagan Pride London, in June I attended the Magickal Women Conference, in October I went to the Mind Body Soul Experience and in November I went to the Haunted Landscape, Nameless Arte and Witchfest International. The picture at the top show the Pagan Pride parade through the streets of London.

5. Blog about exhibitions in London that includes items relating to magic or witchcraft.
The British Museum's Assyria exhibition included a display of tablets relating to magic, the Underdog Gallery had pictures inspired by tarot, the Horniman had items relating to folklore and magic in Lore of the Land and I also went to Smoke and Mirrors at the Wellcome Collection

6. Do a psychogeography walk in London and blog about it.

I half achieved this. In July, I went on a psychogeography walk with Caroline Wise, who co-edited The Secret Lore of London. We used the London Lore Tarot as a guide and started at the British Museum by John Dee's mirror, because we felt that represented the first numbered card in the Major Arcana - the Magician - and was a central location. We drew a card there to tell us where to go next - it was Temple. I haven't blogged about this walk until now. Caroline and I had intended it to be the first in a series, and I was going to blog about the whole thing at the end. However, I got busy writing my MA dissertation and then Caroline was busy, so the idea got put to one side. I did later visit the location that represents the Fool in the London Lore Tarot - The Parkland Spriggan - and I blogged about it. One of my goals for 2020 will be to complete the London Lore Tarot psychogeography project.

7. Blog about the Gods and Goddesses of London - at least one post a month.

In January I looked back at my previous posts on Gods and Goddesses of London and also wrote about Brigid. Here's what I covered after that:
February: Eros and Anteros
March: Isis
April: Gods and Goddesses of Southwark
May: Trivia and Cloacina
June: The Gods and Goddesses on the Painted Ceiling in Greenwich
July: Mars Camulos - Guardian of the Thames
August: Diana of Greenwich Park
September: Small Statuettes of Roman Gods and Goddesses in the British Museum and Neptune from the Secret Rivers exhibition
October: Hermaphrodite and Ardhanarishvara
November: Blake's Zoas and the Four-Fold City
December: Britannia and the Temple to Winter

8. Write guided visualisations for every festival in the Wheel of the Year.

Here's the completed list:
An Imbolc Visualisation: Waking up for Spring
Guided Visualisation for the Equinox: The See-Saw
Guided Visualisation for Beltane Eve: The Path to Love
Summer Solstice Visualisation: The Sun Temple
Lammas Guided Visualisation: The Wise Woman's Cottage
Guided Visualisation for Autumn Equinox: The Autumn Garden
Guided Visualisation for Samhain: Visitor from the Past
Guided Visualisation for Winter Solstice Eve: Past, Present and Future

9. At least once a month do a divination with a tarot or oracle deck I've not used for a while.