Many Beginnings: Finding Your Rhythm in the Turning Year
There's been a lot of discourse lately about the "right" time to begin again. Some voices insist the calendar New Year on January 1st is arbitrary and meaningless—that we should only follow natural rhythms and wait for spring's awakening. Others point to the lunar New Year in February, or the astrological New Year at the spring equinox. And honestly? They're all right. And none of them are exclusively right.
You get to follow the rhythms that are personal to you.
The Diversity of Beginnings
Before we can talk about which rhythms work for you, it helps to understand what's actually available. Throughout the year, we have multiple energetic thresholds—moments when collective human consciousness, celestial movements, or natural cycles create opportunities for beginning again.
The Calendar New Year (January 1st) marks a shift in numerological energy—the vibration of the numbers themselves changes, offering new themes and opportunities. When we collectively move from a 9 year to a 1 year (or in 2026's case, to a 10/1 year), there's a genuine energetic shift happening. This matters in systems like numerology where it's the vibration of the year's numbers that offer us insights into what the year will hold.
The Lunar New Year (typically late January or February) follows the cycles of the moon, beginning with the new moon in Aquarius. This celebration honors lunar rhythms and the wisdom of cultures that have followed this calendar for millennia.
The Astrological New Year begins with the spring equinox and Aries season—when the Sun crosses into the first sign of the zodiac. This marks a powerful moment of initiation and fresh fire energy.
Personal New Years arrive with each of our birthdays, marking another revolution around the sun and the beginning of a new solar return.
The Celtic New Year at Samhain (October 31st/November 1st) honors the beginning of the dark half of the year—a recognition that in many traditions, everything begins in darkness. The day itself began at sunset, not sunrise.
And beyond these, we have the turning points of each season—the solstices and equinoxes that mark quarters of the year. Each one offers us a moment to begin again, to cross a threshold, to move from ending into beginning.
The Myth of "One Natural Rhythm"
There's this idea floating around that only spring is the "natural" time to begin, because that's when nature awakens. And while I understand the appeal of this argument, it discounts the stunning diversity of both nature and human experience.
From my window, I can see the wilderness behind my home. Yes, much of nature rests in winter. But I also watch birds and squirrels and deer being incredibly active—thriving, in fact, in the season we're told is dormant. The evergreens and pines stand among the leafless trees as living reminders that life and growth can happen in any season.
To act as if there is only one natural rhythm that awakens in spring discounts:
The diversity of environments around the globe
The fact that in the Southern Hemisphere, the astrological New Year begins with the autumn equinox, not the spring
Equatorial environments where seasons look wildly different than what's experienced farther north or south
The wisdom of cultures that saw beginnings in darkness, not light
The animals, plants, and cycles that remain active through winter
Nature herself offers us multiple rhythms. Why would we think we should limit ourselves to just one?
The Value of Human-Made Systems
Here's where it gets interesting: some arguments suggest we should reject the calendar New Year because it's "man-made" and therefore artificial or meaningless.
But what a sadness it would be to completely discount everything human-made.
We would lose all art—every painting, sculpture, song, and story. We would lose our meaning-making methods like astrology, tarot, numerology, and so many other ways we understand the world. We wouldn't have medicine—herbal or modern—because even in working with herbs to make medicine, we transform them into something new.
The systems we've created to understand time, meaning, and our place in the cosmos aren't less valuable because humans developed them. The meanings we assign to things matter. The rituals we create hold power. The collective energy we pour into shared moments creates real energetic shifts.
The Ancient Roots of Our Calendar
The Julian calendar was established in 45 BCE—that's over 2,000 years of collective human energy following this system. The Gregorian calendar made only minor adjustments in 1582 (correcting for drift by about 11 minutes per year). These are not new systems that were made up yesterday.
When we participate in the calendar New Year, we're joining thousands of years of collective human consciousness marking this moment as significant. That collective attention, that shared intention, that accumulated energy across millennia—it holds meaning and importance.
Just as our relationship to the natural world and its rhythms holds meaning and importance.
Both can be true. Both are true.
Permission to Choose Your Rhythm
So if you want to make intentions and plant seeds at the beginning of the calendar year? Go for it. The numerological shift is real. The collective energy is potent. The symbolism of turning the page on a fresh year matters.
And if you need to wait and do it when spring begins, when the earth is visibly awakening and Aries fire is igniting? That's beautiful too. That's working with different but equally valid rhythms.
Maybe you honor multiple new years—setting different kinds of intentions at different thresholds. Maybe you work with your birthday as your primary beginning. Maybe Samhain speaks to you as the moment when everything begins in darkness.
There is no right or wrong, just different ways of connecting with crossroads moments in our lives.
Every Season Is a Beginning
Here's what I've learned through nearly three decades of magical practice: each season offers us a moment to begin again—a crossroads, a threshold. Every turning point in the wheel of the year is an opportunity to move from an ending into a beginning.
The spring equinox is one such moment. But so is:
The winter solstice, when light begins its return
The summer solstice, when we cross into the waning of the year
The autumn equinox, when we balance before descending into darkness
The new moon of each month
The moment you wake up each morning
We're not limited to one doorway. The year is full of doorways, and you get to choose which ones you walk through with intention and ceremony.
Every Cycle Is a Beginning
Every time the Sun changes signs, that's a beginning. Every new moon marks the start of a lunar cycle. These are all activation points we can tap into for inspiration and intention-setting.
We have 12 zodiac seasons throughout the year. We have 12-13 new moons. That's 24+ opportunities for fresh starts annually, not counting the equinoxes, solstices, cross-quarter days, and personal thresholds like birthdays.
A Note from a Capricorn
Good luck telling a Capricorn (hi, it's me) that they can't set intentions and consider the bigger picture during their season. Bold choice. Will be ignored.
But seriously—the wintering season offers us a beautiful opportunity to imagine and dream and plant seeds that will sprout in spring. The visioning and dreaming is often at its peak when we slow down enough to experience it and listen.
Winter isn't dormancy for everyone. It's productive dreaming time. Strategic planning season. The moment when we can see clearly what we want to build because we're not in the midst of actively building it yet.
Finding What Speaks to You
The question isn't "which New Year is the real one?" The question is "which rhythms speak to you? Which thresholds feel sacred? Which moments make you want to pause, reflect, and set intentions for what comes next?"
Maybe it's all of them. Maybe it's one. Maybe it shifts year to year depending on what you need.
The magic isn't in following the "correct" calendar or the "most natural" rhythm. The magic is in showing up intentionally at the thresholds that matter to you—bringing your awareness, your intention, your energy to the turning points that resonate with your soul.
In Practice
This year, I'm working with multiple beginning points.
The calendar New Year gave me a chance to look at the numerological themes of 2026 (10/1 energy, the Wheel of Fortune) and consider how I want to work with those vibrations.
The Lunar New Year will invite me to honor lunar wisdom and cycles.
The spring equinox will bring its own medicine—the balance point, the awakening, the Aries initiation.
And throughout the year, I'll meet each seasonal turning point as its own beginning, its own threshold, its own opportunity to begin again with whatever I'm carrying at that moment.
None of these diminish the others. They layer, creating a rich tapestry of opportunities to align with both cosmic and earthly rhythms, both ancient and modern wisdom, both collective and personal cycles.
Ultimately, here's what I hope you take from this:
You're not "wrong" if you want to get a jumpstart at the beginning of the calendar year, and you're not "wrong" if you want to jump your start as the earth reawakens in the spring. You're not doing it wrong if you're doing it differently.
You're not less magical if you follow the collective calendar that humanity has been following for over 2,000 years. You're not more enlightened if you only follow what you perceive as "natural" rhythms.
Be wary of anyone who makes you feel less than, or as if there's only one way to follow the rhythms of the world. Be especially wary of those who claim your way is the wrong way.
Nothing here is that black and white. And people who claim to have definitive answers are full of shit.
Here's where we'll find the beauty... and the magic... in the world: when each of us shows up in our way.
The magic is in the diversity. The diversity allows us to carry one another forward.
We need the people who feel active at different times of the year, just like we need the mighty evergreens and the dark-eyed juncos in my little patch of wilderness. We also need the flowers that wait for spring to bloom.
We all have a place here.
What thresholds are speaking to you right now? Which rhythms feel most alive in your practice?
Meet the High Witch
Erin Harker
I'm Erin Harker, a practitioner of ancestral magic and student of Druidry whose path weaves together Irish, Scottish, and German heritage with modern spiritual practice. My journey began in childhood with candlelit spells and family traditions, growing into a devotion to sacred hospitality and community care. Today, I serve as a bridge between worlds—helping others reconnect with their own magic through Magick Makers community, workshops, and spiritual guidance. Whether you're just beginning your journey or returning to a practice long forgotten, you'll find a welcoming space here where ancient wisdom meets modern needs.
Let's brew some tea and explore the magic that's uniquely yours.
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