Fancy a new 'Journal the Year' project?

Dates, plans and new notebooks at the ready...

Hey,

I have had an idea I am really excited about! I’ll give you a little background.

The journaling I do most often (pretty much daily) is free-writing. It might be described as ‘morning pages’ but I suppose my own version. I am fastidious about it. Deeply passionate about the benefits. I do other journaling too, but less consistently. And although I love it (I REALLY could bore you with this), it has meant my journaling has become very daily. Very in the moment. Gorgeously present and insightful and very effective as such.

You see I have tried (and I think succeeded) in recent years to shift my focus. Where once I swayed towards productivity and strict planning with my journal - goals and actions written out neatly and ticked off with gusto. I now move more fluidly - creative scribbling, poetry, being open to the unexpected, being led by my intuition and valuing the journey higher than the end result. It has worked for me. It feels good. This is what I love about journaling too, it can evolve and adapt to what it is you need and want at any time.

But right now, perhaps because it is January, perhaps because I have been feeling a touch of stagnation with my Journaling Wild Substack for a while (if I’m totally honest) I need something a bit different. I’d like to learn something. I’d like to try something new. A little more creative. And I’d like a bit more structure. I’d like a bit of a plan to check in with myself and reconnect - not because I want to be constantly striving to be ‘better’ or change myself but rather because I don’t want life to pass me by and I want to pay more love and attention to the person I am now.

For a good while now I’ve also wanted to become better acquainted with the Wheel of the Year, the Celtic calendar. I have dabbled, dipped in and out, enjoyed learning from experts and following their guidance and then forgot all about it. At the same time I’ve felt an overwhelming need to connect better with nature and the environment. This has been brewing for years; beginning with cold water dips in 2022 (‘magical’ experiences) and continuing with spurts of nature journaling (resulting in a Nature Journaling Guide), regular longer walks and a slight obsession with house plants that has led to my kids questioning my priorities. I’ve got a stack of books about witches, love a bit of moon chat and don’t even get me started on trees, ha.

So here is my idea….

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Journal The Year (of the wheel)

A twelve month journaling project that for 2025 uses the Wheel of the Year as our theme.

A year with plotted ahead pause points - these will serve as check ins with our creativity and where we are living our truest lives, moments to reflect and review.

And along the way can we create ourselves the most divine journal - a thing to be treasured not because it is perfectly neat or even full, but because it contains pieces of ourselves, the things that have sparked something in us, that have made us wonder, the times where the light got through.

In my head this becomes a sort of part commonplace book (if you’ve not heard of one, this is a notebook where you log down quotes and beautiful passages and sentences you’ve overheard), part intentions and dreams guide / tracker, part scrapbook. It’s not necessarily about recording what’s happened in our year but rather recording the bits around the edges. In the words of Joan Didion, “How it felt to me: that is getting closer to the truth about a notebook.”

You don’t need to be a writer to take part, you don’t need to have done any journaling before, in fact this would be a lovely opportunity to start journaling if you don’t already. I know many in our community are looking to reignite their passion for writing shit down.

Just, erm, one of the journals I have currently sat on my desk!

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What does this actually look like?

Eight virtual writing sessions, that will be recorded if you can’t make them live.

Historically we’ve held these on evenings but evenings are tricky for many of us for different reasons. They tend to feel a bit rushed and tired. They don’t work well for anyone outside the UK. They don’t always end up being quality, dedicated time for ourselves. Which I think we need, deserve and is where we find the biggest benefit. So this is what that looks like:

A suggested schedule (based on the Wiccan Sabbat dates):

• Imbolc - Sunday February 2nd - Mini Virtual Retreat - 2-4pm

• Spring Equinox - Thursday March 20th - Journaling Session, 8-9pm

• Beltane - Sunday May 4th - Mini Virtual Retreat 2-4pm

• Summer Solstice - Sunday June 22nd - Journaling Scribble Session, 7.30am

• Lammas - Sunday August 3rd - Mini Virtual Retreat - 2-4pm

• Mabon - Monday Sept 22nd - Journaling Session, 8-9pm

• Samhain - Sunday Nov 2nd - Mini Virtual Retreat - 2-4pm (Xmas Planning)

• Winter solstice - Sunday Dec 21st, Journaling Scribble Session, 7.30am

  I will re-confirm (and remind you) of these dates as the year goes on. The August date in particular is a tbc for now due to holidays. I have based them on or as close as possible to the actual Sabbat dates.

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What else?

In between our writing sessions I’ll send out ideas and nudges to keep writing via email / the Substack app:

• Poetry

• Journaling Prompts

• Stories / Inspiration

• Field Studies

The latter will be mini ‘assignments’ to collect field notes, almost like a scientist where the subject you’re studying is 'your own life.’ These can be interpreted however you like with creative freedom massively encouraged. They are completely optional but I wonder if you might just be tempted to give one or two a go…

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Other things to note:

• I don’t know if any of you already follow the Year of the Wheel? Maybe you do, if so perhaps you could help us all do it too? Because I am no expert on any of this, it would be a group project!

• This means we have a plan of when we’ll focus in on our journals and write together. So even if you don’t do ANY journaling between times, you know you have a lovely check in point when you can pause and re-group and re-ground and re-reflect. Yeah the last ‘re’ didn’t work but I couldn’t stop. Lush though?!

• You’ll see the words, ‘Mini Retreat’ - that’s right. That’s how I am seeing these. Four virtual mini-writing retreats. I am planning to get mine on the calendar as if I am leaving the house (I might leave the house). We will write, chat, read, use colouring pens, drink tea. There will be prompts and guidance based on whereabouts we are in the year. But they will also be a chance just to breathe!

• The way I see it, this format and these touch points will invite us to go deeper, get closer to our environment and the seasons, tap into our own innate wisdom and keep us connected to our year.

  But of course we still have the Gregorian calendar and our day-to-day lives to live. We still have tangible goals and ambitions. So we’ll be treating the wheel purely as a guide and adapting it where necessary (hence why we’ll include Christmas planning in November, for example). And as with ALL the journaling we do on here (I know I say this all the time) I’d always encourage adaptation. We are all unique. You want to come along to the mini-retreats and focus on a specific writing project - YES! You do that. Want to turn up and do some mindful colouring with your camera off and a brew, all for that.

• This 100% calls for a specific beautiful journal? Surely? Of course you don’t need one, it isn’t necessary. You possibly already have one for 2025 ready and can use that. It definitely doesn’t ‘require’ a separate journal. But I’m just saying, if you need one, you need one (wink wink). I am planning to keep my daily journal (which includes jobs lists and all sorts) separate and have a journal dedicated to this project. I think that will produce something lovely to look back on.

• We can all share nudges and ideas to add to our journals along the way. No pressure, just gentle reminders and ideas. Every single one of our journals will end up different at the end because they will be what we need them to be, how cool is that.

• I’ll need to order a few books to support our learning (of course I will, haha), so maybe we could read them together? I’ll write a separate post on this, in the interests of length.

• Of course, I’ll still write posts in-between times about other types of journaling, the morning writing I do (not giving up on that idea), I’ve got a few drafts half-written about journaling with kids, in fact I have a lot I’d like to explore about journaling with kids….

• As a paid subscriber you’d be also very much supporting me as a writer full stop, which I am SO grateful for. This Substack is a sort of half passion project (income wise it makes no sense…yet) so I am only able to keep spending this time on it with your support. I have LOTS of opinion pieces I am ready to write (the current climate for women has me reaching for my pen) and share in the coming months. Some of these I will still submit elsewhere but most of them will live here. Hopefully you’ll enjoy those too. Thank you.

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Ok my friends. That’s my update. What do you think? Exciting eh?

To join in you’ll need to be a paid subscriber, I’ve put the button below:

If it’s not for you, fear not, you won’t be bombarded with emails. I’ve kept all of this for paid subscribers so that I can keep writing everything else free and accessible. If finances are a problem, DM me and I can sort that out.

Hope you can make our first live session of the year? Imbolc is the time when the first signs of change begin to show. Those glimmers of light, even though the trees and the ground are still very much in Winter. Things are just starting to wake up. It will therefore form the ‘launch’ date for all this. We’ll be starting off by considering our own growth for the year ahead :)

And if you happen to be thinking, “FEBRUARY? I need to get going before then” - fear not. I have another post I am just tweaking that is full of stuff you can be writing and thinking about in the meantime. I am knee deep in creative musings and end-of-year reflections (using our guide) right now. I am having to be patient (not a strength). Tbf it is a nice place to be. Joining instructions for that first session will also follow.

Any ideas, feedback, thoughts welcome as ever. Nothing is set in stone.

Cannot wait for another year of journaling. Cannot wait for a flux of new members into our community (if it’s not for you but you know someone who might like to join us I’d be grateful for you forwarding this on). Cannot wait to see where we end up.

And if this isn’t for you, normal newsletter will resume over the coming weeks.

Nelly x