50 reflections from 2020

Twenty-twenty is a year I will not forget. It has been nothing like I anticipated when I pondered on the energy of the forthcoming year on New Year’s eve in 2019. For all of its challenges, 2020 has been full of blessings.

Here are my highlights from 2020, in no particular order.

1. Spending the day at Camden Market, London with my elder son in January. We had beer, burgers (vegan for me), and sore feet from walking so far! We also got to see the Chinese New Year celebrations in China Town.
2. Moving to Wales from the south coast of England with only hours to spare before the first national lockdown began.
3. Instead of birthday cake, eating doughnuts in a little vegan doughnut shop in Brighton.
4. Playing the 2p slot machines on Brighton Pier with Mr T and Tabby on my birthday.
5. Spending a late winter afternoon in the New Forest with a family and a dear friend.
6. Getting a new-to-me DSLR camera. Had great fun in lockdown learning about the camera.
7. Buying a juicer in August. I’ve had a ‘joy juice’ – ginger, lemon & apple – every day since.
8. Having no furniture, apart from a bed, for four months. Made me so grateful for everything I do have as I realise that this is some people’s long-term situation.
9. Doing a juice detox for 12 days. I had planned another 30 days but I didn’t make it that long. Still, 12 days is pretty good.
10. Visiting Angel Cove and taking photos of seals and a little seal pup (I initially thought it was a big rock – so gorgeously plump!).
11. Seeing seals along our local beach during the summer months.
12. Speaking at the summer and autumn online Magickal Women Conference events.
13. Taking the number 13 bus to Llandudno. Takes an hour and a half but you go past three castles, quaint towns, countryside and views of the sea.
14. Having my hair cut, albeit only once.
15. Creating my own tarot deck – Wisdom of the Depths – although it’s still a work in progress.
16. Making a batch of the best vegan chocolate brownies ever.
17. Writing letters.
18. Moving the 13 Moons women’s circle online when the pandemic hit and continuing to run the Sacred Earth programme online too.
19. Speaking on the History of Witchcraft both at an in-person event (at the beginning of the year) and via Zoom.
20. Visiting the Welsh Mountain Zoo on Tabby’s 13th birthday (our first day out of the firebreak lockdown) and we even got to picnic outside in the autumn sun.
21. Playing crazy golf and winning.
22. Spending time as a family playing cards and board games (usually not winning).
23. Doing our first beach clean in Wales with about 50 other volunteers.
24. Starting a Facebook group – The Priestess Parlour.
25. Watching the final season of Schitt’s Creek – one of my favourite TV shows ever.
26. Falling in love with Ted Lasso and being surprised that I’d ever enjoy a TV show centred around football.
27. Going to Anglesey.
28. Donating to the British Divers Marine LIfe Rescue.
29. Zoom calls with friends.
30. Creating a therapy card deck – Subrosa Soul Therapy Cards – to reach the underlying energetic issues of symptoms.
31. Conducting the Second Great Chakra Experiment during lockdown.
32. Exploring the castle ruins at Flint and then walking by the River Dee Estuary.
33. Tearing the ligament in my right foot and healing from it (it took months).
34. Seeing a sheep with a crow on its head. Only in Wales, eh?
35. Being able to walk by a gorgeous, sandy beach whenever I like.
36. Visiting the remains of Roman baths and leaving offerings at Halloween for the unknown ancestors. it’s about a 30-minute walk away.
37. Spending a day in the countryside visiting a beautiful waterfall.
38. Taking the Heritage Walk at Rhos-on-Sea with Paul and Tabby. One of my favourite days of the year.
39. Being able to recycle nearly all of our household waste. The council’s recycling collection is so much better than where we lived in England.
40. Pre-ordering the Supernatural Tarot.
41. Having a picnic on the beach on a summer’s evening.
42. Co-hosting an open, online winter solstice ritual with Allison Marlowe. Make sure you sign up to my newsletter because there will be more in 2021.
43. Reading less books than in 2019 (I read about 150 that year) because I actually slept far, far better and wasn’t up all night reading.
44. Investing in a new-to-me Samsung tablet – I love it. I use it alongside my laptop to create my tarot cards.
45. Opening the Soulscape Studio.
46. The vegan food section in our local Tesco.
47. Vising The Gop – the largest manmade hill in the UK after Silbury Hill. I didn’t climb it because of my foot but I got some great photos.
48. Walking across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
49. Returning to Lake Bala to leave an offering to the goddess Cerridwen. It was here where I first received the idea of moving to Wales.
50. Going into the Goddess Temple of Bala and buying a small print of Cerridwen, painted by a local artist. She is now at home over my fireplace.