New Years Practice: Cast a Spell with adrienne maree brown

Published December 27, 2018

Welcome to a very special New Years’ practice with adrienne maree brown, where she'll guide you through writing and casting a spell for yourself and your community to help transition us from 2018 to 2019. You'll need 30-90 minutes, a clear space, something to write on, and something to write with.

** If it helps you to have the prompts adrienne uses visually, scroll down for a list of the key questions for this practice. **

THE REMIX

This practice was originally posted last year, so some of you have already done this with us! If you have your spell from last year, we give instructions in the first 10 minutes about how to release and transform it so you are ready to create a new one. (Thank you to Mya Spalter, author of Enchantments, for her recommendations.) If you want to skip right now to where the 2018-19 instructions begin, jump to about 17 minutes in.

Check out our COLLECTIVE SPELL FOR 2018 that our community wrote together at this time last year! Follow along to see words and images from our community (it's so awesome).

SHARE YOUR SPELL!

We'd love to hear from you about the spell you've written to transition into the new year. Share a selfie, the full text, one line, or your reflections on what it was like to do this practice on social media with us - let's see what our community is conjuring for 2019! Find us on Instagram @irresistible_movements, like Irresistible Movements on Facebook, and tweet at us @heyirresistible on Twitter.

Note: This episode was published under Irresistible’s previous name, Healing Justice Podcast.

About our guest

adrienne maree brown is the author of Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds and the co-editor of Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements. She is a writer, social justice facilitator, healer/doula, and pleasure activist living in Detroit, and co-host of the podcast How to Survive the End of the World.

Reference notes for the practice

You'll need

  • 30 minutes, pen/pencil, journal or paper, a clear workspace, and a tarot deck if you already have one and like to use it (optional).

2018 Free Write Prompts

  • Were there things this year that felt too heavy for me to carry?

  • Were there things in this year that I learned about myself, about movements for justice, about how I want to be? Lessons that I want to carry forward?

Reflecting on the Present

  • How do I feel like I am in my power and in my dignity in this present moment?

  • Where do I feel like I want to grow my power or dignity at this moment?

Looking Forward to 2019

  • What does liberation mean to me?

  • What can I practice in this next year to increase my liberation and the liberation of my people?

Writing Your Spell

  • 1st stanza: What you’re letting go of and what lessons you’re carrying forward

  • 2nd stanza: The power you’re standing in and what you want to lean into more

  • 3rd stanza: With your eyes on liberation, what are you going to practice?

Resources

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PracticeKate Werning