The Recommendation Room

So, what does that even mean?

Today marks the darkest day of the year, a pause point, a threshold. While it’s easy to focus on the darkness, I’ve always felt the Winter Solstice is really about finding the light. It’s a powerful moment to slow down, reflect, and set intentions as we prepare to step into a new year.

This season invites us inward. It asks us to listen more closely, to take stock of what has been, and to gently plant seeds for what’s next. Just as the light begins its gradual return after today, we too can begin envisioning what we want to grow.

One ritual I’ve especially loved is the 13 Wishes practice. You write 13 wishes or intentions on small pieces of paper and place them in a cup, jar, or special container. Starting tomorrow, you choose one wish each day and burn it, symbolically releasing it to the universe. On the 13th day, the final wish is different. That one is for you. It represents personal responsibility, ownership, and the reminder that you play an active role in bringing your intention to life.

When I write my wishes, I’m intentional about the language I use. Instead of saying “I wish for,” I write as if it has already happened.

I am. This is. I have.

Speaking in the present grounds the intention and makes it feel embodied rather than distant.

The Winter Solstice is also a time I associate with clearing and organizing, not just energetically, but physically. Today I spent time cleaning out the spaces we often avoid, the closets, the tucked-away corners, the places where things from summer and fall tend to pile up. Bringing order to those areas feels like setting the tone for a calm, focused, and productive winter season.

Tomorrow, I’ll be finalizing my vision board and getting my routines in place for 2026, slowly, intentionally, without rushing the process.

I’m curious where everyone else is at right now.

What are you bringing into this next season?

What intentions or goals are beginning to take shape for 2026?

Do you have any rituals you’re using to honor the Winter Solstice?

However you choose to mark today, may it feel grounding, reflective, and quietly hopeful.