The Alchemy of Midnight
What is in the tradition of New Year’s resolutions?
I asked myself what the opposing energy of resolution was and came to dissolution. This brought me to think of the alchemical process of Solve et Coagula.
Solve et Coagula is the alchemy of dissolve and coagulation, or the break down of something to its basic and pure elements prior to it coming back together as something new. The death before the rebirth. A division before unification. A purification and reconfiguring.
I’m interested in ways we might honor the process of dissolve here. Especially in a culture of materialism and in this time of year, prior to the new beginnings of springtime and when the pressure to form something new, to be resolved, is high.
Dissolve is a crucial part of reconfiguring, re-forming, coming back together. The importance of this can be found both on a global level and personal level.
We have to let old systems crumble and fall apart before we can rebuild, just as we have to let our egos die, and our old stories fall away before knowing our divinity and creative spark - before reinventing ourselves through resolutions or otherwise.
You’ve probably had your fair share of newsletters and social media inviting you to reinvent yourself, make your New Year’s resolutions, and think about January 1st as a fresh start.
I’m here to say that if you’re still in hibernation mode, honor that. If you need more time to rest, dissolve, be in the stillness, don’t give into the pressures of productivity and conforming to what’s expected of you in this time.
In the northern hemisphere, we’re still climbing our way out of the dark days of winter. It hardly feels like Nature’s time for new beginnings. But, human-made rituals are interesting like that. Most of the world turns toward the Gregorian calendar on December 31st to indicate the New Year ahead. There is power in that. When enough people focus on shared customs and world views, the psyche of society shift and the Gods of our imaginings come more to life and hold more power.
So, in that sense, New Year’s tradition is both some made up bs and also totally powerful as a collective ritual. It’s one of the only globally celebrated holidays and it honors time alone as the Great Changer. We celebrate the stroke of midnight, the betwixt and between time and recognize this as a place of potential. It’s a worldwide celebration of the power of liminality.
In line with traditions that date back thousands of years (be it these traditions were anchored to springtime rather than on December 31st), there is something to making resolutions as part of the turning of one year to the next. But, if you’re joining in with the collective here, I invite you to look at these resolutions as having more dream-like qualities rather than seeing them as fully formed or goal oriented. Perhaps see them more like seeds sleeping under the soil, rather than something about to bloom or ready to harvest.
image: Rebecca Rebouché
If it feels aligned with your rhythms, I’m inviting you to give yourself the gift of time and to remain dissolved in the depths of winter just a bit longer. Find here the nourishment you need before blooming with spring time. Find inspiration in your deep Dreamtime, allow yourself to be rather than do, find beauty in the unknown, soften into this liminal place. And, above all, honor your personal rhythms of Solve et Coagula wherever you might be within that cycle of ever un- and re-becoming.
Thanks for reading.
Love,
Nico