Year of the Witch

Dear fellow Witches, and other creatures of the night!

Every new year; and my new year does begin in October; I choose a theme!

Last year’s theme of “Maven”, reminded me to go deeper into my areas of expertise, to acquire and apply my knowledge. This year, my theme is Witch. I did intend to post this last November, but have been quite waylaid by a series of health circumstances you can read about elsewhere!

(To learn more about Year Themes, here is a short youtube video by CGP Grey, explaining the concept as an alternative to New Year’s Resolutions.)

My Year of the Witch: October 2024 — October 2025

The word “Witch” encompasses my present foci:

  • My health and recovery after a variety of health setbacks in the last year

    • appendicitis, spontaneous CSF Leak that left me bed-ridden for four months, an ectopic pregnancy requiring surgery, alongside my continuing knee recovery!

  • The psychology, politics, and philosophy of the societal structure we find ourselves in, particularly in the US, but world wide as well!

    • Independence, freedom, escape from and resistance to tyranny.

  • Arts and Crafts!

  • A certain retreat from society into the self

    • A time for shadow work, and deeper understanding.

In the mornings, I am making time for some journaling rites; a lit candle, meditation, and time to reflect and forecast. My body and mind are still reeling from health trauma, and I am trying to find outlets and equilibrium where I can.

In the evenings, I am making my way through a sea of half-read books, my deepest pleasure. I have released my hold on “thou shalt only borrow books from the library”, and have been the guilty purchaser of a vintage collection of books I’ve either not been able to find in the library, or new books I wanted to purchase directly in support of a live author— the result, astonishingly, is that without a library deadline, I find myself in the middle of so many books! I am tickled pink by it; a book for every chair and bed in my house, a book for my bag, for the car, for every circumstance! Joy! Yet also… I seem to acquire more than I finish. An enviable problem, indeed, one I find no need to solve.

As for witchcraft; I have yet to be so open about this online, but plans are in the works. If you are a fellow witch, do drop me a little message below or in the contact form!

In attempt for brevity and allowing myself to post to my blog more casually, here is where I will bid you adieu. Adieu!

(cackling with my books)
Aimee ♥︎

ps— …want a book list??

My theme accompanies a hopeful booklist for the year, noted below! I would love to hear about your intended book conquests for the year, if you have any current reads, in the comments!

  • Philosophy and Politics

    • Our Malady, by Timothy Synder (done!)

    • On Tyranny, by Timothy Synder (done!)

    • On Freedom, by Timothy Synder

  • Psychology:

    • The Master and His Emissary, by Ian McGilchrist

    • The Matter with Things, Ian McGilchrist

    • Slow Productivity, by Cal Newport

  • Memoir/Nonfiction:

    • Strong Female Character, by Fern Brady (done!)

      • INCREDIBLE. Will be on my 2025 recommendations; a memoir deep dive into autistic living by one of my favorite comedians, written hilariously and so satisfying!

    • Half-Arsed Human, by Leena Norms

  • Folklore

    • Becoming Baba Yaga, by Kris Spisak

    • Mill Dust And Dreaming Bread; by Scott Richardson-Read

    • Year of the Dark Goddess, by Lara Vesta (done! ish!)

    • The Spindle Hearth, by Kate Dooley

    • The Almanac, a seasonal guide to 2025, by Lia Leendertz

      • I’m reading this one month by month; a delight! Also very UK focused, which will become relevant later this year hopefully. This is me foreshadowing.

  • Arts and Crafts

    • Contact: Art and the Pull of the Print, by Jennifer Roberts

    • Line and Form, by Walter Crane

      • I have now been reading this book for YEARS. It is such an incredible manual for learning to draw, every page is an epiphany and it is taking me forever.

    • The Print in the Western World, by Linda Hultz

      • I am not confident I can finish this year.

  • Random:

    • Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

      • It must be a classic for a reason, no?

    • And… I am guilty of being in the middle of a half dozen other books;

      • Disjointed, by Diana Jovin, a compendium on EDS

      • Steering the Craft, by Ursula K LeGuin

      • The Tower of the Swallow, Witcher # 8 by Andrzej Sapkowski

      • Reader Come Home, by Maryanne Wolf

      • The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady

      • Visual Thinking, by Temple Grandin

      • The Peregrine

      • On Writing and World Building

      • Willard Gibbs, by Muriel Rukeyser

      • …and I think there are more that I have started and not yet finished, what a glorious life I live! ⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

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