Year One
Year One.
Things happen in cycles.
I was listening to a podcast recently (@goop @kaitlynkaerhart), and I learned that 2026 is the first year of a nine-year cycle—it is the year of the one.
Apparently, 2025 was the year of the nine.
The year of the nine signifies major endings, completion, and the release of the past. Getting rid of what does not serve you.
The nine is a year of spiritual growth that may have been extremely difficult—but formative. It is about endings and closure, providing the anchor for new beginnings, spiritual awakenings, and a fresh start.
Whoa.
Last year was hard in a lot of ways, but I did not realize that the universe was driving. No wonder.
But at least we are here—we survived. Everyone should check themselves, their emotions, and their loved ones, and make sure they are all intact. I feel very okay saying au revoir to 2025 and bienvenido to 2026. Anyone else?
Aaah. The year of the one.
It is the first year of a nine-year cycle.
The messaging of year one is to create a more satisfying existence by recognizing and developing new potential.
One is the number of self. You will gain self-awareness this year, focus on individuality, and make changes that must come from within. We should also be aware that we are setting ourselves up for the next nine years. Be cautious about who you invite on your next nine-year journey. Be careful with what you want your next nine years to look like.
Be intentional.
Be mindful.
Be thorough.
On another—eerily related—note, during my tarot card reading this morning, I pulled the Hierophant reversed. The meaning of this card in the reversed position is unorthodoxy: rejecting tradition, having unique and different ideas, not going with the crowd, leaning into your own beliefs, and not doing what others have done before you. Hmmm. That also feels like big year-one energy.
I also believe that when the world feels a bit unsafe—when the stanchions of civility and normalcy that we have always known feel off-kilter, or potentially even eroded—the idea that there is a higher power of some kind is incredibly comforting.
Allowing ourselves the belief that, at times, the universe is driving makes the burden a bit less heavy.
Arthur Brooks, arguably the expert on happiness, considers faith and spirituality among the “big four” factors that significantly improve subjective well-being. So while it can be tempting to be a cynic or an atheist (I am related to many), I feel comforted in my faith.
I feel held and supported by my witchery, spirituality, my religion (which I observe mostly through ritual and tradition), and my belief that what is hard for us to get through often shapes us into the version of ourselves we feel most proud of and most authentic in.
So—this is the best part: It is year one for all of us.
It is not just me and my tarot reading. We all had a cataclysmic year last year. For all of us, it was filled with endings, reckonings, and deep work that was both good and bad.
And now, we are leaving the congested highway of year nine—filled with traffic and construction. We have reached exit one, and it is a sunny two-lane road.
I’m envisioning the Pacific Coast Highway (Route 66), or coincidentally, Route 1. Choose your coast.
I have an exercise for all of us to do. I am not always great at manifestation lists, but I think this year merits one—because it is the first of a nine-year cycle.
What we manifest now is sticking with us for the next nine years. So humor me. I know I have men who read this blog—the Greeks, I see you—you will read and nod, but not actually do the exercise I am recommending. But come on. The next nine years start now.
And my sisters—we are inherent manifesters. Break out your journals or the Notes app on your phone and write your list.
I’ll throw a few of mine out there:
My book will get into this world (stay tuned on this… new developments incoming ).
I will listen to my gut.
I will not move quickly. I will move slowly and deliberately—particularly with other humans in my life.
I will guard my space and peace with ferocity. I will not judge myself if I want to do my own thing, stay in, or go to sleep early.
I will double down on self-care, because it is what I preach and what I know makes me feel good.
I will outsource things that do not need to be my burden. I am disavowing myself from the part of me that can be a martyr. I don’t really like martyrs—and I’m not thrilled with that part of me.
So those are my initial six. I am going up to twenty. I have an actual journal that I am going to write them down in. I am worth this effort up front so I can build a life that I do not need a vacation from.
Share your favorite goal for the next nine years in the comments. What are we all manifesting?
Bring it, Year One.
Xxx,
Dr. D
Get to KnowDr. Danielle Shelov
Dr. Shelov's therapeutic approach emphasizes understanding individuals within the context of their families, childhood experiences, relationships, and larger systems as crucial to psychological treatment.
You Might Also Like
