It is the shortest, darkest day of the year. I have been drawing a tarot card every day and reading its entry from Jessica Dore’s Tarot for Change, and both Monday and today I drew The Moon.

Darkness, uncertainty, confusion, yes — but also intuition, the subconscious, and dream states. “To be in a state of not knowing,” Dore writes, “creates openings, illuminates new pathways, and is thus ripe with potential, even as what we can’t grasp yet may scare us.”

Between the winter solstice and the beginning of January, I like to think about goals for the new year, both for my self and for my writing. Last year my writing goals were simple, because simple goals were all I could commit to. Now I am feeling more capable. I am ready to dream bigger, while also acknowledging I have no idea now what is coming — the good, the bad, the painful, the joyful.

If you make art, do you set goals for your art-making around this time of year? How do you mark the darkest day? Wishing you a peaceful solstice, whatever the day means to you.

p.s. I have been experimenting with reels! I find this medium both challenging and creatively satisfying. I am not good at them yet, but I hope to get better, and to use them to share books I love and hopefully help those books find their readers. Anyway, here’s one I made recently that might come in handy if you need a last-minute holiday gift. 😘

Shayne Terry (@shaynester) • Instagram reel