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A Year of Inner Peace, by Kirsten Riddle

A Year of Inner Peace: Find a Calmer and Happier Way of Being, by Kirsten Riddle
CICO Books, 1800653433, 144 pages, December 2024

I love the concept of Kirsten Riddle’s A Year of Inner Peace: Find a Calmer and Happier Way of Being. It’s more than a list of prompts for each week of the year, separated into seasons to get through the year. It’s suggestions to help one move through the year finding a “calmer and happier way of being.”1 Inner peace is the desired result, not accomplishing a to-do list for each season. There is soft nudging versus prodding to encourage one to go inward, slowly, with self-love.

What does peace mean to you? What would it feel like to live with inner peace? 

Naturally, the book is sectioned into the four seasons with a new weekly prompt each time you turn the page. Some activities can be done in a day, others might span a bit longer. Certain activities might be a one-and-done, while you might want to return to other activities that resonate with you throughout the season. It’s all up to you. There are beautiful mantras to support the work that you are doing. As each season has its own flavor, colors, scents, scenes, activities, and even temperatures, the rituals and activities support the time in which you are doing them. Ultimately, the goal is to support your well-being.

We know all too well about the “best laid plans,” so I particularly appreciated Riddle’s reminder that “a year is a long time, and it’s easy to skip through the seasons without noticing the changes, but this book hopefully provides some food for thought, ideas to nurture peace and love, and practical ways to make positive changes.”2

I received the book just before the Winter Solstice. Rather than wait for the first section, Spring, I dove into the final section, Winter. Being a January baby, Winter is a special season for me. In fact, it’s my favorite season. A fresh start, clean and quiet, a time to inward. A slow down after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. 

Of course, Winter is a time for hibernation and introspection, but Riddle gives the reader suggestions through rituals and activities to go even deeper. I especially loved the visualization of the enchanted veil and the activity to protect garden friends during these colder months.

Riddle recommends awakening gently in the Spring. Of course, we’re encouraged to do a spring cleaning. She also guides us to experience our own world with new eyes, as if we’ve never seen it before – our home, the gym, our daily walk to and from work. Summer prompts us to have a siesta, lend a helping hand, and keep cool. Summer encourages us to dawdle, recharge, and enjoy the sensual abundance that surrounds us. And in Fall, bring the outside in, surrender, and practice gratitude.

You can use the book in a non-linear way, that is, read the current season to get the general flavor and then try the things that you’re attracted to or move through it chronologically. However you approach the writings, you’ll be able to find some peace on every page. As Riddle writes, “Be kind to yourself and do not rush.”3

While the activities, rituals, and prompts might seem simple on the surface, they are multi-dimensional, depending on how deep one wants to go. All, though, are change agents. The accompanying visuals are done in soft pastel colors supporting the various seasons with the intention of supporting you on this journey. The book concludes with Riddle’s writing on a “Passage to Peace” and ends with a mantra for the year, “I am in control of my future; I manifest a life of love and peace.”4

This book is perfect for those interested in slow-living and cultivating a lifestyle that’s attuned to nature’s cycles. The beauty of this book makes it a wonderful item to keep on a coffee table or night stand. I recommend A Year of Inner Peace without reservation and encourage you to move through this book to experience inner peace every day of the year.

Ancestral Magic, by Kirsten Riddle

Ancestral Magic: Empower the here and now with enchanting guidance from your past family history, by Kirsten Riddle
CICO Books, 9781800652613, 144 pages, September 2023

Discovering more about one’s family origins has become increasingly popular as new methods are developed to trace lineage through DNA. Perhaps you’ve done a swab to submit to sites like Ancestry and 23andMe, maybe even met some new relatives! As interesting as the physical aspect of our connection to our ancestors can be, there’s so much that can be explored through the spiritual dimension too. Ancestral Magic: Empower the here and now with enchanting guidance from your past family history by Kirsten Riddle is a perfect place to start your journey of connecting more with the potent magic of your ancestral lineage.

Riddle is a best-selling author of spiritual titles including The Beginner’s Guide to Wicca, Be Your Own Goddess, and Discovering Signs and Symbols. Her intention in writing this book was to provide a starting point for those hoping to learn more about their familiar power through the lens of magic, which is definitely her writing speciality! Ancestral Magic is filled with tons rituals, techniques, and guidance to aid readers in connecting with their ancestors, a process which Riddle notes is “personal and different for everyone”5, in a way that feels resonate for them and their path.

Ancestral Magic is composed of six chapters that I felt like intuitively built upon each other, moving from exploration of the ancestral impact on the reader personally to the reader’s connection with the ancestors to the family as a whole. I found this approach was very grounding because the initial chapters centered me within myself before branching out to explore more of the larger family dynamics, stories, and karma in play.

The style of each chapter is similar with descriptions of magical techniques, “Try This!” rituals and exercises, and pages for journaling your results at the end. There are also meditations included for each chapter. Riddle does a great job of balancing hands-on methods of connecting with ancestors (creating altars, gathering photos, writing out family memoirs) with psychic work (dream intervention, cutting karmic ties, scrying with mirrors). There’s also guidance on how to cultivate one’s ancestral gifts, build self-esteem, switch the narrative around, and other spiritual practices to enhance your own perception of yourself and your family.

One thing I will say is that ancestral magic takes devotion and dedication! To really unpack your ancestral karma, reveal limiting beliefs you’re carrying, or deeply explore your family’s stories takes time. There’s a spirit of reverence that seems to come naturally when doing this spiritual work, which invites you to slow down your pace. Plus, family stuff is very personal, and it can bring up a lot of emotions, which it is important to integrate at your own speed.

Riddle provides enough exercises that I have no doubt one could easily spend months, if not a full year, mindfully exploring their ancestral lineage. Certain sections might take longer to work through than others too. For instance, it took me about a week to set my intention for my ancestral magic, do the meditations, reflect on the questions posed by Riddle, and actually do the “Try This!” exercises in the first chapter, which is focused mostly on the reader themselves. Even when it’s made approachable, fun, and creative as Riddle has done, ancestral magic requires actually doing the work to reap the rewards.

But for those who move through Ancestral Magic, discovering their own inner gifts, discovering and maybe even rewriting their family narrative, doing the shadow work of ancestral karma, and opening to embrace the support of their ancestors, there is so much potential for a positive future! This is magic that offers a lifetime of insight and divine assistance.

Everything culminates perfectly in the final chapter, which was probably my favorite part of the book! This section offers ancestral spells for joy, love, abundance, support, and good fortune and an exercise to find one’s family’s totem, which could be a “a place, an object, or even an animal”6 often featured in the family folklore. Riddle also offers protection techniques, intended to help readers feel watched over and guided by their ancestor at all times, and advice on how to create family mantras and affirmations. I’m planning to reflect more on my family narrative (all the stories we’ve passed down through generations) to discover our totem and write mantras and affirmations that I can share with my family as a holiday present.

Overall, Riddle teaches us that ancestral magic is a fascinating and powerful practice. By tapping into the wisdom and guidance of our ancestors, we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. Whether you are just beginning to explore your family history or have been practicing ancestral magic for years, there is much to discover and learn. Ancestral Magic is your guide to unlocking the secrets of your family’s past and use that knowledge to empower your present and future.