The start of the Gregorian year, for many, signifies the shedding of one’s old self in preparation for one’s new self by way of resolution.

Personally, I am apprehensive about setting intentions this time of year. Walk with me...

My initiation towards being a traditional healer piqued my quest for discovery within the subject of indigenous knowledges. It was then that I learnt that the start of the African new year is in September, guided by the spring equinox, which is the start of spring.

That is when day and night are equal while celebrating the birth of the sun, restoration and the continuing cycle of life. According to the Bubblegum Club (an online publication) the African new year will fall on September 23. I will remind you. 

I do still believe, however, that the start of the Gregorian year remains significant because it often marks the beginning of the corporate and academic year – in the southern hemisphere at least and our context to be specific.

Usually, this is when people begin to set intentions about what kind of employee, student, entrepreneur and or partner they want to be in the forthcoming year. After that logic, I would encourage people to set intention because these are somewhat “new beginnings”.

However, often there is a mercury retrograde taking place at the end, and towards the beginning, of the Gregorian year. Last year’s mercury retrograde started in December 2023 and ended on January 1 2024. However, I still believe that the retrograde energy is still looming and will last for a couple of weeks.   

At this point you are probably wondering: what on earth is mercury retrograde? Why is it significant? How does it affect the likelihood of the fulfilment of resolutions and intentions? Though I have explained this a year ago, I am happy to take you through it again.

The retrograde is somewhat of an optical illusion where the planets appear to be moving in reverse. In the realm of spirituality, the retrograde is deemed a time of fatigue; brain fog; technological challenges like lost emails; anxiety; headaches or migraines; relational fallouts and miscommunications on all personal and work fronts. In friendships and relationships, this is usually a time where we experience betrayal, loss of intimacy and possible back-stabbing.

I experienced the retrograde through the shutting down of my devices. This past retrograde, my phone kept overheating and turning off. I hardly attributed it to anything other than it being old. It wasn’t until I spoke to my friend Asande and she jokingly said: “Chom, mercury is in microbrands.” My phone did that just for a couple of days and is now healthy again with no intervention. I digress.

Mercury retrograde is the worst time to start a new project, partnership or even romantic relationship. This is usually because it is the time to let go of the things that no longer serve us while also reflecting on our own behaviour for the purpose of taking accountability. It happens a few times a year, nearly every quarter.

When all things are considered, the Gregorian and African new year share commonalities in that there is often retrograde energy looming. So, we must ask ourselves: is the New Year Gregorian or African the best time to set intentions or make resolutions?

Should we use the retrograde as a marker for us to do cleansings and realign ourselves with our goals and purpose? My advice would be to make sure you back up all your files on your computer, try to talk things out with the people in your life, just ease into things and be kinder to yourself.