Not that personal motivations should be sacrificed—as A Course in Miracles points out, knocking ourselves is as much a delusion of ego as condemning others. In fact, connecting with and reinforcing our individual aspirations is part of the healing opportunity that goal-setting offers, a means to embrace ourselves as we shed a layer of doubt in our self-worth and our right to prosper.

But the current global issues do stir up some questions. What really matters to us? What spiritual and physical initiatives are we taking to implement those ideals? This lunation brings us face-to-face with our Capricornian need and ability to structure our use of time and resources to focus on what really matters most to us as individual participants in the family of creation. Healing and love are inseparable; our plan for a golden year ahead become a means to heal when we bear this in mind as we set goals. Our goals in turn access their most effective operational frequency when established as a movement of love energy, as suggested below.

Pre-prayerations

The strong Capricorn-Saturn energies prevailing at this lunation emphasize the earthy and the rustic, and can be accessed by wearing dark, earthy colors or including them in cloth or other decorations for your altar—the most cheerful alternatives being blue: deep, navy or indigo, or blue-violet. Other objects to synchronize with this power portal include wood (particularly old wood), pyramids, crystals, onyx, ore or turquoise stone, salt or one of Saturn’s most beautiful gifts: plain, non-precious stones or rocks. Plant spirits include holly or wintergreen. Burn a bit of the latter, pine branches or pine incense to evoke this New Moon’s flora. (If you still have them around, burning your Christmas tree or other pine decorations is a great way to start this lunar cycle.)

Goal-setting reflections (to be done individually or shared, with paper and writing implement)

Healing is about love. As the song by Karen Taylor-Good says, "Love is a verb, it’s something you do, it’s not just something that happens to you." Goodwill, like healing, is a dynamic energy necessarily implying circulation. Goal-setting can be a process of healing when we define in terms of giving and receiving: focusing on what we have pending to give, on the one hand, and what we will give ourselves permission to receive, on the other.

We can cover each of these areas in various steps, focusing first on:

Healing through goals for giving

Write down areas, matters or relationships in which you have some giving pending. These may include: financial debts, moral debts (gratitude or other positive, healing communication you never expressed), increased political, humanitarian or spiritual participation, spending more time to take care of yourself, your dependents or your affairs, greater discipline in activities related to your internal and external ideals, especially those which are love and service oriented. Express your goals in terms which are as clear and specific as possible.

Next to each of the areas to heal through giving, establish initiatives, small or large which you can take now to progress in the proceeding healing goals. One of the most powerful ways to clean up pending giving is to establish an actively forgiving, unconditionally tolerant and loving mentality, those who include this in their goals for the New Year will have a great advantage.

Finally, create a consolidation visualization by describing in writing how you will feel after you have taken care of this pending business.

Once you have completed this last step, you are ready for:

Healing through goals for receiving

Love, the ego would have us believe, is about self-denial. This lunation provides a power-window to heal that illusion.

Look deep within and ask yourself what goals—what inmost desires of your heart—you have relinquished out of self-destructive impulses, such as a misguided sense of sacrifice, doubt of your self-worth or fixation with the approval or prerogatives of others. Once you have recaptured their glimmer, express those major, wonderful blessings you would like to receive in writing.

Describe, in writing, what your life will look and feel like once these blessings are implemented.

Establish in writing at least one additional major or minor, physical, psychological or spiritual initiative you can take to move towards each one of these blessings now.

After you have covered steps one and two, make a list of activities, interests or other conditions you will have to suppress, postpone or say "no" to in order to recover your authority over your life and focus on the goals clarified above.

Affirmation to heal the Goal-Setter Within

The Authority behind all creation made me in Its image and likeness, with joy and confidence I assume my Authority to heal myself and all beings as I co-create a universe of good. I hold to this vision, act on it daily, and allow myself to receive all of the blessings that are mine by divine right now!

Repeat these words, and any compatible ideas that surface, during at least seven minutes, preferably at or around this New Moon and throughout the following 28-day cycle. Keep it, and your healing goals, in a visible place so you can stay focused on your visualization and action so that 2005 can be your—and our—golden year.