2024 was a sh*t-show/gift-show

Plus my new course with DailyOM and my yearly review in pictures

Photo by Oliver Kiss on Unsplash

I hope you're enjoying this final new moon of 2024. A Capricorn new moon during the 13 holy nights, this is the perfect time to reflect on the year behind us as we set intentions for the one to come.

2024 felt like a wild ride for most folks I know, filled with extremes of both joys and challenges.

One of my joys was born from my challenges this year...

My new course with DailyOM, Find Light in the Darkness: Overcome Hopelessness, came out a few days ago. :)

This course is for anyone who could use some support and resources for maintaining a thread of hope during challenging times — whether you’re personally dealing with grief and loss, or you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything that’s happening in our world.

Find Light in the Darkness: Overcome Hopelessness

Born out my own cycles through the Dark Night of Soul, this course shares the most valuable tools and practices I use to navigate depression, hopeless, and despair.

More than that, I also wrote this course to completely re-frame how we view the dark and shadows. (Hint: there is nothing wrong with feeling sad and struggling, even if it's uncomfortable at the time.)

You can purchase this entire 10-lesson course for only $19. I hope that this is a true, life-saving gift for anyone who would benefit from these teachings.

The wild ride that was 2024

With that highlight shared, I’m going to pull back the curtain a bit on my personal challenges and highlights of 2024.

For those of you who want a peek into my personal life, here it is. For those of you could care less (which is a totally reasonable way to feel in this era of info-overload, btw) feel free to stop reading here ;)

First, the challenges…

I remember starting last year feeling so vibrant and full of hope for a fresh start after several years of extreme grief, loss, stress, and the accompanying health challenges that inevitably arise during such times.

I signed up to go back to art school. I was gifted cross country skis and lessons for Christmas. I was all set to assist my shamanic mentor in her next teacher training. I was looking forward to camping and backpacking with my man all summer. And I was sooo ready to reclaim my health, creativity, and vibrancy after such a long, dark period. 

But life took some turns…

Within the first month of the year, I broke my right wrist during a ski lesson and got a labral tear in my left hip. No more skiing, hiking, or yoga. Basically everything I do to stay healthy was off the table and I’m still recovering. 

Art school had to be put on hold. Painting left-handed did not work for me, and my hand-eye coordination definitely changed during the months when I couldn’t use my right hand. 

As soon as my wrist started to recover and summer adventures were upon us, my partner Mike broke his right ankle! It was such a mess. Neither of us could lift anything, thanks to different broken limbs. Both our garden and summer adventures fell victim to the fates of our bones. 

On top of it all (and more likely because of it all) my spiritual practice and path changed significantly this year, which has definitely impacted many of the plans and relationships I thought I’d be building. (I’m most definitely not assisting at teacher training that I no longer feel aligned with.)

These changes have been in progress for a long time, and they’re part of a bigger story than I’m ready to share just yet…but it’s a story with blessed outcomes through dark trials ;) 

So yeah, there were some rough spots in 2024. 

But 2024 was also kind of amazing.

And now, the blessings!

Being stuck at home led Mike and I to get a new kitten who has brought more joy than we could’ve imagined to our lives. 

from baby, to playful teen, to gettin' big!

When my wrist finally healed enough, I did start painting again. Here’s my first project with the art school curriculum — my first ever oil painting. Not perfect by any means, but I’m happy with this as a first attempt in a new medium after no drawing or painting for almost a year. I hope by the end of 2025 I’ll have more exciting artworks to share.

(For those wondering, I actually have a bachelor’s degree in studio art. Painting and drawing have always been my happy place, and I always wish I could do better. We’ll see what this year brings.)

With Mike unable to be my regular hiking buddy, I did a lot more day hikes with other friends and family. And eventually, we could wrap up Mike’s ankle enough to paddle board and kayak (which turned out to be challenging but good PT for my wrist!). Summers are tough here with all the wildfire smoke, but when we could get out we did!

a few highlights from the diverse landscapes of Oregon

Another highlight: diving deeper into plant medicine. I’ve worked with plant medicine in my personal practice for years, but this year I attended a more intensive retreat. The spirits of the plants never cease to amaze me. Time and time again, I’m able to move deep emotional blocks and find soul-level healing that no amount of mental processing or therapy would ever get me to. 

Plants have been so life-changing (and life-saving) for me, that I will be stepping up my plant offerings even more in 2025 — anointing sessions for those who seek a gentle yet powerful approach, and more psychedelic preparation and integration for those who wish to walk that path with greater integrity, safety, and healing outcomes.

Speaking of plants, I finally started distilling wild plants wtih my copper alembic. I don’t know why I was so intimidated for so long — I love this alchemy!

And I did my first couple of local markets here in Bend. There is such a beautiful community of creatives and vendors here :)

The biggest highlights for me this year center around my courses and workshops — and all the absolutely amazing people I’ve gotten to meet as clients, students, and friends.

Since I wasn’t exercising and painting as planned, I doubled down my focus teaching on the topics I most love in the world: nature, spirit, and cosmos. A few highlights:

• I taught a magical in-person Rewilding the Spirit workshop in June. It was such a delight and almost sold out, so I’ll be offering this again in the spring :) 

• My online Introduction to Shamanism course had over 35 sign ups, and I got such good feedback that I’ll be offering an updated version of the recording soon

• I loved going deep into advanced skills when I taught a trio of courses for practitioners — a 5-day in-person Soul Retrieval training and online intensives for Psychopomp and Extraction. (I’ll be teaching psychopomp again this fall for those who missed the first round!)

• As I shared above, I taught my first course with DailyOM!

• And, I was invited to present at The Gathering of the Shamans in Sedona, this May 2025.

Looking back at all of this, it’s no wonder I’m totally exhausted, lol. My intention for the new year is to heal these patterns of burnout that I seem to be prone to!

It’s funny, without taking time to actually reveiw the past year, I end up feeling like I didn’t do enough — due to years of cultural programming combined with so many unfilfilled dreams and plans, I suppose.

Which is why it is so important to take time for ourselves during this yearly transition. Set aside time to really dive into the past year before planning the new. You will likely be surprised as more and more memories and insights surface.

(Psst: I use this workbook to help me with my yearly reviews and intention-setting!)

Ok, back to my meditation, visioning, and journaling on the year to come. I’m hesitant to make too many sure plans after the “shit show/gift show” of 2024, but I still want to create space for divine inspiration to arise. 

See you in the new year and thank you so much for being part of The Mythoanimist Path community.

Much love,
Juniper

P.S. Remember, subscribers with paid memberships can get your free December gift right here.