Happy 2026! Today is going to have a different flavor from years past. There will be some familiar themes and threads since this is our 5th season talking about goals and it is something I have done since my (long ago) teenage years. Today though ... we’re talking about choosing our magic for the year ahead. The goals we’re willing to commit to. The boundaries we’re finally ready to hold. And the kind of energy we actually want to live inside of in 2026 ... not just for January, but for the whole unfolding year. Think of this episode as us sitting together at the very edge of the year, Kinda like we did last week with our big Year of the Wheel review …. candle lit, notebook open, but this time we are asking ourselves one simple question: What do I want this year to feel like?

Today, we’re going to reframe what goal-setting looks like through a witchy lens. We are doing it the witchy way! We are going to talk about goals as living spells ... things that grow and evolve over time. We’re going to talk about boundaries as protective magic, not walls, but wards. And we’re going to talk about energy as the real currency of your year, because time means nothing if you’re exhausted inside it.  There’s no overwhelm here. No massive checklist. No pressure to have it all figured out by the end of this episode.  Just clarity. Just intention. Just choosing, on purpose, how we want to walk into 2026. And the best part? We don’t have to do it alone. We’re doing this together.  Today we are asking one gentle question together: What do I actually want this year to feel like when I’m living inside it?

I also have something very personal to share with you about how our January oracle card came about. I talk about it a little bit in this episode but also have a video on it (since it was soooo impactful to me personally and to us collectively) on our Hearth & Hen video channel.

This is a big year ... and I am so thankful you are here walking it with me!

We've got this!

Charlene

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Welcome to the very last episode of 2025!  I don’t know about you, but this moment always hits different. There’s something tender about the last episode of the year. Something sacred. Something that feels a bit like standing in the doorway of your home at night ... one hand on the knob, pausing, letting the warm air meet the cold, knowing you’re about to cross a threshold. And, well ... That is what today is. A threshold moment.  Because today, we’re slowing down. We’re gathering around our little Witchy Work Wishes hearth and we are reflecting on the Wheel of the Year. Not only as a set of dates and sabbats, but the Wheel of the Year as a living, breathing companion that’s walked beside us all year long.

The Wheel of the Year isn’t just a calendar for witches ... it’s a map of our growth. It’s a reminder that life isn’t linear. It’s cyclical. Rhythmic. Spiraled. We grow forward and inward and outward all at once. And when we pause at the end of the cycle and actually look back? We can finally see the story the year told us. A story we don’t always notice when we’re in the middle of living it.

So as 2025 falls gently behind us, I hope you carry the things that nourished you… and leave behind anything that weighed you down. I hope you trust yourself a little more deeply. I hope you honor your boundaries a little more fiercely. And I hope you step into 2026 with a sense of wonder .... soft curiosity and a willingness to grow in the ways your spirit is ready for.

And just know (truly know) that I’m walking into 2026 right alongside you. We’ll continue learning together, growing together, laughing together, lighting candles, pulling cards, drinking tea, and finding magic in the everyday moments.

You are a part of this circle. And I’m so grateful for you.

We've got this!

Charlene

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Hello Witchy Work Wishes family… and Merry Christmas Eve. Tonight feels a little different, doesn’t it? The candles feel brighter, the house feels quieter, and even if it’s been a wild year, Christmas Eve always brings in this little pocket of peace that we can tuck ourselves into.

This is not going to be a super long episode … I really just wanted to come in and say hi and see how your Yule was shaping up.  I wanted to talk about family and traditions and rituals since most of us are knee deep in them for December. But really …. I’ve been thinking a lot about why family traditions hit so deeply this time of year. It’s not just the nostalgia (though we all know that plays a big part) it’s the way these little moments anchor us. In the middle of the darkest nights, when the world feels quiet and a little paused, traditions become these steady threads we can hold onto. Even the smallest ritual like lighting a candle at dinner, or putting one special ornament on the tree, or watching the same old movie every year ... becomes a kind of heartbeat for the season. These rituals remind us that we’ve been here before, we’ve made it through another year, and we’re still weaving our story!

Tonight is a reminder that traditions are really just love in motion. They are the stories we choose to repeat. The moments we choose to honor. The tiny rituals (whether inherited or brand new) that weave comfort into our lives. So whatever your evening looks like… whether you’re surrounded by family, sharing dinner with friends, or enjoying the quiet magic of your own company… I hope you feel that gentle glow of the season. I hope the warmth reaches you. I hope something in this episode inspires you to cherish an old tradition or begin a brand new one that feels deeply yours.

Merry Christmas Eve,

Charlene

Witchy Work Wishes

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Today we’re sinking into the heart of Yule itself. Not the facts and the bullet points (you know I’ve done that in past years). This time we’re going sensory, immersive and witchier than ever. We’re going to explore Yule through the body… through the breath… through that slow winter magic that kind of curls around you like a warm blanket. Because Yule isn’t just a sabbat on the calendar. It is a feeling. It’s the hush after the longest night.  It’s the comfort of firelight. It is the sweetness of cinnamon and cloves and pine resin warming in a candle flame. It’s that first tiny spark of returning light after months of shadow work and late-night journaling and trying to keep ourselves grounded in a chaotic season.

But that’s the thing about this season: it never shows up the same way twice. We certainly have our holiday traditions ... we have those things that must happen no matter what. But every December carries its own flavor, its own texture, its own little whisper in the dark. It’s like Yule has this personality that shifts each year ... sometimes bold and fiery, sometimes soft and nostalgic, sometimes a little chaotic ... but it is always magical. So before we wander down this snowy little path together, go ahead and get yourself comfy because this episode is meant to feel like sitting beside me at a winter hearth. A place where the world softens for a moment. A place where you get to remember that magic doesn’t just live on your altar ... it lives in your senses, in your memories and in the warmth of whatever you choose to hold close.

Happy Yule! Charlene

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This time of year ... this delicious, liminal stretch where the energy gets soft and shimmery (and just a little bit strange) is a doorway where your hand is on the frame. You are not quite inside the room and you are not quite out of it either. Just suspended between chapters. Between versions of yourself. Between everything you’ve learned and everything you’re about to become. It’s a tender place. A potent place. And honestly? I love it. Because this is where the magic of planning really takes root. At the end of the year, our planning and lists become something entirely different. They stop being reminders and suddenly become reflections. Breadcrumbs. A map of the human-and-witch experience we have lived through.

The end of the year doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can be grounding. It can be magical. And with the right list? It can feel downright simple. And today's episode is going to walk through all of the steps needed in creating a end of year magical plan!

And I want you to remember that you’re not doing any of this alone. I’m right here with you, doing the exact same work. I am pulling out my journals and my planners, scribbling down messy lists, clearing out old energy, choosing my guiding themes, grounding myself when things get overwhelming, and building my own rhythm for 2026 right alongside you. I’m reflecting, releasing, dreaming, and planning too. We are walking this path together, hand in hand across the turning of the year.

We've got this! Charlene

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Today’s episode is a special one. It’s not just another weekly get-together! This feels like a milestone. Because we’re doing two things: we’re honoring the journey we’ve taken all year long, and we’re stepping into the fierce, powerful, magnetic energy of our final oracle guide for 2025 … the Dragon Spirit!

Today is a reflection moment and a rise-up moment. We get to look back at who we were in January, honor what we walked through, and then… stand up a little taller because of it. This is like that deep breath before the next chapter opens. The kind where you realize ‘Oh wow… I actually grew. I actually changed. I actually did the work.’ We all did the work!

And now, the Dragon Spirit has come for our December guidance. When I say Dragon is big energy, I mean BIG. But not in a scary way. This isn’t some villain boss battle where we’re fighting for our lives. This is more like the final level of a video game where you suddenly realize you have been training for this all year. Every card, every moon phase, every shadow moment has been preparing you. Dragon is the ‘big boss battle' but in the most empowering way. It’s the moment where everything we’ve learned clicks into place, and we get to say, ‘Ohhh… this is who I’ve become.’

And as we walk through each month… I want you to feel something with me. This wasn’t chaos. This wasn’t coincidence. This wasn’t 12 separate little lessons floating around in space. I believe this was a storyline. A spell. A full-blown initiation.  Every spirit that showed up in 2025 was part of a larger arc. Like a staircase, a spiral, a sacred unfolding guiding us from who we were… to who we were becoming. Who we are now.

So settle in, grab a mug, light a candle if you want… because we’re looking back at the path behind us, and we’re stepping boldly into the energy ahead of us. And if there’s one thing I know for sure ... it’s that none of us are the same witches we were in January!

We've got this!

Charlene 

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Today we have a special Thanksgiving edition of being thankful … and the sidekick energy of the Cliché of it all this time of year.

We are diving into something that gets tossed around so much it starts losing its meaning: gratitude itself. The cliché of thankfulness.  You know the one ... the forced positivity, the “be grateful because it’s November,” the pressure to list ten things even if your heart isn’t in it. And yet, here we are, sitting in this real, honest gratitude together. The kind that doesn’t feel scripted or polished, the kind that actually matters. Let's go deeper. Let's talk about why gratitude gets so overused, why it feels hollow sometimes, and how we as witches can take this tired old cliché and breathe real magic back into it!

We've got this!

Charlene

Hearth & Hen

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Today we are wandering right into the heart of Crossroads Magic and brushing up against the mysteries of Hecate. And you know how it goes when we get into the good stuff. The path twists, the lanterns glow a little brighter, and suddenly we’re knee-deep in stories, lessons, and those soul-nudging moments that deserve extra time and space. So get comfy ... today's episode does go a little long!

Crossroads are so much more than physical intersections where one path meets another. They are the invisible meeting points of our soul. Where intuition, logic, fear and hope all sit down at the same table and wait for us to decide which direction to move. And that’s why they’ve always been magical. In nearly every tradition across time, crossroads were considered holy (or at least powerful). Places where the veil between worlds thinned, where spirits might linger and where choices carried more weight.

To the ancient Greeks, this very crossroad is where Hecate stood. She “IS” the goddess of thresholds, holding her torches to light the way. But ….. she didn’t tell travelers which road to take; she illuminated the space in-between, so they could choose with awareness. Hecate isn’t the goddess of outcomes. She is the guardian of possibilities. She watches over that delicate place where endings bleed into beginnings, where grief and excitement coexist and where uncertainty hums like a living spell. She doesn’t rush us. She simply waits, with her lantern held high, reminding us that liminal spaces (those “in-between” places) are not to be feared, but honored.

So today, I invite you to walk this one slowly with me.  The road is a bit longer (we go over an hour and a half) but the magic is rich and I’ve saved a spot for you right beside me at the crossroads.  We’re talking today about crossroads magic with Hecate; spells, choices, and that mysterious, powerful space we call in-between.

We've got this!

Charlene

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Episode #161 is a cozy, let’s curl up and just talk type episode.  Shadow work doesn’t have to be scary. It can, in fact ….. be cozy.  Today we’re curling up under the November moon to talk about gentle ways to face what’s been hidden, guided by Hecate’s lantern and the soft wings of the Bat Spirit. We’ll sip tea, light candles, and learn how to release what’s heavy before the year ends. This, my witchy family, is your sign to slow down, breathe, and let the shadows become your teachers.

I know shadow work can sound a little intimidating. It carries that weighty, mysterious vibe doesn't it? It makes people think of deep dives into pain or big emotional reckonings. But today is not about diving off a cliff into the abyss. Today we are taking a lantern (a gentle, steady light) and we’re walking softly into the edges.

We are learning how to do this in a way that feels safe, gentle and real! Something you can do while curled up in your favorite chair, not some heavy ceremony that leaves you drained. This is cozy shadow work. The kind that happens quietly, between sips of tea or coffee …. when you finally exhale and let yourself be.

We've got this!

Charlene

Hearth & Hen

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Today’s episode feels a bit heavier than other ones we have done.  We have some stories of fear, control and survival but also some stories of courage and resistance. Around the world, countless people were persecuted in the name of witchcraft. But through those ashes we find lessons about strength, truth, and reclaiming our power.

The intention for today’s episode is simple but hopefully powerful:  We are here to honor the memory of those who suffered and to transform that pain into empowerment. We’ll talk about what happened…. but more importantly we’ll talk about what we can learn from it. How their stories become lessons in resistance, resilience, and truth.

We are heading back to Europe between the 1400s and 1700s when our world was lit by candlelight and superstition. Where the whisper of a neighbor could destroy a life. The witch trials didn’t just vanish into dusty pages though. They linger in our bones, in our families, in the parts of ourselves that learned quietly, not to be “too much.” Not to speak too loudly. Not to let anyone see the magic. The story of witchcraft didn’t end in Europe or with the trials. It continued in bloodlines, in whispers, in kitchens like mine and yours. And maybe (just maybe) every time we bake bread, pour wine, or whisper a spell under the full moon ... we’re continuing the work they started.

Their persecution might have been rooted in fear, but their spirit .... That was never extinguished.  And I believe that’s the lesson they left for us. To keep going. To keep rising. To keep creating magic out of the ashes. We are here to honor the memory of those who suffered, and to transform that pain into empowerment. We’ll talk about what happened…. but more importantly, we’ll talk about what we can learn from it. How their stories become lessons in resistance, resilience, and truth.

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