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New Starts and Nine Year Cycles: Looking Forward, Taking Stock

December 31, 2025

Flowered combat boots walking on terrain

The Long View

In the days leading up to the new year, I like to think about where I’ve been. What I’ve accomplished. And what I’ve yet to do.

Normally that involves looking at the year just passed. This year I took the long view.

This year, a friend shared a video on nine year cycles. I shared a poem I’d written nine years ago, on the very first day of a brand new cycle. The one that began on January 1st, 2017.

I wasn’t thinking about cycles when I wrote that poem. I didn’t realize that 2017 was number 10 year or that it reduced to 1 which made it the start of new cycle. I’m not sure if I even knew what a nine year cycle was then or why it was important.

But I knew a new start when I saw one.

January 1st, 2017 was a Sunday. I was standing on the back porch looking out into a dead yard, just coming out of a ten year spiritual journey that had begun with an incredible dream and ended in disappointment and confusion.

But that moment, that Sunday, that January 1st felt like the beginning of everything. Not in a hopeful happy way. In the way of grim determination.

I had no idea where I was going. So, I went in and wrote the poem.

My Last Cycle

Over the next nine years I went from metaphysics to Christianity. I rejected people. I closed my card reading business. I stopped blogging.

I worked my way through three very different Christian denominations. And when I finally sat down to write my return-to-the-church testimony, I found I couldn’t reconcile any of them to what I already knew to be true.

So I took some courses at the Rhine Institute. I learned something of the science of what, for want of a better word, I call spirit. I began to dream again. I noticed a wonderful synchronicity. 

The mystery of the big dream I had in 2008 at the beginning of the cycle before this one began to make sense.

Things happened.

 I enrolled in dream school. I returned to tarot and everything that went along with it. I read Jung.

I put my heart into a story and saw it fail. I wrote and wrote and didn’t publish and I began to understand how I tell stories—and why.

I was diagnosed with autism in 2022. In 2025 I was diagnosed with ADHD. I began to see my life through a completely different lens.

And I went back to blogging.

2008 was a year of wild optimism and excitement—hard on the heels of the worst decade of my life.

2017 was a do over I didn’t want but could not avoid.

2026 is the start of another cycle. None of us can predict where the next nine years will take us—but that won’t stop us from trying.

Where (I Think) I’m Going

When I look at cycles past, it occurs to me that one of the easiest ways to figure out where we’re going next is to look at what we’re on the brink of now. In my case, that means publishing.

My vampire story is finished. After one last proof, I’m going to publish my first. I understand now why people didn’t like draft 1 and why those same people probably won't like the finished product. I know it’s not really about vampires. Whether it gets read or not, I’m glad I wrote it.

My memoir is almost done. It has helped me piece together all the cycles. Over the course of writing it, it has become a very different kind of testimony. Figuring it out was part synchronicity, part muse.

Which is, as it turns out, my process.

To me, this year and this cycle was a year of planting, not of harvest but I’m okay with that. Because I am on the brink of putting things out there and that has been a very long time coming.

A Card Reading

And because every new year and new cycle deserves a card reading, here is mine:

This reading is for the entire nine year cycle. Death is appropriate for the past. The 4 of Swords makes perfect sense for where I’m at right now. The 10 of Wands is what’s coming and it is not unexpected. My “need to know” card is the Hermit which is a card of great personal meaning to me. The 6 of Wands jumped out with it.

I encourage you to take some time today to take a look back at the year and cycle you’ve just completed and think about what’s coming. This is where the magic is.

Wishing you a wonderful new year and a meaningful new turn around the wheel, however you measure it!

You can read my 2017 poem and my post on the Hermit card below:

The photo for this post is by Dakota Krupp on Unsplash 

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New Starts and Nine Year Cycles: Looking Forward, Taking Stock

New Year's Day, Numbers and Alchemy of Empty Space

January 1, 2017


A beautiful picture taking on a truly perfect day.  Even if I didn't see it then.  Next time I will.


Today is Sunday, January 1st, 2017.

Today is number one of seven.

Today is number one of twelve.

Today is number one of thirty-one.

Today is the first day of 2017 and 2017 is 2 + 0 + 1 + 7 = 10. And numerologically 10 is 1 + 0 = 1.  Making today number one of the next ten years.

And because I was born in 1957, today is the first day of the first year in the sixth decade of my life.

So, because I wanted to be ready, it made sense to me to wake up today, at 4 AM, and make coffee and open up my journal. Not the new journal, I'd bought in honor of the new year, mind you.  But the old the journal I'd begun in Fall of 2016 because in that journal there were 24 empty pages remaining. 

The new journal was right there next to my chair and the pull of starting fresh was strong. My first inclination was to close the old journal and turn my back on the old year and the season past and make a new start. But those 24 empty pages called to me. And I realized that it wasn't about wasting paper. It was about a space that had to be acknowledged. 

That space between the old and the new is always the same for me and, whenever I encounter it, I'm reminded of a trapeze artist, letting go of the old bar and hurtling through thin air in the direction of the new one. I think of how everyone always has to let go of whatever it is we've been holding onto and trust - even though there is no hard guarantee that the next thing will be there when we need it.

Leading up to that space I worry about what will happen and think long and hard about how it can all go wrong. But once I'm in it, the uncertainty and fear fade. All at once I remember how vitally important that space is.  In and of itself. 

It is not the space of letting go, although in those 24 no longer empty journal pages I did just that. And it isn't the space of moving forward, either, even though towards the end of those 24 pages I did that too.

Instead, it is a space that is moving and still and empty and full all at the same time.  It is a space of courage and of faith. A space of transition.  A space where anything is possible and everything is in is motion. 

So I encourage everyone to take stock of what was, by most accounts, a very trying year.  I encourage everyone to sort it out and let it go and make that jump.  I encourage everyone to embrace the space between what was and what will be. Because that space is freedom.
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New Year's Day, Numbers and Alchemy of Empty Space

Spotlight on Numerology: Symbolism of the Number Seven

April 13, 2011

Photo by Maximilian Csali on Unsplash

Seven is my life path number (8 + 22 + 1957 or 8 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 9 + 5 + 7 = 34 and 3 + 4 = 7). I have blogged about the number seven in a previous post but wanted to do something a little more in depth.

In Pythagorean or Western numerology, seven is considered to be an intellectual number and those with a life path of seven are known to be spiritual seekers drawn to metaphysical study. Seven's also have a love of solitude which may make it difficult for them to form close relationships. Finding a balance between intimacy and isolation is a challenge for this life path.

More about the Number Seven:

There are seven days of the week and Seven Sisters of the Pleiades. White light may be divided into the seven colors of the visible spectrum. In music there are seven musical notes. Christianity identifies seven deadly sins and hell is said to contain seven gates.

In the Hebrew Bible, God rested on the seventh day of creation making the seventh day the sabbath and the holiest of days. The ark rested on the seventh month and the dove was sent out on the seventh day. The Menorah has seven branches and the Temple took seven years to build.

There are seven Hathors (or fates) in Egyptian mythology and the priestesses of Hathor have seven jars and seven tunics. Ra has seven hawks representing the seven wise ones and there are seven houses of the underworld, as depicted in Egyptian myths, with three times seven gates. Seven is the sacred number of Osiris. It is also the number of the seven planets, or wandering stars, of the ancients.

In western mythology seven was considered sacred to Apollo, whose lyre has seven strings, and to Athene/Minerva and Ares/Mars. The deity Pan had seven pipes. There were said to be seven wise men of Greece.

In Hinduism there are Seven Jewels of the Brahmans and seven gods before the floods. Persian mythology identifies seven heavens and considers seven to be the perfect number. The chakra system numbers seven energy centers.

The cave of Mithras has seven doors, seven altars, and a ladder with seven rungs depicting the seven grades of initiation into the mystery schools. In Pythagorean numerology, seven is a cosmic number combining the three of heaven and four of the world. (The 34 of my birth date before reduction.)

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Spotlight on Numerology: Symbolism of the Number Seven

The Significance & Predictive Nature of Numbers

April 8, 2011

An issue pops up for me in regard to numerology and it is the same issue I encounter in Tarot, astrology or any other discipline which undertakes the art of predicting future.  My frame of reference and entry into spirituality is, and has always been, primarily religious in scope, and I experience a degree of conflict in regard to divination as it presents in any discipline with which it is associated.  

The bible takes a very clear position on all predictive practices (see  The Problem with Predictive Tarot for more on this).  And yet, I read Tarot, have an interest in astrology and a new fascination with the symbolism of numbers. 

I do not make hard and fast predictions in Tarot, as a matter of fact I try to stay away from predictions as best I can, and consider Tarot most importantly an instrument of spiritual insight - not a vehicle of fortune telling.  While astrology and numerology can be thought of in the same way certainly, it is difficult to deny their inherent emphasis on future.

For me it is all, in a most fundamental sense, about energy.  If we are open minded, it is not difficult to imagine that the heavenly bodies exert an energetic influence here on earth.  This is particularly true of the 2012 phenomena and the so-called galactic alignment though I am far from convinced that it all boils down to a single day. 

If energetic influences do in fact exist however, whether planetary or otherwise, it seems reasonable to me that they are predictable - not only in terms of naturally occurring cosmic phenomena but in terms of trends.  In my experience, energy has momentum and can be considered forward moving though not necessarily unstoppable and this is my context in reading Tarot. This viewpoint does not however explain the curious phenomenon of numbers.

Why do numbers, specific numbers and combinations of numbers, have meaning?  This is not an easy question to answer.  I am convinced in the sacred symbolism of numbers in Gematria, quite convinced by dreams and religious experience that certain numbers have a very real spiritual context - by association. 

What I do not understand is why certain numbers such as 12/12/2012 coincide with events or why my reduced birth date of seven and its traditional Pythagorean interpretation seem to fit me so well and while the true answer to this question is well beyond the scope of this article or perhaps even my own capacity to understand it is something I come back to repeatedly.

It seems to me that symbolism is indeed encoded in our human experience in a numeric sense and while numbers may well be a human construct they are a remarkable consistent construct with the ability to consistently express complex truths as is proved by mathematics.  Numbers may therefore not only be considered not only a construct of thought but the apparent universal language of forces that we cannot otherwise comprehend. 

Accepting this viewpoint, it seems quite possible that the numerology is equally valid in way that I cannot fully appreciate at this point in my development.  It is by the consideration of things, however, that we progress.
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The Significance & Predictive Nature of Numbers

Contrasting Pythagorean Numerology & Hebrew Gematria

April 5, 2011

I will be blogging about numbers this month, dealing with systems that are new to me, such as Pythagorean or Western numerology, and those I am somewhat more familiar with (Hebrew Gematria). I thought that it might be interesting to comment on the difference between these two very important systems as I understand them.

First of all, what do Western numerology and Gematria have in common? They are both numerical, of course, associating predefined key concepts with specific numerical values. Both are also frequently spiritual or metaphysical in their interpretations. Number values are arrived at through reduction (adding) in each system, though three difference methods of calculation (absolute, ordinal and reduced) may be employed in Gematria.

Western numerology, as I understand it, has a somewhat less direct association to language than is found in Gematria. In Hebrew, letters are numbers and numbers are letters. There is no separation or difference in characters. And while Western numerology assigns numbers to the letters of the alphabet, there seems to be less emphasis on the numerical value of words than in Gematria or this is my observation at the outset of this series.

There are individual differences in assignment of numbers to the respective alphabets as well. The Hebrew alef-bet (alef and bet are the first and second letters of the Hebrew alphabet) employs both different numerical assignments to letters, as well the addition of special values for final or soffit letters (which do not occur in the English alphabet). Additionally, Gematria traditionally focuses on religious associations while Western numerology focuses on various interpretations, many of which relate to individual character or destiny.

Specific Hebrew words have relatively well known numerical significance and context. The word ahava (אהבה ) or love for example has a value of 13. Kabbalah speaks of the 13 petalled rose. Maimonides, an important Jewish religious thinker, formulated 13 principles of faith and Judaism identifies 13 qualities of divine compassion. 13 is also the Gematria of the Hebrew word echad (one) which is closely associated with God. The name Micha’el (מִיכָאֵל), as in the archangel Michael, appears only 13 times in the Tanach or Hebrew Bible. Micha’el is the angel of loving-kindness. Synchronicities such as this abound.

Jews may employ Gematria in naming and while this may occur in Western numerology I suspect it is less prevalent. I choose the name Miriam for my Hebrew name because it has a value of 13 and because I felt a special affinity to the number 13 due to an experience of this number in dream.

Gematria has, for me, a mostly religious application while Western numerology seems especially well suited to personal contemplation, prediction and an understanding of individual life path and character. The number of my birth date in Western numerology reduces to seven which is an important number in terms of metaphysics and learning and I consider these associations not only accurate but validating (as I feel a strong tie to both metaphysics and study). I have never calculated the Gematria of my Hebrew birth date of Av 25, 5717, however, and am not entirely sure how to do so. Dates in the Hebrew calendar are more frequently associated with history than numbers in my experience.

I find both these systems and their differences fascinating and will be exploring each, separately, in upcoming articles.
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Contrasting Pythagorean Numerology & Hebrew Gematria

April: Spotlight on Numbers: Pythagorean Numerology

April 1, 2011

Photo by Jo Coenen - Studio Dries 2.6 on Unsplash

The Greek mathematician Pythagoras (circa 570 BCE to 490 BCE) is considered the father of western numerology and the author of the Pythagorean theorem (A2 + B2 = C2 ).

While scholars say that it is unclear that these concepts can be attributed directly to Pythagoras, or are the work of his students, the concept of a structured cosmos with a significant relationship to numbers is widely considered to be Pythagorean in origin. The resulting numerological system focuses on significant numbers in an person's life, reducing these numbers through reduction (addition) to a single digit number which is assigned special meaning thought to relate to the individual's life path or character. Double digit numbers are assigned significance only when occurring as 11, 22, 33 - the master numbers.

As an example of Pythagorean or western numerology, I'll use my own birth date, August 22nd 1957, which can be reduced, by adding 8 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 9 + 5 + 7, to 34. 34 can be further reduced to 3 + 4, giving a result of 7. The number 7 is then considered to be my "life path" number and can be interpreted in a predefined way. While I am not entirely clear on where these predefined interpretations originated it is not impossible that they result from the philosophy of Pythagoras. Historians agree that he taught a doctrine which emphasized the soul, reincarnation, destiny and an ordered cosmos which is not at odds with the tenants of western numerology as I understand them.

It is not enormously important to me personally whether these interpretations originated with Pythagoras or evolved over time. The true test of any system is, for me, the degree to which it resonates with my own intuition and I find that many of the number seven associations do resonate for me and are consistent with my own intuitive understanding of my individual life path.

Meaning of the number seven:

Seven is considered a mystical or spiritual number. Those with a life path of seven are thought to be intelligent, analytical and focused. They may also introspective, socially awkward and intuitive with a strong drive to acquire metaphysical knowledge. The number seven is found in the seven days of the week, the seven visible colors of the spectrum and the seven notes of the musical scale. It is associated with the sign of Cancer (my moon sign) and the Tarot card of the the Chariot which is my assigned card by at least one method of reckoning.

Look for more articles on numerology in the upcoming months!
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April: Spotlight on Numbers: Pythagorean Numerology
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