Our old adage for starting the New Year needs to shift. Despite what we’ve been told and is plastered all over social media, it’s not the time power up, start new projects, or drive from the energy of “new year, new you.”
In fact, we actually need to do the exact opposite.
Because we are in a season of hibernation, one where we need space to rest and restore. It’s definitely not a time to hit the ground running and think we have to make big moves right now.
In fact, the energy right now is asking for us to ease into things.
It’s a time to cocoon and go within. A time to dream, to contemplate, and to set up the vision for what we want to plant and grow in 2025.
The definition of cocooning means to “envelop or surround in a protective or comforting way” according to the Oxford dictionary.
Imagine for a moment the power of creating space to cocoon.
Most people are coming off a stressful, frenetic, and oftentimes, emotionally distressing holiday season.
Whether through dysfunctional family dynamics, financial strains, loneliness, or a host of other things, the holiday season can be difficult and trying for many people.
Yet, somehow come January 1st, we are expected to jump right back into the full swing of things and hit the busy button once again.
First of all, January 1st is an arbitrary date that is made up to fit the Western Gregorian calendar.
It doesn’t align with anything, and it disconnects us from the natural rhythms of the Universe.
We have how we define the energy of the “New Year” all wrong.
Not to mention, there is going to be some big, disruptive movements this year as a lot of truth is being revealed and the veil is being lifted.
It going to be a fiery and unprecedented year, to say the least.
We, as a collective humanity, are undergoing a massive shift. We are being guided into a new consciousness, and with that comes some spicy energy.
This energy will disrupt our current systems and ways of being.
2025 is going to challenge us, is going to push us, and it’s going to be unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. New truths will come to light, and the charlatans will be called out.
The first part of the year will be intense and not necessarily ideal to start a lot of new, especially through March. Then, comes the second half of the year, things are going to be extremely fast. We will be experience quantum level shifts to prepare us for the mutation we are undergoing right now.
We are shifting out of the Cross of Planning (the current incarnation cross based on the Universe’s Human Design) into the Cross of the Sleeping Phoenix (the new incarnation cross coming through in February 2027).
This means we are moving out of this “we” governance energy where we have been overly conditioned to push more, do more, be more like everyone else. This incarnation birthed the Industrial Revolution, as an example, and it’s been about living and defining success by the material world (e.g., money, status, power).
The incoming energy that is already in play now is shifting us into a new way of being. We move from the “we” energy into a more individualized “me” energy. In this energy, we start to redefine success as a function of wellbeing (starting with our own first) versus materialism.
And, as the shift is already underway, we will continue to experience energy that is getting us ready. Since the pandemic hit in 2020, we have been experiencing different forms of disruption. 2025 will be even more.
So, it’s a season for introspection, for getting grounded back into ourselves, for dreaming and wondering about possibilities and having the patience to allow those dreams to marinate and come to fruition in their own timing.
The Human Design Calendar
Let’s look at Human Design and the calendar associated with it, for instance, and the alignment of energy based on how it’s structured.
The Human Design New Year (also known as the Rave New Year, as it was referred to by its founder, Ra Uru Hu) doesn’t begin until January 22nd, when the Sun highlights, or enters into, Gate 41.
This marks the beginning of a new solar cycle. Even the new lunar cycle doesn’t begin until January 29th. Thus, the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival commences, celebrating the hope for a fresh start.
Gate 41 is called the Gate of Contradiction in traditional Human Design, and is known as the Gate of Imagination in Quantum Human Design.
Meaning it carries with the energy for imagining new dreams and possibilities. In fact, there is a constant pressure to fantasize, to daydream, and to experience new feelings. It’s about new exploring potentials.
However, it is met with a contradiction, or juxtaposition, as there is also a pressure to start something new … yet, we are being called to remain patient. To trust that in Divine Timing we will know when to bring the vision of those dreams into meaningful action.
Located in the Root Center, there is an adrenalized pressure to do something with the fantasies and dreams we play with. But, it’s only through patience are we able to manifest powerfully and expansively.
Even when the New Year commences on the 22nd, the energy we come into the year with still lives in the fourth quarter. It’s known as the Quarter of Recalibration — a time to reflect, take stock, and recalibrate … getting ourselves ready for the incoming planting season in the first quarter.
The first quarter, known as the Quarter of Possibility, starts the beginning of February. This is when we begin to bring these dreams to fruition, planting the seeds we wish to harvest later in the year.
So, even as we enter the New Year in Human Design, we do so with ease.
Tilling the Soil
In order to prepare ourselves for planting season, we must ‘till the soil.’ We need to create space to ask ourselves what it is we really want to be planting. As the energy of 2025 is going to be intense and disruptive, we currently are in this weird space where we are toggling between ‘what was’ and ‘what is to be.’
We are undergoing a massive quantum shift in human consciousness right now. What has served us in the past will no longer be our way forward. Systems will continue to breakdown and we are being asked to reevaluate the ‘how’ we do everything (e.g., marketing, sales, business).
It feels a little like we have one foot in and one foot out, creating a sense of unease, uncertainty, and apprehension. So, we need time to assess what’s coming, align our truest desires, and be open to guidance for a new ‘how.’
In this season of recalibration, we need to hibernate a bit to allow room for stillness and quiet. I like to call this space ‘cocooning.”
Cocooning Is a Catalyst for Creativity
Rest isn’t something we need to earn, despite our conditioning and programming. It’s actually a necessity to activate our highest and best, and to offer our gifts in service to others.
We are wired for rest, regardless of our Human Design Type. Each and every person needs cycles of rest in order to fully express the authenticity of who they are designed to be.
Think about a caterpillar for a moment as it begins its journey to becoming a butterfly. It cocoons. It’s goes deep within itself and undergoes a chrysalis process to create the transformation it needs to emerge in its new form.
The chrysalis, or cocooning phase, is often messy, challenging and takes some time. However, we live in a culture that doesn’t afford us ‘time.” We insisted on running and gunning, winding and grinding, and burning and churning just to keep pace with the perception of success.
We wear ourselves out being busy for the sake of being busy. I like to say that BUSY is nothing more than being “buried under shoulding (all over) yourself.” It’s the programming, conditioning, and shoulding attached to all that that keeps up from emerging as the butterflies we are meant to be.
We need time to cocoon.
For it’s those messy periods of growth, transmutations, and healing that we are able to tap into our magic and creativity. Thomas Merton wrote in The Way of Chuang Tzu that “all things are born of non-doing.”
We need space to not do. To be. To dream. To heal. To rest. To grow.
It’s in our cocooning that we emerge.
Now, let’s come back to Gate 41 that I mentioned above and how this energy that kicks of the Human Design New Year is about the imagination. Connecting the power of create a safe, cozy cocoon to dream new dreams and imagine a new world … doesn’t that sound delicious?
For when we align the natural rhythms of the Universe, herself, with the energies of planetary positions, we then create leverage with ease.
So, not only is cocooning a huge catalyst for our creativity, when paired with the natural flow of life, we tap into and activate sustainably new ideas and momentum. Thereby, we don’t fizzle out (most New Year’s resolutions fail by February), and we create pathways for a different model of success.
As it states in Verse 48 of the Tao te Ching, “the Tao does nothing, and nothing is left undone.” — Imagine embracing a way of living that had us doing nothing. But rather, we allowed ourselves to be.
To be a conduit or channel for the flow of life, itself. That by doing nothing, our greatest creativity could be born. And, from that, we could emerge as butterflies living aligned AF and from a place of radical authenticity in the full expression of who we be.
Navigating the Tumultuous Waters of 2025
Now, before you get twisted in a knot over my mention of some fiery and disruptive energy coming in 2025, I also want you to recognize that great opportunity and potential also is part of the equation.
But, the secret to accessing these possibilities is in aligning yourself to the natural flow and rhythms of the energy coming through. The more you understand the movement of energy in 2025, along with your innate Human Design, the better equipped you are to align yourself to open up new ideas, better flow, and greater abundance and prosperity.
In order to truly become aligned AF, I suggest a few strategies to assist you during this cocooning, or recalibration phase we are in:
- Take time to explore your own Human Design. Access your chart (this can be done for free), and get a foundational reading (I have links below at the end of the article if you’d like to do that exploration with me)
- Listen to the experts share insights on the current energy forecasts (I’ve added two of my favorite experts below with links in the Reference section).
- Create a cozy haven within your home to meditate, journal, or just sit in contemplation around what you truly desire and what to call forward.
- Slow down your day. Carve out space in the morning and evening to simply be. Savor a cup of coffee or tea. Read a book. Listen to music.
- Take inventory on 2024; assess what worked well that you want to carry forward, and be honest about what didn’t — explore where you might need new boundaries or to say “no” to things that no longer serve.
- Be mindful about your consumption of TV and social media. Reserve your attention for spiritual uplifting and expansive content.
- Practice both mindfulness and gratitude. Raise your vibrational frequency to stay grounded and to access what you desire.
The Invitation to Emerge
As we navigate the early weeks of 2025, remember that this time of cocooning isn’t about hiding out from what’s coming. It’s about preparing ourselves to meet it with gentleness, authenticity, and grace.
Just as the butterfly doesn’t rush its own transformation, we too must lean into faith and trust in the timing of our emergence.
This invitation to cocoon isn’t a prescription for permanent retreat, but rather a conscious choice to align with the natural rhythms that support our growth. By honoring this season of rest and recalibration, we’re not just preparing for change … we’re doing so intentionally.
Whether you’re new to Human Design or well-versed in its wisdom, the energy of 2025 offers us all an opportunity to redefine our relationship with success, productivity, and well-being.
The choice to cocoon now is an investment in our capacity to soar later.
So, as the world continues its rapid transformation, give yourself permission to pause, to dream, and to rest.
For it’s in the quiet moments of simply being that we discover not just who we are, but who we’re becoming. And, as such, the butterfly can emerge.