Day 31 - Great Release Program 2025 by Silver RavenWolf

Day 31

Theme:   Finish strong, seal the work, celebrate the turning, and step into 2026 with a clean smile and a clear mind.

Reward:   20 Stars

Magickal Moment

Tonight the Boogie Knight Castle belongs to Nuit Sparkletooth, the Tooth Fairy with a tool belt full of floss and a pocket full of matches.  She is the kingdom’s dental guardian as well as its pyrotechnic expert, which means she can lecture you about sugar, then set the sky on fire in the prettiest way imaginable. She travels the Boogie Knights Kingdom taking care of the villagers, supporting the musicians for their shows, and presents amazing fireworks displays for every major holiday.  Today she glides through the halls with her little clipboard tucked under one arm, not to scold, but to playfully “audit” the season.  She pauses to pluck a candy wrapper from a chair cushion like a magician producing a surprise. Singing out reminders about after-holiday checkups the way other people announce dessert, she cheerfully slides down the banister in the main hall.  Everyone in the castle has been doing enthusiastic research in the field of sweets this holiday season and her dance card for checkups is filling up fast. With the business of dental hygiene completed, Nuit makes her way to the battlements of the castle with a twinkle in her eye and a pocket full of sparkle.  Once there, she inspects the fireworks, because she loves a good show and she loves keeping it safe.

Main Release

This is your final release day, so we keep it meaningful, not exhausting. Do a gentle “last lap” through your home and gather the leftover holiday strays, ribbon bits, tags, tissue, stray decorations, random batteries, and put them where they belong, store, recycle, donate, or trash -- no guilt, no drama. Then do a sweet reset -- clear out the candy clutter, the old cookies, the sticky bowls, the half-open bags, and decide what stays and what goes. Finally, set one simple intention for 2026 and write it where you will actually see it -- in your journal, on the calendar, on a card by your bed, one sentence, true and doable.

15-minute Quick Task

Set a timer for fifteen minutes and do one focused pass, gather all visible candy, sweets, and holiday snack leftovers into one spot, then sort fast.  Keep what you truly want, toss what is stale or overly tempting, and put the keepers into a single container with a lid. When the timer ends, you stop.  Do one tiny “future you” action.  Then why not put floss, mouthwash, or a fresh toothbrush where you will use it tonight, Nuit would approve.  Empower a new toothbrush to help you speak with wisdom in 2026!

Booger Boost

The Ten Little Boogers form a crooked little line and swear they will floss like champions in 2026, which lasts until someone mentions chocolate -- but the promise still counts.

Weekly check-in

This is the final check-in, look back and name three wins without minimizing them, one physical win, one emotional win, one practical win. Now choose one habit from this program you will carry into January, keep it small, keep it realistic, and let it become your new baseline.

Astro Snapshot

The Moon begins in Taurus, steady and practical, then moves into Gemini, shifting the mood from comfort and grounding to chatter, curiosity, and quick movement. It’s a helpful blend for this last day, tidy what you can touch, then let the evening be lighter and more social, without losing your common sense. Mercury in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces is the fog-and-fireworks aspect, imagination runs hot, details get slippery, assumptions multiply, and mixed messages are easy, especially around plans, timing, travel, and “who said what.” Use this energy for music, celebration, symbolism, and sweet ritual, but protect yourself with clarity, confirm plans in writing, label what matters, keep valuables in one place, avoid gossip and emotional ambush conversations, and if you’re celebrating with others, be extra mindful about driving, substances, and any spark-based fun, tonight is gorgeous, but it is not the night to be careless.

New Year’s Blessing Ritual

What you need: One candle, white or gold, a small bowl of water, a pinch of salt, and one “seed” item for the year ahead such as a coin, a key, a bay leaf, a pen, or a small stone.  You can also use real seeds, like a small packet of sunflower seeds and then grow them in the spring after the last frost.

Begin by turning on one light in your home, even if it’s only a lamp, and say, “I welcome the new year in peace.” Open a window for a moment, just a crack, and let the old air move out. Place the bowl of water before you and add the pinch of salt, stir clockwise three times and say, “Let what is heavy be released, let what is holy remain.”

Light the candle. Hold your hands near the flame, and speak this blessing slowly, with feeling.

Bless this home with steady peace,

Bless my heart with quiet ease,

Bless my hands with honest work,

Bless my path when shadows lurk.

Let love be near, let truth be clear,

Let courage rise, let fear grow small,

Let blessings come, one and all,

Grant me wisdom, calm and clear,

To welcome in a shining year.

Now take your seed item in your hands. Name three things you are calling in for the new year, keep them simple and real, for example, steadiness, health, clear boundaries, creative fire, better sleep, wiser spending, truer friends. After each one, touch the seed item to your heart and say, “So it is planted in spirit, so it will grow in this world.”

Dip your fingers in the salt water and touch your forehead, your throat, and your heart, saying, “Clear mind, true words, steady spirit”. Then lightly anoint your front door threshold with a few drops of the water, or simply touch the bowl and imagine the boundary brightening, and say, “Only blessing may enter, only blessing may remain.”

Sit for one quiet minute and breathe. When you are ready, extinguish the candle and say, the blessing is set, the year begins. Keep the seed item on your altar, in your wallet, or by your bed for the first week of the year as a gentle anchor, then carry with you if at all possible.

Astro Snapshot, New Year’s Day Family Celebrations, January 1, 2026

With the Moon in Gemini, family gatherings run on conversation, errands, phone calls, jokes, and constant little pivots, people want to talk, snack, move, change subjects, and do “a bit of everything,” so plan the day like a string of small moments instead of one long, heavy sit-down. If you’re hosting, let the energy breathe, open the flow between rooms.  Keep activities short and optional -- a game for ten minutes, a story round, a quick walk, then back to food.  Gemini does best when nobody feels trapped in one chair with one topic for two hours.

The complication is Mercury in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces, which is the classic fog-machine for communication.  Everybody’s sure they heard something.  Everybody’s sure they meant something.  Nobody’s working from the same script. This is not the aspect for “let’s finally talk about it,” or for money decisions, big promises, sensitive family history, or emotional tell-all conversations. It’s far better for music, warmth, blessing the new year, and letting stories be stories without treating them like evidence. If something feels off, don’t accuse.  Clarify, ask one clean question, repeat plans back out loud, and if you need a magic trick, use the oldest one in the book -- change the setting.  Step outside for air, refresh a drink of water, shift the room, reset the nervous system, then come back with a better handle on your brain.

Today’s Reward

Stand at a window or step outside for a moment and watch the sky, even if it’s only stars and streetlights.  Place a hand over your heart and say, “I release what weighed me, I keep what strengthened me, I welcome the new year with clear sight and steady spirit.” Then do one small body-blessing.  If you’re up for it, light one candle and let it burn for a few minutes while you picture 2026 arriving clean, bright, and possible, then blow it out and know this you earned your 20 Stars.  Tonight you don’t just cross a threshold -- you claim it!  Step forward onto a bright, glittering path on purpose!

For the past 45 years (unbroken) – almost 60 is you count a few breaks in between, lol,  our family has followed the tradition of Pork n’ Sauerkraut for good luck and special blessings throughout the new year.  Here’s a classic New Year’s Day Pork ’n’ Sauerkraut (Pennsylvania-style) recipe, cozy and simple that we use here at the RavenWolf hearthstone.

Pork ’n’ Sauerkraut

Serves: 6–8Time: about 2.5–3.5 hours (mostly hands-off)

Ingredients

• 3–4 lb pork roast (shoulder/butt for best flavor, or loin if you want leaner)

• 2 tbsp oil (or bacon fat if you have it) – organic rosemary garlic oil is great, too!

• 2–3 lb sauerkraut (about 2 large jars or bags), drained…

So!  Our family always buys the kraut in the bag and then we rinse it thoroughly, that way it isn’t so bitter.

• 1 cup apple juice or chicken broth (or half/half) – we use half/half

• 1 large onion, sliced (optional but great) – we also use scallions for a bit of color

• 1 apple, peeled and sliced (optional, for gentle sweetness)

• 2 tbsp brown sugar or 1–2 tbsp honey (this is added to the kraut before cooking to lessen that bitter taste)

• 1 tsp caraway seeds (optional)

• 2 bay leaves (optional)

• Salt and pepper – I use McCormick’s Montreal

Directions

1. Brown the pork. Pat pork dry, salt and pepper it. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot. Sear pork 3–4 minutes per side until browned.

2. Build the bed. Add onion to the pot (if using) and cook 2 minutes. Add sauerkraut, apple slices, caraway, and bay leaves. Pour in apple juice/broth. (See my note below).

3. Slow cook. Cover and simmer on low 2.5–3 hours, turning the pork once or twice, until very tender (shoulder) or until loin reaches 145°F and rests.

4. Adjust flavor. Taste the kraut. Make further adjustments if necessary

5. Serve. Slice or shred pork. Spoon kraut over top.

6. 
   

Serving ideas

• Best with mashed potatoes and pork gravy, buttered noodles, or rye bread.

• Add a side of applesauce if your crew likes it sweeter

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Serve with a green veggie – helps cut the heavy, as my grandmother used to say – sometimes we make green beans, and other occasions we choose broccoli.

Note:  My grandmother taught me to cook the pork on a raised round roasting rack or a meat rack without the sauerkraut/apple/juice/caraway and bay leaf mixture.  She added about a cup of water to keep the meat moist and checked the pan during the baking time.  The sauerkraut/apple/juice,caraway/bay leaf mixture is added one hour before finish time and should also register a temp of 145 degrees.  Keep covered throughout the cooking process.

Nuit Sparkletooth waits on the battlements of Boogie Knight Castle, the winter wind tugging at her antenna and making her wings shiver like silver paper. Up the stairs come the Ten Little Boogers in a thundering, giggling stampede, racing each other as if the new year might start without them. Nuit holds up a hand, and the whole line skids to a stop.  Wide-eyed and breathless, because everyone knows her rules of safe pyrotechnics. She passes out sparklers first, bright little stars on sticks, then, with a grin that means business, she hands each Booger a brand-new toothbrush to put in their pocket. “I have blessed your toothbrushes,” she says, “for happiness, luck, and wisdom this year!”  All the Boogers clap and giggle.  Buzzy Booger steps forward with a solemn face.  “You should bless our toothpaste, too!”  “Absolutely!” says Nuit.

Below them, the villagers of the Boogie Knight Kingdom gather in the courtyard, faces tilted up to the sky, bundled in scarves and hope, waiting for the fireworks to bloom. The castle bells chime.  The night holds its breath.  When the first streak of color bursts overhead, the crowd erupts in awe, oohs and ahhhs rolling through the cold like an epic wave. The countdown begins, ten, nine, eight, voices rising, squealing, laughing, sparklers hissing in the Boogers’ hands as Nuit touches her torch to waiting fuses. Three, two, one, and midnight breaks open in a magnificent shower of light -- the whole kingdom shouting as one, “Happy New Year!”.  The Boogie Knight Kingdom and I wish you all a bright and glittering path ahead.  May your days be blessed, your heart be steady, and your smile shine like spectacular fireworks!

P.S.  Don’t forget to empower your mouthwash. 

Peace with the Gods

Peace with nature,

Peace Within!

Silver

Congratulations!  You did it!  You finished the Great Release Program, and that is a genuine win worth celebrating!  I don’t care if you blazed through every day like a champion, or if you did five minutes here, skipped a day there, circled back, and kept going anyway.  You still crossed the finish line, because you showed up. It all counts – the donations, the burgeoning trash bags, the destruction of clutter! So take a breath and smile! You didn’t just “get through” the season; you moved energy, you shifted your space, and you proved to yourself that change is possible, one small choice at a time.