New Moon Ritual: January 2026
Happy New Year! Welcome to the first New Moon Dream Divination ritual of 2026. I’m frequently reminded of what my friend Irene Glasse says about spirit communication when I engage in this dream ritual: spirit pulls from images or sensations that make sense to you in order to convey a message, and sometimes that can result in some pretty weird moments. This is why she and I, and lots of other folks really, encourage y’all to read, create art, watch movies, etc. Consider it like expanding your vocabulary and giving the unseen the ability to provide more nuance in their messages.
All of this to say, I really enjoy Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, both the novel and miniseries adaptation, and apparently that was the media spirit was pulling from last night. If you are note familiar with this book, it takes place in an alternate Napoleonic Europe, specifically England, in which magic is beginning to return. The primary plot involves two men who become the top magicians in England but have wildly different approaches to it. Mr. Norrell is a self-described theoretical magician, and believe magic should be carefully studied and debated, but is much too dangerous to actually teach folks how to use it. Jonathan Strange, briefly an apprentice to Mr. Norrell, becomes what is known as a practical magician who actively uses magic in life and military combat, often with disastrous and unpredictable consequences.
There is another character, John Segundus, who is a member of a society of theoretical magicians who arguably kickstarts the whole novel by reaching out to Mr. Norrell with a question. While he makes an agreement to never practice magic, it is strongly implied that Segundus possesses an intrinsic connection to magic and Faerie. He is drawn to magical places, can sense the presence of magic influencing people, and on at least one occasion accidentally walks into someone else’s dream.
Segundus also becomes the owner and caretaker of a key location in the story, Stareview Abbey, in his attempt at researching the remnants of English magic and creating his own school. This was the 16th-century home of a powerful magician named Maria Absalom. In ends up becoming a place of refuge for those afflicted by magical curses and illnesses.
Stareview Abbey is described as an abandoned, desolate home before Segundus acquires it. Overrun by vines, windows broken, the gardens overgrown.
Why am I telling you all this? Well, because without this background the message I received would not make a lot of sense. Remember, spirit uses things that make sense to us personally in order to communicate.
My dream centered on Stareview Abbey, specifically the rehabilitation of it which is not explicitly covered in the novel. Segundus did not throw his lot in with either the practical or theoretical magicians, instead choosing to try to create a school where anyone could learn about magic. It turned into a place where those with knowledge of how magic worked could provide aid and comfort to those caught in the crossfire.
To me this speaks about the importance of community care, but is also speaks to the need for places that exist outside the established systems. Part of resistance is creating parallel structures, or brand new structures that existing institutions prevent from coming into being. We see this throughout resistance history in the United States: LGBTQ+ community leading the charge on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, the Black Panthers creating the Free Breakfast for Children program, etc. It’s important to note that Parliament is not responsible for the creation of Stareview Abbey, they are not the ones who identified a need and responded to it, it was entirely driven by Segundus and his companion, Mr. Honeyfoot.
In this message, Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange exemplified the extremes of the approach to antifascism we are currently experiencing. The timid, theoretical, talk-it-to-death approach that seems to have captured Democratic leadership versus the damn-the-consequences, reactionary politics of those who often are insulated from the fallout. (I think this is best shown when Strange resurrects a few dead French soldiers to interrogate them only to afterwards realize he doesn’t know how to make them dead again, in effect leaving these souls trapped in their decaying bodies.) These two forces are still operating within the established system, too. They each are working to garner the favor of English government by showing their approach to magic is superior. At the end of the day they are fighting for acceptance by the same system.
John Segundus, on the other hand, is focused on the people. While his initial goal was to open a school, he soon realizes he possesses the resources and knowledge to provide comfort to the magically afflicted and adapts to meet that need. He doesn’t try to build something within the system, he builds something the system was never invested in to begin with.
I think we are going to need a lot of that this year, and probably longer. How do we build parallel structures or new resources to support those in our community caught in between the warring factions of leadership? Segundus did not built it alone, he had his friend with him to help, so who do we have to help us build these spaces of refuge and healing? What forgotten spaces around us can we breathe new life into with the goal of increasing access and building community?
