F*ck New Year’s Resolutions. Start Preparing For “13 Magical Nights” This Winter Instead.

Whether you love ‘em or you hate ‘em, you probably have an opinion on New Year’s resolutions. Maybe 2025 was the year you swore up and down you were finally going to start that side hustle or get absolutely ripped. Maybe you figured you’d just use this 365 days to try scrolling on your phone less and read a little more. But a Scottish witch on Tik Tok — yes, I mean it — shared a different ritual that I personally much prefer over just resolving to do something.

Let’s do a quick primer on witchy holiday lingo: The winter solstice is the day of the year that daylight is shortest and the night is longest. This year, it falls on December 21. Samhain is an ancient Celtic festival that marks the end of the autumnal harvest season and the transition into winter, and it begins at dusk on Halloween. Now, onto the good part. Tik Tok creator @thatglasgowwitch posted a video explaining that now is actually the perfect time to begin thinking about what you want to come to fruition next year.

While planting and harvesting season may be over by October 31 in Celtic tradition, she says it’s time to begin thinking about what you want to plant within yourself. “In my practice, I follow the 13 magical nights, a quiet ritual that bridges the old year and the new,” she says. Between now and the winter solstice, write down 13 things you’d like to see happen in 2026. Don’t write them down as “I wish,” “I want,” or “I’d like to,” but rather “I have” or “I am” statements, she specifies. You might do one or two a week, making sure they feel true to you and are things that hold meaning. When you’re done writing one down, fold it and hold onto it.

Then, each night beginning on the solstice (December 21) and through the new year (January 1), you’ll burn one of your folded statements in a candle without reading it first. “The act of burning releases it to my guides, to the universe, to whatever pattern of life carries it forward,” she explains. On January 2, you’ll unfold and read your last remaining piece of paper. It’s the “resolution” you must make happen yourself, while the others will be taken care of “in their own time.” In the comments, our new witchy friend says she based this ritual on the German and Celtic tradition of Rauhnächte, in which you burn your wishes for the new year while the veil between this world and that of our ancestors is thinnest, and their influence the strongest.

If the comments are to be believed, this sh*t works. “I forgot I had done this last year, and now that I watch this video, I’m realizing every single thing I wrote down and gave to the universe and my ancestors has come to fruition, and I’ve accomplished the one I was in charge of too. I’m in tears, and I can’t wait to do it again this year,” one user wrote. “I did this last winter solstice! I accomplished the goal on the paper I unfolded,” said another.

Many people in the comments said they naturally tend to think about resolutions in the fall more than in December and January, and that the timing aligns with the new year beginning in October in many cultures’ calendars. Other commenters shared what statements they intended to write down, and honestly, they’re really moving:

• “I am the master of my possessions and bring order and warmth to my home.”
• “I hear wind chimes and I can feel warm wind flowing in my hair.”
• “I am open to romantic love and ready to embrace new connections.”

If you can’t burn your intentions indoors (fair enough), the lovely Glasgow Witch says you could also “feed them to the earth,” as in actually plant them like seeds you’re tending, or shred them into tiny pieces and let the wind carry them away. Honestly, I couldn’t agree more with this comment though: “You could tell me to burn my house down and the accent would sell me on it as good spiritual practice.” So, what seeds will you begin planting now for the new year?