So!  Today is my 36th birthday (accolades, applause, yesthankyou) and I meditated it in last night.  Because that’s how I roll these days.  Don’t judge.  And I tried to do this candle ritual, which was both largely successful and largely unsuccessful.  My house still stands and did not burn to the ground, as I heavily anticipated for about 15 seconds last night, so I’m taking that as a good omen for the new year.  Here’s the thing that excites me though (it takes so little really).  36 is the beginning of a new life cycle.  Life, as it turns out, is structured in cycles of 9 (birth to 9, 9 to 18, 18 to 27, etc.)  Who knew?  So I’m just completing the 27-36 phase and starting the 36-45 one.  According to the numbers, this next phase should be fantastic!  But this particular *year*?  Hard to say.  Kind of a crap shoot.  It’s a 9 year for me, which is a god number.  And god number years are always about beginnings and endings, largely in relationships.  So I don’t know.  But I’m not going to dwell on the scary unknown!  No!  Instead, I shall dwell on the chocolate ganache cake that is sitting on my desk laughing at me because I’m making myself wait until after lunch to eat it.  I had to.  The Magic 8 Ball on my desk commanded it.  Full disclosure:  I ate some of the chocolately bits off the top.  I’m not made of stone, people.