December 31, 2021
I’m not much for staying up late to celebrate the new year, but I do love the ritual of renewal and rebirth that a new year brings. There’s something inherently refreshing to me about this new beginning. I’ve spent time in recent days reflecting on the past year and planning for the new one. I look forward to time today with my journal, throwing the I Ching, and pulling a Tarot card too—something my partner and I do together at the end of each year, in anticipation of the new one. It’s grounding for me to spend time with the inner world and the oracles and take stock of the year passed.
It was quite the year. It started off with a bang and didn’t slow down.
At Salome, amidst an ongoing global pandemic and new vaccines, we celebrated the historic wins in Georgia and grieved the insurrection and attempted coup; we mourned the targeting of Asian women in the Atlanta massacre and the police shooting of sixteen-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant; we called our representatives on behalf of the women of Afghanistan; and we raised over $3,000 for the protection of voting rights in the United States.
We also gathered over sixty-five times with all of you in our brilliant online community, across continents and timezones. We spent time studying Jung’s newly published Black Books, learned to read our horoscopes, explored Gnostic Christianity in-depth, dove deeper into the writings of Octavia E. Butler while writing ourselves, gathered in multiple men’s groups and women’s groups, explored the foundational ideas of Jung’s psychology, pondered the connections between our individual psyches and democracy, and much, much more.
We also provided over $25,000 in scholarships and discounts to anyone in financial need who made a request for our seminars. We’re committed to doing the same next year. No applications or proof of need is required—just trust.
We’re so grateful to be on this journey with all of you, and we look forward to seeing you, learning with you, and being with you more in 2022.
Many Blessings and Happy New Year!
xo, Satya
Satya Doyle Byock, Director of The Salome Institute of Jungian Studies