What are the 12 Magic Nights?
The 12 nights between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6) have long been seen as a sacred pause — a time for reflection, release, and connection with something deeper. In ancient times, people followed both lunar and solar calendars. The lunar year was about twelve days shorter, leaving a mysterious gap known as the time between years or the time within time. These were believed to be powerful nights for insight, intuition, and renewal.
Across Europe, this tradition carries many names- the Holy Nights, the Rough Nights, Rauhnächte, Yuletide, or Twelve Sacred Nights. Here, I simply call them the 12 Magic Nights.
This ancient tradition is perfect for our modern world. Because our attention is constantly being pulled outward- toward news, noise, sparkly new things, and endless distractions- it is so easy to lose ourselves and connection to something bigger. Don’t get distracted. These 12 nights offer a chance to get really clear with your inner world, to gather your scattered energy, to remember what truly matters.
For the past 4 years, I’ve returned to this participating in and guiding others through this tradition because it fills me with meaning, magic, and peace and that carries on into the new year. It helps me to reorient to the fundamental things in my life that deserve my attention. And it reminds me that I am responsible for creating the feelings that I want in my life.
If you are looking for something similar- I invite you to join me.
How does it work?
From December 25th to January 6th you will receive an email with:
daily theme: This year the theme is “The Portal Inward” as we will explore 12 different portals/methods that lead to a deeper relationship with yourself.
guided meditation (6-8 minutes)
2 journal prompts
guidance through the other components of the ritual. You will also be paying attention to important events or feelings throughout your days and your dreams at night. In this tradition, every night is connected to the energy of a corresponding month for the upcoming year. For example, what happens on December 25th may offer predictions of what is to come in January 2026. And what you notice in your dreams on December 29th could offer insight into your May 2026.
You choose when to carve out time throughout your day to write, reflect, or meditate. I find that even 10 minutes every day is a wonderful way to participate, but take as much time as you can and make it your own!
What’s Included?
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Your daily email will include the “theme” of the day, 2 journal prompts, guided meditations, quotes and rituals to enhance your experience.
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Written and recorded by me to support you in building presence, introspection, and a deeper relationship with the mind/body/spirit.
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There will be an optional virtual opening ceremony on December 21st at 7 pm EST and a closing ceremony on January 6th at 11:30 am EST.
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For ease and clarity, you will have all of the information about this ritual and the instructions in a PDF.
What You Need
Notebook or Journal
20 minutes a day
A commitment to the process
Optional
Sage, palo santo, or incense
Candle
I-ching, Oracle cards, or tarot cards (If this is something you already use)
Virtual ceremony to close the 12 Magic Nights
WhatsApp group for community, inspiration, and accountability
Cost
$40 payable through Venmo, Paypal, or Credit Card
Or join with a friend and receive 2 spaces for $56 total
How could this benefit me?
The 12 Magic nights are an opportunity to close a chapter with awareness and wisdom and start a new chapter with mindfulness and intention. This time and this program is an invitation to:
digest the past year before moving forward
more intentionally enter the upcoming year
spend quality time in contemplation with yourself
learn about a new ritual and form a new tradition
experience the benefits of journaling
receive support and guidance along the way
develop more awareness and clarity
practice mindfulness in creative and fun ways
experiment with tapping into your intuition
practice self-discovery and showing up for yourself
connect with a partner or friend through the process
“12 Magic Nights was an offering of the highest quality and came through for me at exactly the right time! Kelly clearly put her heart and soul into the entire offering. The amount of detail, the options, and the quality of the experience were beyond what I was expecting. Do yourself a favor and register for a course with Kelly if you want to feel nurtured, cared for, and gently guided all from afar. I am only hoping she offers this course again in the future!"
Megan
“I have followed a journaling program for the 1st time in my life with Kelly's 12 Magic Nights. Through this program she shared so much inspiration, challenging questions and resources... her words hold your personal space in such a supporting way that you feel comfortable even if you had never written a word in a journal before. Her experience in mindfulness and psychology make her a wonderful guide and space holder even for a more mental introspection. Both if you are new at journaling or if journaling is a habit for you, Kelly is certainly an incredible guide, mirror and friend to share the process with!"
Giulia
The Magic Days and Nights have been very meaningful, special and pretty much magic to me. It made the end of last year just so memorable and I started the new year with a much lighter heart, joy and so much excitement for what is might going to come. Throughout the whole year I loved going back to my journal and I could not believe of how much of it became a reality. Kelly creates the most beautiful program that is going to be now my yearly end of year ritual. 🤍
-Kat
“"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper."
— W.B. Yeats
This journey is for you if you:
Crave a deeper, more intentional way to close the year
Love journaling, ritual, or reflection
Feel drawn to “witchy” or soulful practices
Are craving to slow down, listen, and be guided inward
You don’t need to know anything about the 12 Nights- just a willingness to show up, reflect, and be open to magic.
I’ll be walking beside you through each of the 12 nights — through guided audios, daily reflections, and rituals that help you go deeper. You’ll feel supported, inspired, and connected, even as you move through the process on your own time.
Frequently Asked Questions
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It’s not a problem. If you think you will miss more than half of the days- then I might recommend to pass on this for now. Also, you can do the rituals whenever the time suits you. Ideally, you use the magic and energy of darkness and perform the rituals in the morning or evening- but what really counts is simply carving out that little time for you.
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Yes! Any friends or family that you have that love to journal would love this program. You can also easily select Magic Start as a gift using the ordering system and enter the details of the person to be gifted. They will receive the first email about Magic Start on December 24th. You could give them this gift along with a journal or sage.
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100% What you write is only for you and does not need to be written in any particular way. There are 3 different opportunities to write: about your dreams, the things you notice that happen through your day, and the journal prompts. You’ll get something from each one as they all invite mindfulness, introspection, and slowing down.
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In the daily emails you will receive writing prompts and optional rituals; as well as other inspirational resources that guide you through the 12 nights. How deeply you immerse yourself and how many of the practices you implement is entirely up to you. I recommend that you set aside at least 20 minutes every day so that you can calmly answer the journaling questions or jot down your dreams and observations of the day.
Basically, there is no right or wrong and you can take as much or as little time as you want. Maybe one day you have 10 minutes and the next you have 30.
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Using sage or “smoking” can be a great tool to release and cleanse yourself, your home and the old energies of the year. While I recommend it as part of the Magic Nights rituals, it is certainly not mandatory.
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Please first check whether you have given me your correct email address. If so, be sure to check your spam folder. Even if you received emails in the first few days, for example, it can sometimes happen that they end up in spam on a later day.
If you still are not receiving them, please send an email directly to kellyyonston@gmail.com.
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ABSOLUTELY YES! The themes of the individual nights will be similar to last year, but there will be different prompts (and less: 4-5). I find that with rituals like these I tend to go deeper and get more from it each year. And, it’s beautiful to see your own evolution through the process each year.
