In the past few months, Spirit has begun showing me new types of information when I conduct readings for clients. This has happened many times over the years as my practice has deepened and my channel has opened. At some point my connection with Spirit evolves, and then new layers of understanding and information are revealed to me.
The newest trend coming up in readings is the uncovering of “energetic cycles” specific to each individual. An energetic cycle, as it has been explained to me in readings, is a set number of years that operates on repeat in each person’s life and brings change and growth. This multi-year cycle can be likened to the grow cycle of a plant in the way that some are annuals, and some are perennials. It is simply a tool to allow you to recognize patterns in your life and to help you better understand right timing for your personal growth.
While not the entirely the same, it is similar to (and helps to understand) the seven-year chakra cycles described in Vedic tradition that we each pass through in the first 49 years of our lives. Beginning at birth, we spend seven-year increments ruled by the energy and lessons of each chakra beginning with the root and working up. So from birth to age 7 is the root time of life when we are grounded in family, we are establishing a sense of being in a body and are generally beginning to discover and understand the physical world. From age 8 to 14 is the time of life when we’re in the sacral chakra and we’re exploring our emotions, what it means to identify with a certain gender, experimenting with friendships and relating to others, and so on. From age 15 to 21 is the solar plexus time of life when we’re exploring our power, becoming more headstrong and opinionated, seeking understanding from others, and other similar issues. Our lives continue in these seven-year intervals through the heart, throat, brow and crown.
The following graphic shows the chakra cycles and some of the themes associated with each. You’ll notice that each year within the seven-year cycle has overtones of each chakra as well, and that pivotal years come when the overarching phase and chakra year coincide.
Image sourced here.
What Spirit has shown me is that in the same way that we all go through these seven-year cycles, we each have our own unique energetic cycle of its own length and properties associated more closely to the specific lessons we’re here to address in this body, in this life. They are unique to the individual, and so far I have seen cycles ranging from 4-12 years in length depending on the person I’ve been reading for.
If you think of your life as a book, each cycle represents a new chapter. Typically there is a driving force during that chapter that is asking to be looked at or resolved (in the same way that the seven-year chakra cycles are governed by the themes of a specific chakra), and the idea is that you would have reached new understanding and peace around that issue by the close of the chapter. This doesn’t necessarily mean you will have done so, but that is Spirit’s intention and the opportunity available to you.
From what Spirit has shown me, these cycles don’t necessarily start right at birth, buy they are usually triggered by an early formative incident in our lives and the soul contract we came here to play out. So even though a person’s energetic cycle may be six years in length, it might have started at age 4 making pivotal transition years at age 4, 10, 16, 22, and so on. Also, some people won’t necessarily see a major event at the start and close of every cycle; the transition might be marked in a more internal way. While others I have seen have clear and decisive transition moments. I read for a woman the other day whose energetic cycle was 7, and it was uncanny the major life moves that had happened at seven-year intervals for her.
The reason these energetic life cycles are important is because they deepen our understanding of the self and help us move with more awareness in our lives. When we look back and begin to see the cycles in hindsight, we experience shifts in perspective that create expansion. This serves to energetically rewrite the past in our hearts and minds and transforms charged emotional memories into the steadier energy of wisdom. Likewise, when we look forward knowing where we are in our energetic cycle, we gain a better sense of understanding for the flow of our own energy and right timing for making transitions and changes. Over and over again in readings, Spirit urges people to stay “with” the energy in their lives instead of “ahead” of it, and when we are clear on our energetic cycles, we can more easily do this. It’s all about releasing resistance and flowing with what is.
Energetic cycles are typically bookended with both grounded-ness and also a new sense of possibility (a root and crown essence). When you end an energetic cycle and start a new one, it’s like walking through a doorway into a new chapter of your life. These are prime times to make transitions - physical moves, relationship changes, job moves, etc - and you’ll notice that these things tend to inevitably happen at this point. The end/beginning of a cycle is like an energetic reset, and whatever phase of growth you were supposed to go through in the proper cycle is complete for the time being. Think of it like a snake shedding its skin or child moving from grade to grade in school.
The middle of our cycles can feel the most difficult. This is when the joy and novelty of our transition has worn off, and we are doing the energetic work of adopting the new energetic pattern of this growth phase or lesson in our lives. This is when we tend to feel confused, lost, disconnected from ourselves and even depressed or disillusioned. We find ourselves asking questions like “Why am I here?” “Isn’t there more to life than this?” and “Why does life have to feel so hard?”
The following is an example of an 8-year energetic cycle playing out in a woman’s life and what some of her pivotal moments might have been. You’ll notice that the inciting incident is often more negative in nature (though it doesn’t have to be) and from then on, the cycles tend to be bookended by new understanding and growth that feels more "positive” in nature.
You’ll notice that even though the unique energetic cycles don’t have to be completely aligned with the chakras, they still often mimic the themes of the chakras. So this woman deals with safety/stability (root), then self-worth (sacral), then finances (solar plexus), and so on. Remember, these are just examples, and oftentimes the ending of one chapter and the beginning of another can be blurred just a bit. It’s not uncommon for the last year of one cycle and the beginning year of another to be peppered with several defining moments and transitions.
The power in all of this is simply awareness. Spirit doesn’t open new channels of communication and understanding to confuse us, but rather to guide us deeper into ourselves. I like to think of it in terms of school and the stages we are supposed to be at in each year of college, for instance. A freshman is supposed to be taking the basics, experimenting with electives and maybe declaring a major at some point. She isn’t supposed to be stressing about finding her forever job or planning for graduation. If she were, she would be wildly ahead of the energy and creating undue stress in her life.
In the same way, our energetic cycles help us understand where we are in the “school” of that phase’s lesson. Early in a phase, we’re in discovery mode. We’re gaining new understanding of ourselves and meeting new challenges. We’re stretching ourselves in new ways and taking risks. Mid-cycle can feel tough. This is when we’re mending the bumps and bruises we’ve gotten from taking those leaps, and we’re reminding ourselves that we can make it over the hump. The most important aspect of this phase is our mental game, and it helps to lean on our tools like meditation, affirmations and visualization. On the downward side of the cycle, we’re like the soldier coming home from battle. We’ve been through a lot of heartache, and yet there is sweetness in the coming home to self. We rest. We savor. And we feel the quickening of our energy for the next chapter.
The thing I love most about new understanding from Spirit is that, as always, it applies to all of us, and you don’t have to have a psychic or an intuitive tell you what your cycle is. While Spirit has been revealing this information in readings for clients, you can likely look back at your own life and begin to tease out the patterns and cycles on your own. We are most powerful when we lean into our own knowing and understanding, and so with all lessons, take what resonates for you and discard the rest.
We are here to enjoy, to expand, to experience. May this bless you and allow you to find flow and surrender in the many beautiful cycles of your life.