The New Lunar Year
Remembering Our Soul Contract
The first time I officially celebrated the New Lunar Year as Rosh Hashanah, I was astonished to witness how this alignment carried me into a complete shift in my life. From that moment, I knew that this portal is not bound to one tradition, but is universal. You can be of any spiritual path, for Rosh Hashanah is a portal of creation, a cosmic renewal offered to all souls.
Rosh Hashanah 2025 begins on the evening of September 22nd and ends on the evening of September 24th.
These two days are unlike any others in the year. In the mystical tradition, they are the axis upon which the destiny of the entire year turns.
It is said that everything we will experience in the year ahead is inscribed in our Book of Life during these two sacred days:
- Our relationships and soulmates
- The flow of money and sustenance
- Our health and vitality
- The unfolding of our work, our books, and creations
- Even the challenges and blessings designed for our growth
How these unfold depends upon the inner work we have done during the month of Elul, the month of teshuvah (return). Elul is the season of purification: clearing heaviness, releasing judgment, forgiving, and returning to the light of our soul.
Day One: Din — Judgment
The first day of Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Din, divine judgment. In Kabbalah, Din is not punishment but alignment. The light of truth shines so clearly that nothing can remain hidden. Our unhealed fragments, our distortions, and our shadows rise up to be seen.
The Zohar teaches that this is the moment when we stand before the King, meaning before the radiance of our highest essence. Din is often felt as intensity, a mirror showing us what must be released, refined, and transformed. This judgment is not to be feared, for it is not destruction but recalibration, a return to harmony with Divine order.
Day Two: Chesed — Mercy
The second day of Rosh Hashanah opens the gates of Chesed: mercy, lovingkindness, and compassion. After the clarity of judgment comes the embrace of divine love. Chesed softens Din, bathing us in the waters of forgiveness and second chances.
Here Shekhinah, the Divine Feminine Presence, draws near. She whispers that no matter how far we have strayed, no exile is forever. All is given through love, and love restores us to life.
Together the two days weave a complete movement:
- Day 1: Din — truth, clarity, alignment
- Day 2: Chesed — mercy, love, renewal
Symbols of Rosh Hashanah
- Apple dipped in honey – sweetness for the year ahead, the union of earth’s fruit and heaven’s nectar.
- Pomegranate – fullness, fertility, and abundance.
- Dates – may bitterness end, and only sweetness remain.
- Leeks, beets, carrots –Symbolise the removal of negativity and multiplication of blessings.
- Spices and aromatics (cinnamon, clove, frankincense, myrtle) – fragrance, the most subtle level of the soul, reminding us that beyond judgment lies eternal purity.
- At The Desert Rose Mystery School, we also honor the rose, sacred oils, and the sound of the frame drum, embodying Shekhinah’s breath as living offerings of devotion.
Yeshua, Mary Magdalene, and Rosh Hashanah
Yeshua and Mary Magdalene, as Jewish mystics, would have celebrated Rosh Hashanah with deep devotion. They lived within the rhythms of sacred time, honoring Shabbat, the festivals, and the cycles of moon and sun.
They would have gathered with their community, heard the sound of the shofar, tasted apples dipped in honey, and prayed for renewal as the gates of the New Year opened. Their devotion added mystical depth: Rosh Hashanah was not only about external ritual but about inner rebirth,the purification of the heart, and the awakening of divine consciousness within. This was always the portal that brought them closer to the fulfilment of their ministry.
When Yeshua proclaimed:
“Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)
he was echoing the essence of Rosh Hashanah: each New Year is a return to the origin of creation, a chance to begin again.
And when Magdalene anointed with oil, she embodied Chesed , mercy, preparing the soul to walk from judgment into compassion, from exile into return.
A Magdalene Reflection
Mary Magdalene teaches that judgment without love leads to exile, and love without truth leads to illusion. Rosh Hashanah is the dance of both. On the first day, we see with unflinching clarity the patterns that separate us from divine flow. On the second, we are gathered into the embrace of compassion, reminded that every exile is temporary, and every heart can return.
Mother Anna and the Book of Life
I always connect with Mother Anna during Rosh Hashanah. Why? Because she embodies the mystery of covenant, patience, and fulfillment.
- Her long years of barrenness symbolize the seasons when our mission seems delayed, yet in the mystery, divine timing ripens perfectly.
- Her vow to dedicate her child reveals the power of promises made from the heart — promises that weave destiny.
- Her waiting reflects the hidden gestations of the soul, when nothing seems to grow but roots deepen in the unseen.
- Mystically, she is the guardian of the Book of Life, holding the memory of our covenant before incarnation, reminding us to realign with the soul’s original intention.
- Through her late conception, Mother Anna heals generations of exile and shows us that even barren places can bloom when faith ripens into fulfillment.
Her teaching crystallizes into The Mother Anna Soul Codes:
Longing → Covenant → Devotion → Alignment → Conception → Fulfillment
Desire becomes covenant, covenant becomes devotion, devotion births alignment, alignment opens conception, and conception fulfills the mission.
A beautiful Mantra for Rosh Hashanah and every day:
Aramaic Mantra:
Imma Hannah Noohra Qadeesha
אִמָּא חַנָּה נּוּהְרָא קַדִּישָׁא
Mother Anna, Holy Light
Rosh Hashanah is also the moment to remember the covenant of our soul, the agreement we made before entering this world. Every soul carries a unique mission, and in these two days the Book of Life reopens. We are asked: are you ready to fully embody your mission, to live your purpose in devotion and truth?
This is the heart of the High Holy Days: to return, to realign, and to step more deeply into the promise of who we truly are.
Prepare your alters, make space and celebrate on this Shabbat before the New Lunar year Rosh Hashanah knowing that with a clear intention and a heart that is purified and open, you will be on the greatest journey of soul expansion this year!
Upcoming In October I will begin facilitating the first workshops of the Mother Anna Soul Codes. More information is coming soon.
Join us for the September Online Magdalene Shabbat on September 26th. Participation is by donation, as all funds go toward sponsoring the children in India we have been sponsoring since 2017 with food, clothing, and education. The replay is available for the 24 hours of Shabbat, and even if you cannot attend live, your donations are always a blessing.
Wishing all of you a Blessed Shabbat.
AHAVA,
Ana Otero
