Nearly Enlightened

Navigating the In-Between: New Beginnings and Personal Growth

• Giana Rosa Giarrusso • Season 4 • Episode 4

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Feeling the weight of unfulfilled New Year’s resolutions? You’re not alone. The truth is, January isn’t the real start of the year—Aries season is. As the final sign of the zodiac, Pisces marks the true ending, a time for reflection, release, and deep inner work before the fresh energy of Aries season and spring’s renewal.

In this episode of The Nearly Enlightened Podcast, host Giana Giarrusso explores why so many resolutions fail and how to align your personal growth with the natural rhythms of the seasons. Instead of forcing new habits in the depths of winter, now is the time to slow down, nurture yourself, and plant seeds of intention that will bloom when spring arrives.

You’ll learn:
✨ Why winter is for rest, not hustle—and how to honor that
✨ The deep meaning of Pisces season and its role in personal transformation
✨ How to embrace this time for reflection, release, and intuitive goal-setting
✨ How Aries season and the arrival of spring bring fresh energy for action

If you've felt out of sync with your goals or pressured to make changes before you were ready, this episode is your permission slip to reset and realign. Tune in now, and don’t forget to subscribe, share, and tag @nearlyenlightened on Instagram—let’s keep this conversation going!


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Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the Nearly Enlightened podcast, your high vibe toolbox designed to help you connect to your body, mind and spirit. I am your host, gianna Girusso, and this is a much anticipated solo episode. So it's just me today. I have been feeling a pull to talk about this. So if you have been feeling like your New Year's resolutions have already fallen by the wayside, first of all, take a deep breath. It's not a big deal. This is the end of the year. We just entered Pisces season, so you're not alone. In fact, I'm here to tell you that many have been working against the natural flow of energy rather than with it. Right now we are diving into Pisces season, the last sign of the zodiac, the true end of the year, the end of a year-long zodiac cycle. Nature is still in winter mode, things are still hibernating, and yet society tells us to push forward with big, bold resolutions in the absolute dead of winter. No wonder so many people lose momentum by February, and really it happens before then. They say by like the second. I think it's like the second Friday in January. Most people have already given up on their New Year's resolutions, and that is so crazy to me. Um, I never feel the pull to like get down to the nitty gritty at the quote unquote start of the year, and for me it's always felt more natural that that's around springtime, around the equinox, um, around Aries season. That's when a new zodiac cycle starts and right now I feel like, in the thick of winter, is the time to hibernate, to plant your seeds, to nurture those seeds, to nurture yourself, and yeah, so just honor this end of the cycle instead of trying to start something new right now. No wonder so many people are feeling like so disconnected. It's because we are disconnected with our nature. So here's the thing Aries season, which starts in late March at basically the spring equinox, is the true energetic new year. It aligns with spring, it aligns with rebirth and things start to bloom. So if you haven't set goals yet, or if you've already let them slip away, this is your time to realign, to assess and to find how you can find that fresh start.

Speaker 1:

Let's talk about the Pisces. Energy Pisces is the 12th and final sign of the Zodiac and it carries all the wisdom, emotions and lessons of the entire astrological year. It's a water sign which is deeply intuitive, dreamy and sometimes even a little chaotic. It's said that our Pisces friends, like they're the people who are always looking through things with the rose colored glasses. But, just like in all things, it's a mirror. And because endings often feel messy before the clarity sets in, what would Pisces be without a little bit of that chaotic energy? So what does this really mean for us?

Speaker 1:

Right now is not the time to force new habits or aggressively chase goals. Instead, pisces is inviting us to reflect. Reflect on what we've learned for over the past year and to notice. Notice. Were we feeling aligned? Were we feeling misaligned? What felt really good, what felt really unnatural? It's the time to look at these things like water.

Speaker 1:

Water sign we can use as a reflection. Right, it's like a mirror looking inward. It's a time to release that, what no longer serves us beliefs, habits, maybe even relationships, maybe even jobs, like whatever it is. It's the time to release Again water sign. It allows us to like, wash those things away. And this is a time, once we do those two things is to reconnect reconnect to our intuition, our dreams and our creative side. This is why you might be feeling a little extra emotional or maybe even a little bit nostalgic right now. Your subconscious is processing the year that just passed. Whether you know it or not, it's wrapping things up before we start fresh with the airy season and start fresh with spring, when things start to bloom and the green returns unless you live in New England, of course, and then you know that April could always bring some snow. So let's be real.

Speaker 1:

How many of us have set the big New Year's resolutions in January 1st to already? They're a distant memory already. Statistically, about 80% of people give up on their resolutions by the second week of February, and it's not because we're lazy or unmotivated, but it's because January and February are just the worst possible times to start fresh. Think about it. The days are dark and cold for many of us, especially if you're here in New England, like I am, even though the light is returning, 530 sun setting time. It feels pretty damn good, and by the end of next month the sun will be setting around 7 pm.

Speaker 1:

Our bodies are still in winter mode. We're hibernating, we're craving warmth, we're craving rest, we're craving nourishment. A lot of people, especially throughout New England, have succumbed to the cold, the flu Everyone seems to have it. It's really a time to nourish our bodies and to bring us back to alignment and sometimes a little bit of a cold flu, a little bit of that kind of illness, can help us do just that. Our bodies are still in winter mode. So we need to honor, honor that. Honor that it's not time yet to like burn the candle at both ends.

Speaker 1:

Although is it ever really that time? Our intuition is telling us to slow down, while society is telling us to speed up, and that can be a struggle, I know. For me it certainly is. I teach about 10 yoga classes a week and there's always this pressure to pick up more classes or to do more, to do workshops, to do all of these things, but for me as a projector, it really leaves me feeling pretty drained. So if you've been struggling with your resolutions, you haven't failed. It's just you were trying to bloom in the middle of winter, and that's really hard to do, especially with the colds that New England's had the last couple of weeks. Today is a little bit different, but I'm sure we're going to get back into those cold, frigid temperatures.

Speaker 1:

Even in pop culture we see this pattern. Take celebrities or influencers who announce big projects or lifestyle changes in January, only to quietly pivot by March. Right now there's a lot of talk about burnout, rest and self-care. And that's because we're feeling the natural energy of Pisces season calling us inward, calling us to reset, restart and to focus on self-care. Now I'm excited we're ending the winter, we're coming up on spring and airy season just ignites this fire. So we go from a water sign pisces washing away, reflecting, um, looking into our intuition, nourishing, hydrating and then we move into airy season right away. It's like this fiery spark right at the beginning of spring and that is really the time to hit the ground running. We planted the seeds. Now it's time to nurture those seeds. It's time to put action to where our ideologies are. So, like Pisces, it's all about kind of being in, not about being in your head, but it's about tapping into your intuition and to imagine and to create where we want to go next. And then the Aries fire season really puts literally a fire under our ass to help us to realize these things. So in late March we hit the spring equinox and the start of Aries season, the start of a new Zodiac year. Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac, the initiator, the fire starter, and it aligns with spring, longer days and renewed energy. So when we have longer days, when the sun is shining a little bit more. We feel different when we think about planting seeds for the future. Pisces season is the time to dream. Aries season is the time to act.

Speaker 1:

If you haven't set goals yet, or even if your resolutions fell apart, this is the perfect time for you. It's the perfect time to start fresh. It's the perfect time to reflect on why those failed in the first place. Maybe they're not aligned at all. Maybe it's time to just completely scrap it and start over, more aligned. So if you're wondering what you can do to get back on track, to get back on alignment, some suggestions might be to journal journal on what you want to release before this new cycle begins. Journal about reflecting just reflecting on the past year, on things that you experienced, things that you learned, things that you know you need to leave behind. What are the limiting beliefs or habits that are holding you back from realizing your full potential? Now is the time to create a vision board, not just about goals, about how you want to feel, how you want the next year to look.

Speaker 1:

It's the time to commit to small, intuitive actions instead of forcing yourself to start a huge habit. Try one small thing that feels aligned. So some of the things that have come up on this podcast. A very common thread is that everyone started with like one small thing. You don't have to change everything, you just have to start with one small thing that feels aligned. And for me, I'm coming into a season where I'm ready.

Speaker 1:

I took a couple of weeks off from the podcast. You might've noticed there were no new episodes since the episode with Kelly at the end of I think it was like the end of January, mid-january maybe and and I've been working on this solo episode for a little bit, but it just wasn't the right time and today just felt like the day. So, taking small actions, I also had a call with my good friend Dee, who has been on the podcast, deirdre. She's been on the podcast several times. I know she's an avid listener and she's waiting for this podcast to drop and I honestly can't wait to get her feedback on it. But one of the small steps that I took today was content planning, which is so out of my comfort zone. But I know that I need to start showing up more, not just on the podcast, not just on the blog, but in the social media sphere as well, because I have a lot of insight, a lot of wisdom to share, and it's time that I start doing that and stop letting my own self-limiting beliefs hold me back from realizing my true potential.

Speaker 1:

So, if you're feeling disconnected from nature's cycles, many of us feel the same way. Many ancient cultures celebrated the new year in spring and not in January. So some examples of this are the Persian new year is celebrated on the first day of spring and that's all about renewal and rebirth, and I don't know a lot about this, but it's just something that, doing my research, I noticed and I thought that that was pretty cool. If you think about Chinese New Year, lunar New Year, that also starts mid, I think, it's like mid February, so not quite spring, but not when we're celebrating it in the middle of January, the middle of dead winter, and this is a fun fact. But the Roman calendar originally started in March and not in January, and this was considered the proper time for fresh starts. So that's new to me, because the Roman calendar is what kind of broke us up from doing 28-day 13-month cycles to going to this 12-month calendar of not the same amount of days in every month. So yeah, we've talked about it on podcasts past and if you're curious, you can go listen to the podcast with Jamie.

Speaker 1:

We talk about the Wheel of the Year a lot in that episode and that was really great and even agricultural traditions. They align with this idea that spring is when farmers plant seeds for future growth. It's like the time to start. So if you're feeling more inspired to set goals now than you did in January, you're totally in alignment with something much older and wiser than our modern calendar. That's kind of mind-blowing. So what does this mean for us? If you're feeling like you failed your New Year's resolutions, it's time to release that narrative. I'm here to tell you you are right on time. You're in the perfect spot at the perfect moment and you're exactly where you need to be. You were simply moving against the natural rhythm, so let's get back in alignment. So write down some things that you're willing to release before Aries season begins. Write down some things that you want planted, some seeds that you want planted.

Speaker 1:

Take one small action this week that can align with your soul's energy right now, and maybe that's to just stop and take a break. Maybe that's to meditate, Maybe that's to take a yoga class, maybe it's to take a painting class, maybe it's to try something new, like whatever it is. Maybe it's to start your spring cleaning and clean out your closet. Like nothing feels more refreshing than cleaning and organizing a space. Like I have many of my teachers who said, if your space is chaotic, if your home is chaotic, then that just creates chaotic energy that's going to proceed to show up in your life spaces around you. It gives you a little bit more breathing room. It gives you, quite frankly, a better energy to take those small actions as we move through these last weeks of Pisces season.

Speaker 1:

Give yourself permission to be in the in-between, to be in the transition state, and sometimes that's the most uncomfortable place to be. But allow yourself to rest, allow yourself to reset, to dream and to trust the natural flow of things. We're not meant to start off fresh right now. We're meant to bloom in the spring. So what can you do now to help you bloom in the spring? And I'll leave you with that.

Speaker 1:

That's it for today's episode of the Nearly Enlightened Podcast. Thank you for being here and thank you for choosing to do this work. If today's episode resonated with you, I'd love to hear from you, send me a DM, share this episode with a friend or tag me on Instagram so we can keep this conversation going. So this is just the start of a new beginning. That's so exciting. And if you're looking for more tools to support you in your journey, check out my meditate to elevate portal or grab my free get meditating guide. So if you don't know where to start starting with a pause is the perfect place to start. Remember, the answers aren't outside of you, they're already within. Keep tuning in, keep trusting and I'll see you next time.