I’ve been talking to a lot of people these past several months and all of us appear to be working with major transitions in our lives: divorce, separation, weddings, births, job loss, new careers, travel opportunities, health issues. You name it.

One of the common denominators as we traverse these transitions is: What do I do? How do I do it? Why is this happening? Many folks just want it to be DONE, like a lightning bolt.

And yet everyone I know – when we really talk about it -isn’t ready for any real dramatic, instantaneous change. When they want something to change immediately, usually the reason is so that they can skip over the pain associated with the transition, or at least skip the discomfort or the fear … [fill in the dread of choice].

So here’s where knowing your Personal Year Cycle in Numerology might come in handy. This is a nice tool for guidance. Working with Personal Year Numbers is a wonderful way to go along with the flow of your life rather than clash against it.

Here’s how to calculate your Personal Year.

Take your birth date (for example): 3/25/1984

Now replace the year you were born with the current year: 3/25/2011

Now add those numbers together like a long addition math problem:

3 + 2 + 5 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 1 = 14

Digit down to a one-digit number, so add 1 + 4 = 5

In this case, you are experiencing a “5” Personal Year.

Here is a brief description of the over-arching energies of each Personal Year.

1 Personal Year: This is a year of new beginnings and initiation. It can be a somewhat lonely year with feelings of a lot resting on your shoulders that only you can do without help from others. This year holds much more clarity than last year and is the start of a new 9-year cycle. So make it count!

2 Personal Year: This is a year to focus on your emotions. Last year = career. This year = love and emotions. Concentrate on intimacy and relationships, fostering appreciation for yourself and your loved ones, and speaking your truth gently yet firmly. Expect this year to feel very slow-moving.

3 Personal Year: This is a year of fun and creativity! Take center stage. Take a public speaking class or have a makeover. Live your life big and expansively. Take risks you’d usually never dream of taking. This is your year to be out there, expanding all aspects of your sense of creative self expression.

4 Personal Year: This is a year to work hard and sharpen your skill set. Take the time to slow down, steady your pace, and become more methodical about which goals you want to reach for. This is a more serious year that requires hard work to set the foundation for whatever you are working on; job, relationship, family.

5 Personal Year: This is a year that feels like a whirlwind; so many pleasures, so little time! 🙂 There are lots of ups and downs, so the key for this year is flexibility. Lots of unexpected opportunities are bound to come your way, so be open to trying new things. If you don’t attempt to follow a strict plan you’ll be better off. It’s time to travel, not a time to make a long-term commitment!

6 Personal Year: It’s time to regroup, nurture and be nurtured. This is also a year where your personal magnetism is at a peak. Big opportunities await you this year both in your career and your intimate life. It’s a good year to get married or engaged if you have been hovering around that decision. It’s also a year where you may seek a divorce, a break-up, or other relationship splits. This year is all about evaluating the relationships in your life.

7 Personal Year: The energy of last year was a perfect segue into the internal, contemplative energies of your 7 Personal Year. While you may still see yourself functioning fairly “normally,” this is a year where you will be heavily involved in deep inner work. It’s a spiritual year; meaning, you’ll have many opportunities to test your sense of spirituality, however you define it. This is a year where your faith and trust could be tested.

8 Personal Year: This is a year to focus on money, finances, and personal power. During your 8 Personal Year, you can’t help but wake up every morning, and go to sleep every night, thinking about your finances. You might be in work overdrive this year or be handed opportunities that test your personal power.

9 Personal Year: This is a year of completion, of unraveling, of letting go of the old to make space for change. This change will be all-encompassing: possessions, relationships, job, geographical location, spirituality, health. All of it. It is all under review this year. Life changes that are known to happen during a 9 Personal Year: divorce, being fired from your job, the death of a close family member, having a baby, graduating from school, making a big geographical move, or coping with a serious health crisis. This is the year that is inviting you to go on to an even more expansive cycle in your life if you choose to let go and allow what is no longer serving you to fall away. All of these hard experiences are pushing you to grow and evolve.