There’s something irresistible about the clean slate of a new calendar year. And with the astrology of 2026, we’re about to get a hard reset. But let’s be real: “New year, new me” can feel like a lot of pressure when you’re drained from the previous year and holiday season. Your motivation to reinvent yourself might be battling your emotional burnout — and that’s okay. The slower pace that many people experience around the New Year gives us a chance to pause, reflect, set intentions, and start fresh. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need a willingness to make some moves, no matter how small, toward building the life you want to live.
Here are 7 tips and tricks for manifesting your best year yet.
1. Start 2026 with a breakthrough
The first step of manifestation is clearing away what’s blocking your path. If you’re feeling lost, stuck, overwhelmed, or flat-out unsure how to do that, we have something that can help. Our viral 28-day Breakthrough course is free and guaranteed to bring you the breakthrough you need to manifest your dreams. Led by New York Times best-selling author Chani Nicholas, this transformative resource is designed to help you bust through barriers, reconnect with your purpose, and start moving toward the life you actually want. Think of it as your accountabilibuddy, coach, and hype person all in one. Head to the Grow tab of the CHANI app to start the year by unblocking your abundance.
2. Create a ritual and build an altar
Rituals are a great way to give your wishes structure and anchor them in the real world. And they don’t need to be fancy. They can be as simple as scribbling a goal on a Post-it note, sticking it on your mirror, and reciting it every day, or whispering your hopes to your morning coffee — whatever makes sense for you. Rituals ground you in your immediate environment and act as tangible gestures of your commitment to your dreams.
Building an altar is another way to bring your dreams, prayers, and hopes into the physical world. An altar is a space where you can arrange objects that hold special meaning or represent what you want to manifest. Altars can have astrological significance too, and the CHANI app has suggestions for altar materials that can help you channel the power of the planets involved. You can turn any spot into an altar. The corner of your desk, a shelf, the dashboard — it’s all fair game. Then add whatever items remind you of what you want to call in to your life this year. They could include a photo, a stone, a candle, a ticket stub from an event — you get the idea. Anything can be part of your altar, as long as it matters to you.
Whether you’ve been meaning to update an existing altar or ritual or you want to start fresh in 2026, we’ve got tools to support you. Check out the “This Year” section of the CHANI app for rituals and altar suggestions tied to 2026’s key themes. And keep checking the “This Week” section for your weekly rituals and altar suggestions, which are tailored to the astrology of the moment. And feel free to adapt and remix these ideas however you like — there’s no wrong way to manifest, as long as it feels meaningful to you.
3. Get your moodboard on
If rituals and altars aren’t your thing, that’s totally fine. A moodboard is another way to map out your goals and desires, resulting in a clear, visual reminder of everything you’re working hard to manifest. You can drag some screenshots into a folder and edit them to your heart’s content, or print a few images and play around with glue, scissors, and cute decorations. Just make sure to check your perfectionism at the door. The point is to create such a vivid picture of your future that it starts to feel real — because on paper (or on your screen), it already is.
Moodboards aren’t just fun to make; they also support the practice of visualization — one of the most powerful tools we can use to conjure the life we want. If you can’t envision it in your mind, how can you expect to manifest it IRL?
4. Send yourself a letter from the future
You can also write yourself a note from the future, dishing all the details of your “I actually did it” era. Like making moodboards, this exercise can help you manifest through the magic of visualization. When you imagine what achieving your goals will look and feel like, you’ll be even more motivated to work toward your future victory lap. The idea is to celebrate the wins you’re manifesting as if they’ve already happened — and to tap into that future fulfillment to fuel you in the present. If you’re not sure where to start, our 2026 Astro Planner has an exercise that guides you through the entire process.
5. Pick a “word of the year”
If you want to keep your manifestations short and sweet, you can simply pick a guiding word for 2026 — something that captures how you’d like the year to feel or what you want to achieve during this time. Whatever word you choose, keep it close to you, in a spot where you’ll notice it often. You could display it on your phone’s lock screen, doodle it on your calendar, or write it down and set it on your altar. Imagine this word as a spell that’s helping to call in your desires every time you read it, speak it, think it, or just connect quietly with it. Can’t decide on a word? Draw from your 2026 journal prompts in the “This Year” section of the app.
6. Dive into your 2026 readings
The secret to making your manifestations go further? Knowing when there’s extra wind in your sails — and when you’re more likely to be blown off course. To pinpoint when you’ll have the best cosmic weather for realizing your dreams in 2026, check the “This Year” section of the CHANI app. There, you’ll find in-depth monthly readings for your rising sign and guided meditations, rituals, and journal prompts that will help you align your goals with the major astro themes of the year. And if you want to manifest something in a certain area of your life — say, your home life or your career — you can read your 2026 horoscopes for more intel on how the year will impact that specific part of your life.
7. Work with the Moon
If you miss the manifestation party in January, don’t worry. Every New Moon is like a mini New Year’s Day — and a perfect moment to set fresh intentions. But not all New Moons are alike, and some have a little more support to offer you. For specifics on how to make the most of each New Moon’s manifestation potential, head to the “This Week” section of the CHANI app and listen to Your Reading — there, Chani Nicholas gives you a personalized rundown of the week’s astrology and ways to work with each lunation. You can also find journal prompts, altar suggestions, guided meditations, and rituals to help you get extra witchy under 2026’s New Moons.
P.S. Don’t forget to dream beyond yourself
Remember: Manifesting your dream year doesn’t have to be a solo project. Sharing your wishes can be a form of spellwork — plus, it helps keep you accountable and encourages others to bring their own dreams to life. So rally your friends and manifest together. Here’s to an abundant 2026.
