End the Year with Grace: A Conversation with a Modern Mystic, Molly Zancanaro
Reflections on revelation, Reiki and the rituals that bridge one year to the next
By: The Lace Ledger Staff
The year ends softly for those who know how to listen. The light thins, and time seems to breathe between hours.
We spoke with a modern mystic, Molly Zancanaro, about closing the year with grace and intention. Her practice blends spiritual intuition with energy work. Specializing in Reiki healing and tarot, she reminds others that ending the year doesn’t mean that we have to resolve the past to move forward; but simply release carrying what no longer belongs with us.
In this conversation, she shares her story of self discovery as well as finding her online community, and then invites us to peak behind the curtain of a session to gain a deeper understanding of the energy and intuitive work she does. She also shares a simple ritual we can each use to welcome the new year as 2025 comes to a close.
Let's start at the very beginning—when did you first realize you were intuitively gifted; were there early signs in childhood that pointed you toward this path? Did mysticism or intuitive work run in your family, or did you find your way here independently?
From a very young age, I experienced the world differently.
I was deeply intuitive and aware of presences, sensations and information that others around me couldn’t see or feel. I had visions and strong inner knowings that often turned out to be true, though, at the time, I didn’t have language for what I was experiencing—I only knew it felt natural to me.
The moment I realized I might be different from those around me came when I was fifteen. I was riding in a car with friends and suddenly felt an overwhelming certainty that we were about to be in an accident. Without hesitation, I put my seatbelt on, urged the friend sitting next to me in the backseat to do the same, and began praying for protection. She looked at me strangely, but less than five minutes later the car hydroplaned and crashed into an embankment. That experience changed my life and deeply shaped my understanding of intuition and inner guidance.
Even earlier, around the age of thirteen, I was gifted a set of crystals. Without any formal knowledge or instruction, I intuitively drew runes on them. To this day, I don’t know where that information came from—it simply flowed through me. I’ve always felt as though I carried an ancient wisdom within me, something remembered rather than learned.
As far as I know, intuitive or healing work doesn’t openly run in my family. I’ve never heard stories of psychics or sensitives in my lineage, though I also recognize that these gifts were often hidden, suppressed, or misunderstood in previous generations. I’m not very close with my family, so much of my lineage remains unknown to me. In many ways, I found my path independently.
That path became undeniable after a near-death experience in 2009, which served as a turning point and catalyst for fully stepping into my intuitive and healing work. Since then, I’ve come to understand that this connection has always been part of who I am—not something I chose, but something I remembered.
For many, stepping into a spiritual calling can feel both empowering and vulnerable. What did it look like for you to publicly claim this work, and how did you move from personal practice into offering your services professionally?
I started sharing my story on TikTok around the time my daughter was going through a difficult time, being in and out of the hospital. While she was in the hospital, I felt guided to share readings. I guess, in a way, helping others heal helped me heal too.
It took me a little while to find my footing and my voice. Sharing collective readings has healed me profoundly. It unblocked my throat chakra through this journey.
I found my voice, I found myself and I started to believe in myself.
Not that there weren’t moments of imposter syndrome and self-doubt, and I continuously had to work through that until I was very confident that this was what I was meant to do. I did free readings for people for a while and I was a manager in retail, and I started building a clientele and started charging.
Eventually, I was able to quit my management job and create my own business.
Some people can be skeptical about virtual energy work. How does energy function across distance in your experience, and what would you say to someone unsure how Reiki or energy readings can work online?
Reiki is a gentle energy practice that supports the body’s natural ability to relax, regulate and heal. In a distance Reiki session the practitioner doesn’t rely on physical touch—the energy is guided through focused intention and presence.
What surprises most people is that distance Reiki feels just as real and effective as in-person sessions. Clients often experience warmth, emotional release, deep calm, or clarity, even though we’re not in the same physical space.
How do you personally describe Reiki to someone brand new to the practice, and what are the most common shifts clients notice after a session?
I like to explain it as working with the nervous system and the energetic field together—when someone feels safe and supported, their system naturally shifts out of stress and into restoration. My role isn’t to force anything, but to hold a steady, attuned space where the client’s own energy can rebalance.
Most people are surprised by how real it feels. Even from a distance, they often notice deep relaxation, warmth, emotional release, or a sense of clarity—like their body finally gets a chance to reset.
What does a session with you look like? How do you prepare, and what can someone expect emotionally or energetically during and after a reading or healing session?
A session with me begins well before the client arrives. Preparation is a key part of my work. I spend time in meditation, grounding my energy and centering myself through visualization. This allows my body and nervous system to be fully present and capable of holding safe, intentional space for the client.
At the start of the session, we spend a few moments connecting and talking. I then guide the client through the same grounding and centring visualization I use for myself. This creates energetic alignment and strengthens the connection between us.
A healing session with me looks very different from a tarot reading. For healing work, the client lies down and is guided into a deeply relaxed, grounded state. I work quietly during the session, entering a meditative state where I begin moving energy and channeling what I’m seeing and sensing. My work is rooted in shadow work—I look at trauma, stuck energy and subconscious blocks that may be holding someone back. I clear and shift this energy using a combination of Reiki symbols and quantum energy healing techniques. This layered approach is what truly sets my work apart.
The sessions are often lengthy, and afterward clients consistently report feeling lighter. However, healing doesn’t end when the session does—there is an important integration period that can last several days. I provide aftercare guidance and journal prompts to support this process. Clients are encouraged to drink plenty of water, rest and listen closely to their bodies. Emotions may surface, past experiences may come up and energetic cords from the past may release. Sometimes this shows up as crying, laughter, physical movement, or a deep need for rest—especially for those who have lived in survival mode for much of their lives.
Many clients notice tangible changes following a session. Some feel compelled to deep clean their homes, release old belongings, or even reevaluate relationships. Over the weeks that follow, clients often check back in to share their transformations. When they return for another session, the energetic shift is visible—they often feel and look like a different person. The changes they make aren’t impulsive; they come from a soul-level desire for growth, alignment and a better life.
Tarot readings with me are quite different. While we still begin with grounding and intention setting, my approach is centred on empowerment rather than prediction. I don’t aim to give clients definitive answers or tell them what to do. Instead, I offer insight and perspective—what I call a “key.” What they choose to unlock with that key is entirely up to them. My goal is to help clients make impactful decisions based on their own internal wants, needs, and desires, rather than relying on external authority.
Ultimately, whether through healing or tarot, my work is about guiding people back to their own power and inner wisdom.
As we close out the year, many people are looking for release rather than resolution. Can you share a simple end-of-year ritual readers can do at home to clear emotional or energetic residue from the past year, and explain the benefits behind it?
Here is a simple end-of-year ritual that anyone can do at home, which takes about ten minutes and focuses on gently clearing emotional and energetic residue rather than forcing closure.
The ritual begins by creating a pause. Sitting comfortably, placing one hand on the heart and one on the lower belly, and taking a few slow breaths helps the nervous system settle. From there, the person simply names three to five things they’re ready to release—without analyzing or reframing them. This might be emotional weight, pressure, self-judgment, or situations that never found closure. The key is naming without story.
Next comes a brief physical release, such as gently shaking out the hands, shoulders, or jaw. This allows the body to complete stress cycles the mind may still be holding onto. The ritual closes with a simple gesture—tearing up the paper or placing hands over the heart—and an acknowledgment that the release doesn’t need to be fully understood to be effective.
The benefit of this practice is that it works on multiple levels. Energetically, it clears lingering imprints held in the body and energy field. Emotionally, it reduces the pressure to “figure everything out” before moving forward.
From a nervous system perspective, it signals safety and completion, which allows the body to shift into rest and integration. Spiritually, release creates space—and that space naturally invites clarity, intuition and alignment for the year ahead.
Ultimately, it reminds us that we don’t have to resolve the past year to step into the next one—we only have to stop carrying what no longer belongs with us.
Molly reminds us that all “endings” are not closures that expect (or demand) resolve, but thresholds we cross en route to what comes next on our soul’s path.
The calendar turns, yet the soul continues its work.
Grace is not a single act, but a way of existing with time—patient, curious, awake, forward-moving.
As the year turns to its final page, may your rituals feel like return <3.
For more on Molly, visit her Instagram page here and her website here.
