New Year Tarot Spread
As the year approaches its end, it's time to reflect on the past year and let go of anything that we no longer wish to bring with us into the new one.
Every year contains its own specific energy, and we move through different highs and lows, diving into the depths of these energies, allowing them to change and shape us into our transformative selves.
Year Ahead Tarot Reading
Every year, we learn lessons, overcome challenges, and experience instances of success.
These experiences help us grow and align ourselves with the lives we truly wish to live, helping us move out of old experiences that no longer serve us.
If you're approaching the new year and are feeling lost or unsure of the next year's direction, performing a Year Ahead Tarot reading may be helpful.
Follow along for the New Year Tarot Spread that will put you off to a great start for the year ahead.
Tarot for the New Year
This New Years tarot spread can help you plan ahead for the year. It will show you what to let go of from last year and provide you with guidance for your future journey.
If you’re looking for spiritual insight for the next year of your life in particular, the birthday spread is of course recommended.
Tarot cards act as a guidance system because they read the current energy within your life.
So, asking about the year ahead is based on where you're currently at and what route you're most likely to take.
During a reading for the new year, if you aren't happy with the cards, this doesn't necessarily mean you will be unhappy for the whole year.
You can use these cards as a tool to initiate positive change within your life, helping you guide yourself down a new journey.
A powerful New Year's tarot spread should not only provide you with an idea of what the next year may contain, but it should highlight any challenges and success you may experience during the year, as well as give you some guidance on how to move through these experiences.
Another great component of a New Year's tarot reading is giving you insight into the overall energy of the year.
Before the Reading
Before you draw your tarot cards, it's important to cleanse your energy.
You can do this with Palo Santo, burning herbs, or taking a salt bath beforehand.
You want to remove any excess energy that may be attached to you from the year prior, helping you receive a clear and direct reading for the year ahead.
Begin by shuffling the deck.
As you shuffle the cards, either out loud or in your mind, express the intention for the reading.
For this reading, you want to clearly state that you wish to find answers for the year ahead.
Try not to have any preconceived notions about what you already believe the year may contain; go into this reading with a blank slate. This New Year Tarot Spread helps source the positive energy available to you.
Imagine this year as a fresh start and a new beginning full of new opportunities.
For this reading, you will draw seven cards. There are three cards on the top row, three cards on the middle row, and one card centered for the last row.
The Timeless New Year's Tarot Spread
Card 1: What you should focus on this year.
This card is going to explain what aspects of your life will require the most of your attention.
Usually, these areas may have been neglected in previous years. Tarot readings are generally an excellent device for uncovering areas of your life that need your attention. In this Tarot card reading, you can receive insight directly specific to this year in particular.
Also, this can indicate which areas of your life may experience progress, which often requires much more time and energy than previously.
Card 2: What changes can you expect this year?
The second card in the spread explains specific changes you can expect in your life this next year.
If you find a major arcana card in this position, you can expect the theme for the year to be deeper and more significant to the big picture of your life. This is because the major arcana relates to major paradigm shifts and life events.
You may develop a new relationship with an important someone, focus on creating a better future, or overcome burdens from your past in the coming year.
If instead, you find a minor arcana in this position, it's likely you will experience changes in a regular aspect of your life, such as in an intellectual pursuit, your job, or within a creative project. The suited cards of the Tarot deck point to common aspects of these types of experiences and can give you good direction of what to expect.
Card 3: What challenges can you expect this year?
Tarot is a great tool to expose any undercurrent of energies present, and the Year ahead tarot spread is no exception. It can help you predict any potential challenges you may face.
The Tarot deck represents many challenges of the human experience, so pay attention to shortcomings associated with any card that emerges here. If Tarot cards appear in the reversed position, that may be especially telling.
Minor arcana cards that emerge here will point to the more daily tribulations you face, and paying attention to the card element and suite (swords, wands, cups, pentacles) shows whether it will be financial, mental, action-based, or emotional.
In a similar way, the major arcana cards can highlight a major life hurdle you will come to face.
Depending on the card in this placement, you can determine how you'll prepare for these challenges. Conveniently, the next card will give you insight into how to overcome them and meet your own needs.
Card 4: How to overcome the challenges of this year.
After you discover the potential challenges of the new year, it's important to find tools for moving forward through these challenges.
The card in this placement can help provide you with a message of guidance and encouragement. This one card is perhaps the most actionable and valuable in the spread.
Take special account of what the card means for moving forward. One card here can give you enough
Card 5: Last year's energy that you must let go of.
It's easy to move into the new year while still hanging on to old energies of the past.
In order to stand in your power, you must let go of the old and make room for the new. In order to unlock a greater future in the new years ahead, you must first release the negative energy from the past year that is weighing you down.
The card in this placement will expose any negative energies and patterns that might inhibit your success in the coming year. If you get a major arcana Tarot card, the negative energy stems from a major life influence. If a Minor Arcana card appears in this position of the spread, it's probably some fixed, recurring aspect of your life that's draining your energy.
Card 6: The significance of this year in the big picture.
Every year, whether it seems apparent or not, there is a common theme that everyone on the entire planet experiences.
Paying attention to the news and social media, you can see the common energies that many people across the world are experiencing simultaneously.
Mostly, these energies are reflected within society as a whole, and they can be identified in any of the challenges or changes we experience on a large scale.
Card 7: The major overarching theme for your year.
The overall theme or energy of your year will help you understand the most important element of your year.
The card in this placement can reflect the inner energies within you that you'll feel throughout every aspect of your life.
These energies are most vital to your growth and often deal with deep-seated beliefs, trauma, or patterns that heavily influence your life.
Pay attention to how the energy of the card drawn makes you feel, regardless of its true meaning; this can help you 'feel' into the next year's head.
You Hold the Power of Your New Year
Regardless of the results of your Tarot reading, remember the power that you hold within you to create and manifest the life you desire!
If you are looking for some greater depth of spiritual insight, try the Tree of Life spread as well.
Use this Tarot spread for a starting point, helping you prepare for the next year. If you find information not aligned with your current goals, spend time manifesting and visualizing the life you desire.
But, it's important to remember that there are certain life experiences we must all go through in order to progress forward and grow into the best versions of ourselves. Hard times make you stronger!
