Mags talks Tarot: Turning of the Year spread
I created this spread to provide insight into what the outgoing year brought to my life, where I stand now, and what the coming year will bring.
I do mine on 31st October each year but it works equally as well as a New Year’s Eve spread, or a birthday spread, or at a personally significant point of the year. A proviso of mine is that I will not do this reading twice for one person within the same twelve months and personally feel that it would lose something if it was used more often, however YMMV.
This is a large spread and it usually takes me at least an hour to complete a reading, so you’ll want to make sure you’ll not be interrupted for a while if you choose to do it.
1. Where I am now in respect of my professional life.
2. Where I am now in respect of my personal life.
3. Where I am now in respect of my inner life.
4. What the past year can teach me about my professional life.
5. What the past year can teach me about my personal life.
6. What the past year can teach me about my inner life.
7. What the coming year will bring me in respect of my professional life.
8. What the coming year will bring me in respect of my personal life.
9. What the coming year will bring me in respect of my inner life.
10. Month 1 (starting with the month following the day of the reading – so for a New Year’s reading, this would be January)
11. Month 2
12. Month 3
13. Month 4
14. Month 5
15. Month 6
16. Month 7
17. Month 8
18. Month 9
19. Month 10
20. Month 11
21. Month 12
The first nine cards need no explanation as to what they are there to do, however I would say that you are at perfect liberty to change the focus of this spread if the professional/personal/inner life is not the best fit for you. I’ve also read this spread using emotionally/physically/spiritually, financially/physically/intellectually, and body/mind/spirit – it’s all about what’s important to you. Use it to look into the three things that what you want to focus on in the coming year.
The final twelve cards are intended to elucidate on the themes provided by cards 7, 8 & 9 and to give a flavour of what each month may hold. They benefit from being looked at as a group rather than taking each card in isolation. Read them as a story about your journey through the coming year!
I also recommend taking into account the balance of the spread as you read:
Major vs Minor arcana; which are there more of?
If it’s major, then the coming year is going to be a very significant one. If they are clustered in one part of the year, then it’s giving you a much more specific timeline pointer, if they are spread evenly then it may be that the whole year will be important.
In relation to the minor arcana alone …
Which suit appears the most? Which suit appears the least? Is there a suit that doesn’t appear at all?
This will give you an indication of the theme of your year and indicate which areas of your life might be neglected unless you make an effort to focus on them.
Number wise, are you getting mostly low numbers, mostly high numbers or a mix?
These can give an indication of the stage you’re at with whatever element of your life is being highlighted by the cards and give you pointers as to where you need to grow.
Are there more court cards than number cards?
If so, it may be that your life is being strongly influenced by specific people, or it might be that these represent elements of yourself that will come into play at that time, or elements that you need to focus on.
If you have a card you use as a significator* ….
Did it appear? If so where?
One interpretation is that this is the point in the year (or element of the year past/ present/ to come if it turns up in cards 1 to 9) that is going to be particularly pertinent to you. When my significator turns up in this spread I usually draw an additional clarifier card (after I’ve finished drawing the rest of the spread) for that position to identify what it is about that point in the reading that is so personal.
On that note, please don’t be afraid to pull a clarifier card if there is an area of the spread that doesn’t make sense. However do make sure that you’ve thoroughly thought about the cards you’ve drawn before you start doing so. If you look at the spread and your gut reaction is to pull a host of clarifiers please be honest with yourself as to why you’re doing it. If it isn’t that you don’t understand what the cards mean but instead that you don’t like what they’re saying, it’s better to face up to that element of the reading (and possibly set aside some time to do a separate, focused reading specifically to work through that issue) than to draw another card in the hope that it will make the problem go away.
And finally … please also remember that this reading a snapshot of the year ahead at the moment you pull the cards – not a set in stone prediction that cannot be changed. This is going to give you an idea of what may happen so that you can get ready to meet it, allowing you to seize opportunities the year may bring and prepare/guard against the not-so-good things (forewarned is forearmed, after all!). It’s a spread to help you make the best of whatever comes your way and is not supposed to create anxiety or become something to beat yourself up about.
If you use the spread, please do let me know if it helped and if you tweak it (which you’re obviously more than welcome to do) please share that too!
*A significator is a card chosen from the deck that represents either you (if you’re reading for yourself) or the questioner (if you’re reading for someone else). Some people, myself included, have a card they identify with most and thus the appearance of it can be used as an additional element in readings. If you don’t have a significator, please don’t feel that you need to choose one!
