Choose a Tarot Card for the Year

Some people choose a word for the year. Some people figure out their Tarot Year Card, using a couple of different numerological systems. I do both of those.

But for the last few years, I’ve also been consciously choosing a tarot card to represent my main goal or dream for the coming year. (This is something you can do around the New Year, or on your birthday.)  Two years ago my word was write, and my goal was to write like crazy on a book project. I chose (not by chance, but by choice) the Empress / Gardener tarot card to represent the fertility and abundance of my creativity. Last year my word again was write, but I chose the World card to signify the completion of a cycle. I did indeed finish writing the first draft of the book in 2015.

My word for 2016 is actually a phrase — make lotsa art. That’s my key goal for the year — more than anything, I want to spend as much time as possible making art. So I flipped through my Gaian Tarot deck and chose the 3 of Fire as my card for the year. I love her joy and delight in dancing, and I love the three balls of fire that represent three key projects I’m working on.

You might like to try this too.

First, choose one dream, goal, or theme for the New Year.

If you don’t have one, or have too many . . . do a brief journaling exercise. Ask yourself “What do I really want?” and keep on writing without self-censorship and without lifting your pen until you run out of steam. That will probably give you a clue as to what you are deeply desiring.

Or you could brainstorm a list of goals, perhaps based on areas of your life — relationship, career, finances, health, spiritual path. Narrow the list down to three items. List them in order of attraction, then narrow it down to one.

Go through your favorite tarot deck face up, and choose a card that most looks or feels like your dream or goal.

(When choosing the card, you can either go strictly by the picture and your reaction to it; or if you know something about the tarot, you can choose the card based on what you know the meaning to be.)

If you’re having trouble choosing one card, you might want to do the following process. Go through your deck, and make three piles:  Yes / No / Maybe.  Look at the “Yes” pile and the “Maybe” pile, and sort through them, discarding the ones that don’t feel right.  Winnow them down to three or four cards, then make a final choice of one.

Write an affirmation to go with the card, or (if you are using the Gaian Tarot), you can use the affirmation from the book.

In my case, the affirmation for the 3 of Fire is: “I express my joy and passion openly.”

I think I’ll change that to:

“I joyfully dance my creative visions into completion!”

Once you’ve chosen your card and written your affirmation, you might want to make a photocopy of the card, then create a collage with the image and affirmation. Put this on your altar or mirror, or any place you visit frequently in your daily life. It will act as a touchstone to remind you of the dream or goal you are bringing to fruition in the coming year.