Yesterday felt like a very auspicious day to me, being the New Moon and the Chinese New Year of the Monkey (I’m a 1980 monkey). In honor of the occasion, I did a quick tarot reading for my husband and I, and it was amazingly helpful.
It’s something you can easily do for yourself anytime you’re starting something new, whether that’s a project, relationship, or month/year. Here’s how.
Step One
Separate out the Major Arcana cards in your deck so you have two stacks in front of you: Major Arcana cards in one stack and the remainder of the deck in the other.
Start with the Major Arcana stack, and as you shuffle the cards, set the intention to connect with the card representing what will most help you move through this new experience with purpose and clarity, in alignment with your Highest Good.
When the shuffling feels complete, cut this stack into three smaller piles, then arrange them back into one stack in whatever order your intuition leads you to. Draw a card.
This Major Arcana card represents the energy and qualities that will most help you move with purpose and clarity into this experience.
For example, here’s what I drew for my upcoming Monkey year:
The messages I received are that this is a year of going deep within, seeing myself with more clarity and self-compassion than ever before, mining the depths of my Shadow side in ways that I was previously not ready to do. I am ready to learn deeper truths about myself and about the universe, and this process of dedicated self-inquiry will be paired with a return to the world around me, where I will share what I have learned with other seekers. This dual inner and outer journeying is key. I have a tendency to read a ton of books, take a bunch of classes, and to meditate and journal a lot, but my greatest power and purpose this year will come from not stopping there and from using these inner journeys to fuel my outer service to others.
Okay, your turn. If the card you draw is in the upright position, see this as an energy you need to cultivate and embody more fully throughout this experience. If the card is reversed, this represents an energy that you are ready to release.
So, for example, if I had drawn the Hermit reversed, this could be an indication that I need to move out of intensive inner work mode and really focus on cultivating community and bringing my work more fully into the world. Regardless of the card and its orientation, remember to listen to your intuition. The cards are merely a tool through which your intuition can communicate with you, so don’t worry about being “wrong” if your interpretation doesn’t coincide neatly with the interpretation in a book.
Step Two
To complete the process, shuffle the second stack of cards, again cutting it into three piles, then stacking them back together. As you shuffle, intend to connect with the card that illustrates how to embody or release the energy depicted in the first card you drew. So, the Major Arcana card shows you the Big Picture, and the second card drawn shown you how to paint it.
In my reading, my second card was:
My interpretation is that I will be most successful in doing this deep inner work and sharing it with others if I release my dogged mental/intellectual attachments to “this is how it should be!” In particular, I am seeing how this will be very helpful in my experience as a massage therapy student. My practice will be to relax into curiosity and openness and back off from any rigid ideas about what “the right way” looks like.
Also, this is the year for me to really move into, accept, and then release my attachment to looking smart. Learning to feel the nuance between enjoying and celebrating my intelligence (and not “playing dumb” in the hopes that people will like me) versus needing to look smart will open up a whole new world of learning and understanding for me. My Higher Self is in the pursuit of knowledge and the cultivation of wisdom, but if my ego usurps this goal and tries to turn it into a pride-based path of demonstrating my worth, I end up blocking myself from being truly receptive to new ideas and deeper understanding. My Higher Self goal of true learning is harder to reach when I’m distracted by the ego goal of “looking smart.”
Your turn. Draw your card from the second stack to see how, in your day-to-day life, you can more fully embody or release the energy depicted in your Major Arcana card.
This tarot spread is a great tool whether you’re excited or feeling trepidation about a new course of action. It will equip you with greater understanding and the tools to put that knowledge into practice. Have fun!
