Tarot for the Modern Reader
A New Year's Eve Tarot Ritual for Your Best Year Yet
It's December 31st. It's nearly midnight, and you may be thinking that you don't want to casually toss a few "resolutions" into the air this year, that will likely disappear before the pork and sauerkraut leftovers. What to do? Enter, the New Year's Eve tarot ritual.
Did you know that 92% of resolutions made are never followed through on? Or that only 1% of goals that people make are actually achieved? These are sad statistics! So what can we do to avoid those dismal results? Just not bother at all? In today's post, I'm going to share with you a few ideas to make your New Year's Eve more meaningful, and how to set resolutions that you'll stick to. Let's get into it!
Resolutions and Timing
First things first. I want to mention that we all tend to make our resolutions on New Year's Eve, but that doesn't mean that's when we have the best energy to support us. There are (what I consider) 3 times of "new beginnings". The first is on Jan 1 and the one most commonly used. This is based on the Gregorian calendar. I personally love to use the Lunar calendar, and the New Moon in Aquarius, which corresponds to Chinese New Year, falling near the end of January or in February each year. This year in 2020 it's on Jan. 25th. This is the 2nd "new beginning".
The third, is the first day of Spring. This is called Aries Point. It's 0 degrees Aries, the beginning of the zodiac and the "beginning" of the astrological year. Now this year, we are actually well supported on New Year's Eve to make our resolutions and set our goals. Why? Because we just had a new moon (optimal time for wishes, goal setting and planning). Even better, that new moon was a solar eclipse, and to top it off, it occured in Capricorn, the sign of dedication to "doing the work". The icing on the cake is the fact that we have a significant stellium of 5 planets in Capricorn right now boosting that energy. This is for the 2020 New Year. So consider this your green light for NYE 2020!
5 New Year's Eve Tarot Rituals
Below I'm going to share with you 5 rituals you can do this year with the help of Tarot, to have your best year yet. We aren't talking about "set it and forget it" 12am resolutions either. These are thoughtful, and when crafted with intention, can help set you up for success! Notice I used the word "intention". In each one of these rituals, I want you to be very intentional. Getting the year we want doesn't happen by throwing out a few haphazard resolutions or cruising through the year on autopilot.
Additionally, for the 2020 New Year's Eve, the moon will be in Pisces. What does this mean for us? Well on the positive side, having the moon in a fellow water sign (the moon is ruled by water sign Cancer) is a good placement for La Luna. Additionally, Pisces will bring out our deepest wishes and heartfelt desires. It's a great time to perform readings, and journal and dare to dream up our biggest dreams!
One word of caution however, this sign also rules the bubbly, so be careful about over-indulging this year, especially if you plan to be away from home. Some years NYE is great for partying (hellloooo Gemini moon!); other years, like this one, are great for staying in and working on your biggest dreams :). Let's get to the activities shall we?
New Year's Eve Tarot Ritual #1: A Card Spread
What New Year's tarot ritual would be complete without a tarot card reading? Now there are a plethora of spread you can find on the internet, and many of them are BIG. But here's one I love. It only uses 5 cards and it's called The New Year Transition Spread:
What to celebrate from 2019
What to keep from 2019
What to leave behind in 2019
What to do more of in 2020
What to do less of in 2020
This spread is about being intentional with our actions. The first thing we want to look at is what our biggest success was in 2019. Even if it wasn't the greatest year, there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for and celebrate. Sometimes it comes disguised as something difficult at the time. But before we move forward, we should always take one final look back. Acknowledging what didn't work, and celebrating what did helps us to recognize and make better choices going forward.
New Year's Eve Ritual #2: Journal the Previous Year
The next step is to take your answers from your spread, combined with a few more prompts I'll give you here, and spend a bit of time in contemplative journaling. We are always in a rush, rush, rush. This is a moment where we need to slow down, and be very INTENTIONAL. Considering the previous year we are going to reflect on is The Hanged Man, this advice is more on point this year than ever.
Aside from considering the information you received in your spread, here are 3 good questions to ask yourself. You do not need to use cards for this, although you can if you like journaling prompts:
What am I most grateful for from 2019?
What are the lessons I learned?
What gifts have I received?
The key is to look back on The Hanged Man year and discover how that has played out for you. Just as importantly, you can look at how your own personal year played out for you. If you are unsure how to figure out your own personal year, you can visit this article, which covers how to calculate your birth cards and personal year cards. You'll want to ask yourself what lessons and gifts you have received that relate to your own personal year as well. Seeing how that year played out for you will help you understand what is coming in the next one.
New Year's Eve Ritual #3: Looking Forward to Your 2020 Cards
Don't put your journal away just yet. This is the moment for you to look at the coming year. Many spreads focus on pulling cards that represent what is coming to you in the New Year. But the truth is, you already have your card for the new year, and it's more powerful than anything you might draw randomly. It's your personal 2020 year card.
You'll have two major themes and energies for your year. The first is the collective card of the year for everyone, for 2020, that's the Emperor. You can read all about that here in The 2020 Year of the Emperor post. You may also want to look at how the card of Judgement may show up in your life this year, as 2020 is also being dubbed the "double Judgement year".
But more importantly, I'd like you to look at your personal year card that is coming up. That will be your yearly forecast card. You don't need to pull a card for this, the Universe has already done so. Your yearly card will highlight your major lessons and opportunities this coming year. Most people really notice the change from the previous year's card to the new one around their birthday.
New Year's Eve Ritual #4: Setting Intentions and Resolutions
Now we're getting the familiar part! But this year, we don't want to arbitrarily set resolutions. Again, we are doing this with INTENTION. What do you most want this year? We can only focus on so many things at once. So as you set your resolutions, you may even want to spread them out. Studies show we can really only focus on one major change at a time.
When you think about what your resolutions are, for each one, ask yourself what it is you truly want, and listen to your heart and your intuition. When you have hit on something important, make it concrete. Give it legs. Did you know that of the 1% who achieve their goals, one of the first things they do is write it down? Make it a SMART goal- Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Timely. Most people won't ever get to this step, and most people's resolutions will fall off by mid Jan. But with the cosmic support of the new moon eclipse in Capricorn, you can really give your goals legs this year.
If you don't have a plan, it ain't happenin'. Willpower falls off very quickly. We are not meant to survive on that. Use the Neptune moon to dream up your biggest dreams for 2020, but use a planner and a system to make it real. Write your intentions, big 2020 goals, and resolutions down and create an action plan to get there. Have a big picture in mind but work in 90 day cycles, meaning, only plan out the first quarter. Once you have a plan started, it all becomes more real. These goals should be in alignment with what you have discovered through the previous 3 steps and what your card of the year for 2020 is.
New Year's Eve Ritual #5: Draw Cards for Your Goals
This last piece is a lot of fun. Take a look at your goals and resolutions for the new year. You've already checked that each was in alignment with your personal year and what you are to be taking with you into the new year. You've made smart goals and created a plan to help you get there. You checked in with yourself, and listened to your intuition to be sure it felt right for you this year. Now let's give each of these goals (and you!) a little boost to help you get there.
Here are the Steps:
Step 1: Pull all of the court cards out of your deck and set them aside.
Step 2: Create an affirmation for each goal, speaking about it as if it has already happened. If your goal is to lose 20 lbs this year by June 1 (smart goal remember), then your affirmation may be "I am so happy being xx lbs, I'm healthy and truly enjoy the way I look and feel".
Step 3: Choose a card that represents that feeling or that goal.
Step 4: Shuffle your court cards. While shuffling, carefully and intentionally contemplate the question "who do I need to be, what qualities within myself do I need to cultivate, to accomplish this goal". Choose one card for each goal. You can shuffle with all 16 for each goal if you wish.
Step 5: Take pictures. For each goal (or all together if you choose), take a picture of your affirmation card, and your court card. Write down your affirmation. Keep these photos in a handy place on your phone. If you can get it all in one shot, make it your background photo!
Step 6: Bring it to life- each day, spend a few moments saying each affirmation out loud 3-5x while truly feeling what it feels like to have already accomplished the goal. The mind believes what you say (this is why you should never say negative things about yourself!), while you look at the picture of the goal card and court card. Bring out the personality traits of the appropriate court card while working on your goals.
Wrap Up
There you have it, these are my 5 New Year's Eve tarot rituals to set yourself up for a very intentional new year, full of smart goals and dreams that won't get left in the dust by Chinese New Year! I'd love to hear all about your goals, and if you use any of the rituals above! Come connect with us in our facebook group Tarot for the Modern Reader and share your success! Happy New Year 2020!
I'm Liza, professional Tarot reader, writer and mentor, and this is Tarot Liza. Everyday we're working to bring our mission of delivering more value and Tarot education to the Modern Reader to life! Welcome! Read more...
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