Should We Even Try to Predict a New Year? Of Course, We Should!

Making predictions for the upcoming year is a basic function for psychics, seers, and cartomancers.  In the 1990s it was commonplace for local newspapers to contact my colleagues and me to get our thoughts on the upcoming year for an entertaining article to run on January First.

Now there are more blogs and fewer newspapers. There are probably even more people wanting to get in on the fun of psychic speculation.

There are quite a few clients who like to have readings in December or January to look toward the year ahead. I remember at this time last year being quite confused by what was showing up in people’s cards for 2020. Cancelled trips, working from home, home-schooling the kids; how did any of that make sense?

What became really clear for me in retrospect is this. It is impossible for one to predict what one cannot imagine.

At this time last year, even though I was aware of the strange new disease that had emerged, Wuhan seemed very far away. I could not imagine that Western nations would be over-run by a sometimes-deadly virus. Even as we saw Italy devastated, my personal worldview suggested that good old American ingenuity would find a way to contain the threat, just as was done when Ebola made its way to our shores in years prior.

As much as I pride myself on being able to read with objectivity and compassionate detachment, my inability to imagine what would unfold in 2020 made my predictions for individuals more valuable than for the planet.

I am not alone in this. I think most of us find it easier and more helpful to read for people versus nations.

A few experiences from those moments a year ago sit with me, making me examine the way our inner guidance can work.

Late in 2019, I moved into the largest office space I have ever occupied in my entire career. It immediately became a thriving community center. Just a few months later, I had to temporarily cease having classes, meetups and in-person readings. I remembered how strongly motivated I had been to make this move. I had felt pushed. At the time I interpreted that cosmic nudge simply as business advice for growth.  Toward the latter half of March, I realized that the Universe wasn’t pushing me to grow my business, but to preserve my business.

I was being positioned for the first time in my career into workspace with my own rest room, and my own door. Not having to share hallways and facilities with building mates made the pandemic much less stressful. Being able to temporarily turn my conference room into a private exercise area was a much-appreciated bonus when the gyms were closed.

I received another interesting nudge from the Universe last December. Typically, early each December I will create a special new year opportunity for my clients. As 2019 was ready to give way to 2020, I tried hard to think about what the new year program for 2020 would be. The name of the year lent itself so well to the idea of clear vision and moving toward a new decade. Yet, I was completed unmotivated to create a new year program, opportunity, or offer. For the first time in a few years, I decided not to do this. Once again, as March rolled around, I realize my guides had protected me and my clients from what might have been a difficult and unnecessary exercise.

What I learned from all this was important. Sometimes we have to trust the psychic nudges we get, yet we won’t know their importance or reason until later.

I see this in the cards, with clients, all the time. It will feel imperative that I tell a client a particular thing, although I won’t be able to tell them the why of it. After some time passes, the why becomes clear.

I have always known this to be true in the readings I do for others. This year I saw clearly that this same truth applies to the guidance I receive for myself.

For those of us who are diviners, whether professional or casual, the ritual of doing a personal reading for the new year, or having one done for us, is an annual rite of passage.

There are many techniques for a new year reading, and each can give insight, hope and inspiration as we make our way into the future.

But what about reading for the nation, or the world?

Of all the readers I know and know of, no one person seemed to predict the full weight of global pandemic, social unrest, and all the other rarities 2020 had to offer.

Perhaps the value of a reading for the planet, or a nation, is not to give a news report in advance. Perhaps the value is simply to give a bit of a weather report.

With that in mind, I went back, once again, to check the reading I did for 2020 on my blog.

When doing the reading, I had already chosen not to predict election outcomes, nor to put my thumb on the scale of any controversy.

In this blog post, dated December 27, 2019, I had a conversation with tarot, predominately about the bitter division I saw in the United States, and how that division might play out in the coming year.

The final question and its answer strike me as particularly interesting.

Will we still be so divided by the end of 2020?

Cards pulled: Hierophant reversed, The Fool, Wheel of Fortune Reversed

Answer: Change is coming. By the end of 2020 there will be more concern for those who are less fortunate, but that may be because more people will be facing misfortune. There will be less respect for authority, religion and government. There will be more youth voices heard, and a new energy will replace the energy of division.

When I look at this question and answer today, a year later, I am struck by a few things. That the three cards I pulled were all Major Arcana seems to speak of the enormity of the events of 2020.  More people are certainly facing misfortune in ways I could not have imagined when I wrote this.  There certainly is less respect for authority, religion and government, in so many ways, and for so many reasons. And, in our election, there were more young and first-time voters than ever before.

You can read last year’s blogpost in its entirety and see what you think.

What sort of reading shall I do for my nation this year, as we say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021?

This year I have become fascinated with the way the cards can supply a question, as well as an answer. For this new year reading I will pull a card and use that card to phrase some questions. Then, I will pull three cards to supply each answer.

The card I pulled at random is the Ten of Pentacles.

This card speaks to me of health and wealth, two things that have suffered greatly in 2020. Yet, it also speaks of ancestry and legacy. In 2020 we came to a new depth in the discussion of our nation’s history, and how our history has led us to where we are.

The Ten of Pentacles is also about real estate. As I am writing this there are many people across our nation in peril of losing their homes.

The Ten of Pentacles is about family. At this moment, there is a continued contentious debate about what the makeup of a family can or should legally be.

I can’t think of a better card to ask the most important questions of this moment than the Ten of Pentacles. It is also true that 2021 is the official start of the new decade, and so a Ten is particularly appropriate.

Question One: Will we win the battle against the current health crisis in 2021?

Cards pulled: The Hanged Man reversed, the Star reversed, the Two of Pentacles

My interpretation:

These are not the most optimistic cards, but they do represent a good start on our journey back from the pandemic. The Hanged Man reversed suggests that we will do what we must do to take control of the situation. Yet, with the Star reversed, these two cards together might describe the many disagreements that surround what our responses and behaviors should be. Individually, the Star reversed might speak of the one thing we can all agree on, which is how tired we all are of our current circumstances.

The Two of Pentacles might suggest that things will come into a better balance. I could even see the Two of Pentacles as representing the two vaccines that are currently approved.

Yet, these three cards together, though hopeful, remind us of the very long road that is still in front of us.

Question Two: What will our economic situation be in 2021?

Cards pulled: The Four of Cups, the Six of Pentacles, the Ace of Pentacles

My interpretation:

While the Four of Cups clearly illustrates how devastating 2020 has been for many individuals, families and businesses, the two Pentacles cards are extremely hopeful. Together, these cards seem to predict optimistic financial recovery.

Question Three: With so much division over social and family issues, will we find a way to honor everyone’s needs and live together in better harmony in 2021?

Cards pulled: Page of Pentacles, Ten of Pentacles, Four of Wands reversed

That Four of Wands reversed stands out for me. It makes me think about marriage equality, and the battle lines drawn around issues of family and gender.

My Interpretation:

The Ten of Pentacles seems auspicious, since it was also the card that came up at random to devise these questions. To me this is a reminder that it took us many hundreds of years to get to where we are now. It will take a while to find our way forward.

The Page of Pentacles reminds us of two things that are always true. First, young people are our future, and will shape the world. Young voices give us hope and will bring needed change.

We won’t solve all our problems in 2021. Yet, with the help and guidance of our ancestors and our progeny, we will forge a way forward.

We needn’t be psychic to know that 2021 will bring us challenges that we didn’t anticipate. Often the value of a predictive reading is to help us gather the tools we will need to face whatever comes. At the end of last year’s reading, I drew a clear conclusion that the ultimate division was between love and fear. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we must chose love over fear, each and ever time. Of course, what that means to the individual will depend on that individual’s world view.

What will 2021 teach us? I pulled one more card to answer that question. The King of Swords is the card that appeared. The King of Swords is the exemplar of honesty, trustworthiness, clear communication, truth and intelligence.

In difficult times, we often hide from the truth by cloaking ourselves in myth. 2021 will teach us to find and accept what is true, and truth will be our way to a better future. We will do that by learning to speak with each other, and listen to one another.

Happy New Year to Everyone!

Answers to Your Questions about Tarot: What I Wish I Had Known

Our question comes from a tarot student. She writes:

I would appreciate if you could tell briefly if there was one thing you wish you'd known when you started your professional career, what would it be?

At first the question seemed simple. It’s actually taken me a little while to figure out my answer; much longer than I thought it would.

I have very few regrets; my tarot business has been, and continues to be, successful. I continue to enjoy doing what I do.

But, I’ve thought of two things I really do wish I had known. One might be a cautionary tale for you. The other, well, the other is one that may be unavoidable.

I wish I had known just how much writing would be an important part of my business, and I wish I had treated my writings – class plans, handouts, articles – as the precious things they were.

When I had a new computer with just five documents in it, it never occurred to me to use proper naming conventions. I couldn’t imagine that, in a few short years, I would have thousands of documents and no way to sort through them.

I wish I had understood the subtleties of the way tarot speaks, especially when predicting the future.

There are some things you learn with experience, and there is no way around that. The good news is that we tarot readers just get better as we get older. The bad news is that there were times I had to get it wrong in the beginning to be able to get it right, now.

If I could narrow that bit down, it would be this. In tarot, there is something I call the “minority report,” after the Tom Cruise movie. You might be looking to predict an outcome, and get three cards. Two that strongly predict one outcome, and a third with a different message. As a young reader, I may have had a tendency to gloss over the minority card, and focus on what seemed like the stronger prediction. Sometimes that worked in my favor, and sometimes it didn’t.

The cards never lie. Sometimes the truth they tell is that there is more than one possibility for the future, or that the future is still up for grabs.

Tarot is a helpful tool for getting a glimpse at the future. Now, I know to pay attention to all possibilities, even ones I hadn’t considered. I know to ask more questions of the cards, even questions my client hasn’t verbalized. I know to use my intuition to expand the reading to include all possibilities, not just the most likely or the most desirable. I wish I had been able to do that in the beginning of my career, but I think sometimes skills and wisdom are born of experience.

Thanks for a great question. If you have a question about tarot, please email me!

Enjoy the video!

Christiana Answers a Question about Getting Started as a Tarot Reader

Video of Christiana Answers a Question about Getting Started as a Tarot Reader