Three Ways Tarot Can Help You Greet the New Year

Tarot is a great tool 365 days a year. As we begin a new calendar year there are some specific ways tarot can enhance your journey.

1. Predictions

Everyone loves to make predictions for a new year. There are many ways to use tarot to do this. You might pull just one card, asking "What will be the theme of 2013 for me? You might do a twelve-card spread; one card to give information about each month. You might do an eight-card spread to make a prediction for each turn of the Wheel of the Year. You could also dialogue with the cards by asking specific questions about 2013 and pulling cards to reveal your answers.

Write down your predictions so you can check back and see how accurate they were!

2. Resolutions

We all enjoy making resolutions each year, although often we don't keep them. Why not use tarot to assist you in your resolution process? Resolutions are generally of two varieties - what we are going to get rid of or not do anymore and what will we start doing. It's easy to ask the cards "What in my life no longer serves me?" to give you an idea of what you might be ready to let go this year. Then you can ask the cards "What should I focus on doing this year?" and pull a card or two to give you some direction. Finally you can ask the cards "What will help me keep my resolutions this year?" Pull a few cards to see what advice tarot can offer.

3. Manifestation

This is a great time for tarot magick. What do you want to see happen in 2013? Look through your deck and select cards that represent the things you want to manifest this year. For instance, if you want to buy a house choose the Ten of Pentacles, the "castle card." If you want a great new job choose the Three of Pentacles. If you want a new love relationship choose the Two of Cups. If you want to get pregnant choose the Empress.

Take the cards you have chosen and meditate with them, focusing on manifesting their energies in your life in 2013.

You might also use this time to think about your relationship with tarot in the coming year. I asked the question "How will I grow in my work with tarot in 2013?" The card I drew at random was Temperance. This is my favorite card! To me it means that I will continue to work with tarot to bring healing to people; to help them find the right balance in their lives. In my tarot career I will continue to balance many projects and will have time for the creative part of my career as well.

Happy 2013 to you all!

Christmas Present

Welcome to the Yule Tarot Blog Hop. Our topic this time around is simply this: Christmas Present. It will be great fun to see what each of us does with this!

Perhaps you have come from Chloe McCracken's blog.

When you finish here, proceed to Alison Cross' blog.

If you find a break in the chain please visit the Master List.

In honor of our theme "Christmas Present"  I will share my Tarot Gift-Giving Ritual.  This is something that has developed over time, primarily in Tarot Circle, my informal meetings for tarot fellowship and learning.

We have done Tarot Gift-Giving for fun while drinking wine and eating cake. We have done it in sacred space. A group of my friends and I did it in a very deep Yule ritual last year, complete with drumming and chanting. Global Tarot Circle tried an on-line version of the Tarot Gift-Giving Ritual and it was magnificent.

The idea behind this ritual is that each tarot card carries an energy. This is the basis for all tarot magick. This ritual is indeed a simple form of tarot magick.

Here's how it works.

In a small group, everyon can give an individual gift to each person there. In a large group it is better if each person choses only one person to whom to give a gift. Alternatively, you could have everyone draw names to determine to whom each person will give a gift.

Once each person knows to whom they will give a gift, everyone must look through their tarot decks. Each person must quietly select a tarot card to symbolically give as a gift; one card for each person they are gifting.

Once all gifts have been selected it is time to begin the giving ritual.  In an in-person gathering the gift cards can actually be handed to the recipient. Of course they are returned to their proper decks at the end of the ritual. Gifts should be given one at a time. The giver must explain their intention in giving the gift.

On a magickal level this can be a very powerful thing. For instance, when you hand the Ten of Pentacles to someone whom you know is trying to buy a home and say "I give you the Ten of Pentacles for success in your desire to own a wonderful home" you are bringing all the energy of the Ten of Pentacles as well as your own intentions to the recipient's desire. The other people in the ritual can empower the gift further by holding the intention in their hearts, and perhaps saying together as the gift is presented "so mote it be."

If there are members of the group that are not as familiar with the card meanings they can certainly look through the deck and find pictures in the cards that seem right. A new tarot reader might present a card such as the Sun and simply say "This looks like a happy card and I wish you happiness."

Beyond the magickal benefits of this ritual, this is a wonderful way to foster fellowship. It's also a great tarot teaching tool because it gets people thinking about card meanings and about the magickal uses of tarot.

Try this with your tarot class, study group, coven, Facebook group or friends. You can make your own rules to suit your particular group. You can do this any time of the year, but it surely is nice to do it at Yule.

And so to you, my tarot friends, at this time of returning light I give to you the Sun that you may allow yourself to shine brilliantly and that you may live without fear, delighting in all things.

If you are working backwards it's time to visit Chloe McCracken's blog.

If you are moving to the next blog in line it's time to visit Alison Cross' blog.

If you find a break in the chain please visit the Master List.

Happy Holidays to all!