a new year's spread & reading

hello, wonderful friends. with another full moon tomorrow and the beginning of 2021 just a few days away, i wanted to offer a new spread and community reading, as a way to say thank you for being here and also to give you a little gift for the coming new year.

i know that not everyone that reads this may honor the new year on january 1st, that everyone has their own rituals and celebrations, that we all move through this world in different ways and with different belief systems. you may love the new year and all of the hope and possibilities that it can bring, the sensation of turning a page, a new chapter beginning. or you may be someone that barely notices this shift, that uses a different calendar, that prefers to honor the new year at another time. but no matter how you personally sit within these cycles, there is something beautiful and healing about beginning something new, about taking lessons and reflections and deciding what to bring forward. what did you learn about yourself this past year? what struggles or successes defined 2020 for you? who have you become during this particularly difficult time?

my new spread is one that was written for this present moment, but it’s one that i hope will be useful any time you’re approaching a new beginning. birthdays, anniversaries, important dates that you honor regularly - this spread can easily be tweaked or adjusted to meet your needs, giving you an opportunity to look at where you’ve been and where you’re going, to find lessons, to respect challenges. and while i wrote this with the intention of using it at the top of a new year, you could also adjust it to be a monthly or even weekly check-in spread, giving yourself consistent moments for stillness, contemplation, and acknowledgement.

as you read the cards i pulled for our community below, keep in mind all that you have moved through, the times that you have felt stuck and the moments that you felt yourself soaring towards new heights. consider what the changing of the year might mean for you, the opportunities and challenges, the potential, the possibilities. what are you moving towards? what are you stepping away from?

theme of the year: ten of wands. after the pressure and impossibilities of 2020, the new year may bring opportunities for growth, change, inspiration, creation, passion, connection, and progress - so much so that we may run into every new chance with outstretched arms, determined to learn and evolve and build in endless ways. and as powerful as that drive can be, it’s easy to take on too much, to get overwhelmed, to lose sight of our personal goals under the weight and expectations of the collective. what did you learn about your needs, your dreams, your priorities this past year? what did you say yes to, and where did you recognize the times that you needed to say no? this upcoming year may push us to our limits, so we need to be thoughtful about building in time for rest, for recovery, to delegate and prioritize, to be conscious about where we spend our energy. do you really have to do everything yourself?

challenges of the year: six of pentacles. dovetailing beautifully with the urging for caution in the ten of wands, the six of pentacles reminds us of how we are connected to others, of the access and opportunities we have for sharing resources, asking for help, lending and spending. what do you have in abundance? where have you prospered? we may find ourselves in need this year, or we may find that we have a bit of extra - and our challenge for 2021 is knowing when we have enough, and when we need to ask for support.

lessons of the year: four of swords. in the same vein as the first two cards of this reading, our lesson of this new year will be one of stillness, recovery, and healing. how have you learned to take time for yourself, to ease away from movement and make space for rest? what has 2020 taught you about guarding your time, your energy, your insights? this next year will continue to expand on those ideas, inviting you to be intentional about pausing, about stepping back, about putting down the blades. when you make efforts to stop work, what comes forward? do you feel guilty for resting, uncomfortable with quiet, frustrated with a lack of progress? there may be opportunities in 2021 to rebuild your relationship to rest, to begin seeing breaks as necessary for both health and progress. how do you protect your mind?

a gift or resource to embrace: justice. if you’re anything like me, the concept of justice has taken on new meaning over the last few years. and as harsh as many of these lessons have been, as utterly unfair as so many structures and decisions are, the ideas of truth and clarity are as essential as ever. how do you decide what is right, what is fair, what is real? what ideals do you believe in, and how do you see them represented (or ignored) in society? what can you personally do to honor more perspectives, to learn and grow, to recognize your role in ongoing patterns? justice is rarely a given - instead, it’s something we need to fight for, to pursue, to prioritize. how can you embrace this concept as a resource, a gift, an opportunity? what have ideas of justice taught you, and how can you carry those ideas forward into the new year?

something to remember: the sun. as challenging as this last year has been, there have been bright spots - triumphs, joys, realizations. where have you found victory? what can you celebrate? how have you stepped fully into yourself, found abundance and power, recognized the magic flowing through you? how have you built strong connections, found deeper creativity, honored the truths that have revealed themselves? the changing of the year will not magically dissolve all hardships or erase the past, but it does offer us an opportunity to step forward with intention, to reframe our goals and desires. who are you ready to be? and how have you already taken steps towards embracing that identity?

something to release: knight of wands. a lovely callback to the first card in our reading, the knight of wands sits in a moment of tension between inspiration and apathy. the buzz of a new idea or adventure can be intoxicating, brilliant, overwhelming in its power and potential - yet sometimes when we don’t feel the magic immediately coming to life, we lose interest, find something new to chase. if the ten of wands shows us what happens when we try to do everything at once, the knight of wands warns us not to forget that building dreams takes effort and focus. how do you balance anticipation with intention? release the idea that the perfect goal or objective will simply fall into your lap and manifest without effort, and instead give yourself permission to try, to experiment, to pursue. what ideas about fire and creativity need to be left behind?

these six cards speak of so much potential, urging us to balance our most personal dreams and desires with rest, stillness, reflection, and joy. it’s essential for us to recognize truth, to continue pursuing justice, and to make space to celebrate our triumphs. what will you balance in this new year? how can you share your discoveries and resources with others? what patterns have you uncovered in 2020, and how can you adjust or change them in 2021?

while this reading was pulled for this community in particular, and i hope offers you some joy and comfort in these last days of the year, i would absolutely encourage you to do a more personal reading for yourself. whether you use this spread or another, it can be a really useful way to set goals, honor intentions, and give yourself time to look both backwards and forwards. what did 2020 reveal for you? what lessons did you learn, patterns did you release, growth did you begin? what are you leaving behind, and what are you carrying forward? how have you changed? how do you hope to evolve in the coming year?

make sure you’re following me on instagram and twitter, as i’ll have some new pieces on 2021 coming in the next few weeks, as well as some announcements on ongoing projects, new studies, and re-opening personal readings. enjoy the rest of this year, dear friends, and please stay safe.

images from this post feature cards from the vindur deck. all photographs by meg jones wall.