New Year Package: Readings for 2016

To celebrate the dawn of the Year 2016, Helen and I are each doing a reading using a spread she designed called “New Year Package.” (As always, we acknowledge the possibility that someone else has come up with a similar spread, but to the best of our knowledge it is an original spread, created by Helen.)

If you try this spread do let us know how you go.  Happy New Year to you all!

The  layout looks like this:

1

2.......5.......3

4

Positional definitions are:

1: What should I focus on in 2016?
2: What do I need to release?
3: What do I need to add?
4: One thing to change to make 2016 a success
5: Based on the above cards the overall outlook.

HELEN’S READING

Shuffling up the Joie de Vivre Tarot by Paulina Cassidy (U.S. Games Systems)...

1:  What should I focus on in 2016? - 9 of Wands

The Joie de Vivre reminds me that I have the courage to see things through regardless of what obstacles I may encounter. I need to focus in 2016 on this inner strength that exists to give me the courage to see my endeavours through to their conclusion. Let willpower, strength and patience be my key words to focus on in this coming year.

This is a No. 9 card which in Tarot can often represent struggles, self-evaluation and ultimate goal. We often see a single figure on a number 9 card and this indicates that what is achieved is done purely by your own hard work and self-determination. It as a number backs up what the 9 of Wands suggests, which is I focus on determination and willpower.

2: What do I need to release?  The Fool

The Joie de Vivre laughs at me and says, “Don’t be a fool and be afraid of the unknown.” What I need to release is my fear of treading new ground and open myself up more to the possibilities that new adventures can offer me.  All I need to do is trust in my intuition and know that I am the designer of my future - nothing ventured, nothing gained.

3: What do I need to add? 10 of Swords

I need to add a new perspective to the way I look at things. Recognise that I can change nothing that has gone before, and therefore let it be. But instead like the girl in the image, I can follow the stream to a new beginning and leave the end far behind. This card backs up what I need to release, for the future is mine to make. Remember that Swords is all about communication and thoughts. It is our thoughts that create our tomorrow so I need to keep mine positive in order to start again.

This is a No. 10 card and it’s a number that represents endings and beginnings all in one  1+0= 1.  10 often shows us what we’re aiming for and helps us  realise what holds us back but also marks for us the next step to start again.  It shows us in the card for this position that I have to realise which of my thought patterns don’t work for me and how I can improve them in order to move forward.

4: One thing to change to make 2016 a success - Six of Cups

I need to take off my rose coloured glasses and stop longing for things that no longer exist. Don’t live in the past. Instead let it help you create a better future. Take the best memories and lessons and let them help to form a better foundation from which to start. Look hard at what worked for me in the past and update it to work in the future.

No. 6 in Tarot often represents the harmony that can be achieved. It’s a number that allows us to take time to appreciate the good things we have in life and this in turn helps us move onwards and upwards. In relation to the Card and position it points out the fors and againsts  of what we choose to remember and how we use it to mould our lives.

5: Based on the above cards the overall outlook. - 4 of Wands

If I can follow the advice of the previous cards then the outlook for 2016 is a favourable one.  It denotes success and happiness along with stability and the ability to work with and alongside others in order to achieve this success.

The No. 4 in Tarot can often suggest stability, structure, security and material completion but it also can lean towards entrapment, containment and limitation. However, in relationship to the card and its position this number reinforces the idea of structure and stability.  It’s a number that you often find can relate to logic and reason. It indicates that if one acknowledges their own limitations then they can work within these confines to overcome obstacles and achieve a success.

It appears to me that my New Year Reading for 2016 holds a lot of promise. That is providing I can step up and meet any challenges and not be afraid to try something new or venture where I haven’t been before. Re-evaluate my thinking patterns and use what has been successful for me in the past to help form a good foundation for the future, rather than long for what has gone before.  Then it sounds like I will have a good working foundation to create whatever future I desire.

* ~ *

ZANNA’S READING

I am using The Wheel of Change Tarot by Alexandra Genetti (Destiny Books).

1: What should I focus on in 2016? THE WORLD

I should focus on a spiritual journey that leads to “wisdom and knowledge; perfection, completion, and fulfillment.” (Genetti) The World is the last card of the Major Arcana, and as such represents the culmination or achievement of wholeness and unity. I need to focus on bringing together and harmonizing Earth, Water, Air, and Fire in order to gain a deeper understanding of life.

2: What do I need to release? KNIGHT OF CUPS

In The Wheel of Change Tarot, this card references the Christmas season: “In the softly falling snow, a black man plays his soulful music, donating his time to help to feed his brothers and sisters who struggle through the year on the streets of the city without a home.” (Genetti) I think perhaps this card is telling me that I need to release the tendency to feel that as one person, I cannot save the world or humanity, and therefore any effort I make to help others is meaningless. The individual on this card is just one person, yet he is doing what he can to make a difference. That is what matters.

3: What do I need to add? KNIGHT OF WANDS

Here we see a Tibetan Buddhist monk meditating with a Dorje (the scepter of Indra, the Hindu thunder god). I am not Buddhist or Hindu, but I can see this card as representing “the will and the joy of living with a goal of truth and enlightenment.” (Genetti) The suit of Wands (Fire) does indeed represent the will, along with growth, creativity, and activity. Genetti writes that I need not necessarily take up meditation. “Whatever you take up is meant . . . to connect you to the heavens as well as to the earth. . . Fill your home and world with calm, or fill it with your music or paintings.”

4: One thing to change to make 2016 a success: TEN OF DISKS

This card depicts “Drums of Many Cultures in the Summer Sun.” Not surprisingly, Genetti presents the Ten of Disks as “symbolic of the rhythm of the whole earth. . . The varied physical elements of your life are all beginning to fall into a common pattern and rhythm.” This card is about finding my inner and outer rhythm, feeling the pulse of life within and without, hearing the sound of the drum and awakening to its power.

5: Based on the above cards the overall outlook: QUEEN OF SWORDS

To Genetti, the Queen of Swords “represents the pinnacle of woman’s wisdom and intellect. . . She combines great mental capacity with superb feminine intuition gained in her life experience.” With Queens being linked to Water and Swords to Air, the Queen of Swords blends heart and mind. Here we find the power of memory and the strength found in calm reflection and meditative thought. The Japanese woman on the card is described as “old” – and the winter scene represents that season of life. She sits comfortably on the floor, firmly connected to earth and the natural world. This card is specifically connected in this deck with New Year’s Day, a symbol of rebirth and one of the most important Japanese holidays. By heeding the messages of the preceding cards, my overall outlook for 2016 is the achievement of a balanced mind, body, and feelings.

Speaking of balancing the elements, I notice that I have one each of Fire, Air, Earth, and Water, plus a Major Arcana card that incorporates all four. Very nice.

I also notice that not only do I have three Court cards in this reading, but they are arranged in the layout side by side across the middle. To me, Court cards are the most personal cards in the Tarot, often referring to qualities or traits within ourselves that have a significant impact on outcomes. The Queen of Swords flanked by the Knight of Cups and the Knight of Wands presents a message that deserves further contemplation.

At the top of the layout I have the last card of the Major Arcana, and at the bottom I have a Ten, the last card in any suit. It appears to me that 2016 will contain at least one important turning point or ending/beginning, a new direction, or the end of one stage and the start of a new stage in my life.