The Year Ahead Spread
I’m so excited to share my process for mapping out a year with tarot and oracle cards! It’s a lot of fun to do the spread, and even more fun to see the themes that emerge for your year and use them to set goals and keep track of what you want to focus on. Here we go!
What you need
-Tarot and/or Oracle deck (as many as you want!)
-Journal/Notebook, or your computer if you’re a digital person
-Around an hour, depending on how many decks you’re using
That’s it!
When to do a year ahead spread
You can do a year long tarot and oracle card spread anytime! I did mine in December for a January-December reading, following the Gregorian calendar. You could do one for your birthday to map out the next year of your life, or you can use the Spring Equinox/Solstice in March, another representation of a new year or new beginning. Choose a timing that feels right to you!
The only real recommendation I have here is to plan ahead and start your spread for the following month if the month has already started. For example, if you’re using the Spring Equinox in March, you can either do the spread in February so that your first card is for March, or you can do the spread on the Equinox and have your first card be for April. This is just my personal preference, you can choose to do a reading for the month that has already started if you want to.
How to do the spread
First, set aside at least an hour of time and make sure you have a surface that will hold at least 12 cards. The floor works if that’s all the space you’ve got! I say at least an hour and at least 12 cards because you may choose to use more than one deck. I worked with two for mine, one tarot and one oracle deck. Keep in mind that the more decks you use, the longer the reading will take and the more space you’ll need.
Next, do whatever grounding ritual you choose to invite the magic in! You may want to meditate or use Palo Santo or sage, or just take a few deep breaths to center yourself. When you’re ready, grab your first deck and start shuffling. Then pull 12 cards and place them face up in whatever orientation you choose (straight line, circle, diagonal, etc). If you’re working with more than one deck, repeat the process with the rest of your decks, making sure to keep it clear which cards are for each designated month. I’ve got examples of different layouts sprinkled throughout this post. I’ll always advocate for you to go with what works for you, so don’t be afraid to play and have fun with the process.
This is completely optional, but you can also pull one additional card to represent your entire year. I chose to pull a Goddess oracle card for my year and then worked with two different decks for my monthly cards.
Interpreting your cards
After you’ve pulled all of your cards, it’s time to grab your journal and any resources you want to use, like the guidebook for the deck or books about tarot. You are always welcome to work with your intuition only if that feels right for you.
Starting with the first month, note the card or cards you pulled in your journal. Using your intuition or guidebooks, make notes about what seems significant about the card. If you used more than one deck, you may find that the messages from the cards have some overlap (hello, magic!) so be sure to document those!
For example, my January spread looks like this:
January
Page of Wands, Winter
Fear is boring- I’d rather be soaring! The planet needs your voice, no matter how silly you once thought it was. Take care of your needs. Do everything you need to be at your best. Then move beyond your fears and limitations.
Both of the cards I chose mentioned overcoming fear, so I noted that in my journal.
I like to go back and make notes as each month passes (more on that in the next section) so make sure you leave room for additional follow up notes on each page. Continue this process with each month until you’ve made notes for all the cards. This part of the process can be so full of magic and synchronicity as you start to see patterns emerge and messages revealed. It can also be really comforting and reassuring to see a challenging message one month followed by pure support and inspiration the next. I’m less afraid of challenges because I already know that I can do hard things, and the year ahead spread helps map it all out for me.
How to work with the year ahead spread all year
Once you’ve completed your spread, you may want to take some time to add reminders to your calendar to check in each month. Using your journal, check in at the beginning of the month to remind yourself which cards you’re working with, and set any goals or intentions to focus on. You can also take some time at the end of the month to reflect on your experiences and to see if the cards felt relevant to what you encountered. Did the cards resonate with your experience? How did you work with your goals and intentions? Make notes in your journal about what you want to remember.
Another way to work with the cards each month is to display them somewhere that you’ll see them every day. If you work with an altar, you might set out the card or cards for each month and spend a few minutes each day reflecting on them. Or you can put the cards on your bedside table or desk. Incorporate this into your beginning of the month ritual and enjoy the beautiful cards all month long!
Remember, there’s no wrong way to work with the cards. Just go with what feels right for you and have fun!
