Wheel of the Year Tarot Spread

​Year in Review Exercise
Here’s an annual mapping exercise I do every January. If you haven’t thrown away your 2017 calendar or diaries, they will come in helpful, although neither is absolutely necessary.

I draw a Wheel of the Year diagram with the Sabbats included. I add my birthday and significant anniversaries.

Then, I go back through the last year and pencil in events of the year, good and bad, that were significant. Deaths, births, new jobs, pets, large purchases, finished projects, goals met. Even direction or philosophical changes.

Next, add in important world events—global and pagan.

Finally, I consider my emotional health and well-being.

I have enjoyed keeping track of life this way as my son has grown up. 

For the last decade I’ve kept track of events in a 10-year diary, which lists every day stacked on top of the previous year’s date. The layout makes it easier to see the patterns emerge as the years pass. Some of the trends are dramatic!

Wheel of the Year Tarot spread
I mentioned here earlier that I’m working on my annual Wheel of the Year tarot spread. It’s a BIG project--this year I used the full deck, rather than only one card per month. It’s more work, but it gives a more comprehensive view of what’s coming in the New Year.

​Here’s how to do yours:

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​Put one card in each of the positions around the circle. I put January in the one o’clock spot. You can then place a card in the center of the circle, which sets the tone for the whole of the year.

1. Go around until you finish the deck. If you are using a standard 78-card deck, you can complete 6 cycles.

This is a good spread if you want a general overview of your life for the next 12 months. You can then use other spread to add more detail in particular areas.
 
Version 2
 
This spread can also be used to represent the 12 houses of life in Astrology. If you decide to use the reading for astrology only, the 12 houses are as follows:

1. Personality, environment, how others see you (Aries)
2. Money, possessions, earning power and financial values (Taurus)
3. Travel and Communications, day to day activities (Gemini)
4. Home life, siblings, family, parents (Cancer)
5. Pleasure, romance, love affairs, holidays, self-expression, creativity (Leo)
6. Work and Health (emotional and physical) (Virgo)
7. Partnerships (professional/personal) and Marriage, legal issues (Libra)
8. Inheritance, death, other people’s money, endings/beginnings (Scorpio)
9. Philosophy, education, dreams, travel/long distance journeys (Sagittarius)
10. Career, profession, fame, reputation (Capricorn)
11. Friends, organizations, hope and wishes (Aquarius)
12. Burdens, restrictions, secret fears, enemies, dangers, subconscious (Pisces)

 
If, as you are going around, you get Major Arcana or Court cards of the Minor Arcana, they may pertain to certain personalities or types of people who are having a significant impact on your life, either in that month (if you are doing a 12-month spread), or in that area of your life (if doing the Astrology Houses).
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If the personalities of the people don’t mean anything to you, or you can’t relate to those type of people, the court cards can also represent aspects of your own personality that may be useful to you (if the cards are upright) and you need to develop more of and strengthen, or that may be hindering you (if the cards are reversed) and you need to be careful that those aspects don’t get in your way.
 
Version 3 (I used this version)
 
You can also combine the Monthly and Astrology spreads above.

1. Lay the first round as an overall 12-month spread.
2. On the 2nd and all subsequent times, use the houses.

This is good for answering questions such as, “What will my finances be like over the next twelve months?” and look at the 2nd house. Or, “What will family relationships be like this year?” and look at the 4th house as well as monthly.
 
NOTE: However you decide to use this spread, it’s important to decide in advance what the positions are going to mean for you. When you have decided, make your intention clear to your cards and they will fall correctly for you.
 
Also, once you decide what the positions are going to mean for you, there’s no going back! Don’t change your mind part way through the reading.

Until next Friday, Blessed Be. And don't forget to rub the  bellies of my new gnome buddies for luck before  you leave!