Want to do a full tarot reading for yourself as the year changes from 2023 to 2024? Tarot helps us read our energy and the energy of the world around us, then it gives us clues that reflect the possibilities for the future. It’s a great way to feel grounded or optimistic about what the new year holds, and it’s also a great way to feel prepared for any negative situations you might encounter.
There’s no right or wrong way to do a New Year tarot reading for 2024. But I’m going to walk you through the way that I’ve done my tarot reading for the coming year in the past couple of years, and how I’ll be doing a 2024 tarot reading come the end of December this year.
Let’s get started!
1. Choose a format
One Card Per Month
One of the easiest spreads to do for the New Year is draw one card for every month. My very first year reading tarot, I did this, and I reflected on the accuracy of each card I had drawn once the year was over. When I drew the cards, I wasn’t skilled enough at reading to understand the depth of what I had drawn, but boy, was it true! Brutally!
I did this again for this year, and it looks like I have a year of very hard work and creativity ahead of me!
Rows with Oracle Cards and Tarot
Another one of my new favorite spreads is what Chris Reck uses for his YouTube videos. If you’re looking to do a comprehensive reading for the whole year, this would be a good choice. He does 4 rows, usually representing the following: 1) General Energies 2) What’s unexpected 3) What’s moving toward you 4) Messages from your higher self.
You could choose these same categories or whatever you want.
Another thing he does is that for the “header” of each row, he’ll draw an oracle card, and then follow it by 3 tarot cards to get a full, comprehensive picture. He also clarifies the cards, either with RW tarot or an oracle deck.
(To see an example of something like this, look at the featured image for this post.)
Celtic Cross
If you want to stick with something more traditional yet in-depth, a Celtic Cross spread is a good idea.
A Celtic Cross tarot spread is a ten card reading that is formatted like the picture to the right. Each card has a specific meaning for your reading:
- Present energies
- The challenge
- Past energies that are influencing you
- The future energies
- Your outward goal (above)
- Your shadow aspect (below)
- Advice
- External influences
- Hopes and/or fears
- Final outcome
I find the Celtic cross spread to be far too rigid for me. I like something with more flexibility that allows me to interpret the cards how they resonate for me. Especially since this is a personal, self tarot reading, you may find the same to be true. But if you’re someone who likes structure, this spread might be a good choice for you.
2. Choose your decks
The decks you use are completely up to you. For the basis of your reading, I do recommend a Rider-Waite based deck. Because an RW deck will have 78 cards, it gives you a wider variety of energies to draw upon. I find it harder to do full readings with only oracle decks (especially if they have fewer than 50 cards), but if that’s your jam, go for it!
A few of my favorite decks include:
- The Field Tarot
- The Akashic Tarot
- Wild Woman Oracle
- Psychic Tarot Oracle
- Moonology Oracle
Here are a few more that I highly recommend.
3. Pick a quiet, reflective time
I have small children, so it’s always noisy in the house. I like to choose a time after the boys have gone to bed that I can light some candles and sit in the darkness and feel the potent energy of Mother Earth, the Universe, and the collective.
Other things you may want to consider while you are choosing a time to do this is how close to the new year do you want to do this reading. While it is not imperative to do this reading on December 31st or January 1st, these days are a portal. (I explain about the New Year’s spiritual portal here in this post.)
This portal is when the energy of the collective is strong and it may be a good time to get clear messages from the Universe or Spirit. Other good times for portals include 12/12, Christmas Day, and Lunar New Year.
You might also want to choose a day based on the cycles of the moon. This always seems to change for me… I sometimes prefer to pull cards on the New Moon, and other times, I prefer the Full Moon. Both are okay.
Last, whatever you decide to do a reading is a good day. There are no rights and wrongs here: only what works for you. If you decide last minute on January 13th that you want to do a New Year’s tarot reading for yourself, then go with the inspiration you’re being given and do it!
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4. Gather your crystals, sage, and candles
I talk more about this in my post about spiritual protection rituals. It’s important to set the stage and enhance your energy however you see fit. I like to light candles. You can use both larger candles or spell candles, but make sure you let the spell candles burn out on their own!
For crystals, I would start with clear quartz. It’s a great crystal for just about anything you would like to accomplish. I also love rose quartz for the heart chakra and citrine for the solar plexus chakra. I find these to be very balanced, because rose quartz is more divine feminine energy while citrine is more of a masculine energy.
(Learn more about crystals in my post about mala beads!)
Scents and colors can also help. Think incense, essential oils, or burning herbs. Wearing a particular color that embodies what you want to bring in with you to the new year can also help! For example, if you want to train your third eye, wear or bring something in indigo. If you’re trying to be more social and friendly in the new year, try something yellow or orange.
5. Write your intentions
Being intentional about everything in life is key to a thriving, abundant life. Whenever I do a more in-depth self tarot reading, I like to write down my intentions.
Your intentions might be to understand the energies of what you will be encountering over the next year. Your intentions might be to see if you are going to accomplish your goals in 2024. Maybe you want to see if you’re going to meet your true love and soulmate.
Whatever it may be, words have magic.
When you use words unintentionally or aren’t thinking about a specific goal, you simply aren’t going to get the answers you’re looking for. So be clear. The Universe favors those whose actions, words, and thoughts are in alignment, so get honest with yourself before you do you New Year tarot reading.
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6. Meditate
Meditation is an important part of any spiritual practice or connection with the divine. It helps us to get rid of egoic reactions that we might have, or any unfocused energy. Meditation helps us to train our attention on exactly the task at hand and stay in the present moment while doing the reading.
To do this, you can take calming breaths while letting all of your thoughts go out of your mind. While you are doing this, you can either sit in silence, or you can put on calming music. I highly recommend solfeggio frequencies like in the video below:
Or if you need more guidance, there’s nothing wrong with using a guided meditation! I prefer this 20 minute guided meditation from Mindvalley. It helps you go deeper and get into your alpha brain waves so that you can connect with the divine on a deeper level:
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7. Do the Reading
The last step is to actually sit down and do the reading!
While you’re doing the reading, make sure that if you’ve decided to ask any specific questions that you make sure you phrases them in a clear and concise way while asking Spirit so that the cards can give you the clearest answer.
Also, make sure you decide how you’re going to draw the cards. Many tarot readers will shuffle and wait until a card falls out.
Others will spread the cards out face down and choose one when they get an impulse to draw. (For me, this feels like a bright flash of energy coming from the card that signals to me that it is my answer to the question I’m asking.)
There’s no right or wrong way, and you can always change your method if you feel that Spirit is calling you to change it up.
Once you have all your cards, start to interpret! If you need to reference a book or site to make sure you have all the info, you can do that. You can also interpret by the visuals or keywords on the card. Last, don’t be afraid to trust your judgment. If you feel like a card is telling you one certain thing, it probably is!
Conclusion
A New Year tarot reading is a great way to walk into the new year feeling confident and full of energy! Remember that tarot cards only tell you what potential energies are there. Because we all have free will, you will still need to do the work to get yourself where you want to be in the next year!
So tell me, are you doing a New Year’s tarot reading for yourself for 2024?
What would you add to my list?
Drop a comment below!