The Year Card Birthday Tarot Spread

Yesterday, I published this link for all the personal and spiritual development Tarot spreads I have created over the years. One of the followers asked if I had published a Birthday Tarot Spread. I haven’t, so I told her which spread I normally use for the solar return, i.e. the 12 Houses Zodiac Tarot Spread.

And then I got this niggling feeling that I should create a Birthday Tarot Spread… Not just any birthday Tarot spread. Not one about wishes and manifesting (I have already created spreads for that). But one that makes you dig a bit deeper and helps you connect with your Tarot Year Card.

A Birthday Tarot Spread to Help you Connect with Your Personal Year Energy

The result is the Tarot Spread you see above. I chose a theme of masks because it may be helpful to contemplate that each year we have another chance to adjust our ego-self/personality and align with our True Self. Some prefer to call the True Self the Higher Self and others the God-self. Go with whatever terminology you resonate with!

Create Sacred Space

Create sacred space and bring your journal or a recording device with you in that space, along with your tarot deck(s).

Say a Prayer

Say a prayer for spiritual guidance. You can speak freely from your heart or say something like…

Holy Mother Father God, thank you for another year. Please guide and protect me as I do this reading for my next revolution around the Sun. Grant me wisdom and understanding. Help me find the courage to act on the understanding I gain, for the Highest Good of All. Amen and so mote it be!

Find Your Tarot Year Card

Locate your Tarot Year Card. You may or may not wish to use a separate deck for this to allow for a repeat of the Year card in the spread. I recommend using a visually appealing deck. This is because you will spend a few moments meditating with your Year Card before you proceed.

Please note that some people count the Tarot Year card as beginning on 1 January rather on your Birthday. If you prefer to read this way and your birthday is not on 1 January, you need to locate the first Year Card that applies. Do a separate reading for the second Year Card.

Lay the Cards Out

Lay the remaining four cards out according to the layout in the image above. Note which cards resonate with the energy of your Year Card and which cards jar. What is the Elemental balance? Are there any repeating numbers? What is the immediate emotional impact of all the cards? Where in the body do you feel this impact?

Write down your answers and then proceed with interpreting the individual cards.

I suggest taking your time with this reading and either leaving it out on your altar or taking a picture with your smartphone so that you can come back to the reading for more/deeper insights into the dynamic you will be grappling with over the next 12 months.

1. Year card. This card tells you what the main spiritual lesson is for you in the year ahead. If you are not familiar with the card meanings, you can either go to the Tarot Resources drop-down menu at the top of the site and locate your year card. Or you can go have a look through the Tarot Keywords post I created a while back. Angelic correspondences are included, for those of you who wish to know your archangelic guardian for the year ahead. 
2. Area of life most affected. This card tells you if the heaviest impact of year card energy will fall in work/money (Pentacles), problem resolution/writing/communication (Swords), relationships/psychic development (Cups), vitality levels/creative inspiration (Wands) or be tied in with another spiritual lesson (Major Arcana).
3. The aspect of you that will be most challenged. This is a negative personality trait, habit or thought pattern that creates resistance to change. Read this with your Tarot year card. Think about what it is you may be resisting, as well as how this may play out.
4. Avoid – self-explanatory
5. Do more of this – also self-explanatory

Happy Birthday and many happy returns if you are reading this on your Big Day! 🙂