Tarot Thursday: Where do I go from here?

The last couple of weeks I've been thinking a lot about my intentions for the year, how I want to feel, what I want to do, my goals, my habits... that sort of thing. 

To celebrate the first new moon of the year, on the 12th, I purchased Leonie Dawson's Create Your Incredible Year Workbook & Calendar, which is a pretty nifty little planning tool. I've had fun filling out the colourful pages with my dreams and visions, and I look forward to adding more to it. 

Anyway, one of the exercises in the book is coming up with ritual days. You may remember that this is something I did near my birthday when I created Sweetness Sundays (ooh, I love my S.S.s!). This time around I decided that, since one of my big goals is to level up my Tarot skills and get reading for others again, that I would create Tarot Thursdays!

So now, every Thursday I'm going to dive into my Tarot study. I have a stack of Tarot books I want to read and a load of spreads I want to try. 

Here we go!

Maybe you remember this spread I created to reflect on my chakra project..? 

Well, today I want to use the same spread, but instead of using it to look at my past journey, I'm going to use it to look forward. This is easily done. I just have to alter the positions: (1) now, (2) step to take, (3) what I know going forward, (4) what I will have to release, (5) what I will learn, (6) where I'll find myself. 

The main thing that's been on my mind lately, with all this 2013 planning, is how I can best use my time this year to maximize my growth and fulfillment in the professional/spiritual realm (I love that I get to put a "/" between spiritual and professional!)

So holding a time frame of about a month in my head, and using the Morgan Greer Tarot, this is what I get:

(1) Now: Queen of Swords. 

Here I am, the planner, the goal-setter. 

Another of Leonie's exercises in the workbook is to choose a word for the year. I've been batting around 'Focus', and this Queen, with her steely gaze and cut-the-bullshit sword, certainly represents that. 

This is, to many tarotists, the Libra card too. Libra is my sun sign. 

I also notice that she's left-handed, like me.

This is quite literally me, now.

(2) Step to take: Ace of Swords. 

Ah, another sword. This one speaks to me of settling on a word for the year, one that feels super true for me, of eliminating thoughts and actions that don't make me feel the essence of that word, and of working on shaping my personal dream vision until it is crystal clear.

(3) What I know going forward: 6 of Cups. 

This is a card about nostalgia and kindness. What I know is that in the past year I've been able to shake off a lot of so-called "luggage" about my past. I've come to terms with a lot of difficult experiences and bumpy relationships. I've released a lot of blame. Reflecting on my childhood now, it's mostly a warm feeling I get. That's what comes to mind when I see this card. 

Also, it's a card about gifts and certainly lately I've been feeling blessed in so many ways. In relation to this reading, I've been gifted with the time and resources to focus on my spiritual pursuits. I know I want to give back and there is no end to the ways I can give here in Cambodia.

(4) What I will have to release: 5 of Wands. 

This card is about everyday annoyances, hassles, and disagreements. I feel like I'm being advised to not sweat the small stuff, to not hold tightly to being right, to not get knocked off course when things don't go the way I want them to. 

OK, I can work on that :) 

(5) What I will learn: 10 of Cups 

Oh yay! This is the card of being so full of happiness that there is enough to share. I haven't done the work yet, but this makes me think that when I give to the world my happiness will grow. 

The rainbow flowing into the cup also makes me think of the divine flowing into me -- which is certainly something I'd like to  learn to open up to more.

(6) Where I'll find myself: The Fool. With an open-mind, and an open-heart, ready to embark joyfully on the next sunny adventure :) 

What a great, affirming reading. I really crave greater clarity right now, and this reading suggests to me that that is exactly what I should be nurturing. In fact, while I've been writing this post it struck me that maybe CLARITY is the word I've been looking for as my 2013 word. I'm going to try that out for a few days.

I really love that this reading concluded with the beautiful 10 of Cups and The Fool. These two cards speak to me of being open to inspiration, which is actually one of the goals I wrote in my workbook. I'm not exactly sure how one "works" on opening to inspiration, but I'm sure happy to see these cards here!

It never ceases to amaze me how uncanny the Tarot can be.

I would love love love to know what words encapsulate the essence of what you want 2013 to be!