Illustrations by Esme Blegvad.

Illustrations by Esme Blegvad.

Happy new calendar year, Rookies! In honor of our cultural tradition of choosing one otherwise arbitrary winter day (January 1) to hold all our hopes for the future, this month, we present you with a new year kaleidoscope of psychic intuition. Rather than the typical celestial run-down, we asked the Tarot expert, coach, and vibrant redhead Louise Androlia to pull a card for 2016 and give Tarot-based intention-setting forecasts for each sign of the Zodiac. (If you’re unfamiliar with Tarot, it’s a spiritual practice with pretty fascinating ancient roots, which you can read about more here.) Soak up these Tarotscopes and get the year going with some special enchantments and incantations. January may be just another month, but if there ever were a time to set off with some siq rituals…it’s now!


worldcard01
Louise Androlia on the World card for the year ahead:
In tarot, the major arcana has two bookends—the Fool at the beginning, and the World at the end. I pulled the World card for January: It perfectly represents the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, which is exactly what a calendar year is. During this time of change, when we look at the year that has just passed and plan for the year ahead, this card reminds us that life isn’t a simple “stop and start” process; it’s a cycle, we’re evolving into a new space.

It’s easy to think about the new year in black and white terms, as 2015 ending and 2016 beginning. Many of us will still be in that way of thinking, but a great way to move into this month is to stop and be thankful for the year that has passed. Sometimes in January, I see people on Facebook making threats about the next year, like, “Last year was so bad! 2016 better be good!” I’m always laughing at that sort of statement, because we can’t really threaten a year into being good! We can, unfortunately, enter the next year putting that type of energy into it. Instead, I’d make a practice of writing down everything I was thankful for in the year that’s gone by, also noting what I’ve learned, what was surprising, and what was worthwhile. I’m drawing that thankful energy toward the new year, because I see gratitude as an energy thing: When we’re grateful, it opens us up to have a better vision, and to see more things come toward us. It doesn’t mean that we’re throwing glitter on a problem and ignoring it—we have to feel our sad or bad feelings and everything—but gratitude for 2015 might mean just acknowledging that you’re thankful that you’re still standing, despite any dramas, stressors, or struggles.

When we’re having our own challenges and sufferings, it’s easy to think of ourselves as broken, and in need of fixing. I’d like to remind us all that we’re humans, designed to evolve, and we’re never broken—we’re just moving forward. If you’re at the beginning of this year thinking, “I’ve got to start things fresh,” how about thinking, “You know what, I’m just evolving, January 1 is literally just another day.” The really important thing with the World card, in a Tarot sense, is that we’re revolving through the door into a new day.

One way to move into this month is by setting goals and intentions with an expansive rather than a restrictive outlook. Goals are great, but sometimes when we set them, they have a punishment attached to them: If I don’t to this thing, then I’ve failed. No goal is going to be good if you’ve already set a restriction on it! When we set our intentions, we want them to have an expansive outlook—that way we leave ourselves open to surprises, because we’re always being humbled by life. Maybe our idea isn’t the best idea after all, and the thing that actually happened was much more exciting than what we expected to happen. If you’re going into the new year wanting to make a group of friends, but specifically HAVE TO BE friends with one person or group, it can put you into tunnel vision mode. Our new best friends might be standing right next to us but we’re unable to see them. Instead, make an intention that says you really want to meet new people who are on your best wavelength. Give a goal some stretch to it, so you can put yourself in a space to receive more. In other words, we can look at the year through a toilet paper roll, or at a full 360 degrees. Give your intentions some breathing room: It’s a gentler way of approaching them, and you won’t get panicked about your goals.

The World card also reminds us that change isn’t a bad thing. It might be that lots of you reading are going through something at home or at school or in friendships. It’s natural to be afraid of change—the unknown is one of our big fears as humans. Yet, because we’re built to evolve, think of change as your superpower. The World card encourages us to notice that we have everything we need, and shows us that we’re more equipped than we think we are. Often, we know much more than we think we do, but we question ourselves. Step into the new year listening to yourself and using last year as a teacher.

One of the best intentions we can make is to have a non-negotiable practice of self-kindness. Even if that’s your only intention for the year, no matter what happens, you can approach it with a more compassionate eye. The animal associated with this energy is a phoenix—we, too, have the ability to shift and change of our own will, at any given moment. Make like a phoenix this month and see how you can transform.

So, where to start? Right this way for a little guidance:

Aries (March 21–April 19)

Taurus (April 20–May 20)

Gemini (May 21–June 20)

Cancer (June 21–July 22)

Leo (July 23–August 22)

Virgo (August 23–September 22)

Libra (September 23–October 22)

Scorpio (October 23–November 21)

Sagittarius (November 22–December 21)

Capricorn (December 22–January 19)

Aquarius (January 20–February 18)

Pisces (February 19–March 20)