✨I did an oracle card reading for us, for the year ahead.

This is what it said.

This time last year, on a cold wet day, I lit a candle, took out two oracle decks and did a double reading for the year ahead. Firstly I did the wheel of the year for WRITING with one deck, and another, with the other deck, for LIFE. In a wheel-of-the-year spread, you select cards to sit in the positions of numbers on a clock face, with one guiding card in the centre. I drew the two ‘clocks’ on facing pages at the beginning of my diary, and wrote down the card names and a summary of their meanings, and then wrote down the details on the first day of each month for the year ahead.

Looking back now, with most of the year known, I can see that it was a staggering reading which has guided me faithfully through some very challenging times. In the year my book Kokoro (which roughly translates from Japanese as ‘intelligent heart’) was published, my guiding card for the whole writing year, from Kim Krans’ The Wild Unknown: Archetypes deck was ‘The Heart’. In my wider life it was year of learning new things and new ways to do things, and of strengthening my resolve in the face of many difficult things in my personal life. The guiding ‘life’ card for the year, picked last winter from Kim Krans’ The Wild Unknown: Alchemy deck , was ‘Stannum Tin’, a card for learning, strengthening, expansion. Every time I felt like I was caught in the growing pains of learning and strengthening (which was often), the card reminded me that those things also lead to expansion, in the end.

Every time I turned the new month page in my diary, and discovered that month’s reading waiting for me, it was a tiny joy, and sometimes a relief, or a comfort, so I have decided to do another one, for all of us, for the year ahead. You can find this below and see how it resonates, but first let me share a little about what I consider oracle cards to be, and how I use them.

Even though the word ‘oracle’ suggests an all-knowing, all-seeing intelligence, rather than considering oracle cards to offer any kind of fixed fortune-telling power or be the source of any kind of wisdom outside of ourselves, I see them as a mirror of our own inner intelligence. In my experience they seem to amplify our intuition and reassure us that we already have the answers that we seek, often pointing us towards something very specific, that we may already have felt to be true, but perhaps doubted because of our conditioning.

When you use oracle cards in a year-long spread like this, the reading can be an anchor point in a storm. When things feel wild or difficult, the reading can offer guidance on what to hold onto. If a relationship is proving challenging, they can offer some perspective as to what might really be going on. I don’t know how they work, other than that they do, and it is most likely because we all have deeply buried inner wisdom that we are sometimes reluctant to trust, because of what the world has told us. Oracle cards remind us that it is ok to trust that wisdom, and to trust ourselves.

I have used oracle cards in many situations over many years, often when I am trying to make a decision, or facing a new opportunity, or stuck in my writing. I might do a one card reading, or a spread of several cards, and the act of focusing on what the cards say, along with the surprise or delight or intrigue that bubbles up, never fails to get me out of the stuck place.

I am something of a deck collector, with forty or more decks on a small bookshelf in my office. I often pull a card in my writing classes, and in our Live Writing Circles in SoulCircle. On any given day I choose whichever deck seems to be calling to me, and then ask the deck a question. I avoid questions that would have a yes/no answer, and focus instead on open-ended questions, which often begin with things like,

· “What should I/we remember as I/we sit down to write today?”

· “What do I/we need to know at this moment in time?”

· “What should I/we carry with me beyond this point?”

This year I have decided to go with the Inner Compass deck by Neel van Lierop. You can find the two readings laid out below. I asked the cards ‘What should we know or remember as we travel through the year ahead?"‘

I have only shared a little about each year’s guiding card for now, along with the names of the cards for each month, but I have put reminders in my diary for each month ahead, to come back and share more about the upcoming month’s reading on Substack Notes.

Curiously, the guiding card for LIFE - surrender - appears as the December card for WRITING/CREATIVITY, and the guiding card for WRITING/CREATIVITY - trust - appears as the May card for LIFE. Several others occur in both readings - flow, love, timing. Let’s see what unfolds.

THE ‘LIFE’ YEAR

Guiding ‘LIFE’ card for the year: SURRENDER

→ From the Inner Compass deck guidebook by Neel van Lierop, under ‘Surrender’: “You are resisting something or someone. This card asks you to fully let go of control and start accepting instead. Life can be heavy and complicated. By surrendering yourself fully to grief, despair or whichever indeterminate feeling you have, you create space for change. Through surrender, you can overturn anything. You are no longer a victim of your feelings, identification with negative emotions stop. You are greater than your feelings. You are limitless consciousness. Emotions are ephemeral; they are simply to warn you or to teach you a lesson. Let them work for you, not against you! Take deep breaths and allow all feelings to be, without trying to hide them, or fade them, or fix them... Every situation gives you the power to decide whether you will meet it with love or fear. Experience life with sadness or with joy. When you apply this practice you will experience deep inner peace and unconditional love. Exactly what you are…”

January: FLOW

February: EAGLE

March: STEP BY STEP

April: INTENTION

May: TRUST

June: NOURISHMENT

July: SUNSHINE

August: GIFT

September: THE MAGNET

October: LOVE

November: MANY THANKS

December: TIMING

*If this resonates, why not make a note of these life themes in your diary for 2025, and allow yourself to be greeted by them as you turn the page to each new month?

THE ‘WRITING/CREATIVITY’ YEAR

Guiding ‘WRITING/CREATIVITY’ card for the year: TRUST

→ From the Inner Compass deck guidebook by Neel van Lierop, under ‘Trust’: “Relax knowing that everything is heading in the right direction. The universe knows what it is doing! It is pointless to forcefully want to control, manipulate or steer things. Everything that is happening now, has to happen. It is all part of your process. By rising and falling, you keep growing and reaching new heights.... Do more and more of what makes you feel good. (Your) friendship with your intuition is becoming stronger… Intruitive messages are guiding you and helping you along on your path. Trust is the keyword here: trust in the process and trust in your own omnipresent inner strength.”

January: TIMING

February: LOVE

March: DEEP DOWN

April: CHOICE

May: SLOW DOWN

June: FREEDOM

July: FLOW

August: LETTING GO

September: VULNERABILITY

October: TRANSFORMATION

November: THE MESSENGER

December: SURRENDER

*If this resonates, why not make a note of these writing/creativity themes in your diary for 2025, and allow yourself to be greeted by them as you turn the page to each new month?

Want to write more this year? Upgrade to paid to join my friendly writing community SoulCircle, for year-round inspiration and support, beautiful Live Writing Circles and more.

Perhaps you might like to do your own new year reading? It’s a lovely thing to do as you are transferring birthdays and anniversaries over to a shiny new diary, and to me adds another layer of meaning and hope to the year ahead. Some of my favourite decks include those by Rebecca Campbell, Denise Linn, Chris-Anne, Kim Krans, and Sahara Rose. If you are looking for a deck, I encourage you to just go for whatever you are drawn to. It’s amazing how they always seem to tell you exactly what you need to hear! If you already use oracle cards, I’d love to know which deck is your favourite…

Beth Xx