Even if you don’t go in for resolutions, the new year is a prime time to take stock, to reconfigure, to goal set. Who knows? Maybe this is the year you will reinvent yourself and become the version of yourself you were always meant to be.
The Draw
For this new year, I decided to use tarot to to sharply focus the challenges and opportunities ahead. Much like the card of the week, this card of the year would highlight specific themes: areas of growth, things to watch out for, opportunities to shine.
And so, on the winter solstice I gathered my deck and while shuffling, thoroughly and thrice, thought about the year ahead and what I hoped for, personally and collectively. I’ll admit that I, forgetting the importance of letting go of outcomes, hoped to pull the sun or the wheel of fortune—something auspicious. I wished for a card showing ease and success, good fortune and plenty.
The Card
But as you have no doubt experienced in your own life, sometimes—often—we are given not what we want but what we need. Perhaps that is why I drew the five of wands—a card which quite literally depicts conflict and competition with five youths thwacking each other with big sticks. My first impulse was to draw again! But I reconsidered: Is there something to learn from this card in 2023? How does this represent our circumstances? What warnings and wisdom does this card offer?
Wands traditionally represent fire, and we certainly get that fiery energy in this card. But notice it isn’t anger depicted here rather perhaps it’s friendly competition? Energetic defending of one’s ideas and position? Dare we say healthy conflict?
The Reading
Your achievements, though earned, aren’t something you can set and forget. You will need to defend your position and boundaries in 2023—among family, at work, and/or in your relationships. This isn’t a bad thing! The five of wands reminds us that we worked to get where we are and must work simply to maintain our standing—and to reach new goals.
Though this card reveals conflict (perhaps internal as well as external), it also shows enthusiasm for the challenges ahead. As we move into the new year, remember the confidence you have in your own abilities. (Yes, you have it!) Your courage will be key to opening new doors for yourself and others in 2023.
A word of caution: Many of us do everything we can to avoid conflict. We ignore problems, avoid speaking truth, resist asking clarifying questions, and hang back and let other people lead, then grumble at their decisions. In this new year, vow to embrace your discomfort with conflict. Be the first to act instead of leaving the responsibility to someone else.
Ultimately, you have what it takes to own your space and to step into the fray, if necessary. Elbows out, chin up, eyes on the horizon.
Join me as we explore together the different aspects of the five of wands on the first each month. The next installment lands February 1. In the meantime, the Card of the Week newsletters will continue as usual, arriving each Sunday evening.