Last year I missed my year ahead spread. I had just come out of a very intense 2017 — a year that began with a devastating career & personal event taking over half the year to recover from, but ended with the launch of my book, which I had spent several years bringing to fruition.
In 2018, I had planned to continue the end of 2017 momentum, which I did, but my ambitions were greater than my resultant productivity — had I done my 2018 forecast, I may have either seen that or seen ways toward those goals. No matter: I’m not disappointed by my 2018, it was still a good year.
I do, however, appreciate the value of periodically checking in and doing so at the arguably arbitrary reset of the calendar change (though arbitrary, it is in the cultural zeitgeist, which carries its own momentum) is as good a time as any!
So this year I decided to pick up the practice again 🙂
Instructions for this particular Year Ahead Spread for those not already familiar with it.
General theme: overall, for me this year is one of hope, nourishment, letting go, finding direction and being a beacon for others — merging the fluidity of Water with the stability of Earth allows feelings to be grounded, a balanced state of emotional steadiness. More than that though, it’s also about maintaining this emotional steadiness by releasing overwhelming sensations and replenishing sensory energy regularly as a way to ground and maintain self-care. It’s this self-care regime that gives the standpoint from which to find direction and guide others. There’s an aspect of allowing things to flow through the sub-conscious as a filter — a state more of channeling than retaining or relying solely on what is within; cultivating intuition by letting go freely such that impressions can flow in freely, letting them go again, to make space for more in-flow.
January – March: steadfastness, compassion, gathering and taking care of resources, replenishing in a comfortable home. A good period to nurture creativity, not exclusively focused on the productive aspect, but also on the gathering of materials and refinement of skill.
January: take advantage of communal resources and established social structures. This is not a period to try and reinvent the wheel, but rather use the support of communities that have already created solid connections. Build from the foundation of traditions, recognizing the opportunities for development from this base.
February: gather resources and revel in abundance. Fulfillment and contentment of being are at a peak — give experience generously. This may also be a good time to make future investments.
March: the creative inertia of winter picks up with a rush of creative energy. Turn efforts into habits that have a cumulative and sustained effect. Actions quickly yield results this month.
April – June: consistency, efforts guided toward productivity, clear direction and taking steps toward goal realization. Also a creative phase, but geared more toward productivity and showing fruits of action. Beneath that, an initial recognition of underlying setbacks and intuitive signals followed by a phase of discipline and structure to bring an end to unfinished projects.
April: allow emotions to remain in flux as intuition reveals clearer paths ahead. Draw on feelings to guide creativity, and use the sensations associated with creativity to provide inspiration and drive.
May: be cautious about splitting efforts, and notice any tendency toward conflict. Use dual action to find a middle-road that is progressive, rather than letting opposing action cause inaction.
June: replenish & restore, perhaps take a retreat to focus on the full, individual manifestation of productive results.
July – September: this is time to ride the momentum of the first half of the year — at this point, the Earthy aspects of the first 6 months will yield a progressive momentum that will drive through the summer months –or– any inertia experienced will begin to move with the absence of Earth. This is a period of being more decisively active, tempering radical ideas with fulfillment.
July: forward-thinking, radical ideas, breaking out of the crowd with progressive concepts. This month is full of movement, mostly mental, and putting ideas into innovative action.
August: a highly emotional month, perhaps even overwhelmingly so. Take time this month to replenish and recalibrate. Be fluid, though the capacity to let inspiration flow in before letting it go is greater now than all year.
September: new ideas and conflicting thoughts may lead to indecision — be wary of this indecisiveness, but nonetheless weigh options intelligently. This may be a good month to objectively evaluate pros and cons or two sides of a situation.
October – December: a return to stability, leading to breakthrough and renewed confidence, rooted in experience and deep knowing. Significant change may also mark this period, where old roots are upturned and new ones planted. The Star’s guiding force may be at its most useful here in the last quarter.
October: lead by example. Gather up any wasted efforts and drive projects home. Tidy up any misdirected deeds. Harness the discipline of earlier in the year and make any last major efforts necessary.
November: start afresh and keep things simple. Get to the root of things, and perhaps begin a new project. Be content with basics and the essence of just being. Also a good time to purge unneeded possessions.
December: take a mental rest! Looks like it’s been a big year (or will have been), so this is a time to re-stabilize the mind. Stay on the path of keeping things simple, and consider what the mind needs most to recalibrate for a new year.
Did you do a Year Ahead Spread? What does your 2019 look like, and how have past Year Ahead Spreads worked out for you?
Let me know in the comments!
Mirrors of Consciousness 