The Candle of Preparation

Week One - Day Ten

Three Words
Three Cards

by Theresa Reed

As the year begins to wind down, my mind starts to drift towards the new one just on the horizon. While it’s nice to reflect on what is moving into the past, I tend to be more intrigued with what may come…and what’s possible.

Perhaps that is why I’ve been drawn to practices such as astrology and tarot. I need to see what’s ahead. Like a girl scout, I want to be prepared.

That part of me that feels a need to control events runs in the background but there is another side of me, the spiritual one, that would like to feel as if I am able to shape my future in a creative way.

One of the things I like to do is pick a word for the year.

I use this to guide me in my decisions and plans - not to mention, for how I wish to feel. I’ve been doing this practice for years. One of my favorite clients prefers to use three words to guide her year. We’ve been using tarot as a way to ferret out those intentions together.

Here’s how:

Get your tarot deck. Anyone will do. Whatever appeals to your aesthetic is best. (I like the Fountain Tarot these days for any sort of contemplative work.)

Next, shuffle the cards up while thinking about the upcoming year.

When you feel ready, lay the cards face down and fan them out. Using your intuition, pull three cards from the deck. Turn them over and gaze at the images. Think of the first word that pops to your mind when you look at each card.

Jot those down.

Now, grab your thesaurus and look up synonyms for each word. Write those down too. From those notes, pick the words that stand out to you and symbolize what you want to create, feel, have, or be in the year ahead.

That’s all there is to it.

Here’s my example:

• Five of Wands: competition
• Ten of Cups reversed: boundaries
• Two of Wands reversed: vision

When I look to the Thesaurus:

• Competition: match, meeting, championship, engagement.
• Boundaries: edge, horizon, compass, verge.
• Vision: Dream, conception, imagination, angle, foresight, breadth of view.

The words I chose: engagement, edge, conception.

This simple exercise gives you a few words that you can use as a guidepost for your upcoming year. Try it out. See what bubbles up. Then, write down the words where you can see them every day - and watch the magic unfold.

Blessings,

Theresa Reed