We pulled cards from the Rider-Waite tarot deck to prepare ourselves collectively for the year of 2023 – the challenges that may be present and some highlights that may bring us hope, in an era defined by a pandemic. What will this new year bring us?
Detroit’s brujas conducting this reading are Hanniyah Cross, Sonia Alvarado (owner, Calavera Rose Shop), Alejandra Villegas (GemInEye Tarot), Raven Martin, and me, Zoë Villegas of Detroit Magick. This reading opened with the Eight of Pentacles.
Sonia Alvarado: “I really feel that this card is showing us that we are in the process of working hard and using the resolutions that we made to our advantage as a guideline for success — working with the ebbs and flows of things, and remaining adaptable.”
Hanniyah Cross: “The energy here does not feel brand new. More like a continuation of the last three years. It feels like the consistency that we have been trying to establish, following lockdown. It also feels like the last bit of planning that is necessary before Mars goes direct.”
Alejandra Villegas: “I agree here with the sequence of these cards. It all feels very much like a reconstructive effort. Plugging along with a sense of fatigue to our spirits and bodies, but continuing to move forward.”
Raven Martin: “Strategic planning from what we learned. So many people bought flowers and plants during the pandemic, and it was an intuitive connection to healing their heart. There was grief and loneliness. The heart and lungs are also the literal source of illnesses during this pandemic and people continue to work … without fully healing … Sustaining your health, in all the ways — this is the message. We are trying to move forward, and that’s hard to do without a sense of justice. But it is coming.”
Hanniyah Cross: “It’s like a start-stop energy here. We look at the first four months of the year and you can see the progress but also there is frustration because you are going to be met with obstacles and that’s going to define the pace. Those obstacles are appropriate and will lead to development, but it’s frustrating.”
Zoë Villegas: “This also feels like more mutations of the virus, and so the pandemic and grief stay present, and continue to pose a threat to our most vulnerable, regardless of how much we may have normalized this pandemic. I see the Ace of Wands following, as a reminder of the consciousness we need, to defend and protect those who are vulnerable. We may have regained some of our strength, but where is it necessary to apply it?”
Alejandra Villegas: “The year started off with a dreary tone, but with the Page of Cups and the Nine of Pentacles, it feels like there is a hopeful message. There’s a coming of age for some younger people that revitalizes us.”
Hanniyah Cross: “There could be some government money relief at that time of year. Taxes or unemployment. This could be help extended to people who have really been struggling in the previous eight months or so. People will probably have to apply for help and really push for it, though.”
Sonia Alvarado: “It’s possible that this feeling of a little economic boom is also representing student loan forgiveness.”
Zoë Villegas: “It feels like the Wheel of Fortune card and the Six of Cups reversed represent a tension between generations, and this is going to fuel election platforms which are building.”
Hanniyah Cross: “Then what I see in the summer is that there’s a huge push for real estate development in Detroit. It’s either a large move forward or a halt to a project which involves a huge parcel of land in the city. Lots hanging in the balance, where land is involved.”
Sonia Alvarado: “I’m looking at revelations of secrets and scandal, towards the beginning of gall. It feels like this could be concerning past leadership… Trump.”
Hanniyah Cross: “I agree. It feels like a lot of information is coming forward around corruption. The consequences, I question. But whatever information comes out could mean that it’s not possible for Trump to run for President. … This King of Wands and Ace of Pentacles feels connected to war and debt.”
Alejandra Villegas: “I feel that also with the Six of Wands, a battle card, appearing and the opposing Strength card.”
Raven Martin: “The fall and winter feels like there’s a question around security and our financial institutions. The cards feel like they’re indicating financial institutions falling apart in a public way, but this is not a bad thing if it means that necessary changes are being made.”
Sonia Alvarado: “We know that things are going to be adversarial, but we can end the year with our sanity if we are prepared. What do we see for the end of the year? I see us being stronger than when we started.”
Hanniyah Cross: “We are moving into the Age of Aquarius, and a lot of what that represents is tied to the collective and our tribes, so-to-speak. So this reading started with a rugged individualism and then as the year moves on, we see more of us getting rooted and grounded together, taking care of the people who were consistently there for us in the last three years. Also, hella babies showing up here. And the babies are planned. More people starting families and an uptick of people choosing to have children without a partner.”
Alejandra Villegas: “Relationships are coming from a deeper place of self-knowledge, rather than urgency forging something that comes from social pressure. The cards show us checking in and finding what our desires are, versus what we are told we want. Relationships are being engineered. They’re being designed with intention, as we have become more independent, and that feels true and authentic.”
Sonia Alvarado: “We are creating happiness in our lives through our relationships as we’re getting to truly know ourselves. We are deciding what we want, and are breaking through to obtain something that puts us more in control of our decisions. Traditional values of partnership and connection might be changing; and we are finding happiness because we’re aligned with what we learned we actually want, which is much different than we originally thought.”
Hanniyah Cross: “And it may not all be perfect. But it comes pretty damn close.”
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