My birthday is in the fall, so once again I thought I’d do my birthday spread for myself.

This reading covers the year from one birthday to the next and the intent is to discuss various areas of growth and development. So we’ll start by looking at the three significator cards, then the three challenge cards, and finally the four life message cards.

Here is a view of the spread for your entire reading.

First Operation Method

The following cards were pulled from the Gilded Tarot deck based upon the calculations described below.

Significator Cards – Disruptor, Conqueror, and Detector

These first three cards are based upon your birth date and together represent the core of your identity. Throughout the reading, they will illuminate various aspects of yourself.

1: Personality Card – The Tower

The date of your birth added up to 16.

Disruptor

This card represents how you tend to respond to the world around you as well as how others are likely to perceive you. Based upon your birth date, the card assigned to you is the Tower.

The Tower represents revelations, revolutions, sudden changes, upheavals, and a general sense of chaos. As a personality, for better or worst, you are disruptive. The very nature of who you are brings change and not everyone is ready or willing to accept it.

Ideas come to you like flashes of lightning. You question and challenge the structure of everything. Walls are meaningless, for you understand the language of the unsaid. You embrace the fall to find meaning. This chaos most people fear is your comfort zone.

The caution here is to allow others to navigate this zone in their own way. Do you and your thing, but it is not your responsibility to force change in others. It is not your job to hold their hand through this zone. It is not your job to make this zone more comfortable.

Everyone has their own karmic lessons to deal with, including you. It’s imperative that you consider this before stepping in. Interference with a karmic lesson delays growth and development.

If you have to put yourself on hold to get involved, then don’t do it. It means this path is not meant for you. The paths you should take flow naturally with your growth and development. They will move you forward, not hold you back.

You can read more about the beauty of disruption here:
Never Not Broken: The Power of Falling Apart and Coming Back Together Again

2: Soul Card – The Chariot

1 + 6 = 7

Conqueror

This card represents your inner drive and motivation. It shows the core of what makes you tick deep inside. Based upon your birth date, the card assigned to you is the Chariot.

This card represents self control, will power, the drive to conquer, and ambition. Your soul is driven by this need, but like the image of the card, this need is driven by different energies.

When your energies are in alignment with your intentions, desires, and behaviors, you become an unstoppable force. It’s when these aren’t in alignment that you find yourself stalling out, running into walls, spinning your wheels, or flipping your cart.

To keep yourself moving forward, you need to be very clear and honest with yourself about what you want and what you’re doing. Make sure what you’re doing aligns with your long-term goals. Success leaves clues. So if it’s pulling you off the path of your long-term goals, then you need to reign yourself back on track.

One caution here is to make sure you are not running people over as you aim for your goals. There is a certain single-mindedness that comes with this sort of self alignment. So it’s important that you’re not running completely blind to others.

The other caution here is to not fall into despair when you find yourself out of alignment. Whenever this happens, focus on self rescue for realignment and restore your momentum.

Understand the evolutionary process of change is unique to everyone.

You bring change with you as you drive to conquer. It is this drive within you that brings change just as the changes within you drives your ambitions. It’s an ever revolving cycle for you.

Something within you changes, which propels you forward. This alters the environment around you. Unavoidably, as this environment responds to you and this changes you again.

This tends to happen at a rapid pace for you.

If you remain aware of yourself, you can maintain control of the direction you are going. You’ll be able to sustain steady growth and progress in your evolution.

In order to do that, you need to achieve greater mastery of your reigns. In other words, stay in your lane. Whatever path it is you choose for yourself, commit to it and stick with it.

Rather than changing directions in response to something, sidestep it and get back on track. Allow other people to do whatever it is they need to do with their lives. Focus on you, your life, and your goals.

Helping is fine so long as it doesn’t it doesn’t put you on hold or hinder their development. It’s critical to know the difference between enabling someone and rescuing them from a true crisis.

You need to understand the evolutionary process of change. You need to embrace its flow. You also need to accept that this process doesn’t look the same in everyone. And you don’t have control over this process in anyone else either just because you see it or understand it. It’s not your responsibility. Release it. It’s a unique journey for everyone.

3: Sun Card – Queen of Swords

September 12 – October 12

Detector

This card represents your inner light and it’s what makes you unique as a person. Since the Queen of Swords houses the Sun in his/her decant at the time of your birth, this is the card assigned to you.

This card represents an astute and sharp eye, direct and candid communication, a need for clear boundaries, independence, and a depth of honesty.

Someone in this house of the court sees things others tend to overlook or fail to notice. The eye for detail can border on obsession, if not completely so. Desires and motives tend to be an open book for these people. As a result, these people become adept at detecting the wants and needs of others. They also can become very good at detecting bullshit.

And the reason for this is because they’ve been there and done that. Very little in life comes as a surprise anymore. They understand human nature all too well. Because of this, they often feel jaded and carry a dry sense of humor. Care must be taken so as to not cut others unnecessarily with this humor.

Now having said all this, a word of caution: honesty doesn’t do any good if it’s wielded like a weapon. The unfortunate reality is that the skills described above are often honed through painful experiences.

There is a very real temptation to lash out in response to that pain. True healing doesn’t occur by inflicting more wounds. It doesn’t matter how true your words are if it’s going to cause someone to bleed out. You can be honest and direct without being hurtful.

Check your motivation before speaking or acting. If what you are about to say or do involves inflicting pain, it’s very likely to backfire on you. It doesn’t matter what the motivation is, causing pain will not get you there.

If causing pain is the sole motivation, you need to ask yourself why before you move forward with that. Make sure you’re not undermining your long-term goals in the process.

As much as you value honesty in others, you need to be fully honest with yourself in everything you do.

Another word of caution: since you are able to constantly pick up on fine details of information from your environment self-care is required. It’s not a luxury. It’s critical. Strong boundaries are a must.

Most people are completely unaware of the signals they send out from one moment to the next. This ranges from the way they behave, they way they speak, and even they way they dress and smell. This is all information and they leak it non-stop.

You can’t control any of that, but you can control you. You can limit your exposure to it if necessary. You can choose your response to it. You can choose not to be controlled or defined by it. In doing this, you gain greater independence.

It is better to run alone than to run astray.

As the disruptor, conqueror, and detector, you have an ethical responsibility to act in the highest good at all times, in all things, and in all places. There are no exceptions to this. Ever.

The Tower suggests claircognizance here while the Queen of Swords indicates clairvoyance. These two mean clear knowing and clear seeing respectively. You may have other gifts, but these two are your primary ones.

Use your flashes of insight and knowledge wisely and responsibly. Use the information you detect for the greatest good possible.

Most importantly, do not impose yourself upon others. These insights alone are unnerving. The unavoidable sense of chaos you carry with you is unsettling. Your direct style of communication is uncomfortable to many at best. However, once these things are combined with your drive and ambition can become frightening.

This is an incredibly masculine energy and it’s overpowering to many. You will need to learn how to allow others to approach you rather than chasing them down. For anything.

Those willing and able to match your energy, will run alongside you. Do not despair over those you leave behind in order to keep moving forward. It is better to run alone than to run astray.

Second Operation Method

The following cards were pulled from the Gilded Tarot based upon the calculations described below.

Life Challenge Cards – Soul Sanctuary, Energetic Flow, Divine Masculine

These next three cards are also based upon your birth date and together represent the core developmental needs of your personal growth for this year’s cycle. Throughout the reading, they will illuminate various aspects of how this growth will occur.

4: Growth Card – The Heirophant

Your birthday for this year adds up to 5.

Soul Sanctuary

This card represents how you need to grow during this year’s cycle. Based upon your birth date, the card assigned to you is the Hierophant.

This card represents the belief systems and structures of society. It is here that you need to grow in this year.

In order to find deeper meaning in your life, you need to find a place in the world to belong and call home. The belief systems in this place need to align with yours rather than expect you to restructure them. In addition, the structure of this place needs to allow for you to have faith in yourself as well.

You need the space in which you can be unapologetically you. Build this space for yourself and others if you must, but know there is still goodness in the world and in others. Seek it. Find it. Cultivate it. Preserve, honor, and protect this soul sanctuary.

Once you have found your place in the world, your faith in others will be restored.

Your faith in others has crumbled more than once. This has hindered your ability to see the world through a safe lens. Even though chaos is your comfort zone, you walk with fear in the presence of others. Pain has become a constant companion for you.

Find the type of people that remain congruent since you question everything. And while no one is perfect, it is this consistency that builds solid trust.

You also need to allow others the opportunity to rebuild your trust if that’s what they desire to do. Allow them to either hang or redeem themselves through their own behavior in time. Again, it will be their congruency or lack thereof that will decide.

You will never belong in a place that falls apart beneath your examination. In other words, do not stay somewhere that demands you to change in response to your questioning. Do not stay somewhere that doesn’t allow for your style of breakthroughs.

You require expansion through discovery and revelation, not blind adherence.

Once you have found your place in the world, your faith in others will be restored.

You need to start actively seeking out your Soul Tribe now.

The Chariot is swift, driven, and of singular focus when operating in a healthy and functional manner. When it isn’t healthy and functional, it becomes disorganized, unfocused, and unmotivated.

Your Soul Tribe vibrates with a quality that can keep up with your ambition and speed. They also understand the internal mechanisms behind your laser focus.

So when your cart flips, they know what needs to be done to provide the support you need.

Don’t stop being you. Stay in your desired lane. The ones meant for you are capable of the same speed and direction you choose to travel. Quit trying to chase people that aren’t going the same way as you are even if you want them in your life. Allow people to come to you if they want, but you have things in this lifetime that you need to be doing.

This is why you need to start actively seeking out your Soul Tribe now. Together you will build the soul sanctuary mentioned earlier.

Quit allowing your faith in the world get destroyed by people with low moral standards.

You can clearly see and know the truth for what it is – both in people and in situations. This is never the question or the concern. What is, however, is whether or not you are willing to accept it.

People who are unable to fully admit fault or wrong doing are not members of your Soul Tribe. Quit chasing them. Quit wasting your time, effort, and energy with them. Quit begging them to change.

Quit allowing your faith in the world get destroyed by people with low moral standards. Not everyone is like that and it’s not your responsibility to teach them better. It’s not your job. It’s not your calling. Strengthen your boundaries. Stop reacting and responding to their bullshit. Cut them from your life and move on. The only person that needs to change here in your karmic timeline is you.

You have more important things to do with people who possess a higher ethical standard. People who are willing to admit their faults completely and make corrections exist. Find them. Make them your top 5 people so that it shapes you into a more ethical person.

You are being called to create a soul sanctuary. A space for people to discover, explore, and express themselves authentically. You can’t do this alone. You need ethical and authentic people that desire the highest good for everyone. You need people that you trust and in turn trust in you.

You need to accept the fact that you can make more progress operating within the dynamic of others.

Despite whatever it is you want to believe, you can’t live the entirety of your life alone. You do have the capacity to start over from the ground up and blaze ahead as many times as you need to. At some point you need to accept the fact that you can make more progress operating within the dynamic of others.

Growth and development doesn’t occur within a vacuum. Challenges are seldom experienced in isolation. It may be possible that your comfort zone of chaos has become your ivory tower. That you use it to keep people at bay, or even at times push them away.

Learn to harness this chaotic energy within you to generate growth and development instead of destruction. When you are tearing things down, be sure it’s to pave a way to forward movement. Don’t break things apart to block people out of your life.

Before taking action, ask yourself if it hinders the development or karmic flow of another. Tearing down a wall to make it easier for someone in the moment doesn’t mean it’s good for them in the long run.

Embrace and master these dynamic challenges. Doing so will make navigating social structures easier and you’ll find that people will stick around with you longer as a result.

5: Mentor Card – Temperance

5 + 9 = 14
(Growth# + Hermit = Mentor#)

Energetic Flow

This card represents this year’s teaching spirit for you. Based upon your birth date, the card assigned to you is Temperance.

Temperance represents the divine alchemist within us all. The elements stand for divine energetic principles. Much like the divine masculine and feminine energies, they flow through and combine in us.

As alchemists, we can control this flow and how they combine. Just as in cooking where we control the flame to boil the water, we can do the same within ourselves.

With this card as your mentor this year, you are being called to refine and master this principle.

Instead of reacting to an energy, pause and allow it to flow. Take the time to identify it. Discern whether or not the energy even belongs to you. You have the power to observe without interacting with it. You have the power to dissolve and release it from your field. Don’t allow foreign energy to combine with yours.

Meditation will be your best tool in clearing and centering your energy field. Every morning and every night. As you purify and strengthen your chakras, you’ll find your overall health will improve. This is largely due to the reduction of stress, which produces the greatest amount of biochemical toxins in the body.

Master the flow of your energy. Listen to the four aspects of your Self. Rest and recharge when you need it. Stretch, expand, and grow when you need it. This is what true self-love and self-care looks like.

You do not need to diminish yourself in order to connect with others.

You need to allow faith in yourself to flow through you in everything you do and in all your interactions. Stop dissolving yourself in others. As long as you continue to do this, your faith in the world will not be restored.

One way to do this is being mindful that the purpose of communication is understanding, not conversion. Allow the words of others to flow through you, not become you. Allow your words to flow however way they flow, without the intent of becoming them.

To speak clearly, honestly, and to mean what you say is your responsibility. It is not your responsibility to ensure they do the same. If the energy of their words conveys untrustworthiness, then you are free to walk away. You do not need to engage in that dynamic.

To actively listen, clarify, and convey understanding is also your responsibility. It is also not your responsibility to ensure they do the same. If the energy of their behavior conveys disinterest or willful refusal, then you are free to walk away. Again, you do not need to engage in that dynamic.

Your heart space knows when someone is fully engaged in the conversation. The dynamic is open with little to no friction even if the topic is a difficult one. If this can occur without reducing yourself in some way, then this is a true connection.

Pay attention to the flow of these dynamics. You do not need to diminish yourself in order to connect with others.

Karmic law demands equity. If you ignore this, you block the lines of exchange and your tower falls.

The Tower represents revelations, chaos, and sudden change. Meanwhile, Temperance represents alchemy, balance, energetic flow, and healing.

Change is good when done for the right reasons and handled in the correct way.

Examine your life for imbalances in energetic flow. Make sure for every output of energy you have, there is an equal input somewhere in your life.

Think of this in the same way as accounting. You want your energetic balance to be in the black or green, not in the red. And you do not want your energetic balance to be heavy on liabilities or debt either. Balances that are in the red or heavy in debt results in a tower that falls.

Make sure the changes you make restore and maintain this energetic balance rather than disrupt it. The reason for this is if your energetic flow is imbalanced, your life becomes disrupted.

A red account often results in illness in one of the four pillars of wellness in the Self. The pillar effected is usually the one feeling the greatest strain from the output. Increase the input, preferably in this pillar, to restore the balance and well-being.

An account with too much debt or liabilities, stunts growth and development in one’s life. The reason for this is it makes the account look like you’re in the green and have extra to spare, but you don’t. Even worse, you will have to pay this back and often times with interest. This will set you back. This applies to favors just as much as it does to money.

A similar problem applies to people owing you debts. It’s better for you in the long run not to collect promises. It is too easy, for one reason or another, for them to end up empty over time. This will screw up your energetic account in the same way as you falling through on your debts. The lesson here is to collect at the time the promise is made.

A good rule of thumb here is to do as much for yourself as you can whenever you can. When you do need help, make sure you are making an equivalent exchange at that time to keep the debt and liabilities clear for both of you.

Keep your karmic line of exchange clear so abundance is able to flow. If you allow debris to clutter up your karmic lines, you’re not going to have the abundance you seek. It won’t matter how many times you tear down and rebuild your systems. Karmic law demands equity. If you ignore this, you block the lines of exchange and your tower falls.

Pay attention to what you are doing compared to how you are feeling to gauge the proper flow and path for you.

Pay attention to what you are doing compared to how you are feeling to gauge the proper flow and path for you.

You’re on the right path when you’re feeling light, energetic, and uplifted despite the challenges you might face. You’re on the wrong path when you’re feeling irritable, an overall malaise, and unfocused despite how easy the tasks might be for you.

You’ll also know you’re on the right path when you feel like you are growing from the challenges, not crushed by them. If you feel like you are getting stronger and better by what you’re doing, then you’re on the right track.

People are inspired by your progress and are joining you on your journey. They’re not just cheering you on. They have been impacted by you and are running with you in support. They want you to keep doing what you’re doing because of this impact.

So the harmony you feel with others in your life is one more signal as to whether you are on the right track or not.

However, keep in mind there’s always going to be haters and critics. But you’re on the right track as long as there is at least one person that says, “What you do in this world means so much to me.”

Another thing to keep in mind is that existing in a neutral state is not a sign of a boring life. It’s a sign of emotional balance and stability. Not only does this state allow you to view life with the clearest lens, it also means you can steer the straightest path. Aim for this state whenever possible rather than seeking the emotional extremes.

This doesn’t mean you can’t feel your emotions. What it does mean is that you’re not allowing them to drive your cart.

In the image of the Chariot, there are two different sphinxes pulling the vehicle. This represents the opposing energies within us. Emotions have a way of triggering impulses that oppose our intentions and desires. It’s critical to reign these impulses in and keep them in check so we can achieve our goals.

Whenever you allow your emotions to take control, you run the serious risk of veering off course. Use the signals mentioned above to help you stay in your lane.

You are able to see and understand energetic flow. Learn how to apply it for the highest good.

These two cards together suggest that you are able to see and understand energetic flow. This could be a useful and practical healing ability if you are willing to take it on. Look into which modalities would be best served by it.

Whether or not you choose to become a healer in this way, practice and develop this skill. Learn how to apply it for the highest good.

At the very least, you can use this skill to regulate your balance and well-being. You will be able to assess which aspect of your Self needs the most care and attention at any particular time.

Trust in this.

Know one knows you and what your needs are better than you. Know one knows your emotions better than you either. Do not allow anyone to dictate any of these things to you. Hold onto your power.

Having said this, forever honor these things in others. Doesn’t matter what you see or know, their path is theirs to travel. Allow them to do so in dignity.

Your job is only to share the knowledge you have. They are free to use it in whatever way they desire. Deliver it, release it, and walk your own path.

Whatever it is you decide to do, go with the actions that support the life you are trying to create for yourself.

Looking at these four cards together, the message here is that balance in all things is necessary.

Use your keen eye to see where and how your energies are flowing. Make sure all your energies are flowing in the one direction you want to keep you moving forward.

Do not break down structures reactively. Be proactive and constructive instead. Clear out of your life whatever no longer serves your growth and development. Preserve and honor the rest.

It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. What matters is your well-being and the balance of your energetic flow.

How you structure your life and move through it is entirely up to you and should only be based upon what you are seeing. If you are seeing imbalances, then you need to balance them. If you see blockages, you need to clear them. If you need space for growth, then you need to create it. If you need a new structure for support, then you need to build it.

Whatever it is you decide to do, go with the actions that support the life you are trying to create for yourself. In going this route, your energy will flow naturally and comfortably.

6: Compass Card – The Emperor

5 + 17 = 22
2 + 2 = 4
(Growth# + Star = Compass#)

Divine Masculine

The Emperor represents the ultimate expression of the divine masculine. This card can also be seen as the Alföðr, or All Father, and is the final, active phase in the manifestation cycle.

We all possess both the divine feminine and masculine energy. To be a complete and whole person, we must utilize both these energies in tandem within ourselves.

Review the chart below to see which qualities come from which energy.

This chart is from the article, “How to Heal and Unite Your Inner Feminine and Masculine,” by Cherie Roe Dirksen.

Once you’ve made a decision and set your plans, don’t dwell on it or second guess yourself. You need to shift into your masculine energy and get it done.

The greatest strength that comes from the masculine energy is that brings order to chaos. The greatest danger that this energy brings is a severe sense of superiority and need for control. Combine these together and it chokes out creativity and wounds the feminine energy.

If you attempt to suppress the masculine energy within you as a means to control it or to make others more comfortable, it becomes wounded as well.

Wounded feminine and masculine energy will emerge in the form of toxic behaviors. These behaviors will continue to emerge until the wounds are healed.

Study the chart above and determine which patterns are appearing in your behavior. Look at both sides of the chart. Dig for the root cause and begin addressing them. It’s the only way to dissolve these patterns from your behavior and improve your life.

Find those who are comfortable in the synergy between chaos and order.

The Hierophant represents the structures and belief systems of society. The Emperor represents the divine masculine energy that sets the chaos to order.

While these two cards urge you to take action, they also carry a message of caution.

Chaos is the realm of feminine energy. The place where there is no end or beginning, for energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Energy can only be transformed, transferred, or transmuted. In order to create something, something else must be destroyed in the process. This is the essence of chaos: the place of in between as energy is being shifted.

Order is the realm of masculine energy. In an unwounded state, it provides the cycle for chaos to operate in. In a wounded state, it can restrict the channels of flow so tightly that the energy becomes blocked.

This happens when we try to suppress and control emotions in ourselves and others. It happens when we try to force belief systems upon others. This doesn’t apply strictly to religion and politics either. This could be simply a debate over how to do things.

Your way isn’t the only right way in the world. Get over yourself. There are billions of people on this planet that have found methods of doing things that work.

Having said that, beware of those with such a rigid mind set. Beware of those that demand their way or the highway.

Find the people who are truly open minded, innovative, and fluid in their thinking. Find those who are comfortable in the synergy between chaos and order.

Hold people to that Last 10% Rule standard. Hold yourself to this standard.

Only you have the power to control the balance of your energetic flow. Do not give this power away.

When it comes to your energetic balance, strict control is required. Keep in mind this isn’t about controlling the behavior of others. It’s about controlling your response to these behaviors.

If at any point you find that a person proves to be an energy leak, then you need to remove them from your energy account.

Energy leaks drain your energy account regardless of any adjustments you make. These are the kinds of things that will punch holes in your ship and watch you sink to the bottom.

Pay attention to how you feel. Energy leaks provide no peace, no comfort, no joy, and no progress. Determine this using the Last 10% Rule.

If you have been with someone for 10 months, what has it been like for you in the last month? If you accept the way things have been for this last month, that’s how it’s going to be moving forward.

Let’s say you have known this person for 2 years. Only look at the last 10 weeks. Again, how things have been for you in those 10 weeks will indicate how they will be moving forward. It doesn’t matter how awesome things were in the first 6 months or year. All that matters is how it’s been going in those last 10 weeks.

Hold people to that Last 10% Rule standard. Hold yourself to this standard. Doing so will improve the energetic flow in all of your relationships.

The reason the focus is on people here is that people create the dynamics in situations and places.

Be ruthless with your time, energy, and resources but remain willing to experiment.

These three cards together speak loud and clear that the time of waiting right now is over.

Whatever it is you wish to do, you need to have faith in yourself and step into your masculine energy to make happen. Balance and control your energetic flow to pace yourself to get things done. Be willing to network and collaborate with people, but make sure you’re doing it with the right people for the appropriate reasons.

Establish firmer boundaries with people to protect your energetic balance and to preserve your productivity. You need to be able to maintain the synergy between chaos and order to keep your energy channels open.

Be ruthless with your time, energy, and resources but remain willing to experiment. Allow yourself to be fluid in your process. There are multiple right ways to do things in this world. There are billions of people in this world and each one has found their way. Find the ways that optimize your energetic flow.

If you do not choose for yourself which spaces to create for your growth, the universe will choose for you.

We’ve touched on controlled destruction while looking at the Tower and Temperance. We also touched on the dynamic between chaos and order while looking at the Emperor and Temperance. We revisit these topics as we look at the Tower and the Emperor together.

Destruction serves a critical purpose in the universe. Nothing in this universe can be created without destroying something else. By breaking something apart, we provide the needed space and resources to build something else.

Order ensures balance and prevents uncontrolled decay. However, too much order can prevent decay entirely, halting the flow of creation.

Think of the realm of chaos as a set of karmic gears. They must turn. If you do not choose for yourself which spaces to create for your growth, the universe will choose for you. In other words, if you resist change and prevent any sort of decay, the universe will force it upon you. It will break where ever you need to grow in the most. By nature, this will be your weakest point structurally.

This is why city planners tear down structurally unsound buildings and build new ones. You can only salvage a structure up to a certain point before it’s no longer savable. This same principle applies to your life.

Be ruthless in your assessments. Is it serving a functional purpose? Is it moving you forward on your path? Is it bringing you peace and joy? Does it optimize your energetic balance? If the answers are no then it needs to go.

You have the power to choose the direction of your growth. You can build this growth along your path as long as you remain mindful of the dynamics between chaos and order.

You can read more about the dynamics between chaos and order in terms of self actualization here: Two Ways to Reach the Light from the Darkside: Zen and The Art of Zigzag Dynamics

The only time you will feel any sort of true peace in your life is when you are moving forward on your path in some way.

Here we have two cards dealing with masculine energy and forms of control. The Chariot focuses upon self-control and the discipline required to achieve that. The Emperor focuses on external control and the discipline needed for that. Both seek victory and expansion on an individual level.

The primary difference here is the Chariot never rests. It’s always moving. Meanwhile, the Emperor tends to reach a point of self-complacency and stops growing. This warned about earlier when we discussed the dynamics between chaos and order.

Allow your ambition and drive to push you ever upward and onward in your life’s purpose. Never get too comfortable on your laurels and achievements. Otherwise, you will find yourself dissatisfied, malcontent, and restless in your life.

The only time you will feel any sort of true peace in your life is when you are moving forward on your path in some way. Such is the nature of having the soul of the Chariot.

This means that often times you will be traveling alone. Not everyone needs to be in constant motion the way you do. Physically or otherwise. You need to come to terms with this and accept it. Allow others to experience their journey, in their way, and in their divine timing. If it’s meant for them to cross your path again, trust that it will happen.

It is not your right nor place to even attempt to control the thoughts and opinions of another person.

It’s important for you to remember that the only thing that really matters is the objective truth. This means looking at what is healthy versus what is unhealthy. Everything else is either fallible, subjective, or strictly opinion.

What works for your body? What works for your energetic flow? What keeps you alive and well? What this looked like 5 years ago might not be the same 5 years from now. Doesn’t make either of them untrue.

The same holds for someone else. What this looks like for them might not be the same for you. Doesn’t make either of you wrong.

Therefore, when interacting with others, before speaking or acting ask yourself the following:

Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?

Even then, allow for them to go their own way with the understanding they have the free agency to choose their path. You have your own path to travel.

The moment you take on their energy or responsibilities is the moment you take on their path. You cannot walk two paths at once. No one can. Set the burden down and allow them the dignity to grow in their journey.

Having said all this, we need to address fallibility, subjectivity, and opinion.

Fallibility is knowing that humans are prone to making mistakes, or being erroneous. Science is built around this principle. It functions upon the idea that everything needs to be questioned, tested, and explored repeatedly in an orderly fashion. You need to treat all information in the same light.

The reason for this is due to subjectivity and opinion. Both of these operate within the realms of perception and ego. Your perception is your reality. Anything that doesn’t make it through the filters of your perception, doesn’t exist to the brain. Period. It’s just the way the brain works. Once something has made it into the brain, the ego wants to work on it for interpretation. This is when opinion comes into play with labels. Good or evil. Right or wrong. Smart or stupid. The list goes on.

Remember always that you are not your thoughts. You are only an observer of your thoughts. You can let them float by and not control you. You don’t need to have only positive thoughts. You don’t need to force negative thoughts out. Neither of these are right or wrong. They simply just exist. Let them float by.

The issue comes up when you allow these thoughts to control your emotions and behavior. When you do this, they in turn control the direction of the path you’re on. You are giving up your power.

You reclaim your power when you practice the art of the pause before taking action. You have the power to choose how to behave or what to say. And you have the power to choose to remain in alignment with your divine path.

Just because you have an opinion about something doesn’t mean you need to align yourself with that path. Because again, the moment you start asserting your opinion upon someone, what you’re actually doing is you’re taking on their path.

When someone states their opinion to you, you can entertain it and express understanding without converting yourself to it. This means you can be open-minded and actively listen to them without waiting for an opening to argue. At no point does doing this mean agreement. All it means is you are being gracious and respectful.

It is not your right nor place to even attempt to control the thoughts and opinions of another person. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to allow them to have their journey. Either they receive your message, or they don’t.

And if you find yourself in the company of someone that is unable to show you this same courtesy, then you need to part ways. Immediately.

Your well-being does not need the approval of others.

You have the ability to create change for yourself whenever needed. You also have the drive, will-power, and self-discipline to carry out this change. And finally, you have a keen eye and a swift intellect to you ensure that whatever it is you’re doing is right for you.

Review of the Significator and Life Challenge Cards

You will go in the direction you desire in life.

As the disruptor, you bring change with you through your internal chaotic state. This chaos comes from the divine feminine as it pools together energy to germinate the next phase in your life. Creation and destruction is a natural and continuous cycle. Do not perceive this as a crushing weight. See this as a liberation. Allow this process to elevate and grow you. After all, most birds don’t learn how to fly until after they’ve been pushed out of the nest. So allow this energy to vibrate you and those around you ever higher.

As the conqueror, you have the drive, ambition, and self-discipline to see yourself through on whatever it is you’ve set your mind to. You have a one track mind that can harness and utilize the chaotic energy within you to propel you forward. The only caution to bear in mind here is to remain mindful of what you’re focused on. Your focus determines the direction in your life. Make sure what you’re focusing on aligns with your path.

As the detector, you clearly see and know the truth for what is but you need to be willing to accept it. You also need to be willing to adapt to it as new information arises. Just make sure that these adaptations remain in alignment with your path.

This year you are being challenged to grow by building and working within a soul sanctuary comprised of like minded individuals. The purpose of this is to restore your faith in yourself and in the world around you. To do this, you need to actively seek out and find your Soul Tribe.

You are also being challenged to master the balance of your energetic flow this year. Pay attention to which direction your energies are going. Where and how much of it is coming in? Where and how much is going out? Is the flow even? Are there any leaks present? Are there blockages present? Optimize your energetic flow for your well-being.

And finally, this year you are being called to step into your divine masculine energy this year. Take action upon the plans you’ve been building. The time has come. Just make sure you are acting from your own seat of power and always for the highest good. Never give away your power to anyone. Never attempt to take anyone’s power.

Keeping these things in mind, you will develop and evolve on your divine path. You will go in the direction you desire in life.

You can read more about this concept of integrating contraries here:
7 Signs You Have Achieved Balance Between Shadow & Light

Third Operation Method

The remaining cards from the Gilded Tarot were shuffled and selected randomly for the rest of this reading.

Life Message Cards – Awakening, Hard Work, Gratitude, and Perseverance

The next four cards in this spread are the life messages for you in the four areas of your life: Home, Work, Social, Health. Each message covers what to keep in mind throughout the year in terms of your significator and challenge cards.

7: Home Life Message Card – Judgement

Awakening

This card represents what you need to know about your home life for this year’s cycle. The card that came up for you is Judgement.

This card is about awakenings, rebirth, atonement, and new directions.

In many ways, this card represents the spring season of life. In order for you and your family to experience this spring season, you must undergo the process of forgiveness.

Forgive your past Self. You did the best you could using the tools, knowledge, and skills you had at the time. Do not judge your past Self based upon what you have now. Your past Self built the foundation you stand upon today. Your past Self survived the journey that brought you to the present. There isn’t a need to rectify. There is only a need to love.

In other words, you need to do for you what you do for your children.

Forgiveness is the process of releasing guilt, shame, and blame.

Guilt is the admonition that the Self has done something wrong.
Shame is the admonition that the Self is something wrong.
Blame is the admonition that the Other has done or is something wrong.

The trouble is that admonition carries with it the demand for retribution. Retribution is not the same thing as rectification. Retribution is vengeance and punishment. It does not correct or repair. Instead, it corrodes and breaks down. Rectification corrects, repairs, and remembers the lesson.

Forgiveness does neither of these. It only releases the demand for retribution. It clears the way for rectification. The responsibility of this rectification falls upon the one who was in the wrong.

So if you did something wrong, you need to make amends and correct your behavior. If you believe there is something wrong with you that is causing you shame, then it is up to you to overcome that belief system you hold. If you hold a belief system that there is something inherently wrong with someone, you seriously need to work on that. If someone has done something wrong, it is their responsibility to make amends and correct their behavior.

If there are those in your life that insist upon you forgetting the lesson and repeating the pattern with you, then you need to withdraw from them. It doesn’t matter who they are, how long you’ve known them, or what kind of history you share. Toxic patterns need to come to end.

Think of this year as a spring cleaning event for all areas of the household.

You are being called to become more aware of what your home and family needs at this time. Look at the structure of your household routines, responsibilities, and resources. Listen to your family about what is working and what isn’t.

Think of this year as a spring cleaning event for all areas of the household. Remove everything that isn’t working for you and your family, even if it worked in the past.

Purge the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual clutter. Simplify the daily routines. Balance out the responsibilities. Each member of the family needs to feel they’re contributing without feeling overburdened. Everyone needs to have that personal, unstructured time to themselves as well.

Take those opinions into consideration, but do not allow them to pull you out of your lane.

Judgement also is about making hard choices and when it comes to family and raising children, this is a common occurrence. Once you have made a decision, stand by it and align your behaviors with it. It doesn’t matter what anyone else outside of your family has to say about it so long as no harm is coming to your children.

Extended family aren’t the ones raising your children. Your exes aren’t raising them. The school isn’t raising them. Their care plan team are not raising them either. None of these people are putting in the work towards child rearing. They are just on the sidelines throwing in their opinions. That’s it.

Take those opinions into consideration, but do not allow them to pull you out of your lane. Their opinion doesn’t really matter much coming from the bench. It would matter more if they were elbows deep in it down in the arena with you. Keep this in mind the next time someone has something to say.

True clarity of judgement only comes while in a neutral emotional state.

Your ability to see and know the truth for what it is will help you with making any decision. However, you will need to accept the truth without allowing it to control your emotions.

True clarity of judgement only comes while in a neutral emotional state. The higher the charge of emotion one is experiencing, the more clouded one’s discernment becomes.

So it’s imperative that you learn how to interpret information without your emotions getting in the way.

Having your emotions in a neutral state will also allow you to widen your perceptions. This will increase your ability to pick up on details, patterns, and other information.

None of this matters if you are unwilling to have an open mind. It will be like bouncing a ball against a wall. So when you see and know something is true, accept it and honor it. Base your decisions and actions upon it. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. Trust in your intuition.

Do not welcome into your home people that aren’t matching with your vibe.

As you restore your faith in yourself and in the world around you, you and your family will rediscover joy and hope. Perhaps you and your family will even make new and meaningful friends in the process.

In order for this to happen, you will need to be open to the possibility. You need to be willing to get out there and meet people. You need to be willing to welcome people into your life.

As you going through this process of searching for the right people, remain true to yourself. Carefully observe those you interact with to be sure you are attracting your Soul Tribe.

Do not welcome into your home people that aren’t matching with your vibe. Cultivate and protect the energy of your home. Your family will be grateful for it.

The goal is to keep your family elevated, uplifted, and supported.

Maintaining the energy balance of your home will also renew the vitality of your family.

Pay attention to what’s bringing in energy and what’s draining it. Pay close attention to anything that is blocking the flow of energy within the household. Address those blockages. Attend to anything that brings down the frequency of the energy as well. Don’t be afraid to relocate your family to a new environment if needed.

The goal is to keep your family elevated, uplifted, and supported. Anything that gets in the way of that should not be present in the home.

Empower yourself to lead your family in your own way based upon your own judgement.

It is up to you to lead your family forward, based upon whatever decisions you have made. It is your judgement call here that matters since you are the one putting in the daily effort.

Someone doesn’t like what you’re feeding your children? Then they can do the shopping, buy the groceries, and cook the meals. They don’t like the clothing? They can start shopping, paying for, and doing the laundry too. They don’t like the way you do housework? Guess what? The list goes on.

If they’re not willing to pitch in and help you, they don’t have a say in the matter. Their opinion is just noise.

Understand that unsolicited advice is coming from the egoistic need to live vicariously through others. Even if we do bring up our troubles to another person, it’s usually not with the desire to seek advice. It’s usually with the desire to be validated. To be seen, heard, and understood.

So take the advice into consideration. If it will work for you, use it. Otherwise, move on. Empower yourself to lead your family in your own way based upon your own judgement.

8: Work Life Message Card – Ten of Wands

Hard Work

This card represents what you need to know about your work life for this year’s cycle. The card that came up for you is the Ten of Wands.

This card represents hard work, responsibilities, burdens, and the lessons that come from all that.

Your work life includes anything that involves your sense of productivity. So this isn’t restricted to only jobs and careers. This includes passion projects, side hustles, housework, or even hobbies.

Having the Ten of Wands land in this position indicates there’s a risk of becoming over loaded this year.

Whatever it is you want to accomplish, make sure you are balancing it out with plenty of rest and relaxation. Make sure you aren’t saying yes to things you’d rather say no to.

Do not overextend yourself due to any sense of obligation to anyone. Honor your limitations.

This card also tends to signal that you may need to fly solo for the bulk of the work. If this turns out to be the case for you, it is vital that you pace yourself whenever possible. Get the work done, but don’t kill yourself in the process.

Manage your time and your Self wisely.

What worked for you before might not be working now. Focus on what is working and clear out what isn’t.

One way to ease the sense of being overburdened is to examine your daily routines and methods in which you do things.

Take full control of your daily schedule. Strip out anything that isn’t urgent and important, or brings you joy. Simplify as much of it as possible.

Start with the most urgent and most important task of the day each day. Focus only on that until it’s done before moving onto the next thing, if you still have time in the day.

Be honest with yourself. What worked for you before might not be working now. Focus on what is working and clear out what isn’t. Be willing to experiment until you have an efficient system going.

Hard work demands self-discipline. Keep your behavior aligned to the goals you have set.

Hard work demands self-discipline. You have big dreams and many goals on your plate this year. The only way you’re going to get any of it done is to stay focused.

Keep your behavior aligned to the goals you have set. Every day. Even when you aren’t working on a goal oriented task, be sure it’s something that is still moving you forward.

Refreshing and recharging is still important. It prevents burn out and keeps energy high.

What you need to avoid is things that pull you off track and drag your energy down. Pay attention to how you are feeling.

Also make sure you’re not running someone else’s race. You’re already running your marathon. Yours is the only one you need to worry about. You don’t need to achieve their goals and dreams. You don’t need to hit their milestones. Their duties and obligations are theirs to worry about. Set that burden down and let your chariot be light enough to take speed.

Use your insight to assess your situation each day.

Use your insight to assess your situation each day. Make sure you are taking on only what is yours to prevent overtaxing yourself.

The burdens of others are not yours to carry. Set it down and allow them the dignity of their own journey and evolution. Your strength did not come from others carrying your baggage. Their strength will not come from you carrying theirs.

Trust in your ability to figure out your path and in their ability to figure out theirs.

You are also fully capable of determining what is urgent and important in your life at any given time. Anything that falls into this category is what requires your immediate attention.

If it’s important but not urgent, plan it for later. If it’s urgent but not important, delegate it to someone else. If it’s neither urgent nor important, then drop it completely.

Do not allow anyone else to dictate any of this to you. It will always come from their path and agenda, even if they mean well.

Make sure the work you are doing is something that feeds back into the essence of you.

Society has a lot to say about hard work. There is this prevailing attitude that if you don’t have your nose to the grind stone all the time then you’re lazy.

However, if you fail to put all that effort and energy into the right things you’ll crush your spirit.

Simon Sinek once said, “Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.”

Yes, work hard. Put your nose to that grind stone. Pour all your effort and energy into it. But make sure it is something you love doing. Make sure the work you are doing is something that feeds back into the essence of you. Don’t crush your spirit just for the sake of working hard.

Do not allow your energy to leak into things where it doesn’t belong in the moment.

Pay attention to your energetic flow as you work.

Which methods keep your energy the highest the longest with the greatest productivity?

Stay away from habits that drain your energy and produce next to no results. Again, as said before, you are aiming to simplify your process as much as possible.

The last thing you want to do is waste your time and energy that accomplishes nothing. Putting in a lot of effort is fine so long as it’s moving you forward. Putting in a lot of effort that gets you nowhere is a waste.

If this means staying off social media while working on a project or task, then that’s what it means. Do not allow your energy to leak into things where it doesn’t belong in the moment. Keep that energy balanced and on task.

You are the one that built all this. You hold the power.

As an entrepreneur, you are the sole boss and employee. As a single parent, you are the sole head of the household. In both arenas, you carry the burden and responsibility of calling the shots and doing the work.

It doesn’t change the fact that you will have people on the sidelines that feel the need to chip in with their advice. There will be some that will attempt to run the show for you.

Don’t let them. This is your family and your business. You are the one that built all this. All by yourself. You hold the power. Don’t give it away. Not now. Not ever.

Even if your business fails, stand proud knowing that you built it through your own effort and means. Be proud in knowing that you are growing and developing from this process. And just as you are learning through the process of parenting, you are learning through this process as well.

You know raising children doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years and you are committed to that process. Launching a business takes just as long, if not longer. Be equally committed.

9: Social Life Message Card – Nine of Cups

Gratitude

This card represents what you need to know about your social life for this year’s cycle. The card that came up for you is the Nine of Cups.

Allow yourself the short-term pain of releasing the things that aren’t good for you for the long-term gain.

Examine the social dynamics in all areas of your life. Bear in mind that social dynamics applies to people, events, and situations.

Does each dynamic encourage an attitude of gratitude? Does each dynamic bring joy, a sense of love, fulfillment, or satisfaction into your life?

So if you are consistently unable to find joy, a sense of love, fulfillment, or satisfaction in something then it isn’t meant for you. The best you can do at that point is find gratitude in the experience and lesson, and allow yourself to fall away from it.

Allow your senses of joy, love, fulfillment, and satisfaction be the metrics for where you belong. Let everything else crumble away. Holding on to those other things will only bring misery in the long run. So allow yourself the short-term pain of releasing the things that aren’t good for you for the long-term gain.

Do not allow yourself to harm someone’s well-being. Do not allow someone to harm yours.

Pay attention to whether the social dynamics in your life are pulling you away from your path or supporting it. Pay attention whether you are doing this to someone else.

You want to be with people that you feel understand and get what you’re doing. You don’t need people that diminish, detract, or derail you from your goals. You need people that are running along side you, not taking the reigns or trying to flip your cart.

You also need to be with people that you understand and get what they are doing. Do not diminish, detract, or derail them from their goals. You need to run along beside them, not taking their reigns, or trying to flip their cart.

Paying attention to the progress made based upon the company you keep. Synergy is key here. Are you both uplifted? Are you both energized? Are you both moving forward? Are you both improving?

If the answer is no, then you need to part ways. Do not allow yourself to harm someone’s well-being. Do not allow someone to harm yours.

Each person that has come into your life has given you the opportunity to discover a deep truth to grow from.

You have the ability to see and know the truth for what it is, as it is. True fulfillment can only come when you are willing to accept and live in your truth with others.

Whenever you come across others who are unable to accept your truth, have the courage and dignity to walk away from them in grace. There is never a need to change who you are for anyone. Remain in the nobility of your authentic self.

There will be plenty enough people in this world who will be grateful to have you in their lives. And you will be grateful to have them in yours.

You don’t need the ones who seek to diminish your light. Those people will only bring you misery and despair. Take comfort and pleasure in the people that celebrate you for being you.

You also know that not every relationship lasts forever. When you see one come to a close, allow it to do so with grace, humility, and gratitude. Each person that has come into your life has given you the opportunity to discover a deep truth to grow from. Honor this truth, cherish the lesson, and live in its wisdom.

It will be this sense of purpose that aligns with your true life path.

You are being called this year to actively seek out your Soul Tribe and begin building a soul sanctuary.

Use the metrics of your contentment levels to adjust your energetic balance within your social dynamics.

How you are feeling is an excellent indicator of your energy balance. Misery, resentment, and depression point to drains, leaks, and imbalances in energy. Joy, fulfillment, all forms of love, and satisfaction point to balance and overflow.

Use these metrics to adjust your energetic balance within your social dynamics.

Do not remain in the sort of dynamics that continue to drain you every time you’re around someone. Limit your contact with them. Whenever you find a dynamic that leaks even when you aren’t around that person, that’s when you need to go no contact.

This is your energy account and it’s not selfish to protect it. This is self-care and it will preserve your well-being.

Your happiness depends on your ability to manage your Ego.

Only you have the power to determine your happiness. Only you have the power to dictate how you feel. You are the sole Emperor of your life. Do not give this power away to anyone. Ever.

Whether they mean well or not, there will always be those that will attempt to tell you how you feel, how you should feel, or why you should or shouldn’t feel a certain way.

There are two very common, and relatively benign, reasons for this. The first is that the Ego can only relate to the Other from the Self. Therefore, the Ego projects in an attempt to connect with the Other. The second is that emotions from the Other makes the Ego uncomfortable. Therefore, the Ego projects in an attempt to change the Other.

When people attempt to define or shape your feelings, what they are really telling you is how they feel.

This is why Ralph Smart says on his YouTube channel, “Ego is the three letter word that destroys the twelve letter word, Relationship,” so often.

Ego serves an important function. And there are two kinds of ego. The healthy kind (boundaries) and the unhealthy kind (shell/mask). The sole purpose of the Ego is to protect the Self. It defines where Self ends and Other begins.

Ego allows us to set and hold boundaries. It becomes unhealthy when it blocks us from expressing our authentic self. The mask focuses on fitting in and true connections are lost in this way.

Your happiness depends on your ability to manage your Ego. How well can you stand in your authentic self? How well can you set and hold your boundaries? How well are you able to focus on forming true connections rather than fitting in?

Remove the mask and wear the crown of your authentic self. Surround yourself with those that are comfortable in doing the same.

10: Health Message Card – Nine of Wands

Perseverance

This card represents what you need to know about your health for this year’s cycle. The card that came up for you is the Nine of Wands.

Everything about this card speaks of courage, fortitude, determination and perseverance. What this means in terms of your health is to never quit advocating for yourself.

You know exactly what you want for your well-being. Be proactive. Never mask or hide any symptoms. Seek out and work with providers that share the same philosophy as you do.

It doesn’t matter if you are addressing a physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual concern. There are professionals out there that will hear you out and provide you with the care you need.

The past year has been challenging on you and a great deal of change has occurred. You still have the means to move forward. Whatever hardships you face this year, you have what it takes to handle it. Have faith in yourself and the courage to press onward.

Give yourself a bigger picture of what’s going on in your life and wellness.

Examine how your lifestyle habits are influencing your well-being.

Don’t just blindly collect the data in your mood tracker. Start tracking the patterns of symptoms. Analyze the data to see how it correlates to your wellness. Adapt your life according to those patterns.

Start eliminating from your life whatever consistently tanks your well-being. Use the same procedure you used to determine migraine triggers and food allergies.

If it’s something in your diet, change it. If it’s your sleep, readjust it. If it’s your meds, correct it. If it’s the company you keep, stop associating with them. Lack of exercise? Add it. Not the right exercise? Adjust it. Too much exercise? Back it off.

Be ruthless when it comes to protecting your well-being.

Don’t just look from one week to the next. Start looking at month to month and year to year. Give yourself a bigger picture of what’s going on in your life and wellness.

Without your wellness, you have nothing. Everything in your life will suffer if it tanks.

The Chariot here urges self-discipline, while the Nine of Wands encourages you to persevere.

Without your wellness, you have nothing. Everything in your life will suffer if it tanks. Do everything you can to maintain it at the highest level. Do not allow anything to steer you off track from your wellness goals.

It doesn’t matter if no one else understands. You know what works for you and what needs to be done. Run with it.

You have both the mind and the will to find the way.

As long as you still live, you have the capacity to assess your situation, analyze the options, and choose your path. There is never a reason for you to not get back up and move forward.

Trust in those that stand by you.

You don’t need to do everything alone. You have your social structures available to you to lean on in times of need. You have friends, family, and other networks to turn to for help.

You are never alone. Not in this world. Not in this life. Not ever. Trust in those that stand by you.

Keeping your energy balanced permits you to persevere with more grace.

Keeping your energetic balance in the green will not only allow you to serve others as you best Self, but it will also permit you to persevere with more grace.

Having an overflow will give you more room to work with. You will have more with which to transmute, transform, and transfer. For yourself and for others.

Even keeping your energy balance in the black will give you a sense of abundance since it will eliminate lack. It will remove the sense of want and need from your life because everything will be met.

It’s when things are unmet that the flow becomes imbalanced and leaks are created. Well-being declines a result. Commit yourself to maintain the energy at even levels in all areas of your life.

Whatever it is you decide, you have the ability to see it through.

You are the only one with the power in your life. It is your choices, whether active or passive, that determine the direction you travel. It is your daily habits that shape your life and well-being. Everything you do is within your power to change.

Continuing it as is, is a choice. Doing nothing about something is a choice. Allowing something to remain is a choice.

Only you get to decide if this is desirable or not. Whatever it is you decide, you have the ability to see it through. The power of choice is within you to command.

Review of the Life Message Cards

While potentially challenging, this year looks like a fresh new start.

You are being called to awaken and renew your home life this year with some spring cleaning with the Judgement card. Commit to purging all forms of clutter in your home. This includes restructuring schedules and daily routines. Pay close attention to the needs of your family, with a focus on the energetic flow between members.

This year the Ten of Wands indicates that it’s time to take the bull by the horns and seriously put in the hard work towards your goals. Having said that, be sure to not overtax yourself. Honor the power of “No” by not taking on the burdens of others. Carry only what is yours.

The Nine of Cups urges you to adopt the practice of gratitude in your social dynamics this year. Doing so will generate the cycle of abundance for you and them. It will also increase the sense of joy, all forms of love, fulfillment, and satisfaction in your life. If you find certain dynamics are just not able to stimulate these feelings, then you need to distance yourself from them.

Finally, the Nine of Wands urges you to persevere through any and all challenges you may face in order to maintain your overall good health. Remain vigilant and manage your emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being in addition to your body. If any one of these four aspects decline, the other three will be dragged down with it. So continue to advocate for yourself regarding what is and isn’t working for you and what your current wellness goals are.

While potentially challenging, this year looks like a fresh new start.

Special Message Card – Respite

0: Special Message – Four of Swords

It is very important in your life, especially right now, to make respite care a priority.

This card is a bonus card and serves as a special message for you from the universe at this time. I drew this card from the Gilded Tarot and the card that came up for you was the Four of Swords.

The Four of Swords represents reconsideration, recuperation, reflection, and respite. It sometimes includes a period of truce.

It is very important in your life, especially right now, to make respite care a priority. Allow yourself the time to rest and recover throughout the year. Allow yourself to reflect upon, and even reconsider if necessary, the direction you are going.

Growth and development does not occur if one does not take the time to absorb and process the lessons learned. The body can’t grow and heal if it isn’t able to properly rest. Forward movement won’t be as successful if time isn’t made to plan and prepare.

Your life doesn’t require a constant struggle. Give yourself the gift of peace. This peace will improve your strength, fortitude, and clarity. No one else can give you this gift, for it is a skill to develop. And once you have this skill, it will never be taken from you.

Meditate daily. Get yourself out on your own at least once a week. These outings are to be for you, errand and appointment free. Doesn’t matter what you choose to do, so long as it allows you to reconnect with your true sense of Self.

Remind yourself who you are, what you desire in life, and how you intend to get there. Free yourself from the constant external noise and dive deep within to hear your soul.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my birthday reading this year. If you found it interesting, please let me know in the comments below. If you’d like to receive a personalized birthday reading of your own, you can order one at Tode’s Tarot.

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~ Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti (Illustrator), Barbara Moore (Author) © 2015
~ Credit for 3D model and assets used in renders can be found here.

In certain jurisdictions, a tarot professional is required to disclose to you that tarot readings should be for entertainment purposes only, and if such a law applies to this reading, then you are hereby on notice thereof.