A Tarot Reading for the New Year

I have begun 2026 with a feeling of optimism, and even a bit of excitement. The holidays were great (except for my husband having to be rushed away from a Christmas party in an ambulance!). And 2025 was mostly a good year. I headed into the new year without some of the exhaustion and uncertainty about the future of previous years. To explore this optimism, I did a tarot reading for the new year.

The reading I did today was just to kind of dive deeper into these feelings of optimism. What can I do with this optimism? To what horizons should I cast my gaze, what new explorations should I set out on? Those are the kinds of things I was going for in drawing these few cards.

The Renaissance Tarot

I chose the Renaissance Tarot by Jane Lyle and Helen Jones for this reading. I bought this deck many, many years ago. For a long time it was one of only a handful of decks I owned. I don’t return to it often, but whenever I do, I’m reminded of just how insightful it is, and just how good Lyle’s writing on the tarot is and Helen Jones’ tarot art is. These are very unique cards, artistically, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any others quite like them. In a three-dimensional style, and in gleaming, deep metallic colors, they suit a New Year’s reading perfectly because they evoke excitement as well as depth.

So, to the cards!

Cards drawn

Card 1. Knight of Pentacles

Card 2. XVIII The Moon

Card 3. 0 The Fool

Card 4. Knight of Wands

Card 5. XIII Death

Well! Immediately I see that this is quite the reading. It is entirely major arcana or court cards. Also, the court cards are Knights, which tend to indicate much forward movement and action, and the major cards are each strongly transformative cards.

1 – Knight of Pentacles

This card position shows a fresh start. This is where I am now. This is what I am or where I am, on the face of things. The Knight of Pentacles makes sense here. The card represents a quiet form of ambition, a bringing things to fruition, perhaps slowly. The Knight is assessing his progress and considering his next move. This is very much what I have been doing as I finished last year and began this one.

2 – XVIII The Moon

This position shows motivations or inner drive. If Card 1 reflected what is seen on the face of things, what is going on below the surface? The Moon is one of those cards that in my personal use continues to appear again and again. It is not the card I relate to the most, but it somehow represents me because of this continual reappearance over many years. Here it shows me that my motivation or inner drive comes from the unconscious, and from a highly creative, artistic urge. There are a strong inner life and imagination, and very meaningful dreams. Lyle, in describing the Moon, also refers to intuitive guidance and inspirational writing. With the Moon I begin to recognize a bit of where that excitement comes from. I feel excited about the new year, possibly because I have been more able recently to engage with these important processes and aspects of myself.

3 – 0 The Fool

The third card shows unexplored avenues or new pursuits. I honestly can’t think of a better, or more apt card, than the Fool. For each of the major cards, Lyle offers several pages of description and insight in the accompanying book. One of the things she says of the Fool is, “… this card suggests that you are in the mood for a risk, so take a gamble and try something new. Great faith and childlike trust in life are present now.” She continues, “The tender shoots of new life need room to breathe; this is a period to clear the ground and see what comes up.” I love this way of describing the Fool, and it suits this card position perfectly. The card offers exactly the kind of encouragement called for with this position.

4 – Knight of Wands

What is the guiding influence, or what are the inspirations for this new year? Here I’ve got a second Knight. This is also one of the cards that I do tend to relate to in many ways. I would say the inherent enthusiasm and spirit of the Knight of Wands (and of myself) are what likely guide me, or propel me forward. Considering this, and being familiar with this Knight (and again, with myself and my own weaker traits), I also know that I need to be careful of impetuousness leading to unfulfillment – the ability to start new endeavors with great enthusiasm, but stop short in ways when encountering certain obstacles. I need to follow through with potential, and trust in inspiration for the long run.

5 – XIII Death

Here is the authentic self, or the deepest calling, as I worded it in my spread design. I really have to laugh that Death appeared here. I mean, many of us, no matter how long we have been reading tarot for, are still a little hushed when Death shows up. Also, we make the reminders to ourselves that the Death card means transformation. Lyle elucidates this point very well in this deck and makes it exceptionally clear.

“The card of Death is dominated by the image of a fiery phoenix, symbol of regeneration, death and rebirth. It does not symbolize a literal death but a transitional stage of endings and beginnings – a rebirth.”

~ Jane Lyle, The Renaissance Tarot

As my deepest calling, what can I see in this card? I need to allow things to be shaken up, major changes to be made, and to be open to a “potent transformative experience.” As representing my authentic self, that might be as basic as realizing that ever since my very earliest experience of loss, I have felt aligned with the energies represented by this card. My deepest calling this year, is perhaps quite unknown. It might not be known unless and until I embrace an as of yet unimagined breakthrough.

Finding meaning in tarot

So, this was not what I was expecting when I decided to draw a few cards for the new year. I wanted to avoid anything that would “foretell” anything, and I wanted to steer clear of anything too mundane. I think the reading certainly did both! But the cards drawn were far deeper than what I had expected. Thus, the reading became more meaningful than I had expected it would be. I hope you give this layout a try. If you do, I hope it helps you gain more insight into your own present path.

As always, thank you for visiting. Please reach out if you have any questions or comments, or just to say hello.

~ Nellie