2027 · the turn of the year
New Year Tarot Spread
Three New Year tarot spreads for the turn of the year: one to close the old year and open 2027, one for New Year's Eve, and one that gives every month a card. Each one draws for real, right on the page.
The New Year Tarot Spread
Five cards
The year turns at midnight, but the work of turning takes longer. This spread gives both years a hearing: what the old one gave you, what to leave in it and what to carry across, then where to begin and what to keep coming back to.
Try it now — turn each card. The shuffle is real.
1The year behind
What the last twelve months gave you, and what they asked of you.
2Leave it there
What to leave in the old year instead of carrying it across.
3Bring it with you
What is worth taking into the new one.
4The first step
One small thing to begin in January.
5The year's thread
A theme to come back to all year.
The positions
- The year behind. What the last twelve months gave you, and what they asked of you.
- Leave it there. What to leave in the old year instead of carrying it across.
- Bring it with you. What is worth taking into the new one.
- The first step. One small thing to begin in January.
- The year's thread. A theme to come back to all year.
Lay the five in a row from left to right. The first three close the old year and the last two open the new one. Write the fifth card down and keep it where you can find it again in a few months.
The New Year's Eve Spread
Three cards
A short spread for the night itself, before the countdown or after it: one card for each side of midnight, and one for the moment the year turns.
Try it now — turn each card. The shuffle is real.
1Before midnight
What you are ready to let go of tonight.
2Midnight
What you are grateful for as the year turns.
3After midnight
The intention you take into the first morning.
The positions
- Before midnight. What you are ready to let go of tonight.
- Midnight. What you are grateful for as the year turns.
- After midnight. The intention you take into the first morning.
Draw it alone, or with friends before the countdown. Say the first card out loud and let it go; the third is the one to keep.
The Year Ahead Tarot Spread
Thirteen cards
The fullest of the three: one card for the whole year, then one for each month from January to December. Each month's card is a theme to notice when the month comes round, not a forecast of it. For the twelve-card version, leave out the first.
Try it now — turn each card. The shuffle is real.
1The whole year
The thread that runs through all twelve months.
2January
What the year opens with: the first thing to tend.
3February
What to keep going once the start wears off.
4March
What is ready to grow, given room.
5April
A change you have been putting off.
6May
What to enjoy while it is here.
7June
The halfway mark: what is working, and what is not.
8July
Where to rest, or slow down.
9August
What to finish before the year turns its corner.
10September
What to learn, or learn again.
11October
What to let go of, so the year ends lighter.
12November
What, and whom, to be grateful for.
13December
How the year wants to close.
The positions
- The whole year. The thread that runs through all twelve months.
- January. What the year opens with: the first thing to tend.
- February. What to keep going once the start wears off.
- March. What is ready to grow, given room.
- April. A change you have been putting off.
- May. What to enjoy while it is here.
- June. The halfway mark: what is working, and what is not.
- July. Where to rest, or slow down.
- August. What to finish before the year turns its corner.
- September. What to learn, or learn again.
- October. What to let go of, so the year ends lighter.
- November. What, and whom, to be grateful for.
- December. How the year wants to close.
Lay the year's card first, then the months in rows, like a calendar. Don't try to read all twelve at once: read January now, and come back to each month's card on its first day.
For a closer look at any one month, draw the Month Ahead spread on its first day.
An example New Year tarot spread
How to do a New Year tarot reading
- Choose your moment. New Year's Eve and the first quiet morning of January are the usual times, and any day in the first week works as well. Some readers wait for their birthday, or for Lunar New Year, which falls between late January and mid-February.
- Look back before you look ahead. Spend a few minutes with the year that is ending: a calendar, a camera roll, an old notebook. The first spread on this page starts there for a reason.
- Ask questions you can work with. "What do I want to give more time to this year?" gives the cards more to work with than "What will happen in 2027?"
- Write the cards down. A New Year spread is worth reading again halfway through the year, and again next December, to see what the year did with it.
Your tarot year card for 2027
Alongside a spread, many readers work out their year card: the Major Arcana card a birthday adds up to in a given year. Add your birth month, your birth day and 2027, then add the digits of the total until you reach 22 or less.
Born on July 21? 7 + 21 + 2027 = 2055, and 2 + 0 + 5 + 5 = 12: The Hanged Man. The card is the same whichever day you start the year from, January 1 or your birthday.
Add up the year on its own, 2 + 0 + 2 + 7 = 11, and you get Justice in the Rider–Waite–Smith numbering. Some readers take that as the card for everyone's year, and read their own year card inside it.
Tarot cards for a new year
Some cards turn up often in New Year spreads, or feel as if they should. None of them is a promise; each one is about something the turn of the year makes easier to start.
- The Fool
The first step, taken before you feel ready.
- Ace of Wands
A spark worth acting on while it is still warm.
- Ace of Pentacles
A practical beginning: a seed you can hold in your hand.
- The Star
Hope coming back after a hard year.
- Death
An ending that clears the ground for something new.
- The World
A chapter finished, and the door that opens after it.
Questions about New Year tarot
When should you do a New Year tarot reading?
Whenever the year turns for you. New Year's Eve and January 1 are the usual times, and many readers spread the cards over the first week of January. Others wait for their birthday, for Lunar New Year, or for Samhain on October 31, which many modern pagans keep as the start of their year.
How many cards should a New Year tarot spread have?
As many as you have time to sit with. Three cards suit New Year's Eve, five give the old year and the new one a fair hearing, and the year ahead spread gives every month a card, with a thirteenth for the whole year. The twelve-card version simply leaves that one out.
Can a tarot spread tell you what 2027 holds?
Not as a forecast. The cards in a year ahead spread are themes to notice, not events on a calendar. People who come back to them month by month tend to find each card a useful question to carry into that month, more than an answer about it.
Can I use these spreads with any deck?
Yes. The draws on this page use the Rider–Waite–Smith deck, but the positions work with any tarot or oracle deck.