This month asks you to create a personal manifesto for the year ahead.

By Sophia Somerville

This January, we are distilling our most important lessons of 2018. While this can feel like a holdup, it is a crucial part of moving into a new year and marching forward with conviction. We are in the teething phase of 2019; still easing into its energy and vibe. It’s a great time to lean into personal values and let new air guide your New Year intentions (of course, if you choose to set them.)

There is strong Hierophant energy this month. And with an increase number of Fives showing up in the reading, this indicates a need to learn from the past and find meaning in the story of your life. Space breeds clarity. Make room for patience as you assess the energies shifting through you at this time.

* I pulled a tarot card for each zodiac sign, to illuminate what you are being invited to examine during January. I recommend reading for your sun, moon and rising signs, if you know all three. I used the beautiful Small Spells deck for this reading. *

ARIES: SIX OF WANDS

What have you learned about success?

The threshold of the new year is an opening for you to reflect on your wins. As the first sign of the zodiac, you know how to get a party started. Instead of firing further ahead, temper the fast motion of last month with some percolation. Celebrate the areas of your life that were blessed by your spark of initiation, and decide where you want to place that energy as the year continues. Your gusto will be needed in 2019 - just remember it is precious and limited in its supply. At the very least, this month is a time to celebrate the win of making it here. Welcome, Aries Queen.

TAURUS: FIVE OF PENTACLES

What have you learned about scarcity?

You’re sick of escapism, you’re ready to get real. This is good timing. You are being asked to consider what you have learned from lack. Acknowledge the truths around material scarcity that are present for you, and separate reality from worry. What imagined outcomes haunt you? How helpful are they? Do not be afraid to look at the uncomfortable. There are jewels to be found on the other side of agitation. What opportunities sparkle at the bottom of seemingly empty pockets? The bottom, whether real or imagined, is a magnetic location from which to propel yourself. From here you feel strong enough to ask for help. From here you get clear on where to go next. From here you rise.

GEMINI: FIVE OF CUPS

What have you learned about grief?

Now that you are aptly poised and grounded in your physical presence, you’re ready to witness your wound(s). Pay homage to your grief this month. Be real with yourself about the skins that were shed in 2018, or the losses that are currently being experienced. Create a space (internal or external) safe enough for your grief to be held like a newborn. Love yourself through the pain, through growth, through movement. Be patient as your wounds heal, and be aware of the fruits they bear. Be open to receiving signs and symbols from the natural world making themselves known to you - animals, plants, weather, the elements. When you feel alone, misunderstood or failed by other humans - remember that nature has always got you.

CANCER: THE DEVIL

What have you learned about your shadow?

January is a big moment for you.. The Devil corresponds to your opposite sign of Capricorn, whose season we are currently in the middle of, signaling the experience of your own opposites. In this case it is light and dark. You are synthesizing the shadow work you did in 2018 by bringing language to the shifts and feelings that you weren’t able to articulate before. You are defining your relationship to the parts of yourself that were previously deemed bad, wrong, sick, abnormal, taboo. As Sarah Faith Gottesdiener says, “We never lose our shadow side. What changes is the way we choose to engage with it...This is what diminishes its hold on us.” Take time to reflect on the light you’ve brought to your own darkness, and what each shadow aspect has gifted you. This work is powerful because it is the antidote to perfectionism. Be proud, Cancer, for engaging with yourself honestly.

LEO: NINE OF CUPS

What have you learned about feelings?

The inspiration-tracking you allowed yourself last month has lead to a goldmine of feelings. An abundance of emotion. This month asks you to befriend each of them. To receive them as being for you and your highest good. Feelings and emotions are fleeting - especially if you let yourself fully experience them. According to Pema Chödrön, if you allow an emotion to exist in your system for 90 seconds without judgement, it will dissipate. This goes for the pleasurable AND the uncomfortable. This card is indicating that an abundance of beautiful feels are coming up for you. Tell me you’ll let them in! No feeling is final; life is fleeting. May as well experience it all.

VIRGO: FIVE OF WANDS

What have you learned about rage?

What grinds your gears? My guess is that it’s something internal. You’re not the type to externalize your anger; rather you turn on yourself. It’s likely that last month’s invitation rest revealed a myriad of frustrations simmering beneath the surface. This is good news. Revelations are here for the grasping, all around where you fight yourself. Don’t be distracted by the tangents your resentments take you on - instead, get to the core of what the rage is about, and where it is pointing. That is what fuels you into a new year. Use the rage, and let it out. Bow down, for this powerful internal motion is catapulting you into a new reality.

LIBRA: FOUR OF PENTACLES

What have you learned about stability?

Looks like the expansion of last month scared you a little. That’s perfectly ok Libra, this is an inevitable part of growth. Perhaps you find yourself now gravitating to what feels safe and stable. While there is nothing wrong with this - structure breeds productivity! - too much reliance on it can take you right back to self-limitation. Take stock of what structures you need to have in place in order to feel safe to take risks. What do you need emotionally, financially, spiritually to make courageous choices towards your widest and wildest dreamscapes? Consciously banish any old beliefs in having to stay small to be accepted. They are not welcome at your table any longer. Take your expansion seriously.

SCORPIO: QUEEN OF SWORDS

What have you learned about boundaries?

You shared parts of yourself last month that you wouldn’t usually reveal. Not only was it a courageous act, it was also a useful exercise in showing who is for you and who is not. Now is the time to take inventory of who your people are, who you need to cut ties with, and what your personal limits are. Everyone’s boundaries are different, and it is up to you to define what you are willing to put up with and communicate that as clearly (and kindly) as possible. How much space do you need in order to feel safe in your skin? Take heed of where you are being too harsh (with yourself and others) and lend some softness there. Use your carefully considered communication to uphold your personal boundaries. Revere them and be rewarded.

SAGITTARIUS: THREE OF SWORDS

What have you learned about heartbreak?

You felt a lot last month. So much so, you thought the only way forward was to escape into the blind rush of a new year. Quite the contrary - because you feel, you are moved. Because of what you’ve experienced in the past 12 months, you have the tools for 2019. Right now you are being asked to be honest about the state of your heart. If it is broken, or has been in the past, ask your heart what it learned from the experience, and what it needs now. Let yourself receive lessons about yourself, about love, friendship, connection, humanity, and change. Don’t waste or wallow in your pain. Be present with it, learn from it, and love it. You are not unique in your heartbreak; you do not scream alone on a soundproof island. You are connected to a web of hearts that also weep, and you all have the capacity to experience joy and fulfillment alongside the hurt. Kiss your scars; they made you.

CAPRICORN: TEN OF SWORDS

What have you learned about crisis?

You’ve conjured the necessary strength to face a fact: some things aren’t meant to be pushed through. While you certainly have the capacity to scale any mountain your eyes fall upon, not every challenge is in your best interests to accept. Rock bottoms are not compulsory, though you are encouraged to seek the gold within those you have previously experienced. I see this card as a warning sign, urging you to resist pushing down your feelings in the name of progress. The rather unfortunate saying ‘don’t flog a dead horse’ comes to mind here, and it’s ruthlessness feels necessary to take heed of. Be selective about the projects, practices and people you commit to in 2019. It will magnetize your efforts like nothing else.

AQUARIUS: EIGHT OF WANDS

What have you learned about momentum?

Congratulations, Aqua babes. You’ve broken through the trap of needing-to-have-it-all. You’ve packed light and smart for 2019, and now you’re met with clear skies, open road and a full tank of gas. Make the most of this green light. This is a crucial time to clarify your ideal lifestyle. What gets you in the optimum headspace to drive, to move, to work? What breeds momentum in your life? Take what works and sprinkle it into your schedule. Create the conditions for flow and let those be your non-negotiable routines. This is a big shift - I’m excited for you. Access your unique warrior spirit as you free yourself from stagnation.

PISCES: ACE OF PENTACLES

What have you learned about manifestation?

You are ready to birth something new in the material realm. Before leaping into it, lend your awareness to what you already know about bringing things to life. Dig deep into your personal inventory of past manifestations - what patterns and themes emerge? Record what felt good and what hurt, where you got stuck and where things flowed effortlessly. Bottom line: what worked and what did not. Don’t skip out on the details - they hold the magic, they bind the process of manifestation together. Allow yourself to be excited about being given this elemental gift of earth. What is being born, or wants to be discovered?

Your Sad Girl January ✨Tarotscopes✨