Year Ahead Spreads
What happens if you think about your projects not in terms of word counts, but in seasons? Could you be guided by a full seasonal cycle, from solstice to solstice, or Samhain to Samhain? Or could you work with your solar return?
How do you use a year ahead spread in your writing?
What is a year ahead spread?
Commonly, a year ahead spread is used at an important ritual moment for the querent. I tend to do one for myself on my birthday each year, at least within the month of my solar return.
Other people choose to mark the beginning of a new year with a year ahead spread. You might choose a solstice, equinox, or some other ritual moment in your year of personal or community significance. You might even want to create a spread today.
There are many ways to create a year ahead spread, and you can choose to do this work however feels right to you. I tend to go with a relatively simple option I learned from Kim Krans of choosing a guide card which is at the centre of the spread, infusing the reading, then laying out twelve cards out in a clockwise pattern to represent each month of the year.
My year ahead spread
This was my spread for my birthday last year. It was my fortieth birthday, a significant milestone, and one that was made more complicated for me because it came at a moment of disruption, change, and uncertainty.
The spread is dominated by reversed cards, and there were some challenging messages in the spread. I could see that there were few easy answers.
But the guide card was truly one of the best: the Magician. The Magician contains all of the elements of the tarot deck, and the means to transmute them into something new. This year of difficulty was also blessed with creativity and magic.
I knew what to expect over the year by reading the spread as a whole, with the guide card acting as an advisor, almost like the advice card in the Celtic Cross.
Yes, I was in the depths of despair (August, Ten of Swords), but by July 2022, I would be working in absorbed creative flow at my desk (July, Eight of Pentacles).
The spread helped me to see that the path was not a clear one, and there would be imminent pain (September, Three of Swords), difficulties in relationships and connections (January, Lovers Reversed), and fearful rigidity (June, King of Swords Reversed).
But there would also be powerful support (May, Chariot) and electrifying change (April, Eight of Wands).
There were many aspects of life that this reading could have referred to, but the most significant change that happened last year was my decision, in September 2021, to stop pursuing further academic posts after a period of working on short-term and part-time contracts.
I had been an academic for a decade, and there was a sense of grief and loss (September, Three of Swords) but by February, the month I taught my last official class, I was no longer looking for illusory treasures (February, Seven of Cups Reversed).
By July, at the end of the cycle, I was absorbed in new work, with hope for the future based on the small steps of routine and ritual, instead of fantasising about what might have been.
How can you use a year ahead spread for a writing project?
So, what has this to do with your writing projects?
A project can feel immense, especially if it is a big project like a book, a piece of complex journalism, or a course. There are many ways to break down a big project that will help you to manage the work, but there can still be a sense of panic that sets in at certain moments when the flow is broken, when life intervenes and you can't work, or when your own sense of doubt threatens to overwhelm you.
By casting a year ahead spread for the project, you can find support, encouragement, and wisdom to keep you on track at the tough moments, and to remind you that they too shall pass. This spread can help you face the realities of the work, instead of repressing or denying the challenges.
Thinking about the year as a rhythm for the work takes pressure off you, reminds you that this is part of the fabric of your life, that the process is as important as the result, and that is what will sustain you.
Try this simple version of a year ahead spread when you are birthing or re-birthing a project. Pick a significant date if that feels good, or just choose a moment when you are ready to set intentions and begin.
Year Ahead Spread
Think about the project you want guidance on and use this spread to give you general wisdom on the path and the process.
The guide card. This influences the whole reading. (side note, don't worry if it is a “bad” card like The Tower or Death, these cards contain valuable information and don't mean your project is doomed but that you might need to reframe or revise certain aspects of it).
2-13 represent each of the 12 months in clockwise order.
