There’s a numerological formula you can use to work out which Tarot card represents the type of experiences you can expect to have each year. The formula gives you a number that correlates with one of the Life Lesson (aka Major Arcana) cards. Because of the way it works each following year you shift into the subsequent Life Lesson card e.g. If your Tarot Year Card in 2013 is The Empress, in 2014 it will be The Emperor. But the turn of each decade signals a re-set button. Thus in 2009 my Tarot Year Card was Judgement but in 2010 it flipped back to The Hanged Man.

I find it interesting that through this formula Tarot insists that each decade has its own particular flavour. Because the western media also classifies time in this way i.e. Each decade is seen as a distinct social period. The 90s was the grunge epoch whereas the 00’s was all about de bling where people got into debt to fund their dream lifestyles. I don’t think anyone’s worked out what the ’10s are yet but I’m wondering if it’ll have something to do with the rise of the internet, with the spread of information through blogs like this. With the end of the gatekeepers such as media owners and merchandise importers. As someone with lots of Aquarius – i.e. revolutionary tendencies – I quite like that idea.

The formula is this: You add up your birth day + your birth month + the current calendar year. Then you work out which Life Lesson card matches the number you got. If the number is greater than 21, you add the digits together. My birthday is the 22nd May. The formula for me this year is: 2+2+5+2+0+1+4 which equals 16.

The Life Lessons cards are numbered as follows:

1 The Magician

2 The High Priestess

3 The Empress

4 The Emperor

5 The Hierophant

6 The Lovers

7 The Chariot

8 Strength

9 The Hermit

10 The Wheel of Fortune

11 Justice

12 The Hanged Man

13 Death

14 Temperance

15 The Devil

16 The Tower

17 The Star

18 The Moon

19 The Sun

20 Judgement

21 The World

I’m moving from The Devil as my card-of-the-year to The Tower. And I’ve gone full pelt into that new energy as the year has turned. Already my family has been in crisis. Oh yay! There’s no escape for me this decade as I’m currently moving through the last few cards of Life Lesson Tarot, all of which are intense. Even The Star. Last time I moved through these cards that was pretty much the bleakest year of my life (next year, double yay!) But I don’t want you to panic if these heavy hitters come up for you. Even though they are challenging they can be absolutely life changing in the most wonderful way. I wouldn’t miss them for The World. Boom boom! (Um, you have to go through them to reach The World card!)

It’s important to point out that you should use this formula with a grain of salt (I throw a lot of salt over my shoulder while using Tarot, lol.) You should never let the cards chain you to a particular outcome. That would be using Tarot devil style. I use my Tarot Year Card to give me perspective. To work out how to cope with the experiences I’m going through. How to maximize the lessons in them. You can also use it to learn about Tarot. Note the experiences you have and see how that could fit into the meaning of your personal year card.

Have a go and let me know what you think. And if your Tarot Year Card is one I haven’t focused on yet and you’d like to know more about it let me know in the comments section below. Cheers!