Why Tarot Is Perfect for Setting New Year Intentions
Use the Cards Consciously (Not Randomly!) for Manifestation!
Intentions are mini-maps that gently guide you towards your desired destination—specific enough to get you there, but general enough to allow for serendipity, sight-seeing and even short-cuts.
I see intentions as a form of course correction, too. Just like an airplane pilot makes dozens of course corrections during a flight, so, too, intentions help us aim the nose of our “plane” in a particular direction to get us to where we want. If we veer off-course, experience extreme turbulence or lose our way—no worries! We can just consult our intentions once again to point our nose in the desired direction.
See how the idea of intentions “feels” better than resolutions? Not to mention more manageable—and fun!
Don’t underestimate the power of feelings, especially the “fun” factor. Daily intentions are much easier to perform—and habits are much easier to form—when they’re fun…when we feel good about what we’re doing, and feel optimistic about the results.
The Man from Florida
Here’s an interesting anecdote I heard several years ago—one that demonstrates the power of both intention and expectation. Here’s my version of it:
Jake, a retiree from Pennsylvania, decided to move to Florida. After living there for several years, he went back to his hometown in Pennsylvania to celebrate Christmas with his sister.
Jake and his sister drove up to church to attend a Christmas Eve service. Before the service started, he ran into one of his former co-workers who lived about fifteen miles away. “Jake, good to see you!” exclaimed Bob, vigorously shaking the retiree’s hand. “How’s your place in Florida? You know, Mary Lou and I are considering moving there after I retire next year.”
Jake stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Well, Bob, how are your neighbors? And the street where you live?”
“Oh, they’re great!” said Bob. “That will be one of the drawbacks of moving away: missing the peaceful atmosphere and our friendly neighbors. We’ve made quite a few friends over the years.”
Jake replied, “It just so happens that my street in Florida is the exact same way!”
Just then, organ music began playing. The men shook hands once again, and Bob promised to keep in touch with Jake—especially to look at some property down in Florida.
After the church service, Jake’s sister told him about a new diner that just opened in the next town, so they decided to drive there for a bite to eat. As they sat down in a booth, a voice called from one of the stools. “Jake? Is that you?”
It was Lloyd, the loan officer that used to handle Jake’s accounts.
“Hi Lloyd! Yep, it’s me.”
Lloyd chuckled. “Good to see you! Hey, how’s Florida? I’m sick of these Pennsylvania winters—and Bess and I were considering moving down there.”
“Well, how are the neighbors where you live, Lloyd? How’s the atmosphere of the neighborhood?”
“Oh they’re terrible! Cars speeding down the road at all hours, music turned up full blast. People moving in who could care less about keeping up the property. No one speaks to each other anymore! And when they do…rude. So rude.”
“Ah”, said Jake. “That’s exactly how the people are where I live, too.”
The moral of the story?
How you perceive where you live and the people that surround you will likely “follow” you no matter where you go. Sure, this isn’t 100% the case; sometimes, there really is a crappy living environment with awful neighbors!
But how we deal with that living environment and neighbors—including how resourceful we are in ignoring what they’re doing or blocking out the sound—can greatly affect our experience. The same place can be a heaven for some…or a living hell for others.
So what might be the difference?
Attitude and intentions.
If you intend to see, and sow, peace—you’ll likely experience it. If you intend to be friendly and see everyone as a potential friend—you’ll likely experience it. If you intend peace and harmony, you’ll ignore what others are doing, soundproof your home—and experience a slice of paradise.
The Future is a Bunch of Nows
My husband, Ron, made a fascinating observation the other day: “The future is a series of todays strung together”. As soon as he said that, I imagined a beautiful pearl necklace being strung bead by bead. When we intend for days filled with purpose, peace, kindness and clarity—a beautiful “necklace” called Life is ours to admire and enjoy.
It also reminded me of the many cinematic incarnations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol—and how the ghost of Jacob Marley warned Scrooge that the heavy, burdensome metal chains forged together by Scrooge’s cruelty and stinginess was already as big as Marley’s seven years prior…and he was still adding onto it, daily, with his behavior and attitude towards money and humanity.
Both are powerful images of what happens energetically as a result of our choices, attitudes and behaviors—and it’s just as possible that we create a karmic “trail” or “pearl necklace” or “heavy chains” that we may have to reckon with some day.
How Do Intentions Work?
The short answer is “Quantum Physics”, but a thorough treatment of that topic is beyond the scope of this post, although it is its foundation.
Manly P. Hall once said, “The individual who is unable to control his mind will be its victim.”
Intentions help us harness the mind’s extraordinary capabilities to affect the field of matter and energy—what we call “reality”.
Experiments in Quantum Physics have shown that photons can behave as either a wave or a particle. When photons are consciously observed and measured, they act as particles. Myriad studies have proven over and over that the only difference between whether a photon behaves as a wave or a particle is the scientists observing, and attempting to measure, a photon.
Consciously observing, and acting upon, energy and objects changes their behavior.
There have even been studies with plants where a researcher will light a match and put it next to a leaf. Electrodes show the plant “screaming”. But that’s not all. When a group of scientists filed into a room filled with plants—including the researcher—the plant that almost got burned “screamed” when the match holder got near it.
It knew which researcher brought it discomfort and fear.
In the book The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate, author Peter Wohlleben relates how trees live in families, warn others of danger and even have “friends”. (I kid you not: a tree prevents its branches from encroaching upon “friends” beside it, but will allow wild growth to interfere with a non-friend. One tree even grew differently on one side because a “friend” was next to it).
If all this is true for plant life—how much truer would it be for humans, who give off all sorts of electromagnetic signals?
At a molecular level, everything is vibrating—even objects that appear quite solid, like a boulder or a couch or tree. In fact, most of what’s there (if you look under a microscope) is empty space.
When we vibrate at a certain level, or consciously try to affect the field of “reality”, we do, in fact, change some aspects of it.
In his book How Quantum Activism Can Save Civilization, physicist Amit Goswami, Ph.D.—featured in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know!? And author of the book God Is Not Dead—writes:
To change possibility into actuality, a new source of causation is needed: we call this downward causation. When we realize that consciousness is the ground of all being and material objects are possibilities of consciousness, then we also recognize the nature of downward causation: it consists of choosing one of the facets of the multifaceted object of the possibility wave that then becomes manifest as actuality….Do we have free will? To the extent that we can access our higher consciousness and choose from there, you bet there is free will, complete freedom to choose from the quantum possibilities offered in any give situation. Free will to choose the world as well as God and godliness, creativity as well as spiritual transformation. Quantum physics is the physics of possibilities, and its indisputable message then is that we potentially have the freedom to choose outcomes to live by from among these possibilities.
To read about more fascinating scientific studies, I highly recommend the book The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World by Lynne McTaggart (including experiments demonstrating changing the shape of bicep muscles simply by sitting on a couch and using your brain—or showing how directed thoughts produce demonstrable physical energy, even over a remote distance—perhaps altering the very molecular structure of the object of intention.)
You may have heard of the ice cube experiment: participants were blindfolded and told that their hand would come in contact with very hot water. However, the researchers—unbeknownst to the participants—touched their skin with an ice cube, instead. Surprisingly, the ice cube caused a burn on the skin. How is this possible? Expectation—and the power of the mind to change our body’s sensory experience and reactions.
Why Tarot?
Not only do Tarot cards serve as mini-maps to your Highest, Best Self—but they’re also a lot like portable Vision Boards.
Have you ever heard of a Vision Board? It’s where you decide on an intention or set of goals—then get out some poster board, scissors, glue, old magazines and create a specific Vision Board filled with images and text that reflect your desires.
Tarot cards are a lot like that, in that each card portrays emotional, material, mental, relational and spiritual states that we can focus upon for specific intentions.
Tarot can be used for so much more than just divination. In fact, my favorite use of the cards is for focused intention and manifestation. Want to expand a particular energy in your life? Enhance an area? Invite more? Then consciously choose the card/s that represent whatever it is you want to attract; don’t rely on randomness or blind “Card of the Day” pulls to guess what it is you really want. (That’s a bit like wanting to make a specific recipe, going into a grocery store blindfolded and then pulling things off the shelves to put in the cart!).
Instead, decide on what you want to feel, enhance and experience—go through a Tarot deck to find the corresponding cards—take them out of the deck and use them for your intentions.
You can put a magnet on the back of a card and place it on your refrigerator. Or slide a mini-card into your wallet or purse. You could even place your chosen cards on an altar or in a frame to display on your desk. Some make Tarot jewelry featuring card images. In fact, you could even use an image of a particular card or cards as desktop wallpaper so you’ll see it every time you boot up your computer.
If you’re more physically inclined, try to mimic the position of any characters in your chosen Tarot deck. Sometimes, a change of perspective—or actually feeling a stance or re-creating a scenario from a Tarot card—can cause a powerful shift.
For those wanting an artistic project, choose a Tarot card—then go find magazine, brochure or catalogue images and words that seem to sum up or evoke the meaning of that card. Cut them out, arrange them to your liking, then glue them onto a piece of paper, cardstock or journal page. Feel free to add paint, marker, crayon, pen or washi tape to your creation.
Simply put, Tarot helps makes the invisible visible. This is true not only for intuitive Tarot readings, where cards are drawn randomly for insight, but also when we use the cards consciously to draw in more of what we want—those higher vibrational states of clarity, purpose, peace, positivity and joy.
So, when you come across a cool Tarot spread you’d like to try, why not pick each card face up (consciously) for each position instead of trusting randomness? Pick according to how the card makes you feel—or what logic or your gut tells you is correct.
Be your own authority.
When we start the New Year, deal with an ending or experience a major change, many of us focus on what has passed away—and wonder what is to come.
With the Tarot and other tools for focusing intentions—oracle cards, journaling prompts, symbols, mantras or affirmations—we become co-creators of our life. If you think about it, the act of creation means to initiate, to build, to act, to produce. Creation is not passive—a subjective waiting game that unfolds. No, creativity—or, in this case, co-creation—implies acting upon something.
An artist must pick up brushes, dip them in paint and apply them to a canvas in order to create an image that will be viewed. A writer must use pen, pencil or pixels to put thoughts on paper to create something that will be read. A chef must gather pots and pans, assemble ingredients and cook them on a stove in order to create a recipe that will be eaten.
Our lives are no different.
Sure, we can live passively—assuming that destiny “just happens”, throwing our free will to the winds of fate, bracing ourselves for the next gust that will knock us on our butt.
Or, we can live proactively—seeing ourselves as co-creators with God, the Universe, Life itself (whatever you want to call daily circumstances, or the originator of those circumstances…titles don’t matter).
Situations out of our control will happen either way—but here’s the difference: those who live passively, complaining at their lot in life, do nothing to affect their destiny. They assume that the trajectory is already set, that there’s nothing that can be done to change their fate. They look at the cards Life deals them, grumble, curse the dealer and glare at their fellow players.
Every. Single. Hand.
But those who live proactively?
They look at the cards—and, yes, they may shout a curse or two at first—but they remember that even though they can’t help what’s dealt to them…they sure as hell can help how they play those cards.
They study the game. Study the other players. Learn new strategies. Count the odds. Risk sensibly.
But most important?
They have a positive attitude. They don’t see themselves as victims—just as players who put on their game face and always do their best.
In short, when we become conscious co-creators with Life, we make better choices and fully express our free will.
Intentionality with Tarot gives you an enormous advantage in playing the Game of Life, because it provides you with 78 mini-maps that address all manner of situations and feelings—materially, emotionally, mentally, vocationally, and spiritually. By focusing on one or more cards, you begin to steer your soul in the direction of your Highest, Best Life.
Which Tarot Deck to Use?
You can use any Tarot deck for your intentions, as long as the Minor Arcana images show people or figures doing things. This means that Tarot de Marseilles style decks are not the best choices for intentions and conscious co-creation. (Those types of decks show mere pips on the cards—that is, only two actual swords or four coins—much like the Ace-Ten cards in a poker deck.) Technically, you don’t have to own any Tarot deck to use the cards for intentions, since thousands are available to view online.
About Challenge Cards
Challenge Cards either portray difficulty and challenges wholesale—or some component of the card does so. When it comes to intentions and co-creation, we don’t ignore such situations by pretending they don’t exist—or assuming we can affirm them out of our lives. Because it truly “rains on the just and the unjust”, to paraphrase the Bible—and because some of us may have scripted certain challenging patterns pre-incarnation for our soul’s growth—difficulties will always be a part of the human experience.
It’s foolish and naïve to aim for a life free of challenges.
So what do we do? Well, when one or more Challenge Cards in the Tarot seems to sum up what we’re going through, we pull them out of the deck and lay them before us. Then we choose the card or cards we’d rather focus on—higher vibration cards that can help us shift our attitude, approach, mentality and feelings to a more productive, pleasant state. It’s much easier to deal with challenges when we’re clear-headed, balanced and poised compared to being in a state of cynicism, extremism or panic. I’ll put Possible Focus Cards in parentheses to help you choose images that can help shift your intentions.
If an author, guru or minister tries to tell you that you’re destined for a life free from poverty, sickness, loneliness, inequity or rejection—run the other way. I bought into that lie for years and when my first husband—a kind, health-conscious, optimistic, handsome Christian minister and talented trumpet player with 8% body fat was diagnosed with leukemia, and died a year later. His passing devastated a lot of people’s lives, largely because not only was he a poster boy for sainthood, but also because he preached a “prosperity gospel” that promised wealth and health (he never had the first—not even close—and as you can see…he didn’t have the latter, either, in the end).
The earth is a world of duality and unfairness. We incarnate here—in arguably one of the most challenging soul classrooms in the cosmos—in order to grow. We cannot grow without both Light and Shadow. In the DVD The Shadow Effect, Deepak Chopra explains the fascinating dichotomy of Light and Shadow, saying “In order to have manifestation, you have to have opposing energies” for, without them, “there would be no creative impulse.”
However, just because pain is a part of the curriculum doesn’t mean suffering has to be.
Much suffering is caused by our attitudes, assumptions, core beliefs and expectations—not the circumstances at hand. Intentions can nudge us towards our Highest and Best self—towards a life filled with more clarity, peace, enthusiasm, optimism and joy—so you can navigate your time on earth with more ease and well-being.
Janet’s Ten Rules of Thumb for Greater Well-Being
Some rules of thumb when intending to promote peace, clarity, joy and well-being in your life:
1. Look for what’s going right in your life
2. Assume the best intentions of others
3. Keep your eyes on your own paper
4. Take nothing personally (what people say or do is more about them)
5. Ask yourself how you can make a situation better
6. Question your thoughts and beliefs, asking “Is this really true?”
7. Set your intentions towards a best-case-scenario
8. Practice gratitude on a daily basis (or even keep a gratitude journal)
9. Affirm what promotes understanding, peace, gentleness and honesty
10. Intentions are like course-corrections—and you can always change direction!
Using Affirmations
Affirmations can be a wonderful supplement to using Tarot cards for conscious intentions, especially after identifying the card/s you deem most helpful for your particular situation. I’ll be sharing affirmations for each card in my next post. Stay tuned…and Happy New Year 2024! May the upcoming year be filled with clarity, peace and joy for you and yours.