Well 2023, I can't say it was exactly a pleasure knowing you, but it was an experience. For some of us last year held many low points, but the overall feeling many of us had was that it was a year of underwhelming blah. It wasn't that it was particularly traumatic; it just never quite lived up to expectation.

Back when I co-hosted a radio show with Dax Carlisle of the Tarot Guild, looking at the intersection between tarot and numerology, I quickly learned that the world year could have a really big impact on us, even if we weren't aware of it. 2023 reduces down to 7, which in tarot is the number of the Chariot, and for many of us last year was about getting everything lined up and clearing away obstacles. This was why we had quite a lot of (sometimes difficult) change, as situations that were no longer working for us finally broke down and set us free; great on paper, but often incredibly challenging when your relationship falls apart or you're suddenly unemployed.

So if last year was about getting all your metaphorical horses pulling in the same direction, what does that mean for us now, as we move into the new energy of 2024? Well this is an 8 year, the number of abundance, which hopefully means all the pain we went through is finally going to pay off. In witchcraft, as in the Law of Attraction, where you place your focus is what determines the outcome, so it is exciting to think of all that may finally be coming to us. New career opportunities, a new or deepening relationship, or greater spiritual growth are all possibilities in an 8 year, but then so is more stress, more money worries, and a deeper dissatisfaction with life if you focus your intent on what you lack instead of what you know is coming to you. After all, abundance isn't always the joyous thing we think it is, and you can just as easily have an abundance of fear and hatred as you can excitement and love.

But still, the energy of 2024 is going to try to help us be better, and that can only be a good thing. In tarot, card 8 can be one of two possibilities. In older, more traditional decks it is Justice, and that brings a sense of hard work paying off and getting what we deserve, good or bad. In more modern decks that follow the Waite-Smith layout, which was influenced by the Golden Dawn's astrological correspondences, card 8 is Fortitude or Strength, and we will all need both of these qualities if we are to live up to our greatest potentials this year. Either way, after a year of clearing away that which is holding us back in order to make room for new growth, 2024 is shaping up to be one of great potential.

Don't forget, if you would like to book an in-depth tarot reading with me to see what this year has in store for you, visit my website www.witchhazelsmagick.com where you'll find information on what I do and a link to my booking page.

Happy new year everyone!