We are five days into January and for me, 2025 has already felt like a complete shift in energy. Things feel lighter and I’m abuzz with excitement. I’ve put all of the ground work into place, now I have to play the waiting game until it all falls where it needs to. Waiting is frustrating, but there’s a lesson in the waiting – a lesson of trust. Great things are coming, I just have to trust the process and the work that I’ve put into building the foundations.

While I wait, perhaps a little less patiently than I should, I thought that I would try my hand at reading the cards for January. Bear with me, I read the cards for myself a couple of times a week, but I don’t often publicize my readings. I think it’s a confidence thing, or maybe it’s a little bit of Imposter Syndrome because, “who am I to do a reading?” But let’s give it a shot and see what comes of it.

The Emperor

The Emperor sits on top of his world, his demeanour relaxed, comfortable and very much in charge. He holds the king chess piece in his right hand. The right side represents the future. He is the King of his world, and he has the ability, the courage and the confidence to place the piece wherever he wishes. On the wall over his right shoulder is a ram’s skull. Rams are associated with leadership, strength and guardianship. Their horns are often depicted as crowns. On his left arm is a tattoo of the Ankh. In Ancient times the Ankh was known as the key of life and represents eternal life. It may also represent, water, air and the sun, which are the key elements of life. It can also be said to represent both the feminine and the masculine, and the union of both creating balance.

The Emperor is a strong card. He appears in this reading to pass on the message that you are in charge of designing your own world and your own future. You are the King of your world and you have the power and opportunity to place the pieces wherever you wish to. With confidence, leadership and strength you have the ability to create many successes in your life. Balance out the feminine and masculine energy to create harmony within yourself. That harmony will help you in moving forward with creating the life that you deserve.

9 of Swords

The bed and the pillow in the 9 of swords represents the sleep state, the crows or ravens represent thoughts and over thinking interrupting the sleep state. This card represents anxiety, feelings of worry or depression disrupting sleep patterns and causing insomnia. Ravens are a symbol of a shift in your life. They appear in this card as a message to put things into action that help you gain control over your negative thoughts. Do not let them swamp you and have an impact on the shift that’s coming. The negative thoughts aren’t truthful. Even in the card itself, the ravens have a non-corporeal look to them, meaning that they are not reality.

The white bird, and the light drifting in on the corner of the card is urging you to look to the light, to the things that give you optimism and hope. Because even in the darkest hour, there is always some light to hold on to. Choose to see and focus on the light, not on the storm of unsubstantiated negative thoughts swirling around in your head. If you allow them to overwhelm you, they have the power to bring you to your knees effectively stopping you from moving forward. Don’t give them that power.

Death and Rebirth

I saw this card and was initially really nervous about posting the reading, but that is the misconception we can have about the appearance of the death card. Lets look at it a little more closely. The hooded figure is wearing red – red symbolises blood and blood is a life force and is the colour of our root chakra, symbolising grounding and stability. Red is a vibrant colour that brings about feelings of excitement. Inside of the hood is a representation of nature, of growth and an explosion of light almost like a supernova. A supernova is the death of a star. When a star dies it collapses in on itself and explodes, leaving behind a flash of light so bright that it’s blinding. It represents transformation, rebirth and change.

Death doesn’t necessarily bring impending doom and it isn’t necessarily a sign of losing a life or a loved one. The Death and Rebirth card is a card of transformation. Death symbolizes endings. There are endings in the air. You are about to see the ending of a friendship, of a job, of a situation that you’ve found yourself in, a plan for the future that you may have had. With endings come the opportunity for rebirth, for transformation, for growth. Death lets us know that it’s time for something to end, in order to make room for the birth of something bright and wonderful.

Together, the cards bring a powerful message of transformation. Something in your life must come to an end, and the process will bring about negative thoughts of worry, anxiety and fear, but it’s important to focus on the light, no matter how small it is. The placement of the cards represent a path through January. You are the creator of your own future, place your pieces where you will. Stay calm, stay centred, rise above it, and trust that it will create opportunities for your success. The process will cause negative thoughts, which have the capacity to overwhelm you, but focus on the light, focus on the future that’s just on the other side. The final step will be to let go, let go of the things that are holding you back, allow them to die. They must, in order for the powerful explosion of light and that beautiful transformation to occur.

It’s going to be a powerful one, so strap yourselves in and embrace the positivity.