With a new year comes a new vibe, and 2024 is right around the corner. What better way to determine that vibe than with a collective tarot reading to take you into the new year?
A quick refresher: Tarot is a form of divination that uses a deck of cards to present us with insights into the past, present, and future. While there are personalized readings for individuals, we’re going to be using the magic of tarot for a collective reading that will offer us insights for the year ahead.
We sat down with Sarah Potter, a tarot reader, professional witch, and color magic practitioner based in New York City, for a very special collective 2024 tarot reading (just for Refinery29 readers!) to help us head into the new year and beyond. Spoiler alert: It’s going to be a year for dreaming.
Two of Pentacles (Reversed)
We start our 2024 reading off strong with the Two of Pentacles reversed (aka backwards). “The Two of Pentacles is the juggler card. It’s really about how we balance our priorities and our obligations,” Potter says. When it’s upright, it symbolizes that everything is flowing — we’re multi-tasking, we have everything in line, we have our shit together. But when it shows up reversed, Potter says that it indicates an opportunity to make our loads lighter and open up space for new opportunities. Take this moment to ask yourself if anything is going on in your life — whether it be obligations, relationships, jobs, or even hobbies — that’s feeling like too much to continue on with.
The Two of Pentacles reversed is giving us an opportunity to say no in 2024, and it’s also giving you permission to release what no longer serves you. What can you shift around so that you have more space to do what you really want to do, and follow your new dreams?
Nine of Cups
The next card Potter pulls is the Nine of Cups, which she refers to as the wish card. “You can have anything you desire if you create the space to set the intention,” she says. Once we’ve scrubbed what’s no longer serving us from our lives as the year begins (and as the Two of Pentacles tells us to), we can make room for new goals and dreams.
Potter says to think about the energy of the previous card. “Everything’s busy, hectic, and chaotic, and if you’re so focused on what you already agreed to in the past, there’s not a lot of space to be peaceful, to take a breath, to take a moment and think about, but what is it that I want now?” she says. “The beginning of the year is always a good time to set an intention, to make a wish, to put something out into the universe that you really want and allow it to come into fruition.
“Now is the time. What are you waiting for?” Potter says. “Like, no one’s going to knock on your door and say, ‘Hey, what are you dreaming of? Here it is.’ You have to create the space for these dreams. I always feel like creating that space, creating that clarity, knowing what it is you want… That’s manifestation. That’s goal setting.”
Three of Pentacles
The next card pulled is the Three of Pentacles — the collaboration card, according to Potter — which is an indicator that once we’ve made room in our lives for our dreams, we need to actually ask for help in order to make them come true. “I think of this as like, teamwork makes the dream work,” she says. “We know what we want, we have our dream in mind — how are we going to put it into motion? With the Three of Pentacles, we gather our team together.” I want everyone to get really real about their dreams because nothing is impossible. I truly believe we can have anything — we just have to work for it.
This is an opportunity to think about what you can do and what you can bring to the table to make this dream happen. But if you’re lacking in specific areas — maybe you’re bad at time management or reining in your big ideas — seek out the people who can help you. “It’s a community that makes things happen… Gather the people, gather the missing pieces to put that dream into action,” Potter says.
Seven of Swords
Potter pulls the Seven of Swords, which is the card of defeat — but don’t get too worried about its negative connotation. In the context of this particular reading, Potter says it reads as imposter syndrome. “These are the the lies we tell ourselves that keep us small, that keep us from dreaming big,” she says. “I’ve noticed in readings that when people are on the precipice of something really big — a big evolution, getting what they always wanted — whether it’s in love or work or spirituality or any facet of life, the doubts creep in because there is this rising energy, this tension.”
There’s going to be discomfort that comes with growth, and this year will have us growing a lot. This card paired with the previous Three of Pentacles shows us that when we have the good people around us — like the Three of Pentacles is talking about — it’s a lot easier to not listen to those creeping thoughts of doubt.
Judgement (Reversed)
“I feel like seeing [Judgement reversed] with the Seven of Swords is, don’t judge the dream before it has an opportunity to flourish and go anywhere,” Potter says. “You’re taking all the fun out of it.”
While it’s good to prepare for what can go wrong when pursuing our dreams this year, Potter says it’s also just as important to think about what could go right. “The world has been feeling pretty unstable and unsafe and there’s a lot of uncertainty, but we always need to hold on to hope and making dreams come true for ourselves and for other people,” she says. “Don’t get in your own way, don’t take the joy out of dreaming, because we all should be dreaming.”
Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune being pulled tells us that all of these dreams that we’re pursuing this year are blessed with good luck and good fortune. “Remember too, that if you’re working on a big dream, we’re always changing. The only constant is change. And if things aren’t unfolding exactly as you want it to or in the timing that you may want, just let your story keep unfolding. Your story isn’t over, and some dreams take take time to unfold.”
To me this is a very lucky blessing of, if you dare to dream for something, by this time next year, you very well could have it.”
Four of Wands
Potter asked the cards to give us a final note and pulled the Four of Wands, which is all about celebration. “I want everyone to celebrate every milestone along the way of putting this big dream into fruition, and I really encourage everyone to dream as big as they possibly can,” Potter says. “Celebrate every moment along the way. When you find that team, when you silence the criticism and when you make the dream come true.”
Potter says that these vibes feel far better than any years past, so take these bits of positivity and magic as a sign to make 2024 your best year yet.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Your December Horoscope Is All About Passion
I Read Tarot Cards For A Psychic Hotline
What Venus In Scorpio Means For Your Love Life
