This site is reader-supported. When you buy through links in this post, we may earn a small commission – at no additional cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.
Wondering What Themes 2021 Will Bring?
With the events of 2020 on our minds, many of us are curious to explore the themes that the upcoming year has in store. Like many of you, I sometimes use Oracle cards or Tarot cards for validation or clarification on a personal question or decision that I may be facing. I love collecting Oracle card decks and use different decks at different times and for different situations. Colette Baron-Reid creates some of the most beautiful ones that I’ve seen (examples below).
Maybe you’ve used Oracle cards to check the energy themes on a daily or weekly basis. I recently found information on an ancient, annual practice from Old Europe that I will be experimenting with this year, and bringing in a more modern element by incorporating the use of Oracle or Tarot cards to explore the energy themes of the upcoming year. In case you would like to join me in this exploration, I’ve described the practice below.
The Practice:
Traditionally, one would go out in Nature on an intentional meditative walk on each of the twelve days and seek an omen or a sign. For practical reasons, many will choose to use Oracle or Tarot cards instead. Each of the 12 Days of Christmas or “Omen Days” corresponds to a month in the upcoming year.
The 12 DAYS & Corresponding Months
- Day 1: December 26th = JANUARY
- Day 2: December 27th = FEBRUARY
- Day 3: December 28th = MARCH
- Day 4: December 29th = APRIL
- Day 5: December 30th = MAY
- Day 6: December 31st = JUNE
- Day 7: January 1st = JULY
- Day 8: January 2nd = AUGUST
- Day 9: January 3rd = SEPTEMBER
- Day 10: January 4th = OCTOBER
- Day 11: January 5th = NOVEMBER
- Day 12: January 6th = DECEMBER
The Spirit Animal Oracle
Deck by Colette Baron-Reid
Wisdom of the Oracle
Deck by Colette Baron-Reid
Gather Your Sign or Symbol
No matter if you are drawing a card or going out into nature, set your intention with a question first. Make it as specific or as general as you like.
Sample questions / intentions:
What will January look like?
What theme will I be working with in January?
Show me what I need to know about January.
(Note – the month in your question or intention will change each day based on the chart above.)
Quantum Activation Cards by Karen Curry Parker – click image to view.
If you use the Oracle card method, be sure to put the card you selected back into the deck after you’ve recorded it. The same theme may recur over the course of the year so you want to have the full deck available when you make your daily selections. As always, shuffle the deck and ask your question before selecting the card of the day.
If you choose to gather your signs or symbols on a walk, there are a few ways to do this. You can wait for something unusual to catch your attention – an odd configuration of leaves, clouds that take shape, the texture of a tree trunk, or a special bird or some other animal. If you aren’t certain that you will recognize your sign in that way, you can also ask to be shown a similar symbol three times on your walk. Whatever way you receive your “symbol of the day” is perfect and correct for you.
Record Your Findings
Write down, draw / sketch, or take a photo of the symbol you received on the walk – or the card that you selected. Add notes on what that symbol means to you – any information or feelings you have about the symbol or card so that you will have a fuller story of the energetic theme that is being presented to you. This should be a fun exercise or experiment. There is no “wrong” answer. It is meant for you to experiment and play.
You may want to record your findings in a Journal, or use this WORKSHEET to type in your themes before printing – or you could print it and fill in by hand. You may want to hang the completed worksheet up somewhere so you can refer to it throughout the year. As with any “predictive” process, your personal growth or transformation experiences may cause you to make decisions and create from a new perspective and that will influence how and if the themes play out.
In case it isn’t super obvious, the symbol / sign or card you choose on Day 1 of the 12-day practice, will be the theme of January. The 2nd day’s sign or card will be the theme of February, and so on.
For more information and history on the ancient “Omen Days” practice:
“…in Brittany and in Wales, the Twelve Days of Christmas, which mark the intercalary days of the year, are called ‘the Omen Days,’ and they have a special purpose. ‘Intercalary days’ are really the days left over from reckoning up the solar year and, in calendars throughout the world and at different times, they are special because they are considered to be ‘the days out of time.’…”
– Caitlin Matthews, The Omen Days: The 12 Days of Christmas
