Judgment and the 8 of Cups - Getting Ready for 2024, the Year of Strength

Like many of you, I woke up this morning thinking about what 2024 will look like for me. My personal focus for the coming year is completion. My goal is to finish several important projects that have been nagging me over the past year and a half. I looked forward to today's reading for support, clarity, and encouragement in moving forward in this direction.

Normally for this annual reading, I pull one card. More than that takes my focus into too many different directions. Today was a little different though. I'd settled in with my coffee, writing pad and pen, and drew my card. I was not surprised one bit when I came face to face with my old friend Judgement!

I knew I was in for it. Judgement and I have been having this New Year's Eve discussion for years! And Judgement didn't waste any time in reminding me!  It's past time for you to accept the call of your spirit! blah - blah - blah Get off the Crossroads and start moving again! blah - blah - blah Today you can pause and reflect on 12 months of lessons learned. blah - blah - blah Tomorrow you have work to do. No more excuses!

Rebuffed, and a little embarrassed, I rolled my chair back and concentrated with great interest on the last dregs of coffee in my cup. I noticed with awe the light coming in through the blind and the multi-colored dust ball in the corner. And the ... wait, what's that? How'd that get there? Sure enough, a second card was peeking out from under a pile of paper on the floor!

I considered not turning it over but that little bit of synchronicity, and potential distraction, made me forget my annoyance at Judgement. Who was my uninvited guest? I wondered. What rabbit hole could I escape down?

So I gave in and with one flip! I knew that I'd been duped! There it was, another too familiar face, the 8 of Cups (Light Seer's Deck by Chris-Anne Donnelly) picking up exactly where Judgement had left off! If you want to fulfill your soul's purpose, you must be willing to take some risks. What is holding you back? What are you willing to sacrifice or release in order to move forward this coming year?

There was no surprise here, though, not really. I knew going into it this morning, as many of you also do, what I was going to encounter because that voice deep down gets louder every day. Rather than prediction for 2024, it was a confirmation of what I already know.

I must admit, now that I'm over being chastised, that I take comfort in the 8 of Cups. The 8 of Cups, you see, is a Minor Arcana relative to the Major card Strength (art by Anton Gustilo), provides us with the gateway to 2024 (8)! It is a card of hope. It assures us, like a good friend, that we have the inner resources, fortitude, and courage to manifest our visions and to build lives that align to our deepest sense of purpose, when we are ready to make hard choices and difficult decisions.

I Wish You and Yours

Abundance, Peace, Health, and Strength,

in this New Year!

Magdalen, December 31, 2023