2026 YEAR AT A GLANCE OVERVIEW
This is going to be a bit of a long post, as it is something I did in another group I am a part of, in anticipation of what the New Year of 2026 will bring to our lives generally. I encourage anyone reading this and considering it for their personal life to see it like a horoscopes section in a newspaper, meaning not everything may fit or speak to your exact life, but there will be some relevance to you. At the very least, the words and insights you see here may help lightbulbs to go off in the people and community around you.
If you are not aware, many ATR traditions have some form of divination that looks at the months and year ahead. What always distinguishes ATR readings from others in this regard is there is always a practical and prescriptive dimension. We don’t just do fortune-telling. We see how that “fortune” touches down in real life, and what it takes to remedy things. That’s the spirit behind this card reading I am sharing. I used a combined deck of oracle cards, and the spread of the read is in the picture you can see attached to this blog post. With that, let’s dive in!
January: Reconsider is the first throw of the year, with the Moon, two standing stones and a rune. The rune most closely resembles Hagalaz, which looking it up (I don’t cast or work with runes) represents something akin to the Tower card. Hagalaz is a symbol of loss, destruction and change. It is the hailstorm. If you have ever been in a hailstorm, you KNOW this is something rough. I have been. They are sudden, destructive (in terms of harming people and property), and bring sudden change.
What’s important to remember is the Moon stands above the stones. That means to me that the Moon exerts power and influence over the misfortune of this rune. So, January is a good time for people to work with their favored lunar spirits, lunar magic and especially protections around the mind and emotions. This card warns of the beginning of the year bringing overwhelming mental distress, and this will not be going anywhere in 2026. Lean on the Moon.
February: Karmic Relationship is next. This could mean many things, but what is coming to me is that we need to take stock of our core relationships, especially our intimate one. Ironically this is also the month of Valentines, so the bond we have with certain people is deeper than what we experience of them in this life. Some bonds go back lifetimes, and they can be a mix of good and bad. But because many of us go through our days in a blur, we are seldomly aware of this. This is a good month to reflect on this, to sit back and see patterns that may or may not serve you in that relationship and make better choices.
March: Boundaries, reversed. This seems connected to the work done the month before. There will be challenges this month to keeping and maintaining boundaries, especially in intimate/core relationships. With the presence of all the earthy elements on the card, this tells me this is a good month to have wearable medicines on your persons to absorb and reflect the negativity that comes from people crossing lines with you. Medicines will also help you not get triggered or react poorly when they do.
April: Not the Right Time. This month is not going to be a month to follow through or enact new plans. It is a time to focus, reflect and reassess current plans and strategies. Most of us do not spend enough time in reflection and meditation, including myself! This lack shows glaringly in our country and world. If you don’t have such a practice, this is a good month to incorporate one.
May: Choose a New Direction. This month seems to be riding the coattails of the previous month, signaling that NOW is the time to act and move. All the plotting and planning you did in April can now be acted upon and yield good results. However, the grounding rituals you have hopefully incorporated previously are still VERY important, symbolized by the open eye with the overlaid compass. Also continue to take time for reflection, as this is key to moving through the rest of 2026 with more grace than most will have (ala January).
June: Self-Love. I like the fact that this came up mid-year, as it too is a natural evolution of the last two months of work. Now we incorporate self-love and self-care practices to keep ourselves internally strong. I have a class on this subject if you don’t know how. Self-love is critical to magic in any form because if we don’t believe in ourselves, our magic can turn on us. Many of these cards also have the Moon prominently displayed in the image. This is a reminder that lunar energy is key to our stability throughout this year. Keep those Moon rituals and devotions to your lunar spirits hot!
July: Let Go, reversed. It’s interesting that this is reversed, especially when I consider that Boundaries was reversed as well. What’s coming to me is that this card reflects a spiritual build-up that has been happening, perhaps in the earlier months of 2026. If we look back, we will probably recognize that we knew something wasn’t quite right in a core relationship. This month we are advised to look at what it is in the way of letting go, disengaging, or going a new way—or our own way. This is something in my own personal life since parts of 2025 that I have been reflective about. Again, the Moon is prominent, so I would encourage folx to work your lunar magic in July.
August: Go, The Time is Right. As if a follow up to Let Go, we are given a green light in August. This feels like one more big push before 2026 begins to wind down toward Fall and Winter where things go inward. Notice also that this card has several Moons, or one Moon represented as phases. This tells me that we may find ourselves having to shift like the Moon shifts. It also brings up the Lunar Mansions. If you don’t know, Mansions are spirits that change with the phases of the Moon through a calendar month. They address numerous areas of life, good and bad. This is a good month to learn about them and work with them to focus and enact plans.
September: Sexual Chemistry. This card does not have to just be about sex. Sexual energy when ethically applied is about our love for life. Doing the things that make life worth living in how we give and receive love. This will be especially important because 2026 will have difficulties resulting from continued divisive politics and other misfortunes. Many people I counsel express fatigue in living in the face of extremes and absolutes that seem to gain more ground daily. Thankfully the card is upright, so I do not see an immediately challenging issue aside from making sure we use this energy judiciously.
October: Learn More About Each Other, reversed. It’s interesting which cards are upright and which are reversed! Considering September’s card, the warning is if we do not wield that sexual energy well, we could find ourselves not knowing the people we bring close to us. Like the energy of a one-night stand. There’s nothing wrong with a one-night stand if that’s your thing, but if you are looking for something deeper, these become empty quick. Learning someone on the other hand takes time, patience and grace on both sides. It is about genuine curiosity and withholding judgment about a person’s past. It is about honoring that past and all the ways it shaped and formed the person. It is also one of the antidotes to what’s going on in America, where there is more focus on being right and digging trenches for a long siege of stubbornness. In this month’s card, we are being called to another way as 2026 ends.
November: This Is the Sign. There’s no Moon in this card, but this is implied in the radiance of the pentacle of sticks over the hands. The pentacle in most occult traditions reflects the fusion of the Elements, as well as the human being as a spiritual being. The presence of leaves around the pentacle speaks to the centrality of the earth element to bring that radiance. When I meditated on this card, I got the sense that this is about the fruits of our labor throughout 2026. That if we do our work, we emerge with this metaphysical union of heaven and earth that will bring the upliftment we need to shift into 2027.
December: Release Desire to Control. This card almost seems the opposite of November’s card. I believe this card warns that there is always a temptation to let newfound power go to our heads. When it does, the light that was radiating in November goes dark. The flower also wilts. Also note that the singular hand is not open but looks to be in a tight grip. It will be important as this year closes to practice keeping our hands and hearts open despite any temptation to do otherwise. Going into 2027 with an open heart is critical.
May 2026 bring many blessings, prosperity and the Light you seek for your life.
