Yearly Card/s

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Karenwhe	10 Feb 2003
I was wondering how people choose their yearly cards. I am using the numerology system as opposed to drawing a yearly card. I also use the monthly cards based on numerology. You add up your date of birth in the current year, for example: 19/Aug/2003. This would sumup to 23 this is reduced to 5. Which would be the Emperor. If the sum is under 22 and above 9, the draw of the year will be two cards. For example: lets say this years birth date sums up to 17. That would reduce in numerology to 8 however there is a 17 card in the majors (The Tower). In this case I would say: Yearly card (lessons): 8 Chariot Things to deal with: The Tower Ok, so what happens when the sum is one digit and the is no “things to deal with” (the second card)? When ever the birth date of that year sums to only to one digit I ask the querent to draw one card from the Majors for the “things to deal with”. The second system may be weird but it has so far been very accurate for who ever I tried it on. I would love to hear how other people choose their yearly and/or monthly cards. Edited to add: I know this may not go by the book ……..but I see the Fool as 1, because in the birth dates nothing will reduce to 0 as you add numbers not subtract them.

jmd	11 Feb 2003
It is so easy to type slips-of-the tongue: 'Yearly card (lessons): 8 Chariot Things to deal with: The Tower' What is of course interesting is that I personally do tend to see the Chariot (numbered seven, not eight!) as the 'outer' face of the Star (numbered seventeen), and I connect the Tower (sixteen) with the Lover(s) (card six). When I use this overview numerology, then, I tend to reduce either the birthdate (or sometimes the year only) to a single digit, and include its 'complement' (I - XI; II - XII; etc). With this, however, cards X - XX and the Fool and XXI never emerge, for reasons I personally find satisfying enough. I realise it doesn't directly answer your question, and trust others will more directly :).

Karenwhe	11 Feb 2003
That is very interesting JMD actually I was looking for these types of alternatives. Yes, I know that I use the Fool as card number 1, and I also know that this is not by the book kind of thing. However the calculations are by the rules of numerology, so to speak. I use the system above as I find it constraining to use only 9 cards from the Majors, I just wanted a system that could use all the options of the Majors. From what I understand from your post, you use only cards from 1 to 9, one being the Magician?

jmd	11 Feb 2003
When I use these, I do use only the numerals one to nine, but two cards, thus: 1 - I Magician & XI Strength; 2 - II Popess & XII Hanged Man; 3 - III Empress & XIII; etc... As an example, this is a five year (2003), and thus see the influences at hand as predominantly V the Hierophant & XV the Devil! ... I realise others have other ways of working :)

The Yearly Card/s thread was originally posted on 10 Feb 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.