Studying my Personal Year in numerology and tarot has been one of the most illuminating aspects of my spiritual practice. In numerology, the Personal Year is a year-long cycle defined by the energy of a number from 1 to 9 running sequentially. To put it briefly,
- Year 1 represents brave new beginnings
- Year 2 asks for balance, harmony, collaboration, and partnership
- Year 3 is about creativity, communication, play and child-like curiosity
- Year 4 demands stability, conservatism and pragmatism
- Year 5 takes risks craving freedom and adventure
- Year 6 is concerned with matters of the heart: love, care, compassion and self-sacrifice
- Year 7 seeks knowledge, wisdom and awareness
- Year 8 is achievement, abundance and reaping the rewards of one’s labor
- Year 9 represents completion: the end of a cycle
After a 9 Year, the cycle of energy starts back at 1. I have been incredibly blessed to have this tool in my arsenal to understand with various seasons I have journeyed through. Understanding my Personal Year helps me work with the current flow of energy in my life instead of against it.
Last year was a 9 Year for me. Coming to terms with people, places and things in my life I need to change or let go of, 2022 was truly a year of ends. Grieving was an ongoing practice as I learned to surrender and accept my life circumstances while learning how to care for myself more deeply and tenderly. My 9 Year served as a crucial decluttering and clearing out process to make room for the new relationships, experiences, and opportunities that my Year 1 in 2023 is earnest to give me. It’s only been a few weeks into the New Year and I have already felt a new surge of energy, planted new seeds of friendship, and begun to envision a new path forward.
After working with my Personal Years for some time, I recently discovered that Personal Years exist in Tarot as well! The energy of The Sun XIX card embodies my 2023. Like a 1 Year, the Sun holds the hope and optimism of a brand new day. It is the dawn after the darkness. Represented by a naked baby riding carefree on a horse, the Sun represents new life, fertility, and freedom.
The Sun is a stark contrast from 2022 which embodied the preceding energy — The Moon XVIII. Complementary to the resonance of a 9 Year, the Moon is about the subconscious mind: fears, illusions and uncertainties. The moon’s gravitational pull on the waters within us requires surrender of our blood, sweat and tears. During a Moon Year we come to respect that we are mostly water and part of a larger cycle of death and rebirth. Thus, it is only natural that a baby, new life, follows with the Sun card.
I would love to go in greater depth (maybe in a future blog post) about how I have started to experience the Sun energy. For now, let’s just say that I feel myself coming into my personal power like never before. Instead of falling into my regular mode of people-pleasing at my own expense, I am finding the courage to say no. I am switching the script of how I thought I should be navigating my career and relationships. I am removing myself from spaces where my growth was stagnating and I am throwing myself into territory. I am taking on new opportunities that terrify me in the best way possible.
How to Calculate Your Personal Year Number & Tarot Card
You can calculate your Personal Year Number and Tarot Card with simple math. Add up all the digits from the numbers in the Month and Day you were born along with those in the current year you are calculating for. For instance, I was born on April (the 4th month of the year) on the 17th so for 2023 the math would be as follows:
4 + 1 + 7 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 19
To calculate my Personal Year Number which can only be a number between 1 to 9, add the two numbers from my simple equation above. In this case, 1 + 9 = 10. Keep adding the product until you get to a single digit. In this case, 1 + 0 = 1 which makes 2023 a 1 Year for me.
To calculate my Personal Year Tarot Card, I use the same equation: 4 + 1 + 7 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 19. Since the tarot cards used to calculate Personal Years come from Major Arcana of which cards go from 0 to 22, I can use the number 19. Then I simply have to find which card of the Major Arcana is represented by the number 19 which happens to The Sun.
If the number from your first equation is greater than 22, add the digits together and keep reducing until you get a single digit. Use that number to find the corresponding card in the Major Arcana.
For more detailed instructions as well as a helpful calculator, here are some links for finding your Personal Year in Numerology and your Tarot Personal Year. Look up the meaning of the number or the card and see if it resonates. I would love to read your reflections in the comments!
Image Description: On a table with tea light candles are three tarot cards: The Sun, Queen of Swords and Ace of Pentacles.
Nadia Naomi Mbonde 