Discover Your New Year: Tarot Pulls for January

As we start the new year off fresh, now is the perfect time for a little bit of divination. Reading tarot is a great way to help you fully process 2023, set goals for 2024, and maybe gain a little glimpse into the future.

So, let’s get started!

How to Read Tarot

Start by choosing your deck. You can use a traditional tarot deck, but you can also opt for your favorite Oracle deck as well!

Before you begin, cleanse your deck with Selenite, Clear Quartz, or Kyanite. Just like crystals, tarot decks accumulate psychic energy and need to be cleared periodically. The first reading of the new year is a perfect opportunity! Leave a crystal on top of your deck for at least one hour (ideally, leave it for a full day). If your deck is overdue for a cleansing, consider leaving it in the center of a crystal grid for the same amount of time.

Next, prepare your tarot reading space with some Third Eye Chakra crystals like Amethyst, Lapis Lazuli, or Auralite 23 to enhance your reading ability. Reading for yourself is a surprisingly difficult task because you have to sort through your own thoughts, emotions, and preconceived notions, so you will definitely want some help!

Now that you’re ready to read, select your query or spread (we’ve shared some of our favorites below), shuffle the cards, and begin pulling them. You have a few options for pulling your cards, so let your intuition be your guide! You can simply a pull a card from the top of the deck when it feels right, or you can spread the cards out in front of you and select the ones that call out to you.

To interpret the cards, your intuition will have to kick into high gear. Take a look at the symbolism on each card and how it relates to the ones around it. Is there something that draws your eye? Does one of the figures seem to be looking at something? Feel free to consult your guidebook or online resources to help you.

Single Card New Year’s Tarot Spreads

If you don’t want to get overly fancy, you can just pull one card with the query: What is the energy of this year?

Then, once you have your card, pick a crystal that resonates with that card’s meaning and energy to remind you of it all year long.

If you pull a card from the Major Arcana, this table can guide you to the crystal traditionally associated with it:

Three Card New Year’s Tarot Spread

This spread is perfect for reflecting on 2023 and moving into 2024 with a fresh intention. Arrange your cards to answer these three questions:

• What did I learn in 2023?
• What should I focus on in 2024?
• What do I need to release from the old year?

Five Card New Year’s Tarot Spread

For deeper introspection into the year ahead, try this five card spread:

• What should I be proud of from 2023?
• What energy am I bringing into 2024?
• What goal should I pursue this year?
• What obstacles may I encounter?
• How can I overcome these obstacles?

Twelve Card New Year’s Tarot Spread

For a truly comprehensive approach to the New Year, opt for a twelve card spread. Each card corresponds to a month, so you pull one card for January, one for February, etc.

Similar to the single card spread, we recommend pairing each month’s card with a crystal so that you have a physical reminder of the energy for the month ahead.

What will 2024 bring for you? The cards may have the answer!

Set Yourself Up for Success: Our Top 5 Abundance Crystals

As we start off 2024, a lot of us are thinking about our goals for the new year and how we can create prosperity in the coming months.

When I sit down to think about success and abundance in the New Year, I do do some financial planning, but I also try to think about the big picture. Abundance isn’t about hoarding wealth; it’s about having enough of everything: money, love, time, food, friends, and, most importantly, gratitude.

With this holistic perspective in mind, the team at My Dream Crystals would like to share our top 5 abundance crystals. With them, you can make 2024 the best year yet!

The Top 5 Abundance Crystals

5. Ruby

Ruby is a stone of love and creativity, and as an abundance crystal, it asks you to look inward to discover the things that really matter to you. Once you have your priorities straight, Ruby uses its attractive vibrations to draw them to you, while also giving you the energy to achieve your goals. Because of its association with passion, Ruby is a great crystal to choose if you are looking to manifest a romantic relationship or artistic endeavor in the new year.

4. Malachite

If you’re looking to make a serious change in 2024, Malachite is the crystal for you! This stone is a powerful transformation tool, so if there is something that has to be altered for you to achieve abundance, Malachite will accomplish it. As a Heart Chakra crystal, Malachite excels at helping you recognize and release self-imposed limitations, and it also encourages you to open yourself up to new perspectives and opportunities. Malachite reminds us that, even though change can be scary, it is necessary for us to achieve our dreams.

3. Pyrite

While Pyrite is commonly called “Fool’s Gold,” there’s nothing foolish about this crystal—and it is an equally good, if not better, mineral than Gold for attracting abundance! Pyrite has a very strong connection to wealth and money, so it is the perfect crystal to help you get your finances in order. Pyrite also imbues you with the confidence and self-worth to seek out money-earning opportunities that actually foster long-term partnerships and career growth, instead of toiling away at a job that underpays you and doesn’t appreciate your contributions.

2. Jade

When you think about holistic abundance, think about Jade. This lucky crystal helps you cultivate prosperity in all aspects of your life, from money and career to emotional stability, wellness, and family. Jade’s wise frequencies help you build long-lasting prosperity and harmony.

1. Citrine

Citrine is our number one abundance crystal, and we’re not alone in that opinion! When it comes to positivity and attraction, Citrine cannot be beat. This empowering crystal is like a ray of sunshine, welcoming joy, abundance, and light into your life. Citrine helps you find the right mindset for manifesting, while also reminding you to be grateful for what you have.

How to Use Abundance Crystals

Once you’ve decided which abundance crystal(s) you want to work with for 2024, it’s time to actually put them to use! Here are a few of our favorite abundance crystal techniques:

• To manifest money, slip an abundance crystal (especially Pyrite) into your wallet or purse.
• Display an abundance crystal on an altar or in a central part of your home, such as the living room, dining room, or kitchen, to raise your entire household’s vibrations. Because it is so all-encompassing, Jade is a good choice here.
• Wear an abundance crystal as jewelry. Citrine makes for lovely earrings, and Ruby is our pick for a pendant, since necklaces sit close to the heart.
• Meditate with an abundance crystal.
• Keep an abundance crystal in the far-left corner of your office or workspace. This Feng Shui alignment invites prosperity.
• Store an abundance crystal with your manifestation or gratitude journal. Malachite in particular will enhance your journaling practice to encourage positive transformation.

What will you manifest in 2024?

Winter Wisdom: Crown Chakra Crystals

With its long, cold nights, winter has many of us looking inward. This is the perfect season for connecting with ourselves—and with something larger than ourselves. If you are searching for the divine in the dark, look to the Crown Chakra.

What is the Crown Chakra?

The Crown Chakra is the seventh Chakra, sitting at the top of your head. In Sanskrit, the Crown Chakra is called Sahasrana, meaning one-thousand petalled, and this evocative name showcases the infinite possibilities contained within the Crown Chakra. It acts as a portal to the divine, drawing us closer to unconditional love and connecting us with our deities, angels, spirit guides, and highest selves. The Crown Chakra also works in conjunction with the Third Eye Chakra to allow you to use your psychic abilities to receive these messages and uncover information from the Akashic Records and past lives.

When your Crown Chakra is blocked, you may feel isolated from the world. You may lash out at others, struggle to be grateful for what you have, or try to control everything around you. You may also feel like you are lacking a purpose, adrift on the sea of life.

In the depth of winter, the Crown Chakra is a shining light. Working with your Crown Chakra gives you access to divine wisdom and enlightenment, and it is critical to both your spiritual development and earthly life. With the perspective you gain from the Crown Chakra, you can approach any problem with clarity, wisdom, and compassion.

Simply put, when your Crown Chakra is activated, you are one with the universe.

How to Work with the Crown Chakra

If you have never worked with your Crown Chakra before (or you haven’t worked with it in a while), you will want to activate it with Celestite, Clear Quartz, or Selenite. Simply place one of these crystals on top of your head and breathe deeply. The crystal’s vibrations will open your Crown Chakra.

Since the Crown Chakra is so closely connected to spirituality, meditation is one of the best ways to access it. You can try a guided meditation or visualization, or you can incorporate Crown Chakra work into your existing yoga, mindfulness, journaling, or prayer practices.

No matter how you work with the Crown Chakra, crystals are a great tool. The divine energy within crystals resonates perfectly with the Crown Chakra, serving as the ideal medium for communication between you and the divine. Try holding a Crown Chakra crystal and focusing on it. Engage your senses and notice every detail: how does the crystal feel? What does it look it? What sensations are you experiencing? You may be able to pick up on its vibrations!

Crown Chakra Crystals

Amethyst

Amethyst carries a strong connection to the spiritual realm while also providing psychic protection. This calming, clarifying crystal will help you receive the Crown Chakra’s divine love, allowing you to carry a little bit of the spiritual realm with you wherever you go.

Angelite

Angelite radiates a gentle, loving energy. This crystal links together your Throat and Crown Chakras, helping you to communicate much easier with your spirit guides and guardian angels as well as interpret the spiritual wisdom you receive. Angelite also helps you strengthen relationships and spread unconditional love, building a strong, supportive community.

Apophyllite

Apophyllite encourages you to expand your consciousness and align yourself with the highest good. When you connect with the Crown Chakra through Apophyllite, you can better understand your life and challenges in a universal context. Apophyllite is a stone of acceptance and peace, and it can also assist in accessing the Akashic Records and information from past lives.

Celestite

Celestite is a high frequency crystal that works with the Crown Chakra to balance your spiritual, emotional, and physical bodies. This crystal promotes peace and gentle courage based on divine communication and a profound sense of self. It also dissipates negative energies that detract from your spiritual goals and is especially useful in meditation.

Clear Quartz

Clear Quartz embodies divine wisdom. It shines a light on every challenge that you grapple with, helping you discover the truth of a situation and make decisions accordingly. Clear Quartz works with your most subtle energies to cleanse your entire Chakra system, bringing your body into perfect alignment and empowering you to chase your dreams. With Clear Quartz, you can unlock your highest self.

Danburite

Danburite radiates unconditional love, connecting your Crown and Heart Chakras. This crystal draws out your most charitable self, helping you approach everyone (including yourself) with compassion and kindness. Danburite prepares your emotional body to receive enlightenment and gently encourages you as you continue your spiritual development.

Howlite

Your spiritual journey is a long and challenging process, and Howlite provides the patience you need to persevere and succeed. Howlite teaches you to release anxiety and trust in the divine plan, working with the Crown Chakra to help you recognize the highest good. With Howlite, you can calm your emotional body, dissipating negativity and clarifying your thoughts.

Selenite

Selenite is a stone of purity and unconditional love. It is an extremely high energy crystal, providing direct access to the divine through the Crown Chakra. Selenite reveals your life purpose through personal transformation and mental clarity, and it is also a powerful tool for enhancing your psychic abilities and intuition.

Scolecite

Scolecite promotes universality. It shows you how to forgive yourself and others through divine love, and it uses that same compassion to strengthen your bonds with the people in your life. Scolecite reminds you that everyone is connected through divine energy, and you can push past fear, anger, and toxicity by keeping the bigger picture in mind.

This winter, challenge yourself to get closer with your spiritual self through the Crown Chakra!

Garnet: January’s Birthstone

Have you ever taken the time to connect with your birthstone? Beyond being simply beautiful, birthstones carry powerful lessons that can inform how you approach your life.

For January birthdays, your crystal of choice is Garnet. This warm, crimson crystal has been prized for centuries, most famously decorating the shields and swords of medieval knights. But what does this power stone mean for you today?

Garnet radiates love and loyalty. It aligns you with the highest good and brings balance to all things. This crystal encourages you to take stock of what you value in life and then gives you the energy you need to honor those values. Garnet strengthens your commitment to your goals and your loved ones, allowing you to build a life of purpose and integrity. It is also a powerful marriage stone, ensuring fidelity and passion for life.

Because Garnet resonates so strongly with your heart’s deepest needs, it is also a stone of creativity. Garnet inspires you to look at situations from a new perspective, and it motivates you to both create art and solve problems. Whatever new venture you want to pursue, Garnet will push you to act on it.

Garnet resonates with the element of fire, so it both energizes and comforts you. Garnet’s warm, gentle brand of positivity is like a metaphysical hug, and this crystal provides hope and support during trying times. By linking your Root, Sacral, and Heart Chakras, Garnet imbues you with the confidence and courage to weather any storm. When you approach the world with Garnet’s positive mindset, you naturally increase your luck and ability to manifest.

When to Use Garnet

Garnet’s frequencies are helpful in a wide variety of situations, including:

• Strengthening all kinds of relationships (romantic, business, familial, platonic, etc.)
• Achieving goals
• Creating art
• Combatting feelings of self-doubt, low self-esteem, and stagnation
• Attracting luck
• Building communities
• Problem-solving
• Receiving and implementing constructive criticism
• Determining and pursuing your life purpose
• Manifesting

Whether you are a January baby or not, try working with Garnet this month and see what positive energies you can invite into your life!

The Meaning of Mercury

On January 12^th this year, the planet Mercury will reach its maximum distance from the Sun (23.5 degrees), which means you will be able to see it sitting low in the east just before sunrise.

What does that mean, though? Normally, when we discuss Mercury, it’s in relation to the infamous Mercury retrograde, when communication and technology famously go haywire, but this exceptional planet deserves closer study.

What is the Planet Mercury?

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system (about the size of the Earth’s Moon) and the closest planet to the Sun. Because of this proximity, Mercury usually is the first planet to appear after sunset. During this month’s western Mercury elongation, Mercury will be visible both before sunrise and after sunset.

A remarkably fast planet, Mercury orbits the Sun almost twice as quickly as the Earth. It moves at speed of 29 miles per second and completes its orbit in only 88 days.

What is the Spiritual and Metaphysical Meaning of Mercury?

Many astrologers consider Mercury the “brain” of the solar system. The planet receives its name from the Roman Messenger God, Mercury. Mercury (also known as Hermes in Greek mythology) was famous for flying swiftly, thanks to his winged sandals and helmet; given the speed of the planet Mercury’s orbit, the name is clearly appropriate. Mercury also plays a pivotal role in Vedic astrology, where it is called Budh.

The planet Mercury is associated with knowledge, communication, travel, and money. The name, Mercury, actually has its roots in the Latin word mercari (trade). Ancients believed that the planet symbolized luck, particularly in financial or travel ventures. It was also tied to the color green, with an energy that encompasses abundance, calm, and harmony.

Since Mercury is the messenger god, the planet also rules communication—which is the root of all the chaos surrounding Mercury Retrograde. Mercury reminds us that many of the problems we encounter are related to communication. Sometimes, we could have avoided an issue if we just spoke up, or we can resolve a conflict through clear, effective, and compassionate communication.

Mercury is also associated with intellect. It supports both traditional book learning and also street smarts, cleverness, and humor. This planet rewards people who seize opportunities and think on their feet. Working with Mercury can also improve analytical and problem-solving skills. Because of Mercury’s dual connections to communication and intellect, it is a great aid in learning new languages.

If your sun sign is Gemini or Virgo, Mercury is your ruling planet! Mercury’s influence accounts for these signs’ curiosity, adaptability, and ability to form strong relationships—but it can also draw out nervous energy and a talent for lying.

On your birth chart, your Mercury sign relates to your communication and learning styles. For example, a Mercury in Sagittarius means that you are truthful and you devote yourself to seeking out wisdom, but you might come off as overly blunt.

Mercury Crystals

Crystals are a powerful tool for connecting with different elements of Mercury’s planetary energy.

For example, if you want to improve your communication skills, you should use:

• Angelite
• Arfvedsonite
• Chrysocolla
• Larimar
• Sodalite
• Turquoise

If you want to attract a little bit of Mercury’s luck, adaptability, and abundance, try:

• Aura Quartz
• Green Aventurine
• Labradorite
• Moldavite

To get Mercury’s assistance in your intellectual endeavors, we recommended:

• Fluorite
• Howlite
• Lapis Lazuli
• Shattuckite
• Selenite

Use this month to connect with Mercury’s energies and discover your most open, abundant, and wise self!