{"id":32580,"date":"2026-01-01T03:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=32580"},"modified":"2025-12-31T18:30:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T00:30:55","slug":"divination-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html","title":{"rendered":"Divination For 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Like all forms of magic, divination works best when it\u2019s narrowly defined. Specific questions lead to specific answers \u2013 vague questions lead to vague answers.<\/p>\n

Divination for a whole year is necessarily vague. But a good Tarot reading can still tell us the themes and trends we\u2019ll experience in the coming year. That knowledge helps us prepare for what\u2019s coming, and to put things into context so we can better understand them as they happen. That in turn helps us to adjust and refine our plans as we move forward.<\/p>\n

We have to live in the world as it is, not as we wish it was. The sooner we recognize reality, the sooner we can adapt to it \u2013 whether our adaptation is to go with the flow, to swim upstream, or to rage against the system.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s divination was clear: 2025 will be a year of moving on<\/a>. And it was.<\/p>\n

Some of that moving on was for the better. Much of it was for the worse. All of it was confirmation that the world we thought (or at least, acted like) would last forever is gone and it\u2019s not coming back.<\/p>\n

Your victories, your heartbreaks, your grand narratives: they\u2019re in the past. They may have been meaningful and helpful at one time but they no longer serve you, your goals, your mission, or your community. It\u2019s time to move on \u2013 it\u2019s time to create something new.<\/p>\n

I hope you took steps in a new direction in 2025. Part of me wishes I had taken more steps, but I took some, and they were helpful, and that will have to be enough.<\/p>\n

And now let\u2019s look at what\u2019s coming in 2026.<\/p>\n

As it is every year, the question for this reading is \u201cwhat does the new year hold for me and mine?\u201d The closer you are to me, the more this reading applies to you. If you do ritual with me in my back yard, it\u2019s very relevant to you. If you follow a Pagan polytheist path, it applies a fair amount. If you\u2019re a casual blog reader, less so. You must decide how much weight to give this reading in your planning for the coming year.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m using the Robin Wood Tarot again this year. It was my first deck, I\u2019ve had it for over 30 years, and it still speaks to me very well. I\u2019m using the\u00a0Celtic Cross<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0spread because it\u2019s the best I\u2019ve found for broad readings such as this. All cards are in the upright position because I do not read reversed.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

At first glance, this is the most positive annual divination in the ten years I\u2019ve been doing them. No Tower, no Death, no Ten of Swords. The only traditionally negative card in the whole reading is the Five of Swords and it\u2019s in the \u201cwhat is passing\u201d position.<\/p>\n

I really wanted to interpret this card in this position in a political context. I drew three extra cards for clarification \u2013 they gave me zero indication that\u2019s what this means. When I contemplated this further, what I heard was \u201cthat\u2019s not what this reading is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

What it\u2019s definitely about is The Fool in \u201cthe heart of the matter\u201d position. Last year was about moving on, but the call to move on begins with disengaging, closing down, packing up, and starting a new journey. Now we\u2019ve done that, and we\u2019re on a new path that leads to\u2026 somewhere yet to be determined. Hopefully not off a cliff. Artist and creator Robin Wood\u2019s key to this card is \u201cpay attention.\u201d We don\u2019t need divination to tell us we live in troublesome times. This is a positive reading, but it\u2019s hardly an \u201call is well, let\u2019s party\u201d reading.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Crossing it for good or for ill is the Nine of Pentacles. Our desire for comfort and for the familiar can stop our progress. Combine that with the Six of Pentacles in the \u201cwhat is coming\u201d position and The Empress in the \u201chopes and fears\u201d position and we see a strong warning that settling for good enough will keep us from accomplishing what we really want.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The King of Cups, Queen of Cups, and Two of Cups speak to the relationships we\u2019ve built and nourished, especially our closest relationships \u2013 which aren\u2019t necessarily romantic. Where we\u2019ve built well \u2013 rooted in hospitality and reciprocity \u2013 these relationships form a foundation for our lives as individuals, as families, and as a community. Where we\u2019ve built poorly, the Five of Swords warns us to watch out for treachery. It also warns us not to take advantage of those who have placed their trust in us. Who are you in the Five of Swords \u2013 the betrayer or the betrayed? The goal is to be neither. Divination show us what will be, not what must be.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The Queen of Swords in \u201cthe environment in which we work\u201d position is the most important card in the entire reading. This year calls for wise and sharp decisions. What year doesn\u2019t? But this is especially important this year. Note the sun coming from behind the clouds \u2013 what is unclear now will become clearer as the year progresses. Be ready to use the sword of discernment when the time comes.<\/p>\n

Because if we do, we will end the year with the Three of Wands, the \u201cyour ship is coming in\u201d card. Look carefully at the artwork. The ships are still on the water \u2013 they\u2019re not in the harbor yet, much less unloaded. 2026 will not be a year of completion. But what we started in 2025 will get closer and closer to reality as the year progresses.<\/p>\n

When I first looked at this spread, I was taken by how positive it seemed. Once I examined it more closely, I see that it shows three possibilities for the year.<\/p>\n

We can move through life mindlessly, not watch where we\u2019re going, and end up getting hurt.<\/p>\n

We can be afraid of losing what we have, get caught up in the seduction of the familiar, and settle for good enough.<\/p>\n

Or we can build on what we accomplished last year, wait until the time is right, and then act with the wisdom and skill of a Queen and set ourselves up for great things in the near future.<\/p>\n

Blessings and good luck as you respond to the opportunities 2026 will bring.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We can move through life mindlessly and end up getting hurt. We can be afraid of losing what we have and settle for good enough. Or we can build on what we\u2019ve accomplished, wait until the time is right, and then act with the wisdom and skill of a Queen and set ourselves up for great things. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":32583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[81,4,5,199],"class_list":["post-32580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practice","tag-divination","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-tarot"],"yoast_head":"\nDivination For 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We can move through life mindlessly and end up getting hurt. We can be afraid of losing what we have and settle for good enough. Or we can build on what we\u2019ve accomplished, wait until the time is right, and then act with the wisdom and skill of a Queen and set ourselves up for great things.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Divination For 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We can move through life mindlessly and end up getting hurt. We can be afraid of losing what we have and settle for good enough. Or we can build on what we\u2019ve accomplished, wait until the time is right, and then act with the wisdom and skill of a Queen and set ourselves up for great things.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-01T09:00:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-01T00:30:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2025\/12\/2026-reading-01.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html\",\"name\":\"Divination For 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-01T09:00:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-01T00:30:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"We can move through life mindlessly and end up getting hurt. We can be afraid of losing what we have and settle for good enough. Or we can build on what we\u2019ve accomplished, wait until the time is right, and then act with the wisdom and skill of a Queen and set ourselves up for great things.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Divination For 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Divination For 2026","description":"We can move through life mindlessly and end up getting hurt. We can be afraid of losing what we have and settle for good enough. Or we can build on what we\u2019ve accomplished, wait until the time is right, and then act with the wisdom and skill of a Queen and set ourselves up for great things.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Divination For 2026","og_description":"We can move through life mindlessly and end up getting hurt. We can be afraid of losing what we have and settle for good enough. Or we can build on what we\u2019ve accomplished, wait until the time is right, and then act with the wisdom and skill of a Queen and set ourselves up for great things.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html","og_site_name":"John Beckett","article_published_time":"2026-01-01T09:00:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-01T00:30:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2025\/12\/2026-reading-01.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"John Beckett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Beckett","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html","name":"Divination For 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-01-01T09:00:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-01T00:30:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad"},"description":"We can move through life mindlessly and end up getting hurt. We can be afraid of losing what we have and settle for good enough. Or we can build on what we\u2019ve accomplished, wait until the time is right, and then act with the wisdom and skill of a Queen and set ourselves up for great things.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2026\/01\/divination-for-2026.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Divination For 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/","name":"John Beckett","description":"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad","name":"John Beckett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Beckett"},"description":"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}