There is something quietly satisfying about sitting down at the turn of the year, or the start of any new chapter, and laying a card for each month ahead. A monthly tarot spread layout gives you a map of the year: a theme to carry through each month, and a sense of the whole thing at once.
This guide walks you through an original twelve-card monthly layout, with a thirteenth card for the year as a whole, plus how to read it. If you would rather take one month at a time, our month ahead tarot spread is the one for you. This layout is for the bigger picture.
When to Lay a Monthly Spread
This spread suits any fresh start: New Year, your birthday, the first new moon of the year, or the day you simply decide a new chapter has begun. You can read for the twelve calendar months ahead, or for the next twelve months starting from today.
The Monthly Tarot Spread Layout
Shuffle while you think about the year ahead, then lay twelve cards in a circle like the face of a clock, beginning at the top and moving clockwise. Place a thirteenth card in the centre.
- Cards 1 to 12, one for each month: the theme, energy or lesson of that month, starting with your first month at the top and moving clockwise through the year.
- Card 13, the year as a whole: placed in the centre, the through-line that ties the whole year together.
Read each month's card as a theme rather than a fixed event on a diary date. The centre card is the heart of the year, so keep it in mind as you read the twelve around it.
How to Read It
Start with the centre card to set the tone for the year, then move month by month around the circle. Watch for patterns: a run of difficult cards through one season, a bright card that marks a turning point, the same suit turning up again and again. You are not predicting the future so much as sketching its shape, and giving yourself something to return to as the months actually unfold.
Through the Year
Photograph your spread or note each card in a journal, then revisit it at the start of each month. When you reach, say, your card for August, read it again with fresh eyes, because it will mean far more in the moment than it did back in January. For a closer look at any single month, lay our month ahead spread on the first.
Does a Monthly Spread Predict the Year?
No, and it is not meant to. There is no evidence that tarot can foretell the months ahead, and the cards have no idea what a year will hold. What this layout offers is a reflective overview. Researchers describe tarot's value as a way to “provide a new perspective on an issue,” and a year laid out in cards does just that: a way to set intentions, notice your hopes and worries, and check in with yourself month by month. The year stays yours to live.
Begin the Year Well
In my own practice, I lay this spread once a year and photograph it, then return to it each month like a map. It works best as part of a small ritual rather than a rushed shuffle at the kitchen bench. Light a candle, take your time, and let it mark the threshold. For more layouts, our tarot spreads for self discovery are good company, and a new moon ritual pairs neatly with the start of a new cycle.
Reading reversed cards in this spread
If a card lands upside down in any position, read it as a softer, blocked or more inward version of its upright meaning, coloured by the position it falls in. You can also choose to read every card upright while you are learning, since there is no wrong way to do it. What matters is that each position gives the card a clear question to answer.
Read this spread, interactively
Lay your cards in our free Tarot Reading Helper and it reads each position back to you, card by card.
Open the reading helperMore Tarot Spreads
- oracle card spreads
- the relationship spread
- the Saturn return spread
- the shadow work spread
- the health spread
- the free Tarot Path course
Frequently asked questions
A monthly tarot spread is a layout for the start of a new year or chapter. This version lays one card for each of the twelve months ahead, plus a thirteenth card in the centre for the year as a whole, giving you a gentle map of the year and a theme for each month.
This layout uses thirteen cards: twelve for the months of the year, laid in a circle like a clock, and one in the centre for the year as a whole. You can use just the twelve month cards if you prefer.
A monthly spread layout looks at the whole year, with a card for each month. A month ahead spread focuses on a single coming month in more detail. Many people lay the yearly spread once and then read a month ahead spread on the first of each month.
At any fresh start: New Year, your birthday, the first new moon of the year, or whenever a new chapter begins. You can read for the calendar year or for the next twelve months starting from today.
No. There is no evidence that tarot can foretell the future. A monthly layout is a reflective overview: a way to set intentions, notice your hopes and worries, and check in with yourself month by month. The year stays yours to live.
