Hello, my friends, and welcome to another Yearly Collective Reading!
Before we get into the reading itself, I just want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who reads this and follows along with the monthly updates. This is the seventh collective reading I’ve done for Spells8! Over the years, I have found that my skills as a reader have grown, and I am connecting more and more to the cards for these larger readings. So - thank you for being here, reading this, and sharing your thoughts and opinions with me!
As I said before, this is a collective reading. Some people do not feel that collective readings are accurate or worth doing. I, however, find them useful in the right circumstances. As a collective reading, the cards will give us value in seeing the bigger picture. In this case, the card for one month may not apply to you at all, and that’s okay.
For example, if the Death card shows up as a theme for June, it does not mean that every single person will experience a loss and be open to new opportunities. It could mean that in a particular country or region, they experience a time where the old is dying out to make way for the new. This could be political, this could be figurative, and this could even be ecological. It all varies, so keep that in mind as you read on.
Let’s Review 2025 
With the old year behind us and a new year ahead, let’s take a moment to look at the 2025 reading. Rather than revisiting every single card, I want to focus on the goal, obstacle, and theme for 2025. Here is a refresher, just in case you need it.
Just as a reminder…
The Card of the Year: King of Cups Reversed
- overwhelm, anxiety, emotional manipulation, emotional immaturity
Goals of 2025: Six of Wands
- success, recognition, hard work, pride
Obstacles of 2025: Ten of Cups
- people pleasing, overly nice, martyrdom, self-sacrifice
Since collective readings tend to be very general and broad, I’m only going to reflect on the 2025 collective reading as it applied to me. I want to start with the card of the year, the King of Cups reversed. This card represents overwhelm, anxiety, manipulation, and just a general negative emotional approach to 2025. In the collective reading, I said that it may not be a good year for mental health or intuitive connection, and oh man, that was true for me!
So much happened in 2025 that it’s really hard to put into words in just a short summary. But I can say that emotions were running high the entire year, both for myself and the people around me. I can also say, looking at the bigger picture, emotions ran pretty high for the entire country here in the United States. They are still running high, but the political climate is kind of volatile…and that’s all I’m going to say about that, because this is not the place to talk about that… 
The goals for 2025 being represented by the literal card of success and recognition for hard work is absolutely hilarious to me. For sure, our goals are usually to be successful in the things that we do and to be recognized for the hard work that we put into our endeavors. This is absolutely true for me in my personal life. I achieved many goals that I set out to do in 2025. I didn’t achieve all of them, but the ones that I did achieve are the ones I’m most proud of, and they are the ones that I am being recognized for. It was a good boost to my ego and my pride to know that I am appreciated and good at what I do!
The obstacle of 2025 being a usually positive card definitely came into play. The Ten of Cups is a card of happiness, family, and contentment. It is a card that represents the important people in our lives – and sometimes, unfortunately, those important people can get in the way of us achieving our goals. As I said in the collective reading, we may feel obligated to take care of those people and make them happy, choosing them over ourselves. I’m happy to say that I was able to avoid this obstacle and overcome it, coming out of 2025 better than I started.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with the way 2025 worked out for me! I passed my first semester of nursing school with a 93%. I have made leaps and bounds in my skills, both professionally and personally. I have grown closer to the people I love and care about, I have made new friends, and so much more. I am really looking forward to what 2026 has in store for us!
What about you? How did these cards play a role in your personal life this past year?
Read the full 2025 Collective Reading here → Peering into 2025 
Collective Tarot Reading
Looking to the Future - 2026 
For my birthday this year, I received a mini tarot deck of The Witches Tarot with art by Ellen Dugan. This year, I have decided to use this tarot deck for the collective reading and the subsequent collective reading check-ins. I think the art in this tarot deck is absolutely beautiful, and even though the deck is miniature, you can still see the details in each card that help convey the message and meaning of each card.
As I mentioned previously, this reading is split into two parts – an overall theme (three cards) and one card for each month (12 cards). Let’s get started!
Please note: As the year progresses, I do a monthly check-in. The links to each individual collective reading check-in are housed in A Sacred Space – please make sure you are logged in to your account to read them.
The Card of the Year: Three of Cups 
What a wonderful card to pull for the overall theme of 2026! The Three of Cups is a card of celebration, friendship, and creativity. We may see more social gatherings this year, attending events and making friends wherever we go. Collaboration may also play a key role in 2026 as we find meaningful partnerships both personally and professionally.
The three of cups is a card of extroversion, calling us into social situations and friendships throughout the year. No matter what happens in 2026, it seems like the theme of friendships and partnerships will play a major role. This will be the time to surround yourself with people who love and care about you and those who have a positive influence over your life.
Overall, this is a fairly positive card to have for the overall theme of 2026!
→ Learn more: Three of Cups || Spells8
Goals of 2026: The Chariot 
Interestingly, the goal of 2026 is represented by The Chariot. Last year, the goal of 2026 was represented by a card of success, the Six of Wands. This year, it is The Chariot, which is also a card of success, but it’s more about determination and pushing through to overcome obstacles. So, whatever obstacles you faced in 2025 may push through into 2026, but this year the goal is to overcome them to be successful.
It may be that we learned a thing or two about ourselves in 2025 and how we view success. We may have even analyzed our goals and changed our plan just a little bit. Now we’re moving into 2026 with more determination and willpower. It may be easier to push through and overcome the obstacles when you have that desire behind you!
→ Learn more: The Chariot || Spells8
Obstacles of 2026: The Lovers 
I feel like the overarching theme of 2026 is looking to be a lot like 2025… Here with the card that represents the obstacles of 2026, we have The Lovers. This is again a card of love, relationships, and balance. Last year, the card that represented the obstacles of 2025 was the Ten of Cups, another generally positive card.
This could mean that the obstacle for us to overcome in 2026 has more to do with how we view relationships, and how we balance our relationships with our goals. If our priorities are not straight, then we may end up spending too much time on our partnerships and not enough time on the goals we set out to achieve. There has to be a balance there with what you’re doing versus what you want.
So in general, we’re likely going to want to pay close attention to how we balance what we’re doing and where we are spending our time and energy.
→ Learn more: The Lovers || Spells8
January 2026: Knight of Pentacles Reversed 
Well, it looks like we might start the year off on the wrong foot. The Knight of Pentacles Reversed is a card of boredom, dullness, and pessimism. This could mean that we are ready for a change but we aren’t quite sure what to do with that yet. We may feel stuck in a routine, unsure of how to break out of the repetitive patterns of behavior we have found ourselves in.
→ Learn more: Knight of Pentacles || Spells8
February 2026: Eight of Swords 
February doesn’t seem to be shaping up much better than January. The Eight of Swords is about feeling powerless and taking on a victim mentality. We may find ourselves trapped by our circumstances – whether we are trapped from our own actions or the actions of others, that powerlessness is really going to be a main theme for the month of February. The Eight of Swords does tend to point toward self-imposed imprisonment, so this would be a good time to take a look at what’s going on around you and see if you are playing a role in your own feeling of imprisonment.
→ Learn more: Eight of Swords || Spells8
March 2026: Four of Cups Reversed
In March, it looks like the dreary start to 2026 is coming to an end with the Four of Cups Reversed. This card symbolizes an end to our stagnation! We may find ourselves more motivated and enthusiastic for the things that we’re doing. Rather than being reactive, we become proactive and start playing an active role in our lives on a regular basis. We may find ourselves more focused and better able to check in with ourselves and make sure that we are in alignment.
→ Learn more: Four of Cups || Spells8
April 2026: Seven of Pentacles Reversed
The Seven of Pentacles Reversed swoops in for April, and everything around us may come to a standstill. This card is about delays and setbacks, things happening around us that we really have no control over. It may also point to financial insecurity, so if you are making poor decisions with your finances, this may come back to haunt you. No matter what happens, there is nothing we can do to overcome the Seven of Pentacles Reversed. We may find ourselves stuck in a loop of impatience, but there’s really no way to get out of it. We might just have to take a breath, sit back, and let it run its course.
→ Learn more: Seven of Pentacles || Spells8
May 2026: Eight of Wands 
The slow start to 2026 is getting ready to change. In May, we have the Eight of Wands, a card that represents movement, quick change, travel, and freedom. Things around us may begin to move much faster than we anticipate, and we may find ourselves traveling more than we expected. This travel doesn’t always have to be long or physical, but it does come with an added bonus of freedom to make more choices that we did not have before. No matter the case, the snail pace that the beginning of the year was moving at is quickly turning around and picking up speed.
→ Learn more: Eight of Wands || Spells8
June 2026: Six of Pentacles Reversed
As we move into the halfway point of the year, we are met with a Six of Pentacles Reversed. This is a card of sharing the wealth. We are matching our generosity to the generosity of others. This means that our material success and wealth is in a good place, whatever that means for you. This month might find us accepting more help, but also giving more help and being more generous than we have had the capacity to before.
→ Learn more: Six of Pentacles || Spells8
July 2026: Death 
The first half of the year seemed to go in every direction. It started slow and dreary, picked up pace, and now we are back at a time of transformation in July with Death. Letting go of things is never easy, but Death is about change, transformations, and transitions. This month, it’s likely that something will end. This could be something that has been around your life for a long time, or something entirely new that you were hopeful for. Whatever it is that ends, just know that the transformation is generally a lesson. This is a time of transition to move from one aspect to another. Take a breath, release, and let go.
→ Learn more: Death || Spells8
August 2026: Five of Pentacles Reversed
And just like that, the Five of Pentacles Reversed follows Death from July. In August, we have a card of positive change, unexpected gain, faith, and hope. We have successfully overcome whatever transition and transformation July had for us, and we are taking that energy into August to carry it forward for the rest of the year. This is a reminder that overcoming adversity, challenges, and hardships are difficult, but they are usually always worth it. This is especially true if those challenges align with the goals we are trying to achieve.
→ Learn more: Five of Pentacles || Spells8
September 2026: Five of Wands Reversed
In September, we move into a period of peace and harmony with the Five of Wands Reversed. Now, whether this peace and harmony comes at a detriment is up to us. The Five of Wands reversed is also a period of avoidance and fear of confrontation. There may be something happening where we are choosing to take the high road to keep the peace. While this may be a decision that brings harmony in the moment, in the future, it could turn out to be a bad thing.
→ Learn more: Five of Wands || Spells8
October 2026: The Fool 
How fitting that we get The Fool for the month of October, the month of the Witch’s New Year, as we approach Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere. The Fool is all about freedom, innocence, and originality. This is the month to embrace your sense of adventure and your idealism. We may find ourselves being more spontaneous, choosing to make decisions we may not have made before, just for the sake of doing something new. This will be a great time to jump feet first into new projects and new beginnings that bring joy to our hearts and renew our sense of wonder.
→ Learn more: The Fool || Spells8
November 2026: Temperance Reversed 
Following The Fool in October comes Temperance Reversed in November. This seems to point to hasty decisions made in October that were not thought through completely. Temperance Reversed brings concepts of poor judgment, imbalanced conflict, and a lack of foresight. We may make decisions this month that we didn’t think through fully. We might find ourselves looking at the tiny details rather than taking in the big picture, which will end up mattering more in the future.
→ Learn more: Temperance || Spells8
December 2026: Ace of Cups Reversed
It seems we may end 2026 on a dreary note, the same way it started. The Ace of Cups Reversed is stagnation, rejection, loneliness, and sadness. There may be something going on and we might find ourselves with a sense of emptiness, feeling like something is missing. This could mean that we didn’t accomplish the goals of the year that we set out to do. It could mean that the transformation and transitions that we experienced in 2026 have left us feeling empty. The good news about that is there’s always something that can fill the space in the future.
→ Learn more: Ace of Cups || Spells8
It’s kind of uncanny how similar the reading for 2025 feels to this reading for 2026. I think I said in last year’s collective reading that it felt a little bit of everywhere. I honestly feel the same for this year’s reading! We start off dreary in January, it gets a little better in March, then it goes back downhill with loss and transition when Death comes in – things go back up, and then we end with the Ace of Cups Reversed and a feeling of sadness and emptiness!
Things could definitely be worse. I am really looking forward to the collective reading check-ins that I do every month to see what sort of things change and what things end up staying the same. I am fairly excited that the card of the year is the Three of Cups! We may find ourselves leaning on our support system a lot this year. That may actually be part of the lesson – we go through all of these challenges, but we tend to go through them together! Having a support system and utilizing your support system are very important skills to have.
So, no matter what happens this year, remember that you are never alone. Even if you find yourself without a community in the offline world, you have a whole community here with us at Spells8! Remember that you can lean on the people you care about, and the people who care about you, when you need someone to talk to, someone who will listen to what you’re going through, someone to bounce ideas off of, or even sometimes someone to tell you to snap out of it and that you’re being a little ridiculous – that is what friends are for!
Again, I am really happy to do these collective readings for the coven. I look forward to visiting each month with a check-in post and reading, too. This collective reading lines up with my personal reading, too. I am excited about what 2026 is bringing to all of us - may it be positive, hopeful, and joyful for us all!
I look forward to hearing if the readings every month are relevant for you – it’s always very helpful for me to have feedback!
Question (collective, optional): who are you letting take the reins from you in the name of cooperation and duality? Is it a partner, romantic or otherwise? Is it an idea that conflicts with your desires? Is it a sneaky, secret third option, as in You, but your Shadow Self? 
