The outlook for January 2020 is looking favourable and prosperous. However, the key element is that we have to put in the work. And we have to be practical and scrupulous about it. Here we are working within the rules of tradition and within the pre-established structures. It requires us to apply critical thinking while adhering to a higher realm in morality and aesthetics. With the Six of Wands the year kicks in busy. And there is movement. There will be lots happening and conflicting assignments, commitments, opportunities, people and events will demand our attention. Our input will decide which way things are going to go, as well as our discernment to choose where we are channelling our energy wisely.

With the Six of Wands we are not just cruising in victorious – the card normally shows a nobleman on a horse in front of a background of sticks and crowned with a wreath symbolizing success – but our achievements are aligned per force with higher values. There is nobility of sentiment and there is a fight for noble causes that will gain us success and recognition. In this deck there is so much more to think about. There is partnership, serenity, a sense of fulfilment, and a tribe, a vast group of like-minded people, people with whom we share common ground that depend on us or look up to us for strength. So it is also a card about leadership of purpose. Others will look to us for guidance.

This is a sombre, serious month loaded with responsibility. But the gifts are coming. They are the rewards of our efforts and they will bring strength and further support to grow and develop outside our confines. The rewards will be tangible and they will come from the outside suddenly and unexpectedly. And they will compensate us in the material sense. As the Ace of Pentacles sits right in the centre of the spread we can only assume that this event, or series of practical and auspicious events, will actually dominate the month. It will be generous and absolutely depended on our own work and sense of worth, and it will lead effortlessly to the Emperor. The Emperor could be the person we become or a person who will turn up into our lives to lend us support. The Emperor is the paramount figure of knowing the self and of self confidence. The Emperor and the number IV represent structure as well. So initiation and structure is where this month is taking us. We are in for the long game. The Emperor is standing on a pedestal suggesting we better accept our elevated status and of those we associate with.

By the end of January we will find ourselves in a different place to where we started at the beginning. While looking towards the past, we are bringing it with us into the future. We are not divorced from our heritage or history or anything that has come before, because that is the basis of our strength and our security. This is clearly a process of maturation taking place throughout the month where we are standing alone in change, and responsible. The Emperor is the Masculine principle and symbol of experience.

We are looking to a dynamic and transformative month ahead bringing in experiences of higher rank and higher authority. The theme of the influencer and the presence of rules and regulations runs concurrently. Keep strong and don’t loose the focus. The gains have the potential to surpass any expectations for passion, power and wisdom.

Flavia