A New Year, A New Moon
And a New Workshop // 12.30.24
Monday Mettā
Mettā: Loving friendliness, goodwill, and kindness directed both inward and outward.
May I release old fears. May I travel forward with renewed courage. May all beings find peace. May all beings find belonging.
Peace, belonging, and courage. In this Mettā, I’m asking you to start with yourself first, to give yourself a release of old fears and the renewal of courage.
Then pause, and take a few breaths.
You don’t know the fear of others, although I’m fairly certain we all have many of the same core fears. But without making those assumptions, send your loving-kindness to all beings. May they find peace. May they find belonging.
Peace + belonging, to help with fear and courage. May we all find courage and peace in this New Year.
✨
So glad you’re here.
Intuitive Tarot Card Reading
Use your intuition to guide you to a specific card below. Choose the card with the crystal on it that calls to you. At the end of this newsletter, you’ll see the cards flipped over, with a reading for each one. The card that you choose here will have your reading for the week.
Card 1: Snowflake Obsidian Choose this card for some inner centering.
Card 2: Moonstone Choose this card for a message on a “new beginning.”
Card 3: Blue Apatite Choose this card for creative inspiration.
Wait to scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter until you’ve chosen your card!
A New Year
As you might know from previous posts, I’m not a fan of putting too much pressure on the New Year. I believe every morning is a New Year, a new day, a birth-day. As I I’ve written before:
[The pressure of New Years is] a day where we must make resolutions! A day that somehow represents the next 364 days! A day where all must go right or the whole year will feel off!
Here’s the thing, though. Every day begins a new year. Every day is a birth-day. Each morning as we wake up, we have a chance to start the day, or the year, in a new way or in our favorite way. Putting pressure on one or two days out of the year to propel life changes and seed new intentions dulls possibility. It doesn’t allow for the fact that my best idea may come on a random Tuesday in July, or that my best day this year was in September.
Beginning each day with possibility alleviates the pressure to be perfect, because possibility is inherently unknown and thus, imperfect. Even on a special day, possibility can include multitudes. …there is special-ness to every day, just as there is normalcy. Sometimes pressure to make one day perfect comes at the expense of actually enjoying yourself. A balance of the mundane with the absolutely delightful can often just feel like… a day. Any day. Any day where you wake up again: a re-birth, a new year, a new beginning.
A New Moon Today
In my first of five Monday Mettās this December (December had five Mondays this year!), I wrote about how December was the month of endings. I spoke about how the name December comes from the Latin word decem, or ten. Originally, December was the 10th month of the year, as the first month was March. The number ten, in tarot, tells us that we have ended one phase and are about to begin another.
How fitting that this December holds two new moons, instead of just one. And today’s new moon reminds us to say goodbye to one calendar year, and hello to the next. And as we move towards the lighter half of the year, may we all feel light and at ease and a little bit new.
Wishing you all a wonderful new moon and new year.
Upcoming Workshops, Classes, and Ways to Connect
Four Sundays in February!
Boost your intuition through learning to read tarot cards in my intuitive tarot workshop.
This class is for beginners and seasoned tarot readers alike. Work with me for four Sundays in February to learn the meanings of the cards through an intuitive process. This is not something you can glean from reading about tarot or searching for card "definitions." This workshop will facilitate your own intuitive powers to connect you with the cards and with your most creative self. We will use targeted and specific tools and strategies, including partner work, intuitive practices, and journaling and along the way, you will gain confidence in yourself, ways to access intuition, and connection.
For more information, head to my website, or:
You can also find me at Miraval Berkshires: I teach weekly in-person workshops on how to read tarot and how to practice using your intuition at Miraval, Berkshires, as well as a weekly yin yoga class. I’d love to see you there! Respond to this email to learn more.
This March, I’ll be teaching a 5-hour, virtual & live weekend workshop on intuitive clarity, connection, and practice. It’s called: Imaginal Goo. 🐛🦋 Dates to be announced soon!
You can visit my website for more info.
With Gratitude,
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🌱Make a micro-donation or become a totally optional paying member of this Substack. Subscribe to pay for this newsletter for $5/month or $50/year. Paying subscribers have access to my entire archive.
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🌻Contact me for a Tarot or an intuitive reading or connect with me about learning yoga, meditation, or breathwork.
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Thank you thank you!
Much love and gratitude,
Rachel xo
PS! I make a great gift! Interested in gifting a private yoga, a tarot or an intuitive soul reading to a friend? Simply respond to this newsletter!
Your Tarot Reading, Revealed!
Card 1: Snowflake Obsidian // Ace of Swords
I’d suggest reading a book of myths, or a “Hero’s Journey” story. Why, you ask? Well, today your inner centering can come from diving into someone else’s story, and finding your way to inner connection and empowerment through the stories of others. Need a few suggestions? Try King Arthur, The Wizard of Oz (or Wicked!), or any other heroic narrative.
Card 2: Moonstone // Seven of Swords
This one is simple (but perhaps not easy): it doesn’t matter what your new beginning is—take only what you need and leave behind what isn’t working. Make sure what you take helps you gain clarity and clearly reflects your values and desires.
Card 3: Blue Apatite // The Empress
The Empress is pregnant with creative inspiration! Look at the growth around her—in the wheat below her feet, the forest behind her, the pomegranates that adorn her robe. Surround yourself with things that grow and places that inspire. When I need a creative boost, I go to the forest (or lately, if it’s too cold, to a nursery!). Spending time among the greenery can’t help but inspire.
Rachel Barker's role as writer and intuitive is to facilitate the reader’s introspection, awareness, and reflection. Whether to make a particular choice or take a particular action is entirely the responsibility of the reader.