The Year of the Magician
Welcome to 2026! I hope you are excited about the year ahead: setting goals, making resolutions, creating vision boards, committing to yourself- all that good stuff. Of course, the turn of the year is just a random day that we all collectively agree is meaningful, but that collective energy has force behind it. The rituals and beliefs we enact at the turn of the calendar year can be charged and powerful if we choose to dedicate ourselves now.
How we use the power behind the turning of the calendar year is up to each of us to decide. You can choose to make a big deal out of it and harness that collective transformative energy to make changes in your life, or you can let it pass unnoticed or unused. Perhaps you like to use the astrological beginning of the year to restart, when spring reaches the northern hemisphere in March. I like that time too! There is no “right” choice. How you choose to interact with the cyclical energy of the universe is up to you. Do what feels right to you! My only special ask for you now is to make that decision with intention and intuition.
As for me, one of things I like to do at the beginning of the year is to consider the numerological energy of the year ahead and how that corresponds with the tarot. I subscribe to a system of tarot year cards which you can read all about on my website if you’d like, but here we will just go into the significance and energy of the year 2026.
The way I calculate tarot year cards with numerology is quite simple: add up the numbers of the current year and that end product is the corresponding number for the tarot card of the year. If the number is over 9, keep adding the numbers you get together until you have a number between 1- 9.
So here’s how we do it for the year 2026:
2 + 0 + 2 + 6 = 10 then 1 + 0 = 1
Card 1 is The Magician in the tarot deck.
Viola!
It’s fun and interesting to keep the messages of that tarot year card close to your awareness as the year unfolds. This sparks insight into how the themes of that card are showing up throughout the year and also helps you learn more about tarot and numerology. I’m always looking for opportunities to develop my tarot wisdom and a year of The Magician is definitely one of those years during which we can make fresh starts and commit to deepening our wisdom and knowledge over the long haul of the next 9 year cycle.
Today, I’d like to write about five key themes for the year of The Magician. Let’s explore these themes together:
1. It’s a year to start things!
First and foremost, a Magician Year is a one year. The number one is all about planting seeds, new beginnings, and starting things. There is a sense of freshness to a one year. Do you feel that potential? Do you want to feel it? Take a moment during January to tap into your intuition and explore what you would like to start now. It could be something small or it could be huge! One thing that could be useful to consider is that a Magician year sets off another 9 year cycle, so what would you like to be in for the long haul? What do you want to discover, uncover, ritualize, make routine, develop, and accomplish long-term?
The Magician tarot card from the Shadowscapes tarot deck.
The Magician year comes after a Hermit year, of course, so hopefully you have wrapped something up and reached some conclusions with the Hermit in 2025. 2025 was a year of endings and now it is time to wipe the slate clean. If you have lingering lose ends, tie them up now. If you are still holding onto to those old energies, release them now. You could take physical actions such as cleaning out old paperwork, taking out donations or trash, cleaning the cobwebs from the corners of your space, etc. Or you could do a mental clean out, writing down all the beliefs you are letting go of and then burning that list in a cleansing fire. It is time to wipe away the old and write a new story.
You may find during your physical and mental clean out that there are many things that you still want to hold onto. That is ok! How can you symbolically or literally restart those things? Try to create a break in the pattern and then recommit. Be clear that you acknowledge what is coming with you from the last cycle and rededicate yourself to that practice, project, or belief. A Magician year doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch on everything, but (re)committing to what actually matters going forward.
This whole idea of new beginnings may sound quite nice and exciting. Remember, though that newness means change and change can be weird, uncomfortable, and hard. You may not enjoy all this fresh start stuff. And that is just fine. If you aren’t that excited about planting seeds, don’t worry about it. There is nothing about a Magician year that means you absolutely have to start starting things. It’s just an energy that is present. You can ignore it, undermine it, refuse it, reject it, whatever works for you! Or you can go slow and take it one step at a time. Perhaps just starting one new thing is enough. It could be all you need or it could start the momentum that makes more change possible. No matter how you approach the year ahead, be gentle with yourself. Change requires patience and understanding.
2. Connect with the why behind your start!
A fresh start may happen spontaneously, but following through and cultivating the seeds that you have planted require some conscious effort. Do you recognize any elevation of consciousness in yourself now after a Hermit year? Perhaps you learned some lessons that are still resonating with your into the new year. Or maybe you discovered things about yourself that are deeply meaningful. Keep that awareness close as you set out into this new year, it will help you moving forward.
The Magician tarot card from The Wild Unknown tarot deck.
A Magician year asks you to be intentional. Don’t just starts things willy nilly, but really reflect on the why behind the changes you are making in your life. Before you jump in, or maybe when your initial excitement and energy start to wane, ask yourself why you are doing the things you are doing. The why behind your fresh starts is essential because it is what you can tap into when your motivation lags or you want to give up. It gives you something to feed your willpower. Be intentional, focused, and learn to prioritize. If you’re scattered, you’re not going to get results and you’ll feel drained. Journal about it, talk to a friend about it, daydream about it over a cup of tea. The important thing to do is know that you are starting things on purpose. Having clarity of intention is wildly necessary when making magic.
The Magician energy can be very positive and optimistic. This belief in yourself, in your abilities, in the goodness of the world, can be really encouraging when it comes to starting things. An attitude of self believe and can do-ness will get you a long way, actually. Your mental state matters. It does create change. The Magician is ruled by the element Air, the realm of the mind. So a healthy and happy mental state can be especially important during a Magician year. Make the effort to monitor your thoughts and if it’s hard to cultivate positivity, seek help in this department. Schedule mental health time either with yourself, a friend, or a therapist.
One last important point about being intentional and acting on purpose during a Magician year: you don’t have to broadcast your goals and wishes for yourself to everyone you know. The Magician can have an air of mystery. There is magic happening here, perhaps a little bit of slight of hand. Everything doesn’t have to be obvious. If you work best by doing things by yourself and keeping your intentions behind the scenes, that could work really well this year. Get underway with your fresh starts and leave the big reveals or annoucements for another time. You are allowed your mystery and your privacy.
3. Assemble what you need in order to start!
The Magician is excellent at gathering the resources needed to make those changes and fresh beginnings. Have you looked at the image of The Magician on the Rider Waite Smith tarot card? I love this Magician image- you see her there behind a table with each of the four suits: pentacle, wand, sword, and cup. These represent all the elements she will need to create anything, to make anything. It’s time right now to get what you will need to make your fresh starts possible. This could be a course of study, making emotional space, getting your thoughts organized, making a plan, buying supplies, just getting any type of resource you think you may need to reach your goals.
The Magician tarot card from the Rider Waite Smith deck.
One of the resources you need to really kick ass is your own personal power. It’s time to either cultivate your personal power or to take that power back from wherever you have left it. Life can be chaotic and it’s easy to get scattered or lost at times. If you know where you’ve given your power away- go get it there. If you’re wondering if you ever even had a grasp on your personal power, start within yourself. You can decide that now is the time to step into your power. This means that you need to define your own values, you need to set your own boundaries, and you need to take the kinds of small actions daily that will allow you to build trust in yourself. That Magician will support you on this journey at the same time she demands that you finally do it!
A support systems is also an excellent resource to cultivate at this time. Having the support of others is valuable a resource. You can do things by yourself, that is true, you have that power. But it can also be helpful to supercharge your efforts by delegating or working with others. Make an effort to identify the people in your life that you can trust, lean on, and offer support in return. This may be a year primarily focused on your own personal power, but that doesn’t mean you should be selfish and neglectful of others. We can’t do life alone, so surround yourself with people who align with your values, respect your boundaries, and lift you up.
And one last thing about gathering your resources as a Magician- you don’t have to wait until you have absolutely everything you could possible need before you get started. It’s ok to start with what you’ve got. Do the work you can with the resources you have. Get started now as best you can. You can gather more resources as you go along and learn better what exactly it is that you need. If you get hung up on having everything in place before you make any big moves, you may end up making zero moves. Take that first step now, even if you don’t think you are ready.
4. Manifest dreams, big and small!
A Magician knows how to manifest, and so can you during a Magician year. Manifesting is making an idea into reality. It is the outcome of the first three steps that I’ve written about here. First you decide what you want to start, then you set your intentions for that start, and then you gather the resources you will need to start. Then- you manifest that shit. This is the part where you take the initiative, you put in the effort, you take aligned actions. You bring your dreams and goals into reality.
The Magician tarot card from the Ostara tarot deck.
The Magician isn’t afraid of hard work, of participating, of adapting to the circumstances that present themselves. Just because you’re all aligned and focused, doesn’t mean that manifesting will just naturally happen. It might! That is an option, but it’s a lucky one. Sometimes things just fall into place once we gain clarity, but most of the time we still have to put in the work. The Magician stays focused, innovates when things go sideways, makes do with what she has. The Magician keeps trying until something happens.
I already mentioned some things that can be helpful when manifesting, such as having a positive attitude, being conscious and intentional, journaling to stay on track, and having a support system to help you when you need it. Another thing that can be helpful with manifesting is visualization. If you are able to visualize the future, spend time doing this. What will it be like when you reach your goal? How will you feel? What will you experience? It’s especially important to note if you are happy and excited about reaching your goal or if you feel flat, neutral, or even depressed. Visualization tells you a lot. If you imagine a future in which you’ve manifested your dream, and you’re not filled with happiness or good feelings- that dream is not in alignment with you. Perhaps you will decide to manifest a different dream instead, one that you actually value.
Be patient with yourself this year. Manifesting big dreams can take time. Life is not a rush to some finish line! You may not (probably won’t) finish the things you start this year, because the best things in life take longer than one year to come to fruition. Unfortunately, there isn’t some magical formula for succeeding at manifesting every single time. If someone tries to sell you on the one way to do it, don’t be fooled. It isn’t a one size fits all people or circumstances activation. Manifestation takes trial and error. It takes effort. It takes personal development. And it takes a bit of luck and a bit of magic, honestly.
Give yourself the gift of trying and effort in the year ahead, that is the only secret ingredient you can control for manifestation. You have to keep developing, learning, and increasing your skillfulness. Tangible outcomes may be small or you may get lucky and make huge leaps! There is no way of knowing, unless you try. Use the energy of The Magician in the year ahead to give yourself the best chance at manifesting the life you want to create.
5. Creativity and magic are in the air!
The most beautiful thing about a Magician year, in my estimation, is the amount of creativity that wants to be expressed at this time. It’s pure magic! There are so many possibilities in life, it is a true wonder to have the opportunity to try to make whatever ambition is in your heart into a reality. Creativity is the synthesis of all the earlier themes I wrote about here. It is having ideas, visualizing, innovating, thinking of solutions, and manifesting dreams into reality. It is the bridge between fantasy and form. All of the themes of The Magician year are interconnected, but creativity is the life force behind all of them. It’s what makes life interesting, worthwhile, and valuable.
The Magician tarot card from The Spacious Tarot deck.
Creativity is a type of magic, and of course, since magic is the domain of The Magician. A Magician is able to defy reality, to illusion and disillusion, to make the impossible possible. If it feels like the dreams you have are too big, or too out there, or too pie in the sky, check in with yourself. Are those dreams really meaningful to you? Do they fill you with inspiration and excitement? That’s what life is all about, that’s what the meaning and purpose is, even if it feels wacky or wild. Go after those dreams anyway. The Magician has your back. She can make the seemingly impossible into reality, and so can you with her help this year. And at the end of the day, even if you don’t succeed, it will be better to have at least tried then to have wondered what would have happened if you had.
When you use your creativity, you act as a channel for the vibrant and creative force of the Universe. You have the opportunity to do something with that life force that is all around us all the time. This is powerful! Being filled with inspiration can be jolting and electric! You may fill like you are bursting with it and have to get a move on. How wonderful! Embrace it. Bring that energy into physical form to discharge it, otherwise it may fizzle out, or burn you out. Be a manifestor: be aware of the power, then direct it, then use willpower and focus to take action, and then make the vision real!
A helpful practice for taking you into your inner Magician is to create magical rituals for yourself. Some people call a routine a type of ritual and perhaps that makes it more relatable for you as well. A ritual is basically a routine that has a symbolic meaning, that weaves in your own personal flourishes and style, and works to strengthen your manifesting magic. Rituals can sustains you to meet your goals. They are habits or practices that you take part in on a routine basis in order to get your closer to your goals.
For example, say you want to write a book. You could make a ritual around your writing practice like lighting a candle or drinking a special tea that helps you enter into the right head space to write. Or perhaps you want to learn to love yourself more. You could make it a ritual to say daily affirmations specific to yourself that bring you in contact with your self love. There are endless ways to bring ritual into your life. The only right way to do it is the way that resonates with your own personal sense of magic and creativity.
Magicians are also masterful storytellers. They shape the world through their words as much as their deeds. Ask your: What story to I want to tell about myself and my life in the year ahead? It would be a delightful practice to actually write that story out. It doesn’t have to take long, just give yourself 15 minutes to write out the story of your year ahead. What do you want to manifest? How do you want to use your creative energy? How will you gather your resources? What will you begin? How will you take the first step and start?
You give your life meaning through your creations and your magic. Know that you are creative. Everyone is, it comes with being alive and creating a life. The year of The Magician is one of deep creativity and magical connections. Take the wisdom of the last 9 year cycle and the culminating knowledge of The Hermit and transform that into something new. Change is magic. Transformation is magic. Creating a life is magic. All forms of creating require your creativity. Tap into that creativity in your simple actions and in your grandest ambitions. Both are equally vital and important. Let your year of The Magician be an exciting one, full of magical moments and creative manifestations.
Things to watch out for during a Magician Year
Like any tarot or numerological energy, a Magician year can have drawbacks, downsides, and shadow work to do. Be care of the following shadow themes during a Magician year that you may experience. Remember, your conscious awareness is the most important thing you possess that can redirect you back to your positive intentions for the year:
Egocentricism
Misdirecting or misunderstanding your power
Abuse of power
Blocked or disrupted energy, feelings stuck
Lethargy, low energy, burn out
Mental disquiet, depression
Getting sidetracked
Being manipulative
Why isn’t 2026 a Wheel of Fortune year?
The Wheel of Fortune tarot card from the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
Many people may prefer to see 2026 as a 10 year, since it does add up to 10 before you reduce it down to 1. Doing a system of tarot numerology that goes through all the archetypes of the major arcana 1-22 is not my primary practice, but it is for many others and you will find great information about the Wheel of Fortune elsewhere. I found this blog post about 2026 as a Wheel of Fortune year, especially useful and informative. To me, this system of using all the numbers feels more relevant to greater world and universe events, whereas the 1-9 cycle is concerned with personal evolution.
Even though my main numerology focus is on the 1-9 cycle, it’s still very interesting to consider 2026 as having a higher vibration as the year of The Wheel of Fortune. The number 10 is a peak culmination, it’s a big ending year even more so than number 9, The Hermit. Combining this energy of endings with the spirit of The Magician could signify that we will be closing down or letting go of some really big things at the same time that we are starting new things.
When we start things this year it may also show that we are letting go. We are in a transitional period. We are starting the kind of really big things that require the letting go of other really big things. There is a connection between the letting go and the starting. It’s part of a wider theme. If we hadn’t let go, we wouldn’t be able to move on like this. So make it count. Make it real. Do your manifesting and make your magic. Remember, you only get this one life. Seriously! Don’t sleep on that.
Here are some interesting questions to journal about now or to ask your tarot cards:
What do you want to be working on or have last for the coming 9 year cycle?
What needs to be released, finished, or let go of?
What can be tweaked now and keep working for another 9 years?
What needs to expand or grow starting now?
What do you think about your ability to creative?
Where do you want to go in 2026?
What do you want to create in 2026?
Who do you want to be 2026?