As we enter the year of the Metal Ox, read on to see what 2021 has in store for your Chinese Zodiac sign. Featuring the Deck of Character. 

1) Ox

How your year will go: Bed

Last year you spent time perfecting and cleaning up your personal routines, your home, and your foundations. This year you are meant to continue building on this support system, but also to look back and notice how much you have actually accomplished by allowing yourself to show up and commit to something. Where can you cut yourself more slack and give yourself more credit?

Advice card: Sunken Ship

Leave the past in the past. Sunken Ship is signaling for you to make one last goodbye and unearth the parts of you that hold you back and no longer serve any purpose for your wellbeing. Doing so will open up more space for your brand new beginning.

2) Tiger 

How your year will go: Ocean

Your creativity is in full flow at the moment. You’re receiving all kinds of messages and inspirations. This year brings an opportunity to expand on your creative practices by further exploring your inner self, reaching depths you weren’t able to before. What have you noticed helps you navigate into the deeper parts of yourself?

Advice card: Moon

The moon card is a call to the emotional inner self and the subconscious. Emotions are as physical as they are mental, so pay attention to how you feel in your body when experiencing any intense feelings or revisiting the past. Even when we block something out in our minds, it is always felt in the body. How can you better balance your caretaking to be less about thinking and more about being physically present with yourself?

3) Rabbit

How your year will go: Gold Mine

Abundance, abundance galore! This is the year of truly discovering yourself and your passions, bringing in rewards of all kinds. If there’s something you’ve felt pulled to start doing, this card is telling you to go full steam ahead. Try new things and see how they make you feel. If it gets you excited, then you’re on the right track.

Advice card: Dancing Shoes

Your intuition is crucial during this time. Follow it to find your path and show up to every new approach with enthusiasm and ease. Now is definitely not the time to be self-critical, but to practice the art of simply being, witnessing and enjoying. What areas of your life can you relinquish a little more control and allow yourself to enjoy the experience?

4) Dragon 

How your year will go: Band-aid

This is a year of major healing for you. Take your time to expose buried wounds that have needed airing out for a long time. Before an injury can be covered to repair itself, it must first be tended to and properly sanitized. This is an ongoing process but this year will point your attention towards any deep-seated pain that has yet to be addressed.

Advice card: Candle

Although this year’s forecast seems a bit heavy, candle appears to remind you that the universe is on your side supporting you to make these changes and heal. You are being guided by benevolent energy, so don’t feel overwhelmed! How can you integrate slowing down into your daily routine/practice?

5) Snake

How your year will go: Maze

This year may feel like you’re lost or going in circles: trying again and again only to end up at the same place or conclusion. You will be pushed to think outside of the box to confront issues head-on to solve them once and for all. Try all possibilities, especially if they seem like they would not be fruitful–sometimes these are the solutions that work the best. 

Advice card: Bulldozer

Stop making rules for yourself in how to approach something. It’s time to carve new paths and destroy the previous method of doing things. Give yourself permission to have a brand new start. What would that look like? What previously unconsidered methods could you try to help your life run more smoothly?

6) Horse

How your year will go: Spatula

This year will test you to change your perspective on something. There may be some stubborn energy around this change as you don’t want to contradict your previously-held beliefs, but this is for the better. If this is related to a relationship of any kind, try seeing things from their point of view. By understanding a situation from all sides, it allows you to remove your own personal bias and gives you more freedom. Nothing in this life is fixed, so give yourself permission to change your mind.

Advice card: Shield

You are being divinely protected and asked to do the same for yourself in the physical plane. If you always feel overwhelmed by others or like you’re always sacrificing yourself, it’s time to set some boundaries. Doing so can make you feel guilty at first, but that’s only because you’re not used to prioritizing yourself. What new definitions of boundaries (self-protection, helping you be a better you so you can better serve others) can help you flip your perspective to see how necessary and good they are?

7) Goat

How your year will go: Knight

This year will demand you to stand up for yourself. Up until now, you may have been playing small–whether you realize it or not. Taking up space is imperative here. Whatever conflict may come up, don’t be afraid as these are chances for you to practice advocating for yourself. Even if someone else does it for you, it does not carry the same weight when you recognize for yourself what isn’t working and what crosses your lines.

Advice card: Wrestling Ring

Don’t run away from this year’s challenges. Stand your ground firmly and know that these moments are meant to help you expand and become the person you were always meant to be. This card is about showing up and channeling your inner strength, which is already half the battle. What or who do you need to confront in order to take better care of yourself?

8) Monkey

How your year will go: Magnet

You are being attracted towards many opportunities right now, and vice versa. There will be plenty to pick and choose from, so do not jump the gun and run with the first thing that gets presented to you and sounds good. Read the fine print on everything and remember that because something wants you, doesn’t mean that you have to want it back. Be mindful about what kind of energies you want to bring into your life.

Advice card: Leap

This is quite literally a “leap of faith” card. With an abundance of opportunities surrounding you, it’s always a risk to take one on and not know if it will work out. Let your intuition guide you here and go with what you feel the most passionate about. What fears can you replace with faith and excitement of what is to come?

9) Rooster

How your year will go: Island

You may feel pulled or encouraged to work on yourself solo. This is a great time to start any inner work, whether it’s meditation or therapy or even buying a self-help book. Things that can only be examined and accomplished by you and you alone. Of course you can reach out to others for support, but only you can do the work.

Advice card: Thief

Stop stealing your own joy! Working on yourself is a life-long process and one that doesn’t need to be so grueling. Remember to reward yourself for even the smallest accomplishments, and stop taking away your own credit. In what ways can you count on yourself in order to help rebuild self-trust?

10) Dog

How your year will go: Weirdo

It’s time to embrace your weird side, what makes you unique, and what helps you stand out. How can you recontextualize your weirdness as a gift rather than a curse? This year is calling you to be or return to your most authentic self and to witness how much freedom that brings you. Only when you are yourself can you bring in like-minded energy into your life, and you deserve that.

Advice card: Sprout

This year will be essential in relation to your personal growth! You’re only at the very start of a new beginning so don’t expect to be a master right away, but remember practice makes perfect.  Feel confident in your abilities and get excited about where this may take you!

11) Pig

How your year will go: Crystal

This year will lead you to discover what makes you unique and how you can use it to serve others. Perhaps you already have a spiritual practice, or just carry some infectiously good energy. How can you bring this positive aspect of you into your daily life? How can you use this to not only benefit yourself but others, and the collective as a whole? Expect lots of clarity and powerful messages popping up, maybe even in your dreams.

Advice card: Compass

Listen to your intuition. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not for you. The gift you are learning to use this year will help you follow the path necessary in order to fulfill your life’s calling. The more you can trust yourself, the less you will feel influenced by outside forces so that you can keep making your own path.

12) Rat

How your year will go: Jail Cell

You may feel trapped because of how the pandemic halted your year last year, dear Rat. However, there may be areas in your life which you could drastically improve and expand in this new chapter. In what spaces do you notice yourself minimizing who you are and your potential? 

Advice card: Club

The club card here as advice is a reminder that you are never alone. In 2021, practice reaching out to loved ones more when you’re feeling confined–they care about your wellbeing much more than you let yourself think.