2025 - Universal Year 9

“We Release…”

 
 
“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”
— Nelson Mandela

Keywords: Release, Wisdom, Refinement, Completion, Reflection, Endings, Consolidation, Culmination
Crystal Companions: Kyanite, Malachite, Blue Topaz
Tarot Card Archetype: The Hermit
Secondary Archetype: The Moon
Power Cards: The 4 9’s

The End of an Era…

It isn’t just the end of a year, it’s the end of a cycle, and that means it’s time for us to tie up those karmic loose ends. This particular cycle began in 2017, so think back to that period and consider all the ways in which you, your life and the world at large has been transformed. I think we can all agree that we’ve been through…a lot.

Let’s imagine this Universal Year cycle a bit like the trajectory we see happening in tarot. 2025 is a Year 9, which is associated with The Hermit. But, after The Hermit comes the Wheel of Fortune. That means in 2026 (a Universal Year 1), all lessons not learned are “doomed” to be repeated. And we will continue to repeat them until we can see what’s happening and break the spell. This goes for repeated patterns in our day-to-day lives as well as those greater issues that impact us all.

As a collective, we are encouraged to take an honest inventory of what has been, so we can make declarations about what is truly important to us. No more distractions! We all need to get extremely clear and conscious of what’s been working, what hasn’t and why. It’s the end of the line for some things in our lives, but to know what those things are, we first need to remove the wool from our eyes.

How can we do that? By understanding that any action taken on the inner plane (however small), has a collective impact. That means personal growth and development doesn’t happen in a vacuum - the effects are far reaching. As such, we are encouraged to look within, connect with our personal truth and refine/redefine who we are and what is in alignment for us.

Of course, it isn’t just about us as individuals and our little bubbles. A Universal Year 9 encourages us to see how we each fit into the bigger picture. I see it a bit like the Japanese philosophy of Ikigai. This can be defined as something that calls to us uniquely and which also gives us a sense of purpose, usually in alignment with our inherent skills and talents. In finding this, we serve not only ourselves but the whole. You see, everyone holds a very special piece of the puzzle. No one can tell you what your piece is, so it is fruitless to look to other’s and their expectations. If you’re not clear on where you fit, use the rest of 2025 as a period of discovery.

And finally, we need to be as exacting as ever in terms of of what will carry forward into the next cycle and what will stay behind. We need to take stock of what we’ve gained, all the ways in which we’ve transformed, and then also say “goodbye” to those things that we’ve outgrown. We do not have to accept things we do not want or like. We have the power to change and to make different choices for better outcomes. A Year 9 is a powerful time of prep, refinement, completion and release. Let’s all tap into the wisest part of ourselves and let that take the lead as we embark on the last year of this cycle - the next cycle will thank us for it!

Some Interesting Things To Contemplate About The #9

  • 9 is the final digit in the single digit series.

  • If you multiply 9 by ANY number, you always get a series of digits that reduce to 9 (ex. 9 x 55 = 495. 4+9+5 = 18. 1+8=9.)

  • In Norse mythology, Odin hung on Yggdrasil, the tree of life, for 9 days and 9 nights in order to gain sacred knowledge.

  • Humans typically spend 9 months in their mother’s womb before they are born.

  • In Kabbalah, 9 represents the sphere of Yesod on the Tree of Life.

  • The number 9, visually, looks a lot like The Hermit.

Tarot Archetypes

The Hermit is our primary tarot archetype for 2025. Our gift to the collective is the work we do on ourselves. We should be generous with the wisdom we’ve gained these last 9 years, because we never know who will benefit from receiving it!

The Moon is our secondary tarot archetype for 2025. Part of navigating the year ahead will lie in having the courage to confront the more challenging realities of life and self. We are encouraged to explore our shadows, paradoxes and anything which makes us scared or uncomfortable. There is much clarity to be found in these dark spaces.

We explored this pair in much greater depth on the blog - read more about how The Hermit and The Moon connect!

There are 4 other 9’s in the tarot belonging to the suits. Each represents different areas of our lives that could use some examination.

  • 9 of Pentacles asks you to examine all of the things that keep you feeling abundant, satisfied and fulfilled (on your own terms).

  • 9 of Swords asks you to examine thought patterns and old wounds keeping you stuck. Now is the time to purge, heal and release.

  • 9 of Wands asks you examine where you’re holding on to things that aren’t serving you. It’s time to see old situations with new eyes and let go of what’s been.

  • 9 of Cups asks you to make a wish for the next new cycle, but also, to be careful what you wish for!

Want to know more about what 2025 has in store for you?