Man, I remember when I first bumped into this whole Tarot thing. It wasn’t really something I went looking for, you know? Just kinda popped up. A friend of mine, she was really into it, kept talking about these “Major Arcana” cards and how they were like a life map. I thought, “Yeah, right. Just a bunch of fancy pictures.” But she kept at it, pulling out her deck, and honestly, some of the stuff she’d say about my day, after just looking at a card or two, it was kinda spooky how spot-on it sometimes felt.
So, I got curious. Not like, “I’m gonna be a fortune teller” curious, but more like, “What’s really going on here?” So, I decided, why not? I picked up a simple Rider-Waite deck. Just looked like a normal deck of cards, but with way more intense pictures. I opened the box, flipped through them, and holy smokes, there were 22 of these big ones, the Major Arcana. Each one looked like it had its own whole story. And I thought, “How in the world do people remember all this?” It just felt like a massive wall of information.
I started off like anyone, probably. I got a little book that came with the deck, tried to read through the meanings. But it was just a bunch of words, paragraphs describing deep spiritual stuff, and it wasn’t really sticking. It felt too academic, too far removed from my everyday life. I’d read about The Fool and then immediately forget it when I moved to The Magician. It was just a blur of archetypes and symbols. I felt stuck.
My Way In: One Card at a Time
Then, I had an idea. What if I just took it one card at a time? Not trying to memorize, but trying to live with it, just for a bit. So, every morning, before I really started my day, I’d shuffle the Major Arcana only – I put the rest of the deck away – and just pull one card. Whatever came up, that was my card for the day. I didn’t try to “read” it or anything fancy. I just looked at the picture. Really looked. What did I see? What did it make me feel? What colors stood out? What were the people doing?
- The Fool: When that one showed up, it always felt like a fresh start, a jump into something new without knowing where I’d land. I’d notice myself taking a few more risks that day, or just feeling a bit more open to whatever came. It was less about foolishness and more about embracing the journey.
- The Magician: This one, it felt like getting things done. Like I had all the tools and just needed to focus and manifest. On those days, I’d often find myself making progress on a task I’d been putting off, just feeling more capable.
- The High Priestess: Whenever she popped up, it was like a quiet reminder to trust my gut. To listen to that inner voice, not just what everyone else was saying. I’d catch myself pausing more, thinking things over, before just jumping in.
- The Empress: Oh, she was all about nurturing, creativity, feeling good in my own skin. Days with The Empress felt more flowy, more about enjoying the simple pleasures, maybe cooking something nice or just appreciating nature around me.
- The Emperor: This guy was structure, order, getting stuff organized. Those days, I’d naturally lean into planning, setting boundaries, getting my ducks in a row. It was about taking charge.
I didn’t write down deep analyses every single time. It was more like, I’d pull the card, look at it, and then just hold that image in my mind as I went about my day. And weirdly, things would happen, or I’d have thoughts, that just seemed to connect to that card’s vibe. It wasn’t magic, it was just… I was looking for it, I guess. My brain started making connections.
After a few weeks of this, something shifted. It wasn’t just individual cards anymore. I started seeing how they fit together. Like, if The Fool came up, and then The Magician, it felt like taking a leap and then having the power to actually build something from that leap. Or if The Tower showed up – which, let me tell you, that one always felt like a shock – it usually meant some big, unexpected change was coming, and then maybe if Death followed, it was about letting go of the old to make way for the new. It wasn’t about predicting the future, but more about understanding the flow of things, the cycles.
It was a slow burn, honestly. Not an overnight revelation. But by spending that time, just looking, feeling, and trying to see how these big, old pictures related to my small, everyday life, I started to actually get it. The cards weren’t just symbols on paper; they started feeling like snapshots of universal human experiences. When I pull a card now, it’s not just a random picture. It’s like a little nudge, a whisper about what might be going on under the surface, or what kind of energy I could be tapping into. It’s still my practical life, just with a bit more… texture, I guess.
