I got into this whole tarot thing because I was absolutely busted, flat broke, and feeling like the universe was actively messing with me. This was maybe three years ago, right after I walked out of that ridiculous startup gig. They promised me stock options, big pay, “the future,” you know the drill. It turned out to be glorified minimum wage and a couch in a damp office.
I moved back home, totally defeated. No job, dwindling savings. My old man, bless his heart, kept giving me these ‘motivational’ speeches that felt more like a drill sergeant yelling at a potted plant. I was desperate for a sign, anything that would tell me if I should stick it out in tech or just go flip burgers somewhere sane.
The Initial Mess: All the Books and Zero Answers
I remembered my aunt used to mess with tarot cards for fun. I dug out her old Rider-Waite deck—dusty as hell. I figured, hey, maybe I could read my own fortune and save fifty bucks on a psychic. Big mistake. I hit the books and the “free guides” online. I spent two solid weeks trying to cram 78 different meanings into my skull. It was a disaster.
Look at what they tell you to memorize just for a basic reading:
- The Fool means a new beginning, except when reversed, then it means recklessness.
- The Five of Pentacles means poverty, unless you pull it next to the Sun, then maybe it’s just a slight cold.
- You have to learn three different spreads—the Celtic Cross, the Horseshoe, and the one that looks like a sad pizza slice. You spend more time positioning the cards than actually reading them.
My readings took forever. I’d pull three cards and then spend twenty minutes flipping through notes, sweating, trying to glue the meanings together into one coherent thought. I was trying to figure out if I should take the sales job or the programming job, and the cards kept telling me I was going on a long trip and I was thinking too much about money. Totally useless crap. It was taking me half an hour just to interpret a three-card pull. I was trying to be too much of an expert, I guess.
The Flip: Ditching the Rulebook
I almost threw the whole deck in the trash. I was ready to give up. But then I had a really stupid, simple thought one afternoon while staring at the Tower card, wondering why it had to mean “sudden upheaval” every single time. Maybe the secret isn’t in the specific meaning of every single card. Maybe it’s just about the general vibe and what is actually important—the raw components.
I stopped trying to be a scholar. I threw out the entire 78-meaning encyclopedia I’d handwritten. I decided to focus only on two things in a quick spread, stripping everything back to pure basics. This was my personal breakthrough, the moment I got fast:
- The Suit: Wands are Action, Swords are Thinking/Trouble, Cups are Feelings, Pentacles are Money/Earth. That’s it.
- The Number: Ones are the Start, Fives are Conflict, Tens are Completion. No more complex numerology crap. Just the simple math.
I did a reading for myself right there. Three cards: Ace of Wands, Five of Swords, Ten of Pentacles. Instead of looking up “Ace of Wands meaning” and all its sub-clauses, I just saw: Start of Action. Next, Conflict (Five of Swords). Then, End of Money (Ten of Pentacles).
A quick read, maybe twenty seconds: I need to start something (Ace of Wands), but I’m going to have a massive conflict or mental block (Five of Swords) trying to get to the money goal (Ten of Pentacles). It didn’t tell me which job to take, but it told me whatever I picked, it was going to be a struggle for cash. That was a thousand times more useful than the vague nonsense the books were giving me. I realized the speed was in the simplicity.
Testing the Quick Vibe for Others
I started doing these quick-vibe readings for my friends, mostly just to practice this new method and make sure I wasn’t totally crazy. A friend was asking about moving to a new city. She pulled the Eight of Cups, the Knight of Wands, and the Hermit.
I didn’t open the book. I just focused on the simple ideas.
Eight of Cups: Leaving (The number eight is flow/movement, Cups is feelings, so emotional movement). Knight of Wands: Fast action, moving quickly. The Hermit: Being alone, reflection, slow study.
I told her, “You are absolutely ready to walk away from how you feel right now. You’re going to move fast to get there, but when you land, you’re going to feel very alone and need to think things through.”
Her jaw dropped. She said that’s exactly what she was worried about—the loneliness after the initial excitement. No elaborate Celtic Cross needed. No reversal rules. Just Suit plus Number plus gut feeling. I realized I’d been wasting all that time trying to be a scholar when I just needed to be a translator. Now, a three-card answer takes me less time than ordering a coffee.
The books are a scam if you want speed. They just make you sound smart and charge more. If you want the real practical deal, ignore the fancy names, cut the suits down to four simple concepts, and pay attention to what the pictures are screaming at you. It’s just like any other life skill; the more formal education you try to add, the farther you get from the actual work.
