So folks, deciding to figure out this whole tarot thing for newbies felt like trying to read ancient hieroglyphs. Grabbed my dusty Rider-Waite deck off the shelf first thing – almost spilled coffee all over ’em. Started shuffling these weirdly thick cards while thinking “crap, how do I even shuffle properly?”
The Oh-Snap Moment
Pulled three cards randomly – The Fool, Death, and The Tower. Panicked hard seeing “Death” upside down. Thought “welp, guess I’m dying tomorrow?” Googled like mad until realizing Death actually means change. Felt like an absolute clown. Almost quit right there.
What Actually Worked
- Stuck to three cards max
- Wrote down EVERY dumb thought
- Used pictures like cheat codes
Tried doing ten-card spreads like the pros. Total disaster. Couldn’t remember if card 7 meant “new job” or “impending doom.” Cut back to just three – past/present/future. Suddenly made sense.
Scratched notes in a junk notebook: “This horseman guy’s falling but has a sunset? Maybe… bad day ending okay?” Didn’t worry about being wrong. Just vomited thoughts on paper.
The Moon card freaked me out – until I noticed the dog and wolf looking up. Realized they’re confused too. Lightbulb moment: it’s about uncertainty, not terror. Stopped memorizing book definitions cold turkey after that.
The Messy Payoff
After two weeks of drawing cards every morning, something clicked. Pulled The Hermit during family drama. Instead of “lonely old man,” saw the lantern – remembered I needed quiet reflection time. Legit helped dodge an argument. Still screw up constantly (yesterday thought The Chariot meant new car sales), but now I kinda get why people dig this scribbled-card nonsense.
