My Tarot Cards Told Me to Start a New Substack
Or, a glimpse into interpreting and acting on the advice of your tarot cards
In this week’s post, I take you through a week of tarot card pulls and tarot spreads I did for myself to show you precisely how I interpreted the cards, acted on their advice, and ended up starting a new Substack!
I went back and forth about whether I should share this, but I figured it would be helpful for people who may face confusion or uncertainty when it comes to translating their tarot card pulls into concrete decisions and actions.
Allow me to preface what follows by acknowledging that none of this would have been possible were it not for my tarot journal, where I track my readings, make connections, and revisit themes.
Saturday, May 9: The Page of Wands
Feeling a bit too what-is-the-pointy for my taste, I sat down with my tarot cards to gain some clarity on life. I asked simply, “What can I lean into to gain the clarity I seek?” The response? The Page of Wands.
The tarot pages are the curious learners of the tarot deck. The Page of Wands in particular explores the creative pursuits that incite their passions and inspire them. I have many passions and interests, so while this tarot card didn’t necessarily grant me the precise clarity I sought, it did give me a path: Lean into what sparks your creative curiosity and interest. Follow those breadcrumbs in the coming days and see where it takes you. Therein will lie some clarity.
I kept the Page of Wands in mind all week. (Pro tip: There’s no point in pulling tarot cards if you’re not going to remember what they said!)
Saturday, May 16: The Sun
Today was the day. The time had come. I could not put it off any longer. I had to grade these English 101 essays. “But this is so NOT in the spirit of the Page of Wands!” I whined to my husband.
How could I infuse that fun, curious Page of Wands energy into this dreaded marathon task that would take me all morning and afternoon? In half-hearted protest, I decided if I was going to be grading all day, I would stream something fun while I did it. I passed over another Pretty Little Liars binge for some fashion documentaries that looked so glamorous and unlike my life in that moment. I got through Dior and I (which is a must watch if you’re at all interested in the fashion industry), McQueen, equal parts fascinating and heartbreaking, and one of my favorites, Very Ralph.
When I got into bed later that night, I laughed when I realized the current book on my nightstand is a Diane von Furstenberg biography I had checked out from the library. I consumed solely fashion content all day and it was one of the best Saturdays I had spent at home in a while. Had the Page of Wands led me to something!?
I pulled a tarot card. (Pro tip: Keep a tarot deck on your nightstand so one is within reach first and last thing each day, just in case.)
I got the Sun. A wide-eyed, innocent, trusting child doing whatever feels good to him in the moment. No weighing of pros and cons, no strategizing and planning, and certainly no self-consciousness. Maybe I should do more such following of my whims…
Monday, May 18th: The Sacred Spiral Tarot Spread
I woke up still thinking about Very Ralph, the Ralph Lauren documentary I had watched over the weekend.
“Should I become a Ralph Lauren girlie?” I asked my husband as he woke up. After ten years of marriage, he has long since gotten used to hearing utterly random and nonsensical questions from my side of the bed the moment his eyes open.
“Look at this Pinterest board I made while you were sleeping.” I pushed my phone closer to his still groggy face.
I go through fashion identity crises way too often, so these wardrobe explorations are one of my favorite ways to pass time at this point. I even shared a glimpse of my Ralph Lauren Pinterest board on my Instagram stories. Then I thought about how one could recreate this iconic Ralph Lauren vibe with much more affordable clothes and I posted that to Instagram too, just for kicks.
As I opened up my laptop to start working on a tarot essay for Substack, my mind started to run with an idea:
How fun it would be to have a personal style blog. A slightly more frivolous and frothy place than The Tarot Professor where I could share snippets of inspo and ideas and sartorial identity crises in bite-size posts and emails. In fact, my very first post would be “Should I Become a Ralph Lauren Girlie?” It wrote itself! What would I call it? Something playful and unserious, perhaps to honor the initial spark from my love of preppy New England tweeds and English countryside riding style. “What’s a hoity-toity British phrase?” I thought to myself. “I haven’t the foggiest!” came to my mind immediately. That’s it! I’d call my style column The Foggiest!
I remembered last night’s Sun card. Have fun. Just start. Be unserious. Just trust.
At this point though, I paused. I was getting excited but I had been here before. Is this a genuine intuitive nudge, or am I falling victim to my next-shiny-thing syndrome? Am I self-sabotaging The Tarot Professor? I tend to do this a few years into endeavors…
I decided to try one of my own tarot spreads to sort through what I was feeling. This one in particular seemed appropriate to guide me through this potential evolution: The Sacred Spiral Tarot Spread.
Paid supporters, the unhinged and magical remainder of this story is for your eyes only. Ready? Here are the cards that came out for this tarot spread as well as 3 distinct signs from the Universe that told me to JUST DO IT ALREADY. By the following night, my new Substack was live.
