🔮 “Take what resonates, leave the rest.” 🔮

It’s not just advice—it’s the whole point.

~

The Real Magic of Tarot (and Reflection Itself)

Tarot isn’t about predicting your future.

It’s about triggering reflection, activating intuition, and bringing unconscious patterns into the light.

When used well, tarot is like a dream, a poem, or a synchronicity:

It’s a mirror for your inner world—not a fixed script for your outer one.

Once you start using tarot this way, you’ll realise:

Life itself starts to feel like a living deck of cards.

Songs. Conversations. Moments of coincidence.

Even a light turning on/off at the right time can hold symbolic meaning—if you’re open to perceiving it that way.

Everything becomes a reflection tool when you stop expecting answers and start listening for insight.

Take What Resonates, Leave the Rest (Seriously)

You’ll hear this phrase often in spiritual circles.

But what does it actually mean?

Good example:

You watch a tarot reading and the reader says, “You’re about to walk away from something that’s been draining you.”

You instantly think of a specific job or relationship. It lands.

That’s resonance.

Bad example:

The same reading says, “Your soulmate is arriving this week.”

You spiral into overthinking, scan every stranger for signs, or doubt your worth when it doesn’t happen.

That’s attachment.

If a message expands you, helps you reflect, or offers peace—it’s probably for you.

If it triggers fear, panic, or urgency—it’s not.

Not every card or reading will land. That’s not failure—it’s discernment.

A Brief History of Tarot

Tarot didn’t start as a mystical tool—it began as a card game in 15th-century Italy called tarocchi, played for entertainment. It wasn’t until the 18th and 19th centuries that tarot was adopted by mystics and occultists, who began interpreting the cards as symbolic tools for spiritual insight and self-reflection. Today, tarot has evolved again—used by many not for fortune-telling, but as a way to explore intuition, psychology, and personal growth. It’s less about predicting your future, and more about understanding your present.

In a modern context, the structure of the tarot—especially the minor arcana—can be seen as a symbolic map of the human experience. The numbered cards follow a kind of progression that mirrors the hero’s journey—a cycle of challenge, growth, and return. When read this way, tarot becomes less about static meanings and more about resonance. A card might mirror exactly where you are in your own life story—not because it predicted it, but because it reflects a universal pattern you’re currently walking. These moments often feel like synchronicity, not because the card “knew,” but because you recognised yourself in the mirror.

The Major Arcana & Four Suits – A Symbolic Map of the Soul

The Major Arcana are the 22 cards that sit outside the four suits. They represent big-picture themes—soul-level archetypes, milestones, and life-altering chapters. Many readers view the Major Arcana as The Fool’s Journey: a symbolic narrative that begins with Card 0, The Fool, and progresses through lessons like The Lovers, The Tower, and The World. These cards speak to moments of initiation, transformation, and integration.

The Minor Arcana—the rest of the deck—is divided into four suits, each representing an area of life:

Cups = Water = Emotions, relationships, intuition, heart matters
Pentacles = Earth = Work, home, money, physical health, material life
Swords = Air = Thoughts, beliefs, communication, mental clarity (or chaos)
Wands = Fire = Desire, purpose, energy, creativity, spiritual momentum

Each suit moves from Ace (pure potential) to Ten (completion), followed by four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King) that often symbolise people, roles, or evolving expressions of an archetype.

Together, the Major and Minor Arcana create a layered system that blends the cosmic and the personal—the universal and the day-to-day. Whether you’re navigating a breakup, a career shift, a creative block, or a spiritual awakening, tarot offers a way to reflect on what’s unfolding beneath the surface.

Trust the Symbols Before the Book

Here’s the secret:

You don’t need to rely on the guidebook meanings of tarot cards.

Tarot is a symbolic language, not a rigid system.

If you pull a card and a thought, memory, or emotional insight instantly arises—even if it doesn’t match the book’s definition—go with that.

For example, you pull the Eight of Cups. Traditionally it’s about walking away.

But what you feel is a longing for home.

That’s still valid. That’s the card speaking to you.

Each image is layered with meaning—and it’s designed to unlock something different for each person.

The same card can feel completely different depending on your energy that day.

Your intuition is the reader. The card is just the mirror.

Why Pre-Recorded Readings Still “Work”

You might wonder:

“How can a tarot reading on my Youtube algorithm from six months ago still apply to me now?”

Answer: synchronicity.

If you’re drawn to watch it in a particular moment, that is the message.

Not because the reader predicted your life—but because your soul nudged you toward the mirror you needed.

Tarot isn’t a timer—it’s a tuning fork.

When something resonates, it’s because you’re ready to hear it.

Beyond Tarot – Life as a Living Deck

Once you start working with tarot, you may begin seeing the same principle in your everyday life.

A comment from a stranger.

A book you forgot you owned.

A lyric from a song reaching your ears right as you were thinking of that word.

You don’t have to “look for signs everywhere”—you’ll drive yourself mad.

But when something unusual, persistent, or emotionally charged arises, it might be worth asking:

“What is this reflecting back to me?”

Why a Pokémon Card Can Be a Tarot Card (Yes, Really)

If you grew up with Pokémon, you already understand archetypes.

Every card has its own energy—moves, stats, evolution, element.

When you pull a card like Pikachu, Snorlax, or Charizard, it means something to you.

It carries emotion, memory, even a lesson.

That’s tarot too.

In fact, creators like Josh on TikTok have popularised Pokémon Tarot by using these cards just like traditional ones.

Bulbasaur might be a seed of new beginnings.
Snorlax could mean pause, rest, intentional slowness.
Charizard? Power, but also the reminder not to burn out.

If it reflects something real back to you, it’s a tarot card.

So if traditional tarot feels too esoteric, try starting with something that already speaks to you.

A Pokémon card. A quote. A lyric. A childhood memory.

Life has many decks you can pull from.

On Fear-Based Readings & Spiritual Discernment

I’ve met people who’ve declined tarot readings—not because they didn’t believe in it, but because they were afraid the cards would “say something bad.”

Honestly? That’s understandable.

Some readings do lean into fear, control, or urgency. But that’s not how it should feel.

A good reading isn’t about predicting doom or giving orders.

It’s about offering reflection—gently, with nuance, and without pressure.

If you’ve ever received a reading that made you feel anxious, scared, or like you were running out of time—it’s probably not aligned for you.

When I read for myself or friends, I would never:

Put time pressure on someone (“This must happen by next week”)
Tell them what to do (“You should leave this person/job/etc.”)
Use language that sparks fear, shame, or anxiety

A true reading doesn’t demand—it invites.

It doesn’t punish—it illuminates.

So if you’ve had a reading that left you feeling heavy, I encourage you to reframe it.

It wasn’t wrong—it just wasn’t yours.

~

If this topic resonates, you may enjoy this Chapter 6 post from Fires of Alchemy: ‘📰 Seeing Through the Noise: Fear, Media, and Discernment’, which explores media discernment tools, systemic fear, and how to recognise when the stories we’re told aren’t written with our soul in mind.

Important Reminder:

Fires of Alchemy does not offer personal readings.

If anyone contacts you claiming to be affiliated with this project and offers tarot services, it’s a scam.

Always trust your gut.

What About the “Scary” Cards? (Spoiler: They’re Not Actually Scary)

Let’s talk about the ones that make people nervous:

Death. The Devil. The Tower.

These cards get sensationalised in movies and fear-based readings—but they’re not bad.

They’re just honest.

Death isn’t literal—it usually represents the end of something you’re already outgrowing. A pattern, a relationship, a job, a self-image.
The Devil is about chains you place on yourself. The addictions, habits, stories, or systems that you stay stuck in—even when the door is open. Notice how the chains around the people’s necks in the above illustration are loose - they can take the chains off themselves any time they choose to.
The Tower is about collapse—but often only when something was already unstable. Pulling this card isn’t a warning of random disaster—it’s a nudge to pay attention. It can help you prevent an extreme breakdown by recognising what’s no longer sustainable before it falls apart. It’s not saying, “Something terrible is coming!”—it’s asking, “What truth am I about to be unable to avoid?”

These cards aren’t trying to scare you.

They’re trying to help you glow up.

There are no “bad” cards in tarot. Only invitations to question your perceptions and assumptions.

A Note on Masculine & Feminine Energy

When tarot (or spiritual work in general) talks about masculine and feminine energy, it’s not about gender or stereotypes. These are symbolic forces we all carry within us.

The masculine represents action, structure, logic, and focus.
The feminine represents intuition, receptivity, emotion, and flow.

We each have both—and the goal isn’t to choose one, but to balance them in a way that feels authentic to who we are. You don’t need to identify as male or female to work with these archetypes. Think of them as energies or modes of being, not roles you’re boxed into.

A Note of Gratitude – You Are Never Walking Alone

Though much of this inner work has been self-guided, I’ve never truly been alone.

The wisdom, resonance, and presence of certain creators helped me trust my own intuition more deeply.

Special thanks to:

Each of these channels came into my life at exactly the right time—and their guidance helped me reflect, reframe, and remember who I really am.

That said—what resonated for me may not resonate for you.

There are many styles of readers and guides.

Use your discernment. If someone’s message feels aligned—listen. If it doesn’t—move on, without judgment.

Even if it’s someone whose messages you’ve had a lot of alignment with at other moments in time.

Final Reflection – You Are the Reader

Tarot doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know, deep down.

Other people in your life can’t either.

At its best, tarot—and life’s little moments—simply hand you the mirror.

You choose what to see.

Take what resonates. Leave the rest. That’s not spiritual avoidance—it’s spiritual maturity.

Trust your gut.

Stay grounded.

Reflect freely.

Never forget:

The cards don’t hold the power. You do.