It’s hard to ignore the impact of artificial intelligence as a San Francisco/Bay Area resident. The freeways in this part of California are littered with billboards, paste-ups, and other advertisements spreading the good word about how AI can enhance your life on almost every level. Headlines like “Humans are so 2023,” “Stop Hiring Humans,” and “Hire Artisans, Not Humans”—albeit attention-grabbing—evoke images of a dystopian future, one in which creativity has all but evaporated, and we humans are left with nothing but the echoes of our obsolescence, watching as machines shape a world that no longer needs us. Scary stuff, right?

It’s hard to believe we’re at the end of the Major Arcana. When I started this blog, my goal was to examine each card with a discerning eye, focusing on the artistic details, nuances, and hidden visual secrets within the four corners of each card. While that approach worked for a few of the initial entries, I found myself more drawn to sharing anecdotes—revisiting these archetypes and presenting them in a more conversational and, hopefully, meaningful way for you.

Many people new to Tarot or who have never received a reading before often sit before me, anxiously awaiting to hear what ‘the future’ holds. Will I get the job? When will I meet Mr. or Ms. Right? Can I expect to have a baby soon? Am I going to become a gazillionaire? But more often than not, I get an anxious, “You’re not going to tell me I’m going to die, are you?” I always (jokingly, of course) respond with, “Yes! We all will die someday!”—which usually lightens the mood. What I love most about these interactions is the emotional contrast we experience. In one moment, we can go from anxiety to joy in just seconds.

As a Tarot reader, I often feel the need to share every piece of knowledge I have about a card’s history, symbolism, intentions, or meanings within the sometimes limited confines of a reading. If I am lucky enough to sit with an individual who has never received a reading before, I often overexplain and sometimes trivialize the importance of the act of Tarot reading. Perhaps this comes from a deep-seated desire to give context to a somewhat mysterious art form, but even 23 years after picking up my first deck, I still feel the need to not only decode the cards but also reframe them for the masses.

Most people wouldn’t return to a restaurant that served poor-quality food or provided horrible service. Similarly, one wouldn’t go back to a therapist who didn’t offer the necessary guidance or help in overcoming anxieties or other personal issues. We all have our preferences; the same goes for selecting a Tarot reader. Some prefer an intuitive psychic who can make predictions about the future, while others might choose a gifted storyteller adept at reading archetypes and relating them to their lives. Simply put, there are as many ways to read the cards as there are people who pick them up and use them.

The Star causes anxiety. There I said it.

But not in the way other cards like the Nine of Swords, Eight of Cups, or Three of Swords. Instead, the energy of this card can pull us into an array of critical decision-making, acting as a forcing function that insists we make decisions that are uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and more importantly helpful to our own growth (or sometimes regrowth).