Mysticism: The start of my journey in strategy.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing juju about Tarot.

Let me tell you about how I became a brand strategist. Believe it or not, it started with nothing more than a little bit of a love story and a Tarot deck.

When I was sixteen, I fell in love with my best friend. Because he was my best friend, the signals I got from him weren’t clear cut. I couldn’t tell if when he put his arms around me, was he showing affection, or was it just a friendly gesture for his super-duper-special girl friend (notice how there’s a space between girl and friend)? All I wanted was an answer, so on a rainy day in my cousin’s bedroom where I was conducting my research on how-to-know-if-your-best-friend-likes-you, I saw an ad for a Tarot reading. For a quick second, I laughed at the idea. For as long as I could remember, I’d been taught that the future was in no one’s hand but mine, that what tomorrow looked like depended entirely on what you did in the present, not on your natal chart or the stars in the sky.

But then, I became curious. Although I was quite positive that who you were and what you did were dictated by you, not by “the universe”, I wanted to know what it was about Tarot that made people believe in it. Were Tarot readers gifted with a superhuman power, or were they just trained to dupe people into believing them?

I had so many questions. And I knew I wouldn’t believe just anything online. I had to try it for myself. I had to do my own research. So, off I went. Putting all of my presumptions aside, I booked an appointment with a Tarot reader, who was happy to meet me at a small cafe she worked at.

Her name is Alex. She was nothing like what I pictured in my head. She didn’t wear a flowy robe. She didn’t have a crystal ball. Instead, she showed up wearing a Nike t-shirt and a pair of mom jeans.

“So, what brought you here?” - Alex smiled as she grabbed me a cup of coffee.

As I started talking about my best friend slash secret crush, she shuffled the Tarot deck. She then asked me to pick out three cards from anywhere in the deck and turned them over. I can’t remember the name of the cards as I’m writing this blog post, but I do remember the conversation that followed.

“Well, it seems like you’ve been having very strong feelings for this guy. He’s on your mind all the time. But you’re afraid of something. Is it because he’s your best friend?”

Bingo.

“You shouldn’t be, girl. Just let him know. What is there to lose? You don’t want to be just a best friend forever, right? What’s the point of keeping the silence?”

She was right. She was scarily right. It’s exactly what I’d been keeping at the back of my head this whole time, but was too afraid to come to terms with. The truth was, I was tired of this friendship. I didn’t just want to be a friend. I wanted more.

As I left the reading, I knew I didn’t have the answers that I was looking for, but somehow, I felt better. Surprisingly better. But my curiosity seemed to be even hungrier than it was before. Now I wanted to know what it was about Tarot that could make me feel the way I was feeling? And I decided that the only way to find that out was–you guessed it–to learn it myself.

After doing my research, I purchased the Dreaming Way Tarot deck, a traditional tarot deck dressed up in contemporary artistic flair. There was something about the artwork of the deck that just spoke to me. As I started reading more books about Tarot and spending time learning by heart the meanings of each card, I came to understand the mechanism behind it.

The World is my favorite card in the deck. It signals a feeling of completion and happiness

The secret behind a good Tarot reading is not about remembering the meanings behind each card, or knowing the answer to the question that’s being asked. It’s about storytelling. It’s about connecting the dots from each and every card that is on the table to the very unique situation that my friends are in. It’s about seeing above a fixed set of meanings listed in the booklet to tailor it to the problem that my querent are experiencing. But what’s most fascinating to me is realizing that at the end of the day, my querent don't really need the answer. They either already know it, or don’t want to know it, despite what they say. You know what the most common response I got from my querent is? In one way or another, it sounds something like this - “Thank you for clearing my head. I knew exactly what to do before I came here but wasn’t sure that was the right choice. But hearing you talk about it makes me feel so much better about my decision.”

Surprise! Most people go to a Tarot reading not because they are looking for a cut and dry answer. Oftentimes, they come already knowing what the answer is. They just need to hear the story from a viewpoint of an unbiased party, someone who doesn’t have the right to make any judgement about their lives - a total stranger. They need an opportunity to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Maybe see things from a perspective they haven’t considered before.

That’s when I realized, when people come to me, what they are looking for is an environment to openly share what they’re going through. And, they want to know that whatever it is that they are feeling will go away, and that everything will be okay.

That’s why, deep down inside, what they really need is someone who listens. Someone who doesn’t walk into their story with bias. Someone who can bring clarity to their problem and help them better understand the situation.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing juju about Tarot. It’s about providing perspectives and allowing people to look deeper into themselves in order to solve a particular problem, which is similar to my career aspiration as a brand strategist.

Being a Tarot reader teaches me how to communicate. After a while, I no longer feel the need to fill in the silence, while also being able to keep the conversation going in a way that’s comfortable for my querent. I came to know how to dig deeper than the surface, and how to probe to get to the core of their problems - a skill set that later on helped me conduct in-depth interviews and moderate focus groups with ease.

It teaches me how important it is to set aside my assumption and biases before walking into a new problem. Because when you take on a new project with an open mind, you are able to see everything with clarity and are willing to see it from different perspectives. By letting the audience be the subject expert and allowing myself to absorb as much information as I can, I become the biggest advocate for consumers and always have their best interests in mind.

It teaches me empathy. Everyone’s problem is different and I’m not in the position to judge. In fact, my job is to empathize with what they’re going through and help them better understand themselves. What’s happening? Why are they feeling the way that they are? Where does their problem trace back to? And most importantly, now what? What can I do with all of that information to address my querent’s question? This is similar to how I approach a strategy project - I seek to understand consumers’ need state, and from there, try to unlock an opportunity to address it.

And above all, it helps me become a better storyteller. Someone who knows how to connect the dots from the seemingly unrelated cards on the table. Someone who knows how to apply what I’ve learned from the cards to the situation that my querent is experiencing. In an advertising context, being that someone gives me the opportunity to tell a story that resonates with my audience. A story that moves them and inspires them to take action.

What started out as an experiment for me when I was sixteen has left a huge impact on who I am now. Thanks to Tarot, I was able to connect with people from all walks of life, try walking in their shoes to understand how they think, and help shed light to their problems.

After the reading, I told my best friend about my feelings. The conversation didn’t go well, but for the first time in so long, I had never felt more liberating. He wasn’t ready for the relationship, and I didn’t want to be "just friends", so we parted ways. As it turned out, all it took for everything to work out was me finding the courage to be honest with my feelings and give both of us the time to process them. Because a few months later, he came to my house and asked if he could pick up my little brother with me like the old days, and one thing led to another, now we’re planning a quarantine-friendly celebration for our 6th year anniversary.

Alex and her Tarot deck weren’t able to tell me how my story was going to unfold, but they did help me realize that the key to what I was looking for, I’d been holding it in my hand this whole time. Now, I’m hoping to help others, brands and consumers alike, understand their truths, whether it be with my Tarot deck, or with a lot of research and strategic thinking.