How a Spontaneous Road Trip (and a Witchy Shop) Led Me to Tarot
In the fall of 2018, I took a trip to San Francisco to visit a friend I’d met on a retreat earlier that year. Quick sidenote — this wasn’t your average team-building, trust-fall kind of retreat. It was labeled as a “leadership workshop,” but what it actually turned out to be was five years of therapy condensed into eight raw, transformational days.
When I came back to civilization, I was cracked wide open. Everything felt louder, heavier, and somehow more alive. And the people I connected with in that little sanctuary in Arizona became lifelines afterward.
A few months later, this same friend and I took a road trip through California. Somewhere outside of Berkeley, we pulled into a tiny, hippie town with a kava café. Naturally, we had to try it. The drink itself tasted… not great. Like muddy water mixed with mint? But we were told “it’s about the feeling, not the flavor.” So we drank it and set off to explore.
The Witchy Store That Changed Everything
We wandered into a few shops, mostly window shopping and feeling pretty underwhelmed, until we stepped into this modern-looking metaphysical store. It had crystals, palo santo, sage bundles, herbs, tarot cards, and a woman behind the counter who radiated the kind of mystical energy that makes you wonder if she knows things about you that you’d rather not share.
While my friend chatted with the clerk, I found myself drawn to a table stacked with tarot decks. One in particular caught my eye — The Moonchild Tarot, designed by Rebecca Campbell. It was beautiful. Ethereal. Mystical. And of course, I picked it up because I’m a Cancer, and isn’t the Moonchild our unofficial title anyway?
As I held the deck, a weird spaciness washed over me. Maybe it was the kava finally kicking in. My face felt tingly. The air felt heavier. And when I tuned into the conversation my friend was having with the woman behind the counter, it was intense, but in the most beautiful, hypnotic way. I could see the same thing happening to my friend — this blank, intrigued look like we’d both accidentally stepped through a doorway neither of us knew existed.
The Gift That Started It All
We left the store that day each carrying a tarot deck, but here’s the kicker — we bought them for each other. Because someone, somewhere, told us that your first tarot deck should always be gifted. Without realizing it at the time, we’d marked the start of a new chapter for ourselves.
That deck would become the gateway to one of my most cherished tools. Not because it told me my future, but because it gave me a way to check in with myself, to ask better questions, to see what my intuition had been trying to tell me all along.
Why Tarot Still Matters to Me
I think so many people misunderstand tarot. It’s not about predicting what’s going to happen next week or whether your crush is going to text you back. It’s a mirror. It reflects your current state, your subconscious patterns, your hopes, your fears, your blind spots.
That day in the little witchy shop wasn’t random — it was one of those breadcrumb moments the universe leaves for you when you’re ready to start paying attention. And picking up that deck was like choosing to follow the trail.