'I was staunchly anti "woo woo" for years. Now, I do this one thing before every big life decision.'

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If you had told tweenage Amy she'd be pulling tarot cards to help make everyday and life-altering decisions, she would have rolled her eyes and slammed her bedroom door in your face.

Maybe it's because I grew up with a The Secret-owning, clairvoyant-going, crystal-carrying mum, but I was sceptical and borderline woo woo hating from a young age.

I was the kind of kid who needed a leash to keep me from running off; my primary school report cards described me as 'independent' and 'imaginative'. 10-year-old me wasn't going to let anyone one, otherworldy or otherwise, tell me what was going to happen to me.

Although I quite enjoyed hearing about how I was allegedly going to meet the love of my life overseas and be the CEO of a company when I grew up.

(Spoiler: I'm married to a man I met on Tinder who grew up 10 minutes away from home, and I'm yet to be in charge of anyone professionally.)

Mamamia Out Loud host Holly Wainwright recently wrote about sitting "somewhere around a singular woo" on the scale of spirituality. Open, but not embracing.

Watch: The team has their tarot cards read in real time on Mamamia Out Loud, post continues below.

In my mid-20s, I found myself in the same boat. What felt silly and annoying as a child with no experience of hardship seemed… less so as a young woman navigating all the 'firsts' of adulthood; first full-time job, first time living out of home in a city where I knew no one, first long-distance relationship, first major mental health struggles.

I credit a woo woo close friend and former colleague for cracking my spiritual door ajar. She offered to read my tarot cards several times before I caved one New Year's Eve after a few drinks. We also threw burning bits of paper with things we wanted to leave behind written on them off the balcony that night, too. Many woos were exchanged.

Before my 28th birthday, another colleague told me about the concept of your Saturn Return. Sometime between the ages of 28 and 29, Saturn is said to 'return' to the original position it was in when you were born, resulting in major life shifts that can feel overwhelmingly positive, or as she put it, "like your life is going to utter shit".

Her Saturn Return involved a devastating relationship breakdown that saw her with nowhere to live. But as is The Universe's way, it led her to connect with friends of friends who became her soulmates, and led her to meeting her husband of a decade.

As the threat of my Saturn Return edged closer in 2020, I decided to book an appointment with a psychic medium. The 45-minute FaceTime reading was part psychic predictions, part counselling session; she told me I was standing on a line with one foot in the past and the other in a different direction.

She probably says that to all the girls, I thought. But wouldn't you know it, soon after, I quit my job to move into a new industry, had a gastric sleeve surgery and moved interstate, all within a six-month period.

These Big Life Things came with Big Emotions. Having weight loss surgery meant I physically could no longer binge-eat as a tool to work through challenging emotions. I've never been more uncomfortable in my life. This is probably when I transitioned from a single woo to the woo-and-three-quarters I consider myself today.

My mind wandered looking for other ways to find control and comfort in my everyday life outside of therapy and sitting in various doctors' offices — all of which I did and continue to do, and find beneficial.

I spotted a deck of approachable-looking tarot cards at a local book store. They were pretty, and there, so I bought them.

Sorry, but how cute are these tarot cards?? Image: Supplied.

They sat in my living room cupboard for months unopened until I found myself at another crossroad — to stay in a job or pivot again and take another role.

The cards came with a beginner's booklet that stepped out exactly how to read your own tarot cards, and how to find the most meaning in them. My deck told me to be specific and focus on one area of my life when asking the cards for guidance, and that how much weight you choose to place on the cards is up to you.

Maybe this is my woo showing, but the three cards I pulled that day resonated with me on another level. It was uncanny.

Ever since, I've made it a practice to read my tarot cards before making big life decisions, or at key times in the year like the beginning of a new season. I'll usually draw cards related to key areas like career and relationships, or think of a specific question I'd like help answering as I tap the deck.

Despite loving structure and being a fairly independent and decisive person, I find handing over the reins to the universe actually helps me feel surer of myself and more in control.

And it's quite practical for a spiritual practice — Major Arcana cards relate to overarching life themes, while Minor Arcana cards help you work through the details.

An intro to tarot card reading. Image: Supplied.

Each to their own, but I prefer tarot reading to other intentional activities like goal setting or writing a pros and cons list.

For me, writing down goals or resolutions feels like starting a journey with a hard-copy map and a compass; tarot cards are more like Google maps with a few alternate routes that will get you to your desired destination.

If you're tarot-curious, I highly recommend buying a cute beginner deck and giving it a try.

At best, you might unlock a bit of woo you're missing. At worst, it's more affordable than therapy.

Keen to hear more about tarot cards? Mamamia Out Loud unpacked the rise of magical thinking on this podcast episode below.

Image: Supplied.