The Story Behind Aquillian Tarot
Why I created a tarot deck and matching app for modern reflection, intuitive readings and everyday clarity.
The Aquillian story
It all began in November 1984.
I was in primary school, growing up in South West Sydney, when my parents took me, my older brother and sister to see Ghostbusters. There was one scene that completely captured my imagination.
At the start of the movie, a university researcher is testing psychic abilities using cards with symbols on them. I now know they were called Zener cards, but at the time I just thought they were incredible.
With Christmas approaching, I begged my parents to ask Santa for a deck.
Now, this was South West Sydney in the mid-80s. Finding Zener cards was probably somewhere between “highly unlikely” and “not a chance”. But Santa did something even better.
He brought me my first tarot deck.
It was the Merlin Tarot, and I thought it was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen.
While other kids were playing with Cabbage Patch Kids, Barbie dolls and Pound Puppies, I was sitting with my cards, trying to learn every symbol and meaning. My older brother, about five years older than me, helped me study and memorise them.
That summer, tarot became more than a curiosity. It became something I loved. And no, I did not discover I was wildly psychic. That is probably important to say.
What I discovered was that I loved the cards. The artwork. The meanings. The way a single card could make someone pause and see their life from a slightly different angle.
Even then, I think I understood something that still shapes Aquillian Tarot today.
Tarot can open a conversation.
Not with the future.
With yourself.
The Odd Little Tarot Kid
I was definitely the odd child who loved everything magical.
I tried to fly my mum’s broomstick and was fairly convinced the only reason it didn’t work was because it was yellow plastic and clearly not a proper flying one.
At birthday parties, while the other kids were running around the backyard, I would often end up in the kitchen with the mums, reading their tarot cards and tea leaves.
Years later, I ran into someone from primary school I hadn’t seen in more than 20 years. She remembered me.
More specifically, her mum remembered me. She told me her mum still talked about the tarot reading I had given her as a child and said it was the best reading she had ever had.
I still smile when I think about that. Not because I believe I was predicting anyone’s future at that age. I absolutely wasn’t. But because even then, I seemed to understand something that still sits at the heart of Aquillian Tarot today. People love feeling seen. People value a moment to pause and reflect. And sometimes, when life feels loud, a little magic helps.
The Cards Came With Me
My love of tarot stayed with me for years.
I kept reading through my teens and into my twenties. When I moved overseas and worked on cruise ships in the United States, my tarot cards came with me. I read for friends, colleagues and people I met along the way.
Then life got busy. I came home. I studied. I met my husband. I built a career. I had children. And somewhere in the middle of all that beautiful, busy life, I put the cards down. For nearly 15 years, I barely read at all.
But tarot has a funny way of waiting for you.
About two and a half years ago, while moving house, I found my first deck tucked away in a drawer. The cards were old, worn and a little rough around the edges, but the moment I picked them up, something came back.
Not in a dramatic thunderbolt kind of way. More like a quiet, familiar rhythm. I started reading again.
At first, just for myself. Then for girlfriends. Then more often. The cards that had once felt like second nature were a little foggy in my memory, so I began studying again. I revisited meanings, positions, spreads and interpretations.
And as I studied, I started writing. I wrote down meanings in my own words. I wrote reflections. I wrote about how cards felt in different positions. I wrote what they meant to me after all these years of living, working, parenting, leading, loving, failing, beginning again and trying to make sense of it all.
That was the first real spark of Aquillian Tarot.
Why a Deck and a Digital Guidebook?
I always knew I wanted Aquillian Tarot to be a physical deck.
There is something special about holding the cards, shuffling them, choosing a spread and taking a moment to really look at the image before reaching for the meaning. It creates a pause in the day.
But I also remembered what it was like learning tarot for the first time. Seventy-eight cards is a lot to remember, and sometimes you simply want to understand what a card might be asking you to notice.
So every Aquillian Tarot deck includes a FREE, easy-to-read online digital guidebook.
It is designed to sit alongside the physical cards and help you explore their meanings without needing to memorise everything.
The guidebook includes individual card meanings as well as step-by-step guidance for:
One Card Reading
Three Card Reading
Seven Card Horseshoe Reading
Career Reading
Love & Relationship Reading
Celtic Cross Reading
No complicated app. No subscription. Just your cards and a simple online guide you can open whenever you need it.
Pull the cards. Read the meaning. Take a moment to reflect.
That is the heart of Aquillian Tarot.
Designing the Cards
At first, I searched for existing artwork and artists who could bring the vision in my head to life. When that path went nowhere, I decided to create the deck myself.
I had a very clear vision and, apparently, enough determination to spend nine months obsessing over 78 cards.
So that is exactly what I did. I thought deeply about each card: its traditional meaning, what it had meant to me over the years and how someone might connect with it today, whether they were pulling a card over their morning coffee or sitting quietly with a question late at night.
I wanted Aquillian Tarot to feel rich, modern and beautiful, but still approachable enough to use every day.
The deep colours, gold gilding, moons, suns, stars, crystals and symbolism all became part of a deck designed to feel as beautiful in your hands as it is meaningful to read.
Something to use, return to and treasure.
What Aquillian Tarot Really Is
Aquillian Tarot is not here to tell you what to do with your life. It is not about predicting the future or handing your decisions over to the cards. For me, tarot is a tool for reflection.
A way to pause. Ask a better question. Notice a pattern. Start your day with intention. Or simply look at something in your life from a different angle.
The cards give you the image.
The digital guidebook helps you explore the meaning.
What you take from it is entirely your own.
A Little Ritual for Everyday Clarity
My vision for Aquillian Tarot is simple. I want it to become a small, positive ritual in your day.
Like making your morning coffee. A quiet moment before everything gets busy.
Shuffle the cards. Choose one card or a spread. Read the meaning. Sit with it for a moment and notice what comes up for you. That is the experience I wanted to create.
Beautiful. Practical. Personal. And easy to make your own.
Thank You for Being Here
Aquillian Tarot began with a little girl in South West Sydney asking Santa for Zener cards after watching Ghostbusters.
Those cards followed me through childhood, overseas adventures, busy years when tarot quietly disappeared into a drawer, and eventually all the way back again.
More than 40 years later, that childhood fascination has become Aquillian Tarot.
A deck created to help you pause, reflect and perhaps see something in your life a little differently.
I hope it becomes a small ritual you look forward to, whether that is one card with your morning coffee, a reading when you have something on your mind, or simply a quiet moment with yourself.
Thank you for being part of the Aquillian story.
The cards are ready when you are.