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 mid-November 1984.
I was in primary school, growing up in South West Sydney, when my parents took me, my older brother and sister to the movies to see Ghostbusters. To me, this was the most exciting thing in the world.
But there was one scene that completely captured my imagination.
At the start of the movie, there is a university scene where they are testing psychic abilities using cards with symbols on them. I now know they were called Zener cards, but at the time I just knew they looked magical. I was fascinated. The idea that someone could hold up a card and another person might somehow know what was on it felt like absolute wonder.
So, naturally, with Christmas coming, I begged my parents to ask Santa for a deck of Zener cards.
Now, this was the mid-80s in South West Sydney. The chances of finding Zener cards were 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, every meaning, every tiny detail. My older brother, who was 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 did discover was that I loved the cards. I loved the artwork. I loved the meanings. I loved the way a card could make someone pause and think about their life differently. Even as a child, I was drawn to the idea that tarot could 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 did not work was because it was a yellow plastic broomstick and clearly not a proper flying one.
At birthday parties, while the other kids were running around the backyard playing games, I would often end up in the kitchen with the mums, reading their tarot cards and tea leaves.
Years later, I bumped into someone from primary school who I hadn’t seen in over 20 years. But she remembered me. More specifically, her mum remembered me. She told me her mum still talked about the tarot reading I gave her as a child and said it was the best reading she had ever had.
I still smile thinking about that.
Not because I think I was predicting anyone’s future at such a young age. I absolutely was not. But because even then, I seemed to understand something that still sits at the heart of Aquillian Tarot today.
People love being seen.
People love being given space to reflect.
People love a little magic when life feels loud.
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.
The MBA Idea That Would Not Leave Me Alone
At the same time, I was completing my MBA at Torrens University, and one of my final subjects was Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. We had to create a new product and business concept.
In class, everyone had to pitch their idea to the lecturer for approval. There were around 40 people in the room, and as each person pitched, she kept saying no. Not original enough. Already exists. Too similar to something else.
By the time it was my turn, I was fairly sure my idea was about to be gently destroyed in front of the entire class. But I pitched it anyway. A physical tarot deck with a matching app.
A deck that still gave you the tactile, meditative ritual of shuffling and pulling real cards, but with an app that helped you understand the meanings, capture the reading and journal your reflections.
To my surprise, she said yes.
And once the idea was out loud, I could not put it back down.
Why a Deck and an App?
There are plenty of tarot apps in the world. I know, because I downloaded a lot of them.
I researched them, subscribed to some and explored what was already out there. Some had huge followings, but many did not feel like what I was looking for. Some felt clunky. Some felt impersonal. Some pushed expensive psychic readings. Some felt like they were selling answers instead of helping people reflect.
That was not what I wanted Aquillian Tarot to be. For me, tarot is not about handing your power away. It is about coming back to yourself.
I wanted a physical deck because there is something powerful about holding the cards in your hands, shuffling them, choosing a spread and sitting with the image before rushing to the meaning.
It is a ritual. A pause. A small moment of commitment to yourself. But I also wanted an app because modern life moves quickly. Sometimes you need support understanding a card. Sometimes you want to save a reading, come back to it later and see what has shifted. Sometimes the real insight is not only in the card, but in what you wrote when you were being honest.
That is why the journal feature matters so much to me. The app is not there to replace your intuition. It is there to support it.
Pull the cards. Read the meaning. Journal the moment. That is the heart of Aquillian Tarot.
Designing the Cards
At first, I looked for existing decks and artists whose work matched the vision in my head. I reached out to license imagery, but no one got back to me.
So I thought, alright then. I have a marketing background. I had a clear vision. I could learn. So I started designing the cards myself. It took nine months.
Nine months of thinking deeply about every card, what it traditionally means, what it has meant to me and what it might mean to someone pulling it at 6am with a coffee or late at night when their mind will not switch off.
I wanted the deck to feel beautiful, rich and premium. Magical, but not distant. Spiritual, but not cold. Something you would want to pick up every day.
The gold gilding, deep colours, moons, suns, stars, crystals and symbols were all created to make the deck feel like something you could treasure. Not just use. Treasure.
Building on a Shoestring
Aquillian Tarot was not built with a huge budget or a giant team.
It was built with late nights, stubbornness, learning curves and a very strong cup of coffee.
I taught myself how to build the website, researched printers, packaging, card finishes, app structures and user journeys, and met with several developers before finding someone who understood the vision.
I did not want a cold, generic app. I wanted something beautiful, useful and connected to the deck.
At launch, Aquillian Tarot begins with core readings, from simple daily pulls to deeper spreads. Over time, I will keep adding new features, readings and tools based on what the community wants and needs.
Why the Name Aquillian?
The name Aquillian comes from stories I made up with my boys when they were little.
Aquillian was a magical little character with tiny wings on his feet who flew around having adventures.
The name always stayed with me. It felt whimsical, personal, original and full of movement. It had the right kind of magic. So Aquillian Tarot it became.
The Music Behind the Magic
Music is another big part of Aquillian Tarot.
While I was designing the cards, songs kept coming into my head. Certain cards had their own feeling, rhythm and soundtrack.
The Devil had a song.
The Fool had a song.
The Wheel of Fortune absolutely had a song.
So I created a Spotify playlist for all 78 cards.
Tarot can be deep and reflective, but it can also be joyful, playful and fun. Sometimes a song helps the meaning click in a completely different way. Growth does not have to be grim.
What Aquillian Tarot Really Is
Aquillian Tarot is not here to tell you what to do with your life.
It is not claiming to be psychic, and it is not a replacement for professional advice.
Aquillian Tarot is a positive self-reflection tool.
A way to pause, ask better questions, notice patterns, start your day with intention and write honestly about what is happening in your world.
The cards offer the image.
The app offers the meaning.
The journal gives you the space to hear yourself.
A Little Ritual for Everyday Clarity
My vision for Aquillian Tarot is simple.
I want it to become a small, positive ritual in people’s lives.
Like making your morning coffee.
A moment before the day gets loud.
You shuffle. You choose a card or spread. You read. You reflect. You write down what it means to you.
That is the rhythm I wanted to create.
A tarot experience that feels beautiful, practical, personal and full of heart.
Thank You for Being Here
Aquillian Tarot began with a little girl in South West Sydney asking Santa for Zener cards after watching Ghostbusters.
It became a lifelong love of tarot, travelled with me overseas, sat quietly through busy years, came back to me in a moving box and eventually became a deck, an app, a website, a playlist and a community.
It has taken commitment, leadership and, more than anything, joy.
I hope Aquillian Tarot becomes a small, beautiful ritual in your day. One that helps you pause, breathe, listen and move forward with a little more clarity.
Thank you for being part of this story.
The cards are ready when you are.
