This all sounds remarkably sane to me!  🙂

Tarot is, I suspect, what each reader/practitioner makes of it, and you seem to have honed in on the skill of 'intuitive' reading.  Plus you have picked up on what tarot can do for a person ...give them a nudge in the direction they need to go, or make them aware of something they weren't aware of before (but makes sense to them, once it's pointed out.)  Tarot gives a reader/querent insight more than anything else, really.  The future can be 'predicted' to a certain extent ...many of us have certainly had that happen.  However, we often don't realise it till after it happens.  Then it's, "Oh, THAT'S what those cards were all about!"

I once got a reading from another person (at a 'fair' kind of event) that was detailed and so accurate (dates, numbers, time frame, description of the people involved) about something she predicted would happen out of the blue, four months later.  It did. I can honestly say yes, the tarot can certainly predict the future in the hands of a skilled reader.  In this particular case, I did nothing after I received the reading to bring this event about, so it wasn't an influence on my own behaviour.  It was an accurate 'future' prediction.  And pretty stunning.

However, I am not skilled enough to do this kind of reading for myself or anybody else, so, like you, I use tarot to alert me to trends, and to analyse my feelings and other factors that are in my life already.   For insight, tarot is remarkably helpful.  

Glad you  made that first leap. Was it quite a long time ago?  Have you been at this a while?  I bought my first tarot deck (RWS) at a 'head shop' as well.  That term probably dates me. 🙂

@Chariot Thank you for your comment.  I consider my foray into tarot fairly recent, around 2 years now. Prior to that tarot was nowhere on my radar.  In fact my history is one of tarot being of the devil, along with Ouija boards and transcendental meditation.  Hanging around head shops was definitely a no-go! So did you date yourself? I have a childhood memory of being very small, perhaps 3, standing on the front seat of the car beside my mom as she drove a big block Oldsmobile at 100 mph to town, steering with one hand and smoking a cigarette with the other. Because second hand smoke, car seats and seatbelts weren't a thing yet and you could save a child from flying through the windshield just by blocking them with your arm.  There , now I've dated myself ! (I'd kill to have the big block Olds now, not that I could afford the gas. But oh, the fun!) 

7 hours ago, Rootwood said:

@Chariot Thank you for your comment.  I consider my foray into tarot fairly recent, around 2 years now. Prior to that tarot was nowhere on my radar.  In fact my history is one of tarot being of the devil, along with Ouija boards and transcendental meditation.  Hanging around head shops was definitely a no-go! So did you date yourself? I have a childhood memory of being very small, perhaps 3, standing on the front seat of the car beside my mom as she drove a big block Oldsmobile at 100 mph to town, steering with one hand and smoking a cigarette with the other. Because second hand smoke, car seats and seatbelts weren't a thing yet and you could save a child from flying through the windshield just by blocking them with your arm.  There , now I've dated myself ! (I'd kill to have the big block Olds now, not that I could afford the gas. But oh, the fun!) 

Yep, we're probably more or less equally dated!  I remember head shops with glow in the dark posters of 'Middle Earth.'  That's how old I am.  

I totally get the initial uncertainty and curiosity you felt with tarot. 😁

As for me, I remember my first time with tarot. I was excited but also a bit nervous. I didn't know what to expect, but I was drawn to the beautiful artwork and the mysterious allure of the cards. Over time, I realized that tarot isn't about rigid rules or predicting the future; it's a tool for introspection and personal growth. Like you, I've had my disagreements with traditional interpretations in the Little White Books and learned to trust my intuition and personal insights.

@AlanK do you keep a notebook of your card meanings and intuitions?

When I started studying I got a notebook that was divided into 5 sections with tabs.  First section  for major arcana, one page for each.  The next 4 sections for each suit, 2 pages assigned to each card. I was smart enough to jot my notes in pencil because I have erased and erased and erased!  Thanks for stopping by to read and chat.