Yes, You Have Intuition (Even If You Think You Don't)
Let me guess: You think some people are just "naturally intuitive" and you're not one of them.
You think intuition is some mystical gift reserved for psychics, spiritual gurus, and people who wear crystals unironically. You think you're too logical, too analytical, too "in your head" to have a gut feeling worth trusting.
I'm here to tell you: You're wrong.
Every single human being has intuition. Yes, including you. Even if you've been ignoring it your whole life, even if you can't remember the last time you "just knew" something, even if you think you make every decision based on spreadsheets and pros-and-cons lists.
Your intuition is there. It's just buried under years of being told not to trust it.
Let's talk about what intuition actually is, why you've been trained to ignore it, and how to start listening to it again—especially when it comes to reading tarot cards (or just, you know, navigating your life).
What Is Intuition, Really?
Intuition is your inner knowing. It's that gut feeling, that quiet voice, that sense of "something's off" or "this feels right" even when you can't explain why with logic or facts.
It's the feeling you get when:
You meet someone new and instantly know whether you trust them or not
You're about to make a decision and something in your body says "wait, not this one"
You have a hunch about which direction to go, even though all the "evidence" points elsewhere
You walk into a room and can feel the tension even though everyone's smiling
Your intuition is pattern recognition on steroids. It's your subconscious mind processing thousands of data points—body language, tone of voice, past experiences, subtle environmental cues—and delivering a conclusion before your conscious brain can catch up.
Scientists call this "implicit learning." Psychologists call it "nonconscious information processing." I call it your second brain doing its job.
And yes, you were born with it. Babies have intuition—they know who feels safe and who doesn't, what they need before they can speak, when something's wrong. You didn't lose your intuition. You just learned to ignore it.
Why You've Been Trained to Ignore Your Intuition
Here's the problem: The world taught you not to trust yourself.
From the time you were a kid, you were taught that:
Logic and facts are more valuable than feelings
You need proof before you trust something
"I just have a feeling" isn't a good enough reason
Rational thinking is superior to emotional or intuitive knowing
Our education system rewards analytical thinking, memorization, and evidence-based reasoning. It doesn't teach you how to listen to your gut or trust your inner wisdom. In fact, it actively discourages it.
Think about it:
When you said "I don't like that person," you were told "give them a chance"
When you said "something feels wrong about this," you were told "you're overthinking"
When you made a choice based on a feeling, you were asked to justify it with logic
Over time, you learned that your intuition isn't trustworthy. You learned to override it with reason, analysis, and other people's opinions.
And now, as an adult, your intuition is like a whisper trying to be heard over a screaming crowd.
The world is LOUD. Your thoughts are loud. Everyone's opinions are loud. And your intuition? It's quiet. Subtle. Easy to miss if you're not paying attention.
But just because it's quiet doesn't mean it's wrong.
The Science of Your "Second Brain"
Let's get nerdy for a second, because understanding the science behind intuition makes it easier to trust.
You have 100 million neurons in your gut. That's more neurons than in your spinal cord. Scientists call it the enteric nervous system, but I call it your second brain.
This "gut brain" is constantly communicating with your actual brain through the vagus nerve, sending signals about what's happening in your environment and your body.
When you feel something in your gut, it's not just a metaphor—it's literal.
That tightness in your stomach when something feels off? That's your body picking up on danger cues your conscious mind hasn't processed yet.
That expansion in your chest when something feels right? That's your nervous system signaling safety and alignment.
Your body knows things before your brain does. That's not woo-woo—that's neuroscience.
When you ignore your gut feeling, you're ignoring millions of years of evolutionary wisdom designed to keep you safe and guide you toward what's good for you.
How to Start Listening to Your Intuition Again
Okay, so you have intuition. Great. But how do you actually hear it when it's been buried under decades of overthinking?
Here's the step-by-step process:
Step 1: Stop, Breathe, Listen
This sounds ridiculously simple, but most people skip this step entirely.
Before making a decision, trying to read a tarot card, or navigating a situation:
Stop what you're doing
Close your eyes
Take 3-5 deep breaths (in through your nose, out through your mouth)
Ask yourself: "What does my gut say?"
Then—and this is the hard part—LISTEN.
Don't immediately jump to analysis. Don't start listing pros and cons. Don't ask ten people for their opinions.
Just sit with the question and notice what arises.
What does intuition feel like?
A sense of knowing without knowing how you know
A physical sensation (tightness, expansion, butterflies, heaviness)
A quiet inner voice that speaks in short, simple sentences
An image or symbol that pops into your mind
A feeling of "yes" or "no" in your body
Pro tip: Your first hit is usually your intuition. The second-guessing that comes after? That's your overthinking brain trying to take control again.
Step 2: Trust It (Even When It Doesn't Make Sense)
This is where most people get stuck.
You ask your intuition a question. It gives you an answer. And then your logical brain says, "But that doesn't make sense. What if you're wrong? What will people think? You need more information."
Here's the truth: Intuition doesn't always make logical sense in the moment.
Sometimes your gut tells you not to take a job that looks perfect on paper. Sometimes it tells you to trust someone everyone else is skeptical of. Sometimes it guides you in a direction that seems irrational.
And later—weeks, months, or years later—you look back and think, "Holy shit, my gut was right."
Learning to trust your intuition is like building a muscle. You start small:
Trust it on low-stakes decisions (what to eat, which route to take, who to text back)
Notice when it's right (and it will be right more often than you think)
Build evidence that your intuition is trustworthy
Gradually apply it to bigger decisions
The more you trust it, the louder and clearer it gets.
Step 3: Clear the Noise
Your intuition can't be heard when your mind is cluttered with stress, noise, and other people's opinions.
Things that block your intuition:
Constant distraction (scrolling, TV, busyness)
Chronic stress or anxiety
Negative emotions (anger, resentment, fear)
Other people's loud opinions drowning out your own
Trying to force a specific answer instead of being open
Things that amplify your intuition:
Quiet, reflective time alone
Meditation or breathwork
Journaling
Time in nature
Positive, grounded emotional state
Trusting that you'll know what you need to know when you need to know it
This is why tarot readings work better when you're calm and centered. You can't hear your intuition (or interpret the cards intuitively) when you're stressed, rushed, or emotionally reactive.
Step 4: Recognize the Difference Between Intuition and Fear
Here's a tricky one: Intuition and fear can feel similar, but they're not the same thing.
Fear says:
"What if this goes wrong?"
"You're not good enough"
"Everyone will judge you"
"This is too risky"
Fear is loud, repetitive, and focused on worst-case scenarios. It lives in your head and spirals into anxiety.
Intuition says:
"Not this one"
"Wait"
"This feels right"
"Pay attention"
Intuition is calm, clear, and grounded in your body. It doesn't argue or justify—it just knows.
A good test: If a feeling makes you want to shrink, hide, or play small, that's probably fear. If a feeling guides you toward action (even scary action), that's probably intuition.
How to Use Intuition When Reading Tarot Cards
Okay, so now that you understand intuition, let's talk about how to use it when reading tarot.
Tarot and intuition are best friends. The cards give your intuition something to latch onto—symbols, images, archetypes—that help translate that quiet inner knowing into something you can understand and articulate.
Here's how to read tarot intuitively:
1. Set a Clear Intention
Before you shuffle, get clear on what you're asking.
Vague question: "What's going to happen?"
Clear intention: "What do I need to know about my career transition right now?"
The clearer your intention, the easier it is for your intuition to guide you to the right cards.
2. Meditate or Ground Yourself First
You can't hear your intuition if your mind is racing.
Take 5 minutes before your reading to:
Sit in silence
Focus on your breath
Visualize roots growing from your body into the earth
Ask your intuition to guide you
This isn't optional woo-woo stuff—it's creating the conditions for your intuition to speak.
3. Notice Your First Hit When You See the Card
When you flip over a card, what's the very first thing you notice?
A specific symbol or color
A feeling in your body
A word or phrase that pops into your head
A memory or association
That first hit is your intuition. Trust it before you look up the "official" meaning in a book.
Your intuitive interpretation is often more relevant to your situation than the generic definition.
4. Don't Overthink It
The biggest intuition killer when reading tarot? Overthinking.
You flip a card, and immediately your brain goes: "Okay, what does this card mean? Let me look it up. What did that book say? What did that YouTube video say? Am I interpreting this right?"
Stop.
Sit with the card. Notice what you feel. Trust what comes up. THEN, if you want, consult a guidebook to see if it adds anything.
Your intuition + traditional meanings = powerful reading.
5. Practice, Practice, Practice
Reading tarot intuitively gets easier the more you do it.
Ways to practice:
Pull a daily card and journal your intuitive hit before looking up the meaning
Read for friends and share your first impressions out loud
Notice patterns in how certain cards feel to you over time
What Blocks Your Intuition (And How to Fix It)
Let's talk about the things that actively shut down your intuitive voice:
1. Negativity and Low Vibration
When you're angry, resentful, anxious, or depressed, your intuition gets clouded.
Ever notice how when one thing goes wrong, everything seems to go wrong?
You spill your coffee, stub your toe cleaning it up, miss your train, forget your phone. It's not bad luck—it's that negative emotions cloud your ability to make intuitive, aligned choices.
Solution: Process your emotions (journal, talk to a friend, move your body), then return to your intuition once you're more grounded.
2. Other People's Opinions
You can't hear your own intuition when everyone else's voice is louder.
If you're constantly asking for advice, polling your friends, or trying to figure out what other people think you should do, you're drowning out your own inner knowing.
Solution: Get input if you need it, but make space for silence afterward. Ask yourself what YOU think before asking anyone else.
3. Forcing a Specific Answer
Sometimes you come to tarot (or your intuition) wanting a specific answer, and you unconsciously manipulate the reading to get it.
This isn't intuition—it's confirmation bias.
Solution: Approach every reading with genuine openness. Be willing to hear what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear.
4. Lack of Practice
You can't expect your intuition to be loud and clear if you've been ignoring it for 20 years.
Building intuitive muscle takes time.
Solution: Start small. Trust your gut on tiny decisions every day. Build evidence that your intuition works. It gets stronger the more you use it.
You Don't Need to Be "Spiritual" to Have Intuition
Here's something important: You don't need to believe in anything mystical or spiritual to have intuition.
Intuition is a biological, neurological function. It's your brain and body working together to process information faster than your conscious mind can.
You can be a skeptic, a scientist, a total non-believer in anything woo-woo—and still have powerful, accurate intuition.
Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, used tarot in his practice. Not because he thought it was magic, but because he understood it as a tool for accessing the unconscious mind.
Your intuition isn't mystical. It's just YOU—the part of you that knows things before you can explain them.
Ready to Trust Your Gut?
If you're ready to stop second-guessing yourself and start trusting your inner knowing—whether that's in tarot readings or in life—I'd love to support you.
Book a tarot reading with me, and I'll help you tap into your intuition, get clear on what your gut is telling you, and figure out your next brave step.
And if you want ongoing support for developing your intuition, manifestation skills, and tarot practice, join my email list for monthly insights and tips.
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Remember: You're not broken. You're not "bad at intuition." You just haven't been taught how to listen to it.
Your gut knows. Your body knows. Your intuition knows.
Now it's time to trust it.
✨
- Rachel