24/08/2025

ON SUNDAY August 24, 2025 theSunday Special VIII

I F you had told me five years ago that I’d sit in a sun-dappled cafe pulling tarot cards to figure out my career direction, I would have laughed. Yet here I was, sipping an iced matcha latte at Ruema Cafe in Kuala Lumpur, surrounded by women manifesting abundance and inner clarity. I had come to the Magick Manifestation Brunch looking for insight, but what I found was something deeper – clarity wrapped in discomfort. The event was organised by Vivi’s Spirituality Club, run by three quirky and magnetic sisters: Soleil, Giselle and Demz. Like many creative professionals navigating late capitalism, I had ques tions about the future. Was I on the right path as a writer? Should I start a business combining the things I love: Writing, thrifting, fashion and astrology? Would it be too niche, too “woo woo”, too risky? Instead of journaling alone or doom scrolling through freelance job boards, I decided to take a more intentional route. I signed up for an event that promised a blend of spirituality and structure, a space for women to explore their ambition through the lens of tarot and manifesta tion. With an early bird price of RM89, the brunch covered a full session of tarot and oracle readings, guided manifestation ritual, a fun session of snake ladder game with an astrological twist, how-to guides, sigils and a goodie bag. The magical brunch, on a sunny Sun day, brought together a group of around 15 women ranging from fresh grads to mid-career professionals. Most of us came in not knowing what to expect, but hoping for guidance.

I asked a tarot reader about my professional life and it got uncomfortably real

BY DAYANA SOBRI

When it was my turn for a tarot reading, I asked the question I had carried in my mind for months: What does my future look like as a writer? And should I build a business around what I love or play it safe? The Hierophant, Judgement and Temperance reversed T KH ¿UVW FDUG GUDZQ ZDV WKH +LHURSKDQW D ¿JXUH RI WUDGLWLRQ VWUXFWXUH DQG ZLVGRP ,Q WDURW WKH +LHURSKDQW RIWHQ UHSUHVHQWV systems, institutions or mentors. For me, it signalled a need to honour the structure of my craft. The card suggested that suc cess in writing or business wouldn’t come from rebelling against norms for the sake of it, but through studying existing models and working within frameworks before bending them. I sat with that for a moment. I had spent years resisting structure, seeing it as the enemy of creativity. Yet the card reminded me that even the most innovative writers learned their form before they reinvented it. If I wanted my dream career, I’d have to create systems to support my ideas, rather than waiting for inspiration to strike. The second card, Judgement, was where things started to get uncomfortable. Judgement is a card of reckoning of past actions coming into view, of being called to account. It was asking me whether I was truly being honest about what I wanted. “This is a wake-up call. It’s asking if you’re still playing small, still afraid of your own voice. You already know what you need to do, but you haven’t acted on it,” Soleil, my assigned tarot reader, explained.

The event began with introductions and a warm-up game to break the ice. There was a noticeable openness among participants, a kind of shared hunger for change. Then came brunch, tarot arche type discussions, a collective card pull and small-group readings. Later in the afternoon, we moved into a manifestation ritual and concluded with gift-giving and group photos. The manifestation ritual began with the organisers explaining the symbolic VLJQL¿FDQFH RI HDFK QDWXUDO LQJUHGLHQW laid out before us – herbs, powders and dried leaves commonly used in spiritual practices. We were invited to create our personalised manifestation pouches, selecting elements that resonated with our goals. I carefully chose a spoonful of pow GHUHG FORYHV WR DWWUDFW PRQH\ DQG ZDUG R̆ negative outcomes, added a few dried mint leaves to support healing and sharpen my mental clarity, sprinkled in some dried rosemary for its purifying qualities and LQWXLWLYH ERRVW WKHQ URXQGHG LW R̆ ZLWK D spoonful of dried chamomile believed to promote restful sleep, happiness, positiv ity and abundance. O QFH ¿OOHG WKH KDQGPDGH SRXFK ZDV sealed and meant to be kept close, ide ally in a handbag or on a work desk as a tangible reminder and energetic anchor of the intentions we had set. Overall, the atmosphere was friendly but focused. Conversations moved easily from the spiritual to the practical: Should I quit my job? Can I trust my creative instincts? Am I being too idealistic?

Snake ladder game with an astrological twist