051: Lawyer Turned Tarot Professor: Anxiety, Intuition & Overachieving with Annie Aboulian

Written By Sandi Serling

What happens when the person who spent years relying on logic, achievement, and doing everything “right” learns to trust a different kind of wisdom?

In this episode of FEAR UNZIPPED®, Sandi Serling sits down with Annie Aboulian, the creator behind The Tarot Professor, to explore intuition, anxiety, self-doubt, and the journey of reconnecting with your authentic self. Annie shares how leaving behind a successful legal career led her to discover tarot as a powerful tool for self-reflection, personal growth, and understanding her inner voice.

Annie opens up about growing up as an overachiever and people pleaser, following the path she thought she was supposed to take, and realizing that achieving everything she was told to want did not necessarily mean she was fulfilled. Together, Annie and Sandi discuss the fear of judgment, the pressure to meet expectations, and how much of the judgment we fear from others actually comes from within ourselves.

They explore how tarot can be used not as a way to predict the future, but as a visual language that helps people access their own intuition, emotions, and inner wisdom. Annie explains why intuition often feels quiet and calm, while fear tends to be loud, repetitive, and filled with doubt.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that trusting yourself does not mean eliminating fear. It means learning how to move forward even when fear is present.

Our Guest

Former attorney Annie Aboulian is a literature professor and the writer behind The Tarot Professor, a best-selling Substack column that approaches tarot as a powerful self-discovery and personal growth tool. Her mission is to help overthinking analytical types like herself reconnect with their inner wisdom and value their intuition as much as their intellect. In addition to writing, Annie leads tarot workshops online and in person. She also loves to explore the bookstores and art museums of Los Angeles, where she lives.

In this episode, you’ll learn

  • How Annie went from lawyer to becoming The Tarot Professor

  • Why achieving everything you were told to want can still leave you feeling lost

  • How perfectionism and people-pleasing disconnect us from ourselves

  • Why fear of judgment often comes from our own internal beliefs

  • How tarot can help strengthen intuition and self-awareness

  • Why tarot is not about predicting the future

  • How to distinguish fear from intuition

  • Why trusting yourself can help reduce anxiety and overthinking

  • How to reconnect with your inner wisdom when making decisions

Resources from this Episode

Annie Aboulian

Sandi Serling

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Episode credits:

I'm a big fan of the team at FEAR UNZIPPED®. The show is produced by Podify. The designer and Creative Consultant is Kelly Griffin. The incomparable Katy Samwell composed and performed the high-frequency music.

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This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of FEAR UNZIPPED®, its subsidiaries, or any entities they represent. This podcast is not intended as a substitute for a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional.

Timestamps

  • 00:00 — Introducing Annie Aboulian and The Tarot Professor

  • 03:46 — Annie’s journey from overachiever to finding her authentic path

  • 05:28 — Leaving law and discovering tarot as a self-discovery tool

  • 07:53 — Balancing logic, intellect, and intuition

  • 10:15 — The fear of judgment and being accepted by others

  • 12:58 — How self-judgment holds us back from pursuing our passions

  • 15:11 — Why tarot works as a tool for intuition and reflection

  • 17:35 — Tarot as a visual language for understanding ourselves

  • 20:55 — How tarot helped Sandi reconnect with her intuition

  • 24:45 — Why tarot is not about predicting the future

  • 26:44 — How tarot can help with clarity, emotions, and feeling stuck

  • 28:54 — Annie’s “Inquire Within” tarot question deck

  • 33:30 — A live tarot demonstration: shaking things up and trying something new

  • 40:04 — How to tell the difference between fear and intuition

  • 45:09 — Understanding anxiety, fear, and the nervous system

  • 48:13 — How tarot journaling helps recognize intuition before fear takes over

  • 50:21 — Annie’s journey toward trusting herself again

  • 53:11 — Learning to do things scared and redefining failure

  • 59:40 — Final reflections on authenticity and inner wisdom

Sandi Serling
Next

050: Thrive with Anxiety: Harvard Psychologist Dr. David H. Rosmarin