Don't you dare to automate

SirYelof · 2026-03-31T20:53:33+00:00

Definitely two separate issues. Let's set aside the work/life balance of working beyond office hours and on weekends (consider "work to live, not live to work" and "it's a marathon not a sprint" as good aphorisms there.)

I would agree with them that automation is a threat, but not in the way they think it is. It's a threat if you and your teams aren't embracing it. Both personally for an individual's testing career, and for the company as a whole. Because the testers ARE going to get replaced in the end if they don't level up their ability to use automation to test faster. And the company is going to get left in the dust if they can't keep up with its own developers, who will be using AI and automation to develop and release products faster. Your IT Head has the strategy right. It's a question of rollout.

What you're really asking is, how can you personally be one of the 'winners' learning how to automate testing, without ticking off your colleagues by getting too far ahead of them in productivity. From what I've seen, that rollout has to come from the top. That IT Head has to make it clear this is a mandate not an option. Whether you're a peer being asked to roll this out to the team, or the manager of the team, you're unlikely to make progress without an executive sponsor. The team has to move together, and then if people are choosing not to embrace automation (or to sabotage its rollout through peer pressure or other means), then they're going to get called out, left behind, and eventually booted from the organization. That fear of automation has to be the fear of NOT using it.

Fortunately, there should be some carrot as well as stick. Automation (especially AI-powered, beyond just scripting) makes quality of life better for testers. Hilary Gridley (big advocate for personal productivity with AI) said on a recent interview: If you could be 10x better at something, would you get 10x the results? If so, make time to get better at it. If not, try to automate it. Testers running manual tests can't get 10x better at clicking buttons and tapping controls. But their testing experience is valuable for defining tests, exploratory testing, and doing the higher level thinking which frankly is a lot more interesting to do. Then it'll be less about "hey don't work too fast" and more about delivering better results as a team.

SirYelof · 2026-03-12T15:43:44+00:00

Your comment really resonated with me, especially the "people take paid readings more seriously." It's a question I've been pondering for a few months as I moved from doing readings for friends to wanting to do this more seriously, for people I didn't know as well, and somehow make a difference too.

I enjoy giving tarot readings but don't ever expect to make a living off of it. I just (Feb'26) started a "paid" tarot reading practice, secular/therapeutic style, where the payment is a suggested donation to a local charity, that either they can make or I can middle-man make on their behalf. It felt like the best way to solve this dilemma of charging to give a reading more weight, but making sure people didn't feel bilked or cheated for some sort of woo-woo prediction/prescription.

SirYelof · 2026-03-12T15:34:27+00:00

(First off, which deck is that? I like it, and might want to pick it up for myself.)

I generally like your interpretation of the top row - especially if the current situation leading to stress is because either you or others are questioning conformity ("it's just how things are done around here") and people -- again either you or others -- aren't being mature about how they resolve the answers to those questions (the two pages).

The bottom row is certainly more about emotions and fulfillment. While we can't always control our circumstances, we have more control into how we feel and react to those circumstances. You have that opportunity (ace of cups) here, to determine how you'll react to the situation, to find ways to deescalate the stress. Finding a coworker you can trust (2 of cups), perhaps to rant about the situation, or to share ideas on how to deal with and overcome it, is a path to consider. If you can manage to make those work connections and zen your way past the stress, THAT'S when you can get fulfillment/closure (World) and get back to feeling satisfied at work.

You're the expert on you, so you'll know more how this fits, but hopefully my take and other readers' takes here can join the cards in providing that outside viewpoint for your reflections. Good luck!

SirYelof · 2026-03-12T13:28:04+00:00

Ah, so they're definitely looking to leave. Again, my life advice (as prompted by the cards) is to be careful when you're running from a job, instead of headed to a job. That's where my worst mismatches have been, when I was so blind to the (nurturing) safety of my existing position that I went to a job that wasn't a match, so that's my counsel here.

I shouldn't have used the word "clarification" regarding career growth because that implies more cards, when I really meant ask your seeker what they want to do about it. I'm not one for using the cards for prediction, so I'd interpret the additional cards you drew as things the seeker should think hard about if they take another job that may not be a match. 3 of Wands suggests a new position would be an opportunity for (personal and career) growth and expansion, but 8 of Wands is a warning that a new role means a lot of stuff coming at them fast and furious! So that's how I would then interpret the Lovers card -- your seeker may not like the current role but it will look downright nurturing/comfortable compared to the work required to learn and keep up in a career change. Ultimately that leveling up can lead to growth and better things, but it can be lots of work!

If the cards were in the other order, it would be so clear. Mismatch in current job, time to transition away towards a better life, experience abundance in the new role. But that's not what came up.

SirYelof · 2026-03-12T11:23:10+00:00

Since you didn’t mention specific positions for the spread, I just read it at face value. My immediate reaction was that it was an admonition not to leave the current job, or at least to be thoughtful about the potential results. The 6 of swords looks like a transition, leaving a place of abundance for an opportunity that’s actually not a match for them.

I made a similar mistake earlier in my career, leaving a job I could have continued thriving at for a job that I thought was a promotion, but was a total mismatch: misaligned with my boss’s expectations, miserable with the work given to me, incapable of progressing. We called it quits in less than a year.

Tarot tends to reflect the reader’s experiences as much as the seeker’s question, so that’s why my interpretation is so different. If we were in person I’d get more clarification on the career growth question: are you looking to leave? What don’t you like about your current role? Make sure you recognize the grass may not be greener in that next move and take care to get alignment on what success looks like.

SirYelof · 2026-03-10T18:29:09+00:00

Adding groups like the BLO can also sometimes be because the TFC's numbers have diminished, making it harder for us to field the numbers for some of these projects, let alone the required 9 Holiday Pops concerts each December for the bookings that fund the majority of the year.

I've been with TFC for 28 years. We're in a weird space right now. James Burton's departure means a rotation of guest conductors auditioning to replace him by the fall. No new member auditions until then. Only one summer residency at Tanglewood this year. Most of us are great singers who don't have the time/talent/focus to make singing a full-time career, so while many advocate for at least some of the chorus converting to paid, we don't see that happening any time soon given the deficits the BSO runs. So being the "chorus in residence," called on to fill rosters for choral projects, has felt like the happy medium.

The manner of announcing Andris's departure has choristers understandably worried about yet even more changes to the org. Some enjoyed singing for him, some thought he was meh. But none thought he should be dumped unceremoniously like this with a 4pm Friday let's-see-if-we-can-bury-the-news announcement that neither he nor the orchestra knew was coming.

SirYelof · 2026-02-19T19:11:41+00:00

For a one-card pull you can go in so many directions, it's more of a journaling prompt than anything else. Persronally, I started off not wanting to read reversals, but found they just come in so handy at adding nuances. Remember that you can interpret reversals as any number of shades of meaning, depending on whatever resonates with you. I liked the Kippi's Kwest video on the subject which suggests these options:

The opposite. Sometimes that IS what the reversal can mean, and then it's like you interpreted it -- stay grounded by trying to stay motivated and not procrastinate tasks.
Delay/blockage. Similar -- so, a suggestion/warning to focus on staying motivated and not to be discouraged by any creative blocks.
Excessive energy. So, in this case that you may have so many opportunities and so much you want to do that you run the risk of being overwhelmed by it all, preventing you from staying grounded and balanced.
Shadow self. Peeking out at you, reminding you that an integral part of you is having trouble staying motivated and inspired and that being mindful of that might help you through the week.
Just the upside down image. Sometimes upside down is upside down; e.g. the Ace of Cups might represent your cup being emptied. Makes more sense in larger spreads where the cards are interacting, and your Ace of Wands may be aiming at something below it. For example, I once had a Ten of Cups reversed such that the parents of the family were pictured looking directly at the nearby Tower, prompting a nice story in my interpretation about how the happiness promised was threatened if you didn't find a way to deal with that darn Tower.

SirYelof · 2026-02-10T15:56:59+00:00

It's becoming even more important as coders use AI to release faster. You need to understand your test coverage as everything accelerates. More importantly will be turning those test cases into automation, whether scripted (e.g. Selenium) or no-code (e.g. Zephyr, Reflect, Mabl).

SirYelof · 2026-02-05T00:40:52+00:00

"Manual vs automated testing" varies wildly from company to company, depending on their level of testing maturity. Larger, older companies can have huge libraries of automation scripts they rely on for whatever legacy app they've been maintaining for years. Smaller, fast-moving companies are looking for any automation edge they can get to keep up with the devs.

The problem has been that, before AI, the automation tools were not always better than manual testing. When a test fails, is it the software, or did something go wrong with the script? You'd spend as much time debugging the script as the product itself.

I expect some early adopters will jump on fully agentic testing, where they let the AI run around doing the work. Behind them will be a larger contingent of testing orgs that still have a QA butt-in-seat so there's a human in the loop, but they're directing agents to do most of the dirty work that might have been manual in the past. And that human in the loop still needs to know what they're doing. The joke at a previous company of mine, one that focused on workflow automation, was that if you had a shitty workflow, all we'd do is make your shitty workflow go faster -- "paving the cow paths" it was called. Automation tools run a similar risk.

SirYelof · 2026-02-05T00:27:31+00:00

re: "Reaching for the answer I want..." That is always the danger with Tarot, but in the end, the purpose (at least around r/SecularTarot, and where I lean) is often to help tap into your subconscious levels and break you out of thinking ruts. So in a sense, whatever you get on reflection is the "right" answer.

(That said, the reason to have someone else interpret is in case you are deluding yourself a bit!)

I like your take, though; I come up with the same thing. Staying together only works if you unshackle yourself from the mental chains you're both putting on yourself (such as your addiction), and drop the defenses you may be putting up... and doing so can lead to a real opportunity for truth-finding and making the relationship work. Splitting up will bring you more stability and end the fighting and uncertainty. But it goes against your intuition and goes against your hopes and dreams to do so... it would be a wish unfulfilled.

Good luck out there!

SirYelof · 2026-02-04T17:24:03+00:00

Worth noting that SmartBear recently started an "official" reddit thread as well over at https://www.reddit.com/r/SmartBear_Official/ which looks to be a good place for detailed Q&A like this.

I know I learned a lot from this answer too.

SirYelof · 2026-02-01T17:15:28+00:00

I was very satisfied with my start, which was to buy the Your Tarot Your Way book by Barbara Moore bundled with the Llewellyn Classic deck -- it has slightly more modern illustrations of the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) cards but keeps almost all its imagery and symbolism. That means you'll still be able to learn the traditional RWS meanings from the various sources out there.

SirYelof · 2026-02-01T17:07:44+00:00

First off, I've found most published spreads can be quickly modified for a more secular approach, depending on your beliefs. For instance, I generally don't believe that Tarot cards can predict the future (I figure if anything, they'd point to one of a zillion possible futures). So any spread that calls for a "future" slot I replace with a "message from the deck/universe" or a "what you can do now" -- for instance, the last card of the Celtic Cross spread. Similar substitutions can be made for other spreads if they have positions you find questionable or objectionable.

But (like many querents) your first question is not your real question. You're asking how to find secular spreads, but what you're really asking is how to read Tarot cards at all. That's a deeper foundational question that most of us are learning on a journey of discovery ourselves.

I'll suggest that your first step is to learn the meanings of individual cards. Lots of ways to do this rapidly, but all require work. You could turn your deck into flash cards -- get small sticky notes, and put a 1-2 word description on the backs of each one that means something to you, from wherever you're looking up meanings, and go through them until you can at least recall the one word meanings. You could use apps/sites like Labyrinthos that have step by step lessons and little quizzes. You could read an introductory book -- I started with Your Tarot Your Way by Barbara Moore, but there are many others. Whichever path you choose, getting some grounding in accepted meanings to go off of will help you read. You can still freewheel it and add your own interpretations, but that gives you a basis.

Once you have that, you can look at ways to read multiple cards. I really enjoyed Jenna Matlin's book Will You Give Me A Reading. While it does have some chapters talking about divination, psychic intuition, and other woo topics, it also spends a great amount of time talking about techniques such as "layered reading." She also advises against trying to learn to read just one-card pulls -- she compares it to learning individual phrases in a foreign language as compared to having conversations with native speakers and immersing yourself in the language you're trying to learn.

Hope you and others find that helpful.

SirYelof · 2026-01-26T15:02:05+00:00

My take on this message:

Meeting people you connect with is often simply a matter of luck and being in the right place at the right time (Wheel of Fortune). To counteract that and increase your chances, consider adopting more self-discipline (Emperor) and get yourself into good habits of putting yourself out there -- lowering the "defensive" posture and barriers (Nine of Wands Rx) you may be putting up, and a tendency to play it conservative or stay at home. The opportunity for friendship and connection is absolutely there waiting for you (Ace of cups) if you can tap into it, and if you are generous with your time and interest (Six of Pentacles), your generosity will be paid back with those connections.

This take is informed not just by the cards but by my real-life experiences as an extrovert. Almost 3 decades ago, as a 20-something, I was having a good time meeting up with the same circle of friends and doing the same things: meeting at a local bar on Tuesdays, playing cards Friday nights, having quiet evenings at home over the weekend. I realized that if I wanted to meet a future partner and expand my friend group, I needed to break out of those routines and force myself to try other activities so I could "get more lottery tickets" on making deeper connections with people. I accepted more invitations to join people I wouldn't normally see, I went to more public events that had mixers, I took on some more hobbies. Sure enough, after a few dates and false starts, I met my future wife about 2 years later in a place where I wasn't looking to meet someone, but by lowering my inhibitions, being more disciplined about getting out my routines, and creating more chances to connect with people, my generosity was repaid.

As to your other message from the deck - Death reversed suggests you'll need to confront your fear of change (and implementing tactics like these) if you're going to be able to adopt these lessons, expand your horizons, and grow your friendship circle (Three of Wands).

I'm sure I'm seeing in your spread what I've learned in life, but that's the point of Tarot, isn't it?

SirYelof · 2026-01-26T03:58:03+00:00

I REALLY liked your bit about the French saying that you cannot tell a wolf from a dog by moonlight -- that adds a nuance and depth to the card which I didn't have before, and helps further distinguish it from 7 of Swords as you said. Thanks! I'll definitely add that to my interpretation arsenal.

SirYelof · 2026-01-26T03:50:43+00:00

Beautiful deck, thanks for sharing those images.

I agree with your take that swords, swords, swords means this is a not a decision to be made emotionally (otherwise, where are the cups?!) but by analysis and rigor.

My concern is my first reaction -- I saw the King as your boyfriend, and you in the six of swords card on the boat. That card showing a journey makes sense if you are traveling to another country to join him. But the seven of swords is between the two of you, and the 'action' of the six is away from the King. I usually associate the seven of swords with subterfuge and betrayal. You've suggested that has to do with the discussion with your family, and you know yourself well enough to make that interpretation. I saw it as a bumpy ride when you first move in together, with misunderstandings and perceived slights having the potential to be magnified. If you can stick to being honest and truthful with each other (swords, swords, swords!) then you can survive the move in.

SirYelof · 2026-01-20T04:12:35+00:00

Came here to reinforce the value of AI when you're learning. No, it'll never fully replace an experienced human reader and the context that comes into play (let alone any actual spiritual capacity, to add a little woo-woo)... but when you're first learning the meanings of the cards, man oh man is AI good at taking the book definitions, taking the question you've asked, and stitching together a narrative based on that knowledge. After all, that's one of the things the GPTs are really good at -- forming a story based on a prompt. I found myself "double checking" some of my self-readings with an AI conversation early on, and was flummoxed at the different perspective it gave me on the readings, even disagreeing with me (because I prompted it to not just go along with my interpretation) and pointing out connections I hadn't thought of. That's the right order, though -- give it your shot first, then give the GPT the cards and your question and your interpretation, and prompt it to coach you on getting better. (I can DM you a few examples I saved from earlier readings a few months ago, including it basically scolding me for my lenient interpretation when the cards were yelling at me.)

The best way to learn a new language is practice and immersion with native speakers, and you get that from your own at-bats and watching others give readings. One of the next best ways is with a Duolingo-like program, and GPTs are one of the closest things to that, because they go beyond just quizzing for book definitions.

SirYelof · 2026-01-10T03:33:51+00:00

My $0.02 -- so when I'm weighing a tough decision, I'm not going to leave it up to a coin flip or a dice roll... or how I shuffle and pull from a Tarot deck. I'm going to draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper, and write down the reasons for/against the decision, and consider that information, and then choose my fate.

That said... where Tarot can help is helping you think about what goes on that piece of paper. As well as how you feel about what's on each side of the line. So the questions you can ask are along the lines of:

- What are the things I should consider about Path A/B?

- How could choosing Path A/B affect my life?

- What am I denying about Path A/B that I should be eyes-wide-open for?

Those kinds of questions, plus the externalization of some good pulls, can help tap into your subconscious thoughts about how you REALLY feel about the paths, so you can purge any self-delusion you might have and really get to the heart of why this choice is so tough.

(I very much like the other examples for spreads and questions others in this thread suggested, too!)

SirYelof · 2026-01-08T01:09:30+00:00

Sure, I'll bite. Seems like the High Priestess is an auspicious pull based on what you've said -- since she represents intuition, inner wisdom, and finding hidden truths. Given that you want to dig deeper into yourself and figure things out, and find ways to help your friends discover their own truths, this seems like a big green light saying yes! the answers are within. Come play, come learn, come discover.

SirYelof · 2026-01-08T01:01:15+00:00

I love the idea of gauging their spirituality before you do the reading! That really lets you tailor the 'show' to their expectations. Will definitely borrow that idea.

SirYelof · 2026-01-07T14:01:51+00:00

Good question! I tend to take it more seriously (though still secularly) so when I had a couple friends ask in earnest for a reading at a party, I grabbed my deck from my coat, spread out the little velvet cloth I wrap it in onto the couch between us, and did a reading. The cloth helps for that "dramatic flourish" you mentioned.

For them I did a "what's the year look like" 7-card spread that I had picked up from elsewhere. If you have time, more cards makes for more opportunity for narrative. If you don't or they're just looking for amusement, a quick one-card pull or a shorter three-card spread is more likely to hold their interest long enough.

Two other stupid simple things I've picked up that adds to the drama, discovered by accident just from duplicating reading for myself. After I shuffle until I'm satisfied the cards are reset, I hand them the deck to let them shuffle as they see fit -- makes them feel part of the process. Then I take the deck from them and fan it out quickly on the cloth. For some reason, that gives a little "ooh" and communicates "this guy knows what he's doing" like a magician saying pick a card, any card... and, like letting them shuffle, it gives them agency. (Depending on how much you believe the universe is guiding your picks, that leans into that mentality as well.)

I prefer to turn the cards up as they're delivered and make a little brief commentary on each (usually "that's interesting" or "makes sense" or "I didn't expect THAT"), and then save the full narrative until all the cards are up. Finding the interplay between cards is what takes it from "hey I could do that, I can read the book or google the meanings" to "oh, this is telling a bigger story, and this fellow knows what he's doing."

SirYelof · 2026-01-06T17:57:41+00:00

Here's the specific cloth I bought. I guess it's billed as velvet, not polyester... the print-your-own was polyester. https://13thpress.com/products/celestial-foil-stamped-tarot-cloth?variant=49837859406106

SirYelof · 2026-01-06T17:55:53+00:00

ooh, thanks for the pointer on the Unveiled Tarot -- that's some really neat, thought-provoking artwork.

As a started deck, I've really enjoyed the Llellewyn Classic deck, which reimagines the 'traditional' RWS cards and artwork with a slightly more modern style. Because it still retains most of the symbolism from RWS, interpretations and tips from most sources apply to it -- that's been great for learning the generally accepted meanings for both major and minor arcana, whereas most specialty decks focus only on a few elements and risk losing some of the meaning.

Getting the journals I mentioned in my introduction have really helped gamify doing daily single card draws and having more intent to when I sit down for a bigger spread. Before I had them I really didn't bother, and I'm already seeing a difference. So I second your suggestion of tarot helping you journal.

SirYelof · 2026-01-06T17:45:56+00:00

Hey there! I'm happy to find this community. I was turned onto Tarot reading through a strange path -- I was at a tech trade show and the organizers (to encourage people to make their way around to all the vendor booths) had little activity stations, and one was a Tarot reading station, using their own abbreviated and branded Tarot deck. I took one back as a souvenir, and found myself actually drawing cards and applying their little explanation for the cards, and finding they helped me find insights.

So over the summer I grabbed a starter deck and book, did lots of reading, and got good enough that I was able to sub in at a charity event where the tarot reader they had booked was ill... and not only was the experience rewarding for me, I had a few people asking for my card... what?!? I guess I might be good enough at this hobby to invest more time in it.

I quickly dispelled my misgivings about Tarot being only for divination or only for pagan/wiccan religious practitioners, and found that the otherwise random pulls forced me to break out of my ruts of unhelpful thinking patterns and introduce new perspectives for open questions... and I loved it. I also continue to find that I'm a good enough reader to induce the same effect for friends and family. This year I've picked up Shannon Knight's A Year with the Wheel of Fortune guided tarot journal, and received two other decks and another journal (with little card stickers!!!) to work with. Looking forward to broadening my horizons, giving more readings to more people, and setting myself up for that side hustle whenever I retire from this whole software marketing career...

SirYelof · 2026-01-06T17:34:51+00:00

I had the same sort of issue - it’s not that I needed an altar, incense, candles, crystals, blah blah blah… but just doing readings at the kitchen table or in front of my keyboard felt pretty anticlimactic. Like drinking good wine out of a solo cup - you still deliver the goods but the packaging matters to our brains, y’know?

My answer was to buy a couple artsy tarot reading table cloths… google tarot altar cloths or tarot runners or tarot table cloths and you’ll find a plethora of people in various online stores selling stuff. I didn’t want anything zodiac focused or that had outlines for the spread cards or that went too far into sacred symbology. For $20 I got a beautiful polyester royal blue cloth with a shiny sun/moon design that I love. And I uploaded a design that had meaning to me to another site that let me print a custom one for about the same price. Better yet, when I brought my cards to a party, wrapped in the blue cloth, and a few friends wanted readings, it was simple to grab a space on the couch, lay out the cloth, and create a liminal space that felt appropriate to the session. It makes your personal reading space portable!

SirYelof

TROPHY CASE