When Anneke Davie stopped drinking, she didn’t just give up wine – she made space for something entirely new. A quiet force emerged. It started with crystals, then crept into her life with the pull of tarot cards and the clarity of a new routine that no longer centred around hangovers or hazy memories.

She’d always been a binge drinker.

“Friday was my big sort of day. But my problem was I couldn’t ever stop at one glass no matter how much I tried.”

Like many, Anneke believed drinking gave her confidence, especially in social situations, but the next day was always brutal.

“I’d be lying in bed crying, couldn’t look at my phone. I just felt like everyone I’d been out with probably now hated me.”

Her final drink came after a day at the races. Drunk and disoriented, she lost the diamond out of her engagement ring and found herself on hands and knees, scrabbling through the grass.

“The next day I just thought, I don’t want to do this anymore.”

That was three years ago.

What came next wasn’t just sobriety – it was a reconnection with a part of herself that had been long dormant. As a child, she’d been fascinated by dreams, superstitions and horoscopes. Lockdown gave her the pause she needed to revisit that part of herself. Crystals came first, and soon her house was filled with them – much to the despair of her husband. But then came tarot. She found a reader on Instagram, began training, and started doing readings for herself. The cards became mirrors, windows, and conversation starters.

“I use tarot more as helping people get insight into something they’re struggling with. It doesn’t predict your future. It gives you a bit of a slap in the face about what you already know.”

It wasn’t long before others began asking for readings, and what started as a hobby slowly began to evolve into something more purposeful. At a retreat, someone asked her for a reading and, despite feeling way out of her comfort zone.

The more distance she put between herself and alcohol, the stronger her sense of direction became.

“I think actually believing I could do it came once I’d fully stopped drinking.”

That period wasn’t without its challenges. Like many, she initially tried to keep socialising the same way.

“I would still sit in pubs with people until one or two in the morning and be so bored. I just didn’t think I could leave.”

Learning to set new boundaries – leaving early, meeting for lunch or coffee instead – was vital.

Her husband continued drinking at first, which brought its own tensions.

“I had to just kind of leave him to figure it out for himself… You can’t tell someone what to do.”

Eventually, he stopped too. These days, their shared life is quieter, simpler, and more aligned.

“We go to bed about nine o’clock now. We’ve replaced drinking with meditation, breathwork, retreats.”

Tarot has become more than a passion project. It’s now part of her identity and her offering to others.

“It’s really lovely when someone says, ‘I know exactly what this is for me. I’ve got some real insights.’”

She holds space for others, not only to understand the cards but to open up about what’s already stirring inside.

There are no scary cards in the deck. Even the infamous death card.

“It’s a transformational card – something in your life is probably coming to an end, but on the flip side, something new is going to come in that’s much better.”

And something new is definitely coming. Anneke and her husband are trying to sell their home and hope to open their own retreat space.

“Would I have had that dream when I was drinking? No. Never.”

The Tarot continues to guide her, and every time she doubts, something happens to pull her back in – a client, an event, a reading.

“The cards keep calling me back.”

For Anneke, the post-alcohol life is not about perfection or complete reinvention. It’s about rediscovery.

“I think when you can get through the hard yards, it just opens you up to so much more. There are so many more possibilities when you stop drinking.”