Introduction

People sidle up close to me sometimes when they think no one’s looking. They’ll whisper in my ear, “How did a nice girl like you become a tarot reader?” I look into their eyes and smile coyly, as if I know something they don’t—because I do. If they knew what I know, they wouldn’t ask. I respond with a question: “I was born on Halloween—what else was I supposed to do?”

But it’s just you and me right now. No one else is around to hear us, so I’ll give you the real answer. I can tell you’ll understand what I am about to say. The real reason I’m a tarot reader is because I am a storyteller. What most people fail to realize is that they are storytellers too; we all are. Tarot is storytelling. It’s what we do when we read the cards. Telling stories imbues us with supernatural power—the power to change your story.

Lean in closer.

Let me tell you a story…

Tarot and I never “met.” It was always inside me. Tarot was a seed waiting to sprout, a sweet tooth longing for a lollipop. Tarot was the softest of lips aching to be kissed.

Halloween babies enter the world like a hushed tone and whispered secret. We rarely cry, yell, or fuss but are content gazing at specters dancing circles above our velvet cribs. Scorpio children bear the blessing and

curse of seeing through the veil separating the visible and invisible worlds. We recall with vivid clarity the sweet embrace of that which made us. We carry it with us even when we are told by others to fear it.

Walking with a foot in each world is a gift that turns treacherous when the body becomes a prison. The material world has vicious teeth; it is a hungry thing. Sensitive souls are often tempted to take their ephemeral lives and cross back into the void too soon. We search, ever hungry, for glimmers of that sweet embrace in others: parents, friends, teachers, lovers. We think if we relinquish ourselves, if we burrow deeply inside the core of another, we might return to peace.

But if a Halloween baby holds out long enough, she realizes the sweet exhale, the soft embrace she longs for, is available in every waking moment. It is not through the absorption or abandonment of her body and self in another but through an ecstatic collaboration that the sweet nectar and tender tears of love are tasted once again.

She learns to balance her gifts like the Temperance card, even when those gifts terrify or abandon her. She gathers her fruits, moves further into the unknown, and, like skin diving into black water, she slices through uncertainty to discover something new. Naked and wet, she never breaks the surface empty handed. Deep diving into the mystery is why mystics roam the earth. It is why we bear the brunt of longing and desire. We are never given gifts we cannot shoulder.

I grew up in a drafty farmhouse crafted of inky black and orange crepe paper. I devoured jellybeans for breakfast, cinnamon donuts for lunch, and dark chocolate cupcakes for dinner. When my sister and I weren’t flying around the house with cobwebs strewn in our hair, we were in the woods making mud pies full of stones, worms, and pine needles. We spoke with trees and buried ourselves in the vegetable patch. We listened to the carrots grow while dreaming of our future.

Tarot populated my world. The Page of Swords beat me at Scrabble because she’s the cleverest card in the deck. The Page of Pentacles and I devoured books by the dozens. The Knight of Swords egged me on to

ride my bike faster down gravel roads. He always left me in a cloud of dust digging wet, bloody pebbles from my skinned knees.

The Devil loomed large as the man of the house. He lit Marlboros and blew dry smoke in my face every night after dinner. My mother couldn’t bear the weight of her Empress crown, so she handed the family jewels off to him. She’d hunch over the sink, scrubbing his dirty dishes, while he made faces at me. I saw through him as easily as the smoke rings he blew in the air. Children know the truth when they see it.

One day, during the hormonal quagmire of middle school, they asked for volunteers for a fundraising fair. I knew my role. I, proud Halloween baby, would read tarot under a tent like a gypsy fortuneteller. I ran to the local mall and bought a tarot deck. I tore at the crinkly cellophane, opened the box, and seventy-eight slippery, shiny cards fell into my hands. I gazed at them in horror. I hadn’t a single clue how to read them.

I was saved that same night by a born-again Christian. Blond, feathered, and lip-glossed, born-again Debbie was my stepsister’s best friend. Born-again Debbie thought preaching the Lord’s name made up for all the drugs, sex, and smokes she enjoyed while Jesus looked the other way.

Debbie howled when she saw my cards. “These are the Devil’s work!” she cried. I laughed and calmly explained that I was already on intimate terms with the Devil. Not once, never ever, did his hot breath whisper anything about tarot cards.

Born-again Debbie responded by wresting the cards from my hands and teetering from the house in her boots and skin-tight Jordache jeans. She threw them into the trashcan, soaked them with lighter fluid, and set them ablaze. They exploded like pyrotechnics at a Van Halen concert.

It was a dramatic moment. It got me off the hook from reading the cards at the school fair. It gave me my first lesson in how powerful tarot is. History has a habit of burning potent things like evidence, books, and witches.

It wasn’t long before I learned to read the cards. Tarot continues to unfold, flip, and appear with a brilliance I wouldn’t have dared allow

myself to expect. Tarot taught me about magic—true magic. Real magic is always more mind bending and exciting than you could anticipate. Dreams and desires, devils and angels—they come and go, but true magic thrives inside you forever.

That’s why I wrote this book. I want you to know what I know.

Lean in closer. I am going to tell you a secret I’ve never told anyone. But before I do, let’s quick talk about the contents of this book. Tarot brings enchantment into your life. It fills you with power. Let’s be clear: I’m not talking tricks or sleight-of-hand magic. I’m talking big magic, life-altering magic, game-changer magic. I’m talking sorceress power, goddess-rising magic, as in the textbook definition of magic: the power of influencing events by using mysterious and/or supernatural forces.

How? Because life is mysterious, and you are a supernatural creature. You are made of pure magic and made of luminous energy. Tarot invites you to play inside the mystery surrounding you. A tarot practice opens wild doorways brimming with unlimited possibilities. This book is a gateway into your inner sorceress, your authentic self, and it’s a direct line to unbridled manifestation.

You will begin by learning to read tarot right away. Do you read between the lines? Do you look for patterns and hidden codes? Are you obsessed with mystery and what someone might be hiding? Me too! We tarot readers dive deep; it’s what we do.

This book will show you how to combine simple magical practice with the cards for extraordinary results. I’ve ridden my tarot like a magic carpet around the world. I’ve flipped cards at the Dead Sea in the heaving shadows of Masada while spirits of the dead whispered in my ear. Tarot and I sat inside China’s teahouses and sipped coffee together in the Italian Alps. We sat in the pre-dawn pregnant darkness of Tibet to watch the sunrise from Mt. Everest’s base camp. The cards and I warmed ourselves with yak butter candles in the world’s highest meditation cave hidden deep in the Himalayas. Where will you bring your deck?

Here we will examine the esoteric theory I’ve learned through witchcraft, Qabalah, and Ashtanga yoga, and you’ll discover how all of it can

apply to the cards. A tarot practice teaches you three precious truths: first, everything in the world repeats, just like the cards in the deck. Second, people are all the same, regardless of who they are; they want love, security, and safety. Did I mention love? You’ll see this soon enough when you read cards for others. Finally, change is always possible. Evolution is our natural state and is magic in action.

It sounds simple, doesn’t it? But just because something is simple doesn’t make it easy.

Simplicity’s paradox is a tease. Why do we battle complicated emotions around simple issues? Why is the easiest, most obvious course of action often the hardest? Why do we bump up against the same issues repeatedly? Why is it so hard for us to change? Why does fear keep us safe while destroying us at the same time? Why does the past lock us in the prison of the smallest version of ourselves? Why do we fear what we desire and desire what we fear?

The Magic of Tarot contains journal-style writing prompts to help you answer these questions. Your responses to the writing prompts are where you will discover essential information about yourself. Take them seriously and answer them often.

You will learn the fine art of constructing the very best questions. Tarot is a simple system containing vast complexity and infinite depth, just like the world you inhabit. This book has been written as an experiential and personal process of uncovering the magic thriving inside of you. It is the perfect book for a beginner or someone who has been working with the cards for over twenty years.

This book teaches somatic tarot, which brings tarot into your physical body. You will enter cards through your sacred imagination. A somatic embodiment of the cards is a game changer. It takes you out of your head and into the intelligence of your muscles, bones, and blood.

The book is constructed so you can begin reading the cards right away. Don’t wait; dive right in. The cards’ meanings are found near the end of the book. Everything you need to cultivate your tarot and magical practice is found in between.

Once upon a time, tarot reading was about discovering what your future held. These days tarot helps you craft exactly the future you desire. What do you want? What do you dream of? Let’s get you there, the faster, the better.

Are you ready for the secret I’ve never told anyone? Truth is, between you and me—and please, don’t share this with too many people or my publishers will have my head—you don’t even need a deck of tarot cards to do any of this work. All you need is you. All the answers you are looking for are inside you. The universe is constantly sending you hints, messages, and help. Tarot will help you learn how to recognize them.

Tarot is an incredible metaphysical device. It is your gateway to the supernatural and the mystery surrounding you. Tarot gives you a gorgeous, mystical framework through which to explore and play inside the mystery. Tarot allows us to tell stories, engage in art, dive into history, strengthen our psychic ability, and study symbols. It breeds intimacy. Tarot helps us sort out the most important relationship in our lives: the relationship between you and yourself. And when you heal yourself, you heal the world.

The secrets, the answers to everything you have ever opined and questioned, are inside of you. You are already the mystic, the sage, the seer. You are the High Priestess, the witch, and the shaman who knows where you belong, what is right, and how to get there. Your path is obscured by branches and brambles because you are here to figure yourself out and enjoy the journey. If it weren’t challenging and scary sometimes, it wouldn’t be a mystery.

Tarot teaches you to become the storyteller of your life. And it isn’t enough to own our story. It is up to us to reimagine our stories. Doing so, we reimagine ourselves.

The love story of tarot unfolds like all epic and operatic romances. Real life dictates sometimes you’ll be close with the cards and sometimes you’ll drift apart. At the end of the day, you’ll look at the cards and smile as you return together again.

So take my hand and let’s walk into the darkness together. We’ll flip some cards, light some candles, and figure you out. We’ll empower your intuition, dive into your dreams, and get to the heart of the matter. Let’s adventure like the Fool card. Let’s bring tarot into your body and craft a divine, sparkling destiny. Do you see that glimmering, shimmering light up ahead? That glittering treasure is you. It is waiting for you to claim it.

Let’s go!

Sasha Graham catskill mountains, ny