The Divination Nation

Thursday, February 4, 2016

HOT TRAMP, I LOVE YOU SO: A PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION AT A HAUNTED HOLLYWOOD LANDMARK

The historic-and haunted- Chateau La Fontaine, Hollywood, California

On the evening of January 10, 2016, we had the opportunity to do our first paranormal investigation of the New Year. Our hunt took place at a Hollywood landmark, the beautiful Chateau La Fontaine… and for the first time ever in many years of doing paranormal investigations, one of us came home with a spirit attachment. We blame this on David Bowie… but more about that later!

Noted architect Leland Bryant designed the historic Chateau La Fontaine in the 1930’s; the building has been home to a number of celebrities- and spirits- in the decades since it was built. For years, the place has been acknowledged as being notoriously haunted. A current resident called us to investigate her apartment because there was a lot of paranormal activity going on: whispering, objects moving, and cold spots. She also said that she felt totally “creeped out” when she went to her storage locker in the basement.

The apartment owner and her adult son accompanied us during the hunt. As we worked, the son took photos on his iPhone 6 as per our instructions: take two or three sequential photos of each spot, to see if any anomalies were present in the images. All our equipment was in use during the investigation: we had a Rempod, K2, EVP recorder and an EMF meter and an Ovilis.

We got lots of hits in the apartment itself … listen to this EVP we took in the hallway, and you can hear whispering:

https://soundcloud.com/kim-burch/evp-at-la-fontaine-in-apt-hall-whisper

When we were in the basement, we investigated in a hallway that was very heavy with weird, dark energy. Crystal was in the midst of doing a session with her dowsing rods when she suddenly said,

"I feel like there's someone behind me!"

None of us noticed anything unusual, but the apartment owner’s son snapped these pix on his phone sequentially. Both photos, taken seconds apart, appeared about the same… but look carefully at the second one- there is definitely something behind Crystal, and there was nobody else-or at least no other humans-in that hallway.


The first photo from The Chateau's basement

The second photo from the Chateau's basement-look at Crystal's left shoulder

Here is the second photo blown up. but otherwise un-retouched or altered. As you can see, something is hovering around Crystal’s left shoulder.

Seriously...What The *BLEEP* is that? We'd love for you to comment on this photo!

After more investigating, we finally called it an evening and headed home to Pleasant’s house. We figured we’d smudge each other off and do some energy work- the way we always did after an investigation-before hitting the hay.

But the moment we walked in the door, we heard the news on the radio that David Bowie had died.

Instantaneously, both our phones started blowing up with texts about it. In disbelief, we Googled it, hoping it was a hoax. Soon, we realized it wasn’t. Both us are lifelong hardcore Bowie freaks …we were absolutely devastated. In between bursts of tears and expressions of total denial, we combed the Internet for more news. Finally, we went to bed. The next day, both of us were still very upset, and pretty much useless. The day after, Crystal left to go back to her home in California’s Central Valley.

The reason we’re giving you this personal post-investigation timeline is because about a week later, we both noticed that things were getting a little cray-cray in our respective houses; in both places, objects were going missing and electronics were malfunctioning. Oddly, neither of us realized that these phenomena had anything to do with our investigation at the Chateau.

At that point, a friend of Crystal’s teenage daughter casually asked if their house was haunted. The very next day, Crystal, her daughter and daughter’s two friends saw objects literally flying out of cabinets on their own.

Only then did it dawn on us that because of David Bowie’s death, we’d completely forgotten to do our regular post-investigation cleansing rituals!

Luckily, we’re both experienced in banishing negative energy and chasing away “hitchhiking" spirits, so we took care of things immediately. However, we were both horrified that we’d forgotten to protect ourselves after the investigation.

We are both “clean” now, but we want to make sure you stay safe after your investigations, too.

So here are some post-investigation tips:

CLOSE DOWN YOUR INVESTIGATION

You wouldn’t leave a dinner party without saying goodbye, right? Well, you gotta get closure on your paranormal investigations, too. Politely bid adieu to any spirits you encountered but make sure to let them know that under no circumstances are they welcome in your home. Respectfully ask to stay right where they are. Mention that you had a good time interacting with them and thank them, but that they need to stay put, they can’t join you as you leave.

Next, make a circle with your team, discussing plans to check in with each other during the next few days to make sure everyone is fine and that no entities followed them home. If you were hunting at a private residence, include the humans who live there, too. Cleanse each other with sage, which, by the way should stay in your car during a hunt, because spirits hate it- sage actually repels them! Take turns smudging each other before you leave the investigation site. Fan the smoke up and down each other’s bodies, covering everyone thoroughly. If anyone in your group does energy work, have them pull any negativity off the other members.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET HOME

Keep a watchful eye open in the hours and days after your investigation. Check for any signs of spirit attachments. If you’ve brought home a hitchhiker, your energy level, general health and also your emotional wellbeing might be affected. In the week or so after your hunt, if you find yourself feeling under the weather don’t jump to conclusions; rule out the mundane first. For example, if you’ve got a headache, are you sure you drank enough water during the investigation? And when was the last time you ate a full meal? If you’ve come down with the sniffles and were hunting outdoors, it could just be hay fever! If you’re lacking energy, again, be sure rule out every day circumstances. For instance, have you been putting in over time at work, or been really busy? Do a “lifestyle check” just in case. If you’re condition is worsening, definitely check in with your team to see if anyone else is having similar physical or mental/emotional symptoms.

If things start to seem really off, or if you see any signs of paranormal activity in your house, you need to do a full cleansing, pronto.

We always keep our doors and windowsills salted to deter unwanted spirits, but we’re especially careful about this before going on an investigation. We sweep up the old salt, dispose of it and replace it with fresh salt. This ensures that in the event of a “hitchhiker” following us home from a hunt, they won’t be able to get inside our houses. We also scatter it around the parameters of our yard, and in our cars. No paranormal investigator should ever be without salt!

It’s a good idea in general to cleanse your home about every two weeks. A simple way to cleanse is to light candles and burn sage and candles while asking for positive energy to come into your abode. You might want to add in supplemental cleansing methods based on your spiritual preferences, too. For example, we know people who keep holy water in their houses, some like to have Palo Santo - a type of wood that has spiritual and cleansing effects much like sage- on hand to burn for house purification.

MAKE A CONTINGENCY PLAN

Reach out to your team members and better yet, a mentor, psychic medium or healer if you sense that your energy field has been compromised, or feel as though you’ve picked up an attachment on your hunt. If you are having obvious health problems, be sure to consult a medical doctor, too. Watch for signs of depression, mood swings or anything that could be paranormal activity in your residence. Making sure to protect yourself- before, during and after-a paranormal investigations will allow you to stay healthy mentally, physically and emotionally, plus it’ll enable you to remain committed to doing your paranormal research.

And finally… RIP David Bowie, we adore you...

Crystal and Pleasant as vintage fortunetellers...photo by Maharet Hughes

We’d LOVE to connect with you!

Visit our website to book metaphysical and occult workshops, Tarot readings and healings, or to have us come out for a paranormal investigation: www.thedivinationnation.com

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDivinationNation?fref=ts

Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TarotAlimah

To find out more about Pleasant or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://www.pleasantgehman.com/

For more on Crystal’s background, or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://crystalravenwolf.com

Friday, January 22, 2016

SEERS AND SAGES: AN INTERVIEW WITH JENNA MATLIN

Jenna Matlin- Queen Of Wands tarot

Happy 2016 and Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!
We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. Look for our forthcoming book, “Walking The Tarot Path” in Spring 2016. We’ve created this blog to share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical and paranormal community. We hope it’s as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!

Jenna Matlin is a one-woman Psychic Powerhouse. She’s got over twenty years of hand-on experience reading Tarot and Lenormand, and that wealth of knowledge has made her a sought-after instructor for Tarot and Metaphysical symposiums and conventions worldwide. She also holds in-person workshops in the Philadelphia area, as well frequently instructs online classes. In addition to being a star cartomancierre, Jenna is also a business coach (with an M.S. in Organizational Psych and Executive Coaching) as well as the author of the popular Queen Of Wands Tarot blog and the extremely well-received e-book, Have Tarot Will Travel: A Comprehensive Guide To Reading At Festivals As A Tarot Professional.

When she’s not slinging cards, Jenna does Chakra and Bio Energy attunements… but did you know she has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Anthropology, Asian Studies and Mandarin? Color us very impressed… clearly, there’s a lot goin’ on under that perfectly coiffed red bob! Did we mention she’s extremely funny and quirky? Cause she is, most definitely. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a link to purchase her e-book, join a class, read her blog or just to connect with her incredible energy.

We’re very please to present to you our first interview of 2016, with the uber-fabulous Jenna Matlin, here in her own words:

Divination Nation: You started reading as a teenager… How did you begin- as in who did you learn from or are you self-taught? What or who were your influences, mentors of teachers?

Jenna Matlin: Interestingly, I was psychic long before I was a tarot reader. People always ask, “When did you know?” I think I always knew, but I also thought everyone else had it too, but I still do think that. I just think our society has talked most people out of believing that.

My first major break though happened when I was 12, or maybe I had just turned 13 and my partner in crime who was a few years older than I maturity-wise got me high. We were walking down the beach and her two friends come up, and I had never met them but I knew them suddenly in this fantastic way. I knew the tenor of their thought styles and I got a feel for their family lives, I got vignettes of important past moments. I must’ve looked like an idiot looking at them; I am sure my mouth was hanging open. Its true marijuana was a gateway drug, it blew open an already natural ability and from there, there was no looking back. To this day, I cannot use marijuana, it is too uncomfortable for me to do so it pushes the volume too high.

A few years after that I moved to the desert with my family and coincidentally my neighbors were the local drag queens of the community, talk about kismet. Not only did I land myself into a group of fun loving men who made me costumes for my drama school productions but they gave me money for my first tarot deck and hired me to read for their Victor Victoria parties. That was when I was 15. I think my story has been remarkably fortunate that I have been supported by people who have only loved and held me when I was just tottering, I have a huge soft spot for Drag Queens and Kings and for them as people, they embraced me.

What I find funny is that many people believe Tarot is some sort of crutch for intuitive ability. My experience was that I actually struggled for a long time, for years and years, to get my native talent to use the Tarot. It is like having a natural artistic talent and for years you sketched and learned things on your own and then going to art school and learning how to hold a brunch in a certain way, or stroke in a different way; it’s hard! But once you learn it, once your insight can attenuate to the new tool you have both—you use both and then you only become better—it is not an “either or “ situation.

Divination Nation: Did you know that Tarot was going to be super-important to you right off the bat, or did it take a while for you to realize?

Jenna Matlin: This has always been my calling, but I had to grow up enough to be deserving of it.

DN: How do you prepare for your work?

JM: I wish I could tell you I have this awesome arcana process but I don’t, I make some tea maybe, or have a water and I sit down and grab my cards and say “Hey, are we ready to do this?”

It is second nature for me; I don’t need a lot of prep work. Though if I am upset or anxious or have just been through something then I cannot read, I have to be calm to do the work, I cannot be frazzled. Oddly enough though, I can be really sick and very accurate; or tired and be spot-on…sometimes being less alert makes me better, my conscious mind getting out of the way can be a good thing. Meditation does not necessarily make me a better reader, contrary to popular belief.

DN: We’ve heard you are into I-Ching… will you list the metaphysical disciplines you practice, and what you enjoy about them- how “into” them you are… and do you combine them with Tarot? What is your favorite?

JM: I am dabbling in the I Ching right now, but the coin method is not working for me, I am finding that it is not accurate, perhaps because the tossing of the coins and then looking up the interpretations piece is too “precise”. That method is not allowing enough “loosey goosey” for me to work. I need to actually get back to using the cards that I made for them, and see if I can find a better system with them that might work with me.

I also use the Lenormand, I am a crack shot with palmistry, that is what I started with actually, I do just readings. Just recently I had an interesting reading. I had a regular client come see me and I perceived a dark “splotch” over her left shoulder. I couldn’t immediately tell if it was an injury… but I also kept getting an image of her home and it felt like uh-oh, a problematic energy?

So then it becomes, “How open is this person, how much can I say, how much will they you know—take in?” Turns out her and her female roommates have been dealing with what they feel is a problematic-well something- at the house. I haven’t been there yet so I do not want to jump the gun and say what I think it is, but it felt like it put a splotchy GPS tracking device on her. Creepy, right?

So sometimes I do stuff like that, I don’t like to label it, I just like to open up my insight and tell people what they need to know.

I know that that did not precisely answer your question but I am a Gemini, we…dabble…a lot.

DN: What do you love most about your job?

JM: I love the variety of people I meet; I love the depth of intimacy that I get to work with in my day. My day is deep, I know that I am really helping people in major ways and they thank me. I AM NOT A COG IN A MACHINE. I am not filing paperwork, I am providing meaning and context; I am making people feel better or worse—if they need the break to change, and it’s been everything to me. And I get to coach other people who also want to do this work. Pinch me!

DN: Tell us about things you enjoy doing when you’re not working…

I am a huge naturalist at heart so you might find me mushroom hunting or birding, hiking or camping. I also love to dance, especially trance dancing so I might be at one of those or a sweat lodge somewhere. I also need to be offline and commit to spending deep time offline whenever I can. I also sing and am in a choir, the problem is that my work is often on weekends and evenings which conflicts with many of the kinds of hobbies that I enjoy, so I am working on trying to create a better balance with that.

DN: You’re eBook Have Tarot Will Travel has caused quite a splash! There's great information in there for people who are just starting out or for professionals who'd like to up their game. Tell us all about it-how long did it take to write, how you organized it…maybe an anecdote or two about why you wanted to write it, or something that happened after it was published.

JM: Have Tarot Will Travel was really a desire to create something that I did not see anywhere else. I saw a few business books for readers but nothing that was really “nuts and bolts”. Like a lot of readers I did not have a ton of business background coming into this. I had corporate experience but not entrepreneurial experience. What I learned about myself was that I took to it like a duck to water, I was a natural, imagine that! So I wrote the guide I wished I had starting out and threw everything in it I could possibly think of. I intentionally stayed away from woo-woo stuff, and kept it really about the foundational aspects of lists and how does this work, and what should I do next for the absolute beginner—I did it for the new person like me. It was my gift back to the field.

It took me about a year to write and complete it start to finish. Since I have a full time practice, I had to fit it in; I was waking up at 4:00 and 5:00 am to complete even this slim little volume.

It was not published, because at 22,000 words it is considered a novella and too little to publish, really. I know that people largely live online but there is still such a desire and need to be in person by clients and felt that especially if you have no money and want to bootstrap a business this is still a huge strategy to make it happen. I built my business with no capital and I took no loans, with this strategy.

DN: Our readers are interested in all types of divination…would you please share some of your favorite tips and advice?

You must grab that first thought and do not let it go. Overthinking, anxiety, and analysis—all of that shuts down clairvoyance.

No matter how strange, odd, off it might be—hang onto it. For example, when I read Tarot, I allow the pieces of images in the Tarot card key aspects of my intuition rather than look at the whole card. To illustrate, I had a client at a festival come to me and ask about her boyfriend, I threw some cards and I was using Robert Place’s Alchemical Tarot. One of the cards that came out was the 8 of swords. In that card it depicts a beast like creature manacled to the ground and swords behind him. My eye was attracted to the manacle, I jumped on that. That was what was important -that first attraction, I did not overthink overanalyze or dismiss, I grabbed it and asked,

“Why is my eye attracted to manacle there? “

Then I had it! I knew he was in jail.

Because I did not know her and we were in public I was sensitive I asked her, “What is your boyfriends’ situation?”

She said, “He is incarcerated.”

Bingo. Always grab the first thing, watch for it. It is everything.

DN: You’re not only a crackerjack reader, but you teach Tarot workshops and classes, and do business coaching as well. Please let our readers know about any up-coming classes, appearances or special events you have going on

I have ongoing business coaching for would- be and current divination professionals both one –on- one and for groups on a rotating basis contact me directly for a free 20 minute session to discuss options and to see if we are a fit, I am the best deal in town!

The Queen at work...

Connect with Jenna here:

Check out Jenna’s website- for all events, classes & newsletter sign-ups, as well as info on her April 16, 2016 Tarot 101 Online Intensive and her May 14, 2016 Lenormand Online class:

www.queenofwandstarot.net

Jenna’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenofwandstarot/

Find out about Jenna’s Business Coaching for Divination Professionals:

http://www.queenofwandstarot.net/business-coaching-for-believers-healers-and-seers.html

Purchase Jenna’s E-Book, Have Tarot Will Travel: A Comprehensive Guide To Reading At Festivals As A Tarot Professional here:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=have+cards+Will+Travel++jenna+Matlin

The Divination Nation: Crystal Ravenwolf and Pleasant Gehman; photo by Maharet Hughes

We’d LOVE to connect with you!
Visit our website to book metaphysical and occult workshops, Tarot readings and healings, or to have us come out for a paranormal investigation: www.thedivinationnation.com
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDivinationNation?fref=ts
Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TarotAlimah
To find out more about Pleasant or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://www.pleasantgehman.com/

For more on Crystal’s background, or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://crystalravenwolf.com

Sunday, January 3, 2016

SPIRITUAL CLEANSING FOR THE NEW YEAR

Crystal and Pleasant: photos by Maharet Hughes

Monday, December 28, 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM BEYOND...A PARANORMAL STORY

Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!

We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. Look for our forthcoming book, “Walking The Tarot Path” in April 2016.

We’ve created this blog to share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical and paranormal community. We hope it’s as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!

THIS STORY IS ABOUT A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE THAT OCCURRED IN 1999.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN PLEASANT’S MEMOIR "SHOWGIRL CONFIDENTIAL", PUBLISHED BY PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS IN 2013

In 1999, during the days leading up to The New Millennium, like many people, I began reflecting on life: historical events I had witnessed, personal goals that I had achieved, the things I still wanted to accomplish and all the people in my life, living and dead.

But what seemed to really dominate my thoughts were the many significant relationships I had with family and friends. I was blessed with so much love, nurture and support. I thought of the many special people who were there for me not matter what… friends and relatives who shared their lives with me, gave me affection, support and influenced my creative and artistic endeavors. One of these special individuals was my friend and belly dance mentor, the late Zein Abdul Al Malik.
Zein was a dancer of prodigious talent. Well over six feet tall and lanky, he had piercing green eyes and performed draped in billowing genie pants and luxurious folkloric garb. He looked imposing and exotic when he danced balancing a huge brass tray with a full tea set and candles upon his regal head. He began his career in San Francisco in the 1970's, and went on to live in Morocco and Saudi Arabia, where he resided in one of the royal palaces, thanks to his Saudi prince lover. Zein lived and breathed dance, performing, teaching and doing research.

After we met in 1990, he took me under his wing- me, a beginning baby belly dancer with barely any skills- but somehow he saw my potential and nurtured me. He'd have me over to his apartment- a wonderful, mysterious enclave of inlaid North African furniture, luxurious plants and relics from the Middle East. He’d make me fresh mint tea in a silver Moroccan teapot and we’d spend hours discussing belly dance traditions.

Music for Middle Eastern dance was hard to find in America in those days, and Zein made me many Arabic mix tapes- remember, there were no CD’s back then. Every cassette Zein made me also had a special cover that he thoughtfully put together by hand. Some featured Middle Eastern clip art others photocopy of vintage Turkish cigarette boxes and pictures of famous belly dancers.

Tragically, Zein died about five years after I met him. By that time, we were close friends and because of his encouragement, we were also gigging together regularly. I was absolutely devastated. I remember speaking-or rather blubbering through a speech- at his memorial, my face wet with flowing tears, but I don’t remember a thing I said.

I thought of him often, so many things reminded me of him. At gigs when I felt pre-show jitters, I would think of the way he used to calm my nerves through his twisted humor right before we both went on. Warming up with an ever-present Marlboro in his mouth, Zein would sense my anxiety, catch my eye, make an exaggerated coquettish gesture then and whisper in a feminine falsetto, “How’s my hair?” Somehow, our private joke never got old, and always made me laugh. Whenever he did that, I had a great show, entering the stage with a huge grin on my face. Even though Zein has been departed for years, I always think of him just before I go on.

Fast forward to New Year’s Eve 1999, at five minutes of midnight. Of course I was at a belly dance gig, in a dressing room, wearing a brand new costume- my first costume for the New Millennium. The dancer I was working with that evening asked what music I was planning to perform to for my first dance set of the century.

“I don’t know, “ I said, pawing through my CD binder, “I’m so sick of all my music!”
My gig bag was full of the usual belly dance accouterments: stray finger cymbals, perfume, mis-matched sequin armbands, safety pins. Suddenly, something fell into my hands, a small plastic case. Though my suitcase was always chaotic, there was a method to my madness, and it was always re-packed before every show. The little plastic box was decidedly an unfamiliar object that I didn’t remember packing. Recognizing what it was in the dim dressing room lighting by the feel of it alone, I wondered how it got there.

“Hey, there’s a cassette in my dance bag!” I cried, kind of amazed.

“You still use cassettes?” the other dancer asked incredulously.

“Well, no, not for years”, I answered, dumbfounded, “I have no idea what it’s doing in here!”

“Well, maybe we can dance to it,” she said, “What is it?”

I glanced at the clock- it was now one minute before midnight.

Thinking we’d better figure our music out, I turned the mystery cassette case over in my hands. The cover featured a black and white drawing of a 1920’s flapper lounging in a champagne glass.
In hand-lettered Art Deco font, it read:

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!
LOVE, ZEIN”

As the clock struck midnight, I got the chills.

#

We’d LOVE to connect with you!
Visit our website to book metaphysical and occult workshops, Tarot readings, or have us come out for a paranormal investigation: www.thedivinationnation.com
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDivinationNation?fref=ts
Connect with us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TarotAlimah
To find out more about Pleasant or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://www.pleasantgehman.com/
For more on Crystal’s background, or request a reading or healing session, click here: http://crystalravenwolf.com

To purchase a signed copy of Pleasant’s book Showgirl Confidential , click here:

http://pleasantgehman.com/writing.html

Monday, December 21, 2015

SEERS AND SAGES: AN INTERVIEW WITH BARBARA MOORE

Our Lady Of Divination: Barbara Moore

Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!

We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal.

Look for our forthcoming book, “Walking The Tarot Path” in April 2016.

We’ve created this blog to share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical and paranormal community. We hope it’s as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!

Barbara Moore is a divination rock star. She’s a Tarot expert, a shaman, and an extremely magickal woman…but that’s just the very tip of her personal iceberg. She teaches workshops and lectures all over the globe, she is a consultant for metaphysical publishing houses Llewellyn and Lo Scarabeo, and she’s an extremely prolific writer. Just some of her books include Tarot Spreads, Tarot For Beginners, What Tarot Can Do for You, Tarot Spreads: Layouts and Techniques to Empower Your Readings, and many more. Barbara has also had a hand in so many decks that in the worldwide divination community, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t practically worship her on a David Bowie or Mick Jagger level. On the off-chance that you think you aren’t familiar with her work, just go through your card collection; here’s just a few decks she’s had a hand in, by writing the companion books: The Gilded Tarot, Llewellyn’s Classic Tarot, The Pagan Cats Tarot, The Mystic Faerie Tarot, The Steampunk Tarot, Cats Inspirational Oracle Cards, and several others. She’s also had some kits published, such as Witch Crystals: Casting Stones For Divination And Magic an all-inclusive package for divination, and the forthcoming kit for beginners, Tarot Made Easy: Your Tarot, Your Way.

Barbara and her body of work at the North Star Tarot Conference

As Barbara’s story famously goes, in the early 1990’s, somebody at a party handed her a Tarot deck…and the rest is history! Her marvelous life has been a crazy quilt of wildly divergent –and quite amazing- experiences. Barbara and her wife Lisa reside in St. Paul, Minnesota with their two dogs, Whiskey and Norman. When she’s not reading for clients, teaching or slaving over a hot computer keyboard, Barbara loves travel, theater, making and viewing art, and a couple of her current obsessions are the Harry Dresden fiction books by Jim Butcher and the television series Orange Is The New Black.

We are literally over the moon to bring you this interview with Barbara!

Divination Nation: Your first Tarot experience was at a party: tell us how you began your journey, and how you learned. What or who were your influences, mentors or teachers?

Barbara Moore: The first deck I ever handled – at a party when I was in college-only had a little booklet with it. Nevertheless, I knew that I was holding something special, something more than a novelty to tell fortune at a party. At the time, interdisciplinary studies were all the rage, so I was steeped in mythology, literature, history, art history, psychology, astronomy, chaos theory and fractals, Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. It seemed to me that the cards I held contained the sum of human knowledge, everything I was studying…it was all there in 78 pieces of cardstock.

After that, my first deck was the Haindl Tarot and the book I used with it was not its companion book(s) by Rachel Pollack but Jung and Tarot by Sallie Nichols, which formed my general understanding of the cards and how to use and understand them. After I moved on from that deck, I read Pollack’s 78 Degrees of Wisdom and that laid the foundation for the more general RWS card interpretations.

The Internet wasn’t what it is today, so I relied on books. That is my preferred method of learning anyhow, so it worked well for me. I read everything I could get my hand on which honestly wasn’t that much back then.

Later, I joined the ATA (American Tarot Association) which was giving certifications at the time. I went through the program and it really helped me to unify all that I had learned, to weed out what didn’t fit my belief system and expand and deepen what did.

Divination Nation: Did you know divination was going to take over your life right away? Did you know this was your “calling”, or did it take a while for you to realize? What were you doing previously?

Barbara Moore: I did not know that it would become my life’s work/career but I did know that it was important and full of wisdom that I would study all my life. I was in college and on track for becoming a history professor. I completed my MA and had a lovely full ride-funding package to participate in a joint doctoral program with Central Michigan University and the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. During my MA, I became friends with some professors and learned the realities of life as a history professor…if you could even get work in that field, so I declined the doctorate offer and went into academic publishing, working for the Michigan Historical Review. Then I moved and worked for Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village…not academic but still history-focused. I came to Minnesota and began work for Llewellyn, neither academic nor history, but it was the place where I was able to craft a career that focused solely on Tarot. I began as a production assistant and worked my way up to Acquisitions Editor and had the honor of helping the company reinvent its acquiring process, creating my own specialized position.

DN: Just for fun, tell us about your first “official” Tarot gig… and also, what deck or decks are your favorite, aside from the ones you’ve helped create?

BM:I actually am not one hundred percent sure on this, but I believe it was at the reception for my first wedding. It was a medieval theme; everyone came in costume. I had a table set up where I did readings with the Old English Tarot for a dollar, instead of doing the Dollar Dance, which may be a Michigan wedding tradition. It was pretty amazing, both in how inexperienced I was and how powerful those readings were. I remember reading for a man who denied everything I said but whose wife sat next to him nodding and gesturing.

DN: Aside from your own, what decks do you like to use?

I like lots of decks and am kind of a serial monogamist when it comes to them. Particularly favorites at the moment include: Tarot Mucha, The Wild Unknown, The Raven’s Prophecy, The Tarot of the Sidhe, and Emily Carding’s Transparent Tarot.

DN: You are crazy prolific writer, with several books, eBooks and decks published…plus many articles, a casting kit, and more… How do you prepare for your work?

BM: How I prepare depends on whether the project is a job. In other words, whether a publisher asks me to do something specific or whether it’s a creation of my own. For a job, I get all the requirements from the publisher in my head; sometimes they are very, very specific. I start thinking about the parts, how they fit together, how they can be combined to achieve the stated goal. Then I start brainstorming on paper or a white boards, sometimes making sketches or prototypes and just playing with them until they start making magic. All of that, for me, is the hard part. Once the vision is complete, writing it all up is more of a joy, much easier for me. If something is my own project, the idea kind of surfaces (or is given to me somehow, like in an offhand comment from a friend) and says, “I want to exist; do you want to manifest me?” If I do, I let it make itself comfortable in my head, invite it to stay, start feeding it and discovering what is pleasing to it. After it feels good and fat …kind of like Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, which is a very sick kind of metaphor… the paper and whiteboard come out and planning begins.

For both, part of the preliminary work (before paper and whiteboard) includes meditation and journeying as well as bouncing around ideas with a few trusted friends.

DN: What metaphysical disciplines do you practice aside from Tarot, Oracle and casting divination?

BM: Meditation. Shamanism, if you call that a metaphysical discipline. I think it is. I sometimes incorporate chakras in my meditation work.

I don’t really study a ton of different systems, although there are many and they are all so fascinating. I’m more apt to use Tarot (the structure of the deck) as a template for organizing ideas and practices I learn from other, completely non-metaphysical stuff, like art, business, fiction, etc. So instead of doing different things, I am always seeing Tarot differently.

DN: Do you consider yourself more an academic reader, or an intuitive reader?

BM: I was more of a symbolic reader (which is probably the same as your “academic”) but I’ve worked very, very hard over the past three years or so to become more of a balanced reader, incorporating both sides of my brain. I find that when I do that, these powerful oracular moments occur and are much more powerful than any purely academic or purely intuitive reading of mine could ever be.

DN: What keeps you inspired?

BM: Everything! Podcasts play a big role in providing inspiration and new ideas. I listen to them when I walk Whiskey each morning, if I take walks later in the day, when I drive, when I do housework. And I listen to lots of different ones covering a wide range of subjects. Almost everything I listen to (or read) seems to have some piece, large or small, that it contributes to this ever-changing kaleidoscope of experience that is my life.

My friends, family, and colleagues inspire me. Through the wonderfulness of Facebook, it is easy for me to stay connected and see all the wonderful things that they are doing!

My students inspire me.

Travel…by travel I pretty much mean going to any place new or rarely visited. This includes things like trips to England or trips to the local ethnic grocery store; we have lots of different kinds of grocery stores in the Twin Cities…it is so fascinating to go and see strange food and have nothing be in English; it’s like a very cheap trip to a foreign land.

Learning new things seems to keep everything in my life feeling fresh and exciting. Currently, I’m obsessed with reconnecting with my creative self in form of art: drawing, watercolor, oil pastels, charcoal. I just finished a drawing class and begin a watercolor class in February. The drawing class was based on the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. That was really fascinating and paralleled the way I teach tarot reading (blending the academic/symbolic with the intuitive).

Taking classes, both in areas that apply directly to my work and in broader areas of interest, is essential for my overall happiness and are always inspiring. Going to art galleries and museums. A lot. Luckily Minneapolis and St. Paul have tons of galleries and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts is one of the best in the world.

Attending conferences, both as a presenter and an attendee. Preparing a presentation forces me to get very clear on what I’m teaching.

Fiction, movies, good TV. Humans are built for story. I love stories in all forms.

DN: You teach workshops internationally and also read regularly for clients all over the globe. Have you noticed any cultural differences in the way people approach divination in various countries?

BM: Very interesting question. I seem to have this gift for being able to “translate” information so that people can understand it. This applies to cultural or language differences or just understanding in general. As long as the person speaks English, I seem to be able to understand (intuitively?) what they are trying to say even if they don’t have the vocabulary and I seem to be able to select just the right English words within their vocabulary to help communicate my ideas to them.

Recently, one of my students, who is Turkish, was having trouble with the traditional concept that Swords equal Air. She said that to her Swords meant truth, clarity, and communication, so it was impossible for her to connect that suit with Air. I explained how in Western culture, Air works for those things. She realized her trouble was in Turkey, where Air is associated with a person who is never to be trusted and since she sees Swords as “truth”, it didn’t make sense.

DN: Our readers include everyone from divination professionals to absolute newbies, as well as aspiring writers and deck creators. What are some of your favorite tips?

BM: For Tarot people: Tarot is a tool. It can only be used in service to your own beliefs, so before you even begin, get clear on what your beliefs are. You can’t ask, “Can Tarot predict the future” because it depends on whether or not you believe the future can be predicted. “Where do the answers in tarot come from?” That depends what you believe…are you a channel? Is it synchronicity? Is it random chance and self-fulfilling prophecies? Figure out what you believe first, then reading and understanding the cards will come a lot easier.

For aspiring writers and deck creators: If you are interested in traditional publishing, learn about the industry. Understand your market, the audiences of the various publishers you are thinking of submitting to, and follow the publisher’s submission guidelines. Know that you will likely give up a good amount of creative control.

Traditional publishing is a gamble. No matter how well a publisher knows their stuff and their audience, there is no equation to guarantee success. Things that should, by all accounts, be wildly successful sometimes fail. Things that seem pretty standard can take off in crazy ways. Publishing is risky. You could put in a lot of work for little results.

Independent publishing is now easier than ever and it allows you to retain creative control. And, for those who are good at marketing, it offers great opportunities for success.

For everyone: stay as active as possible, stay as involved as possible. Always grow, always learn. This world is filled with so much that there is little reason to ever be bored.

Barbara at The Readers Studio, New York

Visit Barbara’s website and her Facebook page: www.tarotshaman.com https://www.facebook.com/barbara.moore.tarot

Barbara has several events coming up for 2016; here are a few you’ll enjoy:

North Star Tarot Conference January 29 – 31, 2016http://www.tctarotcollective.com

One-Year Novice Tarot Program With Barbara starts February 1, 2016 http://www.tarotshaman.com/one-year-novice-tarot-reader-program.html

Barbara presenting at The Readers Studio, April 29 – May 1, 2016 http://tarotschool.com/RS16/index.html

Barbara’s Through The Looking Glass Retreat, September 2016http://www.tarotshaman.com/through-the-looking-glass-retreat.html

Crystal And Pleasant by Maharet Hughes/ Graphic Vibe