This book is a labor of love that took many years, hundreds of readings, and countless lived ceremonies to capture and share the essential qualities of an embodied, ceremonial tarot. Without its predecessors, we would not have access to such a profound way of working our lives. I honor the long lineage of tarot and particularly those who carried the mystery of the tarot forward: Aleister Crowley, Lady Frieda Harris, Pamela Colman Smith, Arthur Waite, and the Order of the Golden Dawn for releasing these important esoteric truths and popularizing them as an essential guide for so many today.
I am profoundly grateful to my very first tarot teachers, Arianna and Rowan Wilson, who laid the groundwork for reading the cards, my ceremonial work, and instilling in me my connection to the earth as a living being. I am eternally grateful for my beloved friend and longtime spiritual sister, Desiree Mwalimu, for the constant creative practice and deep dive into the beauty and wisdom of the tarot. My study of the tarot was deepened by the support and intellectual grace of Mike Bailey which benefitted me enormously and brought me to one of the decks I still use today, Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. The ceremonial play and reflective process of the tarot as a journey was undeniably enhanced by my artistic connections with Amber Decelle and Mika Kiburz.
I am humbled to have teachers who have taught me about the art of cultivating a true practice, offering ancient ways to connect with land and spirit, teaching me the value of discipline, and the respect for ceremony in my life development. With a heartfelt bow, I honor Kahuna Ali’i Kumu Ehulani Stephany, H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche, and H.H. Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, for their gracious gifts. I also wish to thank Leon French, Jill Walton, Samantha Sinclair, Samantha Black, Arianna Terry, Brooke Dabalos, Skylyn Booth, and Ari Powers for your support and revelatory tarot insights along the way. I am thankful to the owners and staff at New Renaissance, Psychic Sister, and the Wild Unknown for believing in my gifts and providing a space to offer readings. To my editors at Llewellyn, thank you for your patience and clear feedback to bring this book into fruition.
And most importantly, to my beloved family, friends, and clients, and anyone who has ever received a reading from me, I am endlessly grateful for your presence, for showing up, revealing your most intimate and vulnerable selves, and allowing me to peer into your soul with the use of the cards. Without you, a tarot reader is nothing but a lens without a view. My own spiritual growth has been served immeasurably by the use of cards, the living system of tarot; it is my sincere wish that whomever reads this book may receive benefit, insight, and growth on this wonderful, enchanting, and mysterious path.