Talkin' Tarot with Elle Nash

Talkin’ Tarot With is a monthly feature designed to introduce my readers to different tarot readers from our wonderfully diverse community! Each month, I’ll be asking various tarot readers 3 questions about their tarot philosophy and style, plus pointing you to their websites and blogs so that you can learn more about them! I like to hand pick tarot readers that I feel are talented and interesting.

There are some mighty talented young tarot readers out there. Readers who don’t just read the cards but also possess other creative or mystical skills. Elle Nash is one of those multi-talented tarot readers, juggling many different balls at once without seemingly dropping one. She makes it look effortless as she weaves her love of tarot with literature, yoga, ritual, and other sacred arts.

A writer and poet, Elle is the co-founder of Witch Craft Magazine, a literary magazine which is, according to her “centered on the ritual of literature, and on the idea that art is the purest form of magic. Our second issue just released on the Spring Equinox and we’re gearing up for issue three submissions in June.” Recently, she also won the Nostrovia! Poetry’s annual chapbook contest with her chap i can remember the meanings to 78 tarot cards but i can’t remember what i texted you last night, and will debut at the NYC Poetry Festival this summer. How cool is that?

Elle was first introduced to tarot through her grandmother over a decade ago. She’s been passionate about the cards ever since. Props to her granny because the tarot world is better with Elle in it.

Bio:

Elle believes that magick is as simple as writing words on a page, or planting a seed and watching it grow. It’s as simple as reading a book and being moved by the experience. She’s a practicing witch and stresses the importance of ritual, meditation and craft in her work. She believes that ritual and meditation can open the doors to creativity, intuition, and being open to our better and truer selves. She’s a writer, and uniquely suited to helping others work through creative ruts or mental blocks not only in their artist-lives, but in their emotional and mental lives, as well. She’s a certified yoga teacher, and uses the power of meditation and the movement of the body in my readings, as well. It’s all about ritual. She has been an avid tarot reader for over a decade, and basically lives on the internet.

Contact Info:

Website: tarotdarling.com
Twitter: twitter.com/saderotica
Instagram: tarotdarling
Facebook: facebook.com/iam.ellegroves
Email: ellegroves@gmail.com

Check out her answers to my questions below:

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Q: What is your philosophy about tarot reading?

Elle: I started learning about Tarot first from my grandmother, not the mystical side of the cards but first the historical significance and artistic rendering of the cards and their meaning. I was so dumbfounded that a simple arrangement of colors and symbols could seem to have universal significance for a large majority of people– but what I learned most was that trusting your gut intuition about a reading often leads you to the right answer. I don’t think that Tarot can tell the future per se, but it can open up pathways and light up red flags that you may not have seen at first.

I also often feel that Tarot always tells me things I don’t want to hear– when I’m ignoring a crucial lesson and I know I’m doing it, the cards always seem to kick me in the ass and say, “hey, you’re not being very self-aware right now.”

Intuition is kind of funny like that. The less self-aware you are in the moment, the less receptive you might be to the subtle nuances of the world around you. I tend to be really sensitive to things– people, loud sounds, etc and can be a pretty internal person. I write for a living, and creativity is kind of my calling, so I’ve always been about taking the chaos of the external world and funneling into something else, like a poem or short story.

This is the foundation for my philosophy regarding Tarot, because reading with the cards is one such tool for funneling that chaos into something that can be understood, or at least digested. Once that information is simplified, the person getting the reading will hopefully have a better idea of what paths they need to take regarding whatever answers they are seeking.

Q: How do you feel a client might get the most out of a reading with you?

Elle: I would say that a client will get the most when they come in to the reading with an open mind, and aren’t seeking a black-and-white, yes-or-no answer, mostly because life is never that simple. I always try to provide tips for self-care or nurturing when I come across cards that tell me the person isn’t doing so well, or the answer isn’t super positive. I aim to be the kind of support for people- the chaos funnel, if you will.

Q: What is your best piece of advice for an aspiring tarot reader?

Elle: JOURNALING. I can’t stress journaling enough. I always recommend pulling at least one card for yourself a day and trying to interpret your first gut-response meaning to the card on your own before seeking out other resources to determine its meaning. I think this helps the aspiring reader develop a sense of intuition around the cards. I had read cards for years– almost over a decade– before I could trust my gut reaction to what the cards were telling me. It was only by putting down the “book of meanings” and really forcing myself to think about the intent of the cards and the symbols within them that I could trust my intuition and become a better reader.

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Big hugs to Elle for making time to talk tarot with me! Learn more about her here: Tarot Darling.

Blessings,

Theresa