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.
One of my missions is to connect face to face with every tarot reader that I meet over the internet. That’s a pretty ambitious goal because many of my card reading crew live far away from my hub! One tarot person who is on my “must meet” list is Joanna Ash, who is based in Singapore. Not sure if I’ll get to her hood anytime soon (or if she’ll come here) but she’s in my sights.
And for a very good reason, I might add. Joanna has a remarkable grasp on tarot (just read her detailed Card du Jour and you’ll see what I mean) and she’s a total pro. With smart blog posts such as her new Tarot Tip Tuesdays, she’s generously dishing out lots of tarot lovin’ wisdom for fellow enthusiasts. She’s definitely a reader to keep an eye on.
She’s not only adept in the cards but also numerology. I always learn a little something new from her daily numerology posts. Joanna is warm, caring, and approachable – and she manages to remain so while still keeping her professionalism. She is a class act, for sure (and a great tarot role model).
If you’re in Singapore, she offers face to face readings as well as parties and corporate events. Not in that neck o’ the woods? No problem – she’s available for email readings as well. (PS she’s also hanging out all over social media, so she’s not hard to track down.) I admire and respect Joanna and I think you will too.
Connect with her at these various hot spots:
Website: www.sungoddesstarot.com
Email: Joanna@sungoddesstarot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SunGoddessTarot
Blog: http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com
Joanna’s Bio:
Joanna is a marketeer by trade, and a Tarot reader by accident. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist. She is currently running a consultancy based in Singapore called Sun Goddess Tarot, which provides confidential intuitive readings combining the metaphysical disciplines of Tarot, Numerology and Astrology, via face to face and emails as well as readings at corporate and private events and conducts Tarot and Numerology workshops. As Joanna manages two careers as a marketing and PR professional as well as a Tarot reader, she has made a name for herself as the “CBD Reader” providing readings within proximity of her clients within the central business district, who are mostly corporate executives. She has also been actively working with the human resource managers in various corporations to develop interpersonal skills and communication training workshops using Tarot and Numerology. A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI). She also mentors Tarot protégés on behalf of the American Tarot Association as her way to pay it forward.
Check out her answers to my questions below:
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1. What is your philosophy about tarot reading?
Joanna: Tarot for years had been surrounded by various spiritual ideologies and mystical practices. When I was younger, I had often come across callous advertising at fairgrounds, events, magazines and websites where a tarot reader labeled him or herself as a ‘fortune-teller”. I got really riled up by that because I associated that with false advertising. When introduced to friends, I would tell them that I am a Tarot reader and not a “fortune-teller”. Tarot is not meant to help one foretell fortunes let alone build and maintain one. When I had gone pro with my Tarot and Numerology skills, I decided then that my mission was to de-mystify Tarot as a divining tool used only by those with leanings that bordered on “woo-woo” ideas cloaked in a big word called “esoteric”. So, my philosophy on tarot reading is very simple. Tarot is a practical tool meant to offer guidance and open my client’s mind to options with which he or she could make personal choices to influence his or her own desired outcome. One need not be spiritually inclined or have a specific religion to embrace Tarot although Tarot can help provide insights with which one could make informed decisions on spiritual decisions that may impact one’s life directly or indirectly.
Most importantly, my practice as a Tarot reader is founded on authenticity. This authenticity meant that I could pursue two career paths side by side and allow them to intermingle perfectly in a symphony of synergistic skills and experience. While running a Tarot and Numerology business, I am concurrently the head of marketing and public relations at an MNC. Managing these two career paths allowed my clients who held high-flying corporate jobs to trust me better because they know that I understand their everyday challenges within their corporate jobs and could better support them when I provided them with Tarot readings. The same authenticity also had opened the doors to invitations for me to conduct corporate workshops using Tarot and Numerology to supplement soft-skills training and other executive training programs. This underlined my philosophy from the outset that Tarot is a tool for guidance and support. It is not a mystical fortune-telling device that draws information from the deep recesses of another spiritual dimension that is beyond our comprehension. Tarot is simply a tool for guidance and support that draws insights from deep within us. It taps on our own wisdom and intuition – both my client’s and mine. It is this belief that prompted me to keep chipping away at demystifying the craft.
2. How do you feel a client might get the most out of a reading with you?
Joanna: Come to me with an open mind. Be open about hearing the good as well as the bad. Understand that Tarot does not portend a negative situation and leaves it there. It provides you the option to turn that negative situation into a positive one either by offering you the hope and advice of turning the situation around or by changing your perceptions about the situation.
Keep the question focused. A focused question illicit a focused answer from the cards. I would strongly recommend that clients read my blog post appended here: A Focused Question, Please
Respect my cards the way I respect it. Do not force an answer out of it or be cross with it just because you do not get the answer you want to hear. The Universe provides you that certain amount of information because it knows it is enough for you to use it to make informed decisions with it. While on this same point, do be honest. Come to me with the genuine intent to get advice and guidance from the cards. Do not attempt to test the cards or my skills as a reader just for the fun of it.
Provide me with more information that could help lend more depth to the reading. Firstly, do provide your birth date and full name. As my reading style welds all three metaphysical practices of Tarot, Numerology, and Astrology together, you will get a more comprehensive reading when I know your birth date and full name. Secondly, when you provide me with more information about the background of your situation, that helps me frame the questions and create a Tarot spread that suits your needs better. I liken it to seeing a doctor. When you do see your doctor, you do tell him that you have a sore throat and a running nose. You do not simply tell him that you are sick, do you?
3. What is your best piece of advice for an aspiring tarot reader?
Joanna: There will be skepticism from others. I have often been asked rude questions about whether I could pull a rabbit out of a hat too. Just remember that skepticism is often a result of the lack of understanding about what we do as a Tarot reader. What is most important is that you do not be skeptical about your own intuitive skills. Do not allow your rational mind be an obstacle to your intuition. Trust your intuition first and foremost.
The Tarot community worldwide is my extended family. Like family, they are critical in my development as a Tarot reader when they share their experiences, and when they provide me with sound advice. So if you are an aspiring Tarot reader, do reach out to the more experienced and better-skilled Tarot readers internationally who are often very generous with their time and advice. Get involved in Tarot communities, subscribe to Tarot blogs, join Tarot associations, and make more friends at your local Tarot meet-ups. Most importantly, do not forget to pay it forward. In no time at all, you will be gaining so much information, skills and experience that other aspiring Tarot readers will be looking to you for support and advice. Render it generously.
Do read my blog post on what you should know before becoming a Tarot reader: What You Should Know Before Becoming a Tarot Reader
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Big shout out and major props to Joanna for taking a minute to gab with me! Learn more about her tarot lovin’ world or get a reading over at Sun Goddess Tarot!
Blessings!
Theresa
© Theresa Reed | The Tarot Lady 2014
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I’m Theresa Reed (aka, The Tarot Lady). I’ve been a full-time tarot reader for 30+ years — which, in my industry, makes me pretty badass.
I’m definitely not your average Tarot expert — I drop the F-bomb, I quote rappers, and I’m obsessed with pop culture + reality TV. Folks come to me for straight-talk + tough-love — without the woo-woo fluff. 
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