Talkin' Tarot with Nathan Ricks

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 three 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.

Nathan Ricks of EsoTarot Readings is a funny guy. You can always count on him for a clever pun delivered with a straight face with perfect timing. But don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s not serious about tarot. He’s absolutely dedicated to perfecting his craft and taking good care of his clients.

He’s been gaining attention in tarot circles with his card of the day interpretations and a weekly series called ESOTarot Live, where he interviews different people in the spiritual industry (I’ve been a guest twice!). Nathan also has the EsoTarot Podcast, which brings new episodes every Wednesday. In addition to all this goodness, he’s offering tarot readings, including six and twelve-month packages for people who want to go deep or stay on track for a particular goal.

This is all happening in Tennessee, where he works side by side with his wife at Jillian’s Healing Arts Center, a hot spot for Reiki, massage, belly dance, yoga…and tarot! But you don’t have to be in Tennessee to work with him – he’s offering tarot readings via email and Zoom/Facetime. (But if you’re in his neck ‘o the woods, you can get an in-person session!)

Nathan and Jillian Ricks are proud parents to two small children, Brian and Lori. Which leads to this burning question: when does he sleep? Never? Whatever he’s doing to manage all this, I need to know that secret! No joke! (Well…maybe…)

Bio:

In Nathans’s own words: From the time I was born I was fed a strict diet of witch hazel, sage, and the mother’s milk of the ancient lady of our order. The ancient lady was of five scores and weighted of eight and a half stone. As a toddler, after I cut my teeth on rose quartz, I was given the all seers examination by the elders of our order, and there it was discovered that I possess the 3rd sight. From then on, my day consisted of intense yoga, meditation, hours of studying the ways of the tarot. As a teenager, after I had learned all that I could from the elders, I went to New Orleans to the Temple of the Rising Moon. There I learned how to tap into my chi and become energetically one with the tarot deck…I’m just kidding.

Ok…here is the real story,

I born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on February 14, 1984. I got married to Jillian Shelton Ricks in 2009 (who is far more interesting than me) and we have two kids Brian and Lori. I work in IT as an analyst for a company that I can not state. Nothing secret, just strict social media policies. I bought a Tarot deck and book from the internet. (5:30 AM by the way, you know who you are…) I studied the card meanings, read the little book and I fell in love with it. I started reading for myself, then my wife, and then other people. (You’ve got to admit the other story was a lot cooler.)

Here is a kind of cool story. I bought a deck in my twenties when I tried to learn the first time, but put it away in storage for many years. Then, in 2019 I found the deck while moving items from storage and decided to give it another go. This time it felt right, the meanings stuck, the readings flowed, and people enjoyed my readings.

In my off time, you will find me rocking out to heavy metal or any music for that matter, being a dad, traveling with Jillian (pre-Covid), cooking, building my tarot/podcast empire, being a smart ass, loving Star Wars, and shamelessly plugging my wife’s business, Jillian’s Healing Art Center.

Contact Information:

Website: www.jillianshealingartscenter.com/tarot
Email: esotarotreadings@gmail.com
Instagram: esotarotreadings
Facebook: EsoTarot Readings
Twitter: EsoTarot Readings
Podcast: The EsoTarot Podcast
Patreon: ESOTarot Readings

Check out Nathan’s answers to my questions below:

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Q: What is your philosophy about tarot reading?

Nathan: I see tarot as one of the many tools in the Batman Spirituality Utility Belt. Bat-Tarot, Bat Candles, Bat Crystals, and Bat Shark Repellent (yes, that last one is actually a thing). Tarot is also a wonderful tool for people that use pictures and touch in order to understand what is being communicated to them. Being one of these people, I learn best from pictures and working with my hands. I like to bring my philosophy of life into tarot, which is not to take everything so seriously and that life is constantly in search of balance. We all need water in order to survive, but too much water can be destructive.

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

Nathan: I guess that it goes without saying don’t be a jerk. Have an open mind and heart, Have in mind what you want your reading to be about. This is your reading, get the most of it, want to know how to turn your love life around, then ask “How can I turn my love life around?” Not “What does my love life look like.” I always say that “Vague questions yield vague answers.” Tarot is funny like that, and yes tarot deck does have a sense of humor. I can not tell you how many times that I have pulled a card and said “Oh, you think you’re funny, don’t you.”

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

Nathan: Get out of your head and you will eventually have a bad reading. Every great comedian has a story of bombing on stage, most of them treating it like a rite of passage. This is how you should treat it, as a rite of passage. The important thing is to learn from these readings and not let it get you all blocked up. As a wise woman once told me while reading my cards about a reading that got me in my head and blocked, “Don’t go into every reading expecting to pull a rabbit out of your ass” then she pulled the cards that proceeded to hand me my ass on a silver platter. The point is you are going to botch a reading, however, do not let it get you down. One of my favorite quotes from Master Yoda is “The greatest teacher, failure is.”

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Super grateful for Nathan taking time from his insane schedule to chat with me. Get a reading from him right here.

xo
Theresa

image from TeriAnne