I first noticed Jessica Bowman on Twitter (she’s Constantine319) when she started playing along with the #amtarot and #pmtarot. Her interpretations were lively, intelligent and thoughtful. Like myself, Jessica is an intuitive tarot reader and has a strong connection with her sixth sense. She’s been aware that she had the ability to tap into spiritual energy and “feel things” for many years now. Being intuitive is not as easy as it looks – and when you are younger, it is sometimes hard to understand it. But Jessica is different – she is grounded and down to earth. She seems to instinctively know that in order to be a good reader we need to keep one foot on the ground in addition to one in the spiritual realm.
I see a lot of myself when I was younger in Jessica so perhaps that is also a reason I am drawn to her. I remember having a strong connection to spirit when I was very young and how long it took me to really get cool with that. She makes it look so easy. Which tells me that she has the potential to do great things. I would encourage everyone to read her blog and follow her on Twitter. This is a young woman with a bright future in tarot.
Jessica took time to answer some questions about being a young tarot reader.
1. What age were you when you started?
Jessica: I was 18, almost 19, when I bought my first deck. It was the Easy Tarot Kit from Ciro Marchetti and Josephine Ellershaw.
2. What drew you into tarot?
Jessica: I’ve always been interested in the metaphysical and new age, but while I was recovering from surgery in September of ’08 I met a neopagan who invited me to her Halloween party. She rekindled my interest in the spiritual, and with all my free time at home by myself, I spent a lot of time on the computer researching whatever tickled my fancy. I started with Wicca and ended up, some weeks later, on tarot cards – and from then on, I had this indescribable need to get my hands on a deck. As soon as I had a chance I bought myself a deck, and I’ve never gone back.
3. Why do you think more young people don’t get into tarot as a profession?
Jessica: I think with the economy being a drag right now, there’s a lot of focus on going to college and getting a formal education. I live in a college town so most of my friends are in colleges, working towards ‘traditional’ degrees and ‘traditional’ jobs because it’s a safer and more reliable career route. There’s a lot of financial security associated with having a degree. For reading tarot, there isn’t any sort of degree program; there isn’t much of an established (or extremely well publicized) tried-and-true way to start your tarot business. I think there’s also a lot of remaining stigma about tarot cards (even though I think it’s gradually changing) so many people my age and younger may simply not have the guts to put themselves out there. Lastly, since tarot reading is a less-traditional occupation, it’s harder to find people you can talk to and ask for advice for how to get started, or even just to admire and say, “yes, that’s what I want to do” and work towards what they have seen other readers achieve.
4. What are some of the stumbling blocks that you faced as a young reader?
Jessica: My first and biggest stumbling block was not knowing how to distinguish the guidance from my ego when I was first learning to read. I tend to have a pretty high level of self-confidence, and I felt that the meaning should hit me over the head so I pushed away any subtle guidance I encountered. After a while I learned that tarot is more about simply listening and passing along what you have received. Another big problem I faced after I learned the basic meanings of the cards was finding people I could practice my reading techniques on. I stumbled across a psychic development forum (now changed owners and as far as I’m concerned, a total dump) and met someone who took nervous, shaky me by the hand and held on tight for the next year. It’s also been an adventure discovering how some people want the blunt and often ugly truth, after I’ve spent a few moments trying to soften something the cards say. My third stumbling block, one I’m still feeling today, is my courage (or lack thereof) to read in person. I’ve read for quite a few people face to face, but I’m still much more comfortable reading online (which consists of me shuffling and laying out the cards and then typing up my interpretation) than anything. I know part of this stems from the fact that I haven’t been reading for very long, and that I need more practice – this opens up yet another can of worms; should I charge for my readings while I am building up a practice? How much is appropriate? Etc.
5. How have you been treated by the tarot community?
Jessica: On the first forum I found, I was welcomed with open arms. I got busy with school and work and faded off that forum; when I returned to this forum a few months ago and began to share some of my experiences and advice, I was deleted and banned from that site. The owner said essentially that ‘forecasting with tarot was neither reliable nor acceptable, and it is irresponsible to encourage others to do the same in any capacity’, when I shared with a new tarot reader how I loved the 3 card past, present, future spread. I haven’t gone back! The original owner had left the site to the highest bidder, a user who had always been supportive and helpful, but ran off anyone who wasn’t in her selective group of approved readers.
Aeclectic.net was lovely – I never did much posting in the forum simply because someone had already asked every question I had, it was just a matter of finding it. I have joined the forum Tarot-town.com but I haven’t done much on it quite yet. (I was without reliable internet for quite some time.) There’s a whole other community on Twitter, though – l follow literally dozens of tarot readers, and everyone’s been great on Twitter. There’s a great sense of fellowship and I love seeing the variety of interpretations from #amtarot, #pmtarot and #tarottoo. These quick games and entries are wonderful for squeezing in a few minutes of divine connection between busy times at work or home.
6. Have you faced any prejudices because of your age?
Jessica: Not outright, I don’t believe – I have always had really great reviews and feedback from anyone who was genuinely interested in a reading. When I first started learning, however, I did run across a few less-than-supportive people who said I was merely “going through a phase” and I’d become disinterested in tarot soon enough. I’ve got 7 or 8 decks now and at least as many books, and I feel like I’ve only breached the surface of my interest (addiction might be a better word) in tarot.
7. How do you think we can get more younger people interested in tarot?
Jessica: Exposure, exposure, exposure. I can’t tell you how many friends I’ve showed a tarot deck to, and how many reply ‘you read tarot? I have a deck but I never learned how to read it’. There’s lots of resources out there, from the Little White Book that comes with most tarot decks, or their paperback manual; there’s hundreds of books on the market, thousands of websites and articles, and just under 5,000 videos on Youtube that reference tarot cards. It’s easy to see why some people get overwhelmed. I firmly believe that most people just need to actually see someone work with a deck to see how versatile, how helpful and how wonderful tarot reading can be. I think that youth, in particular, would benefit from seeing other youth demonstrating how to read the cards. Sure, there’s a sense of mystery when you watch a decrepit old lady shrouded in shawls with clunky jewelry and a crystal ball slowly shuffle the cards, but seriously, what kind of message does that send? You don’t have to be particularly advanced in age to read tarot cards effectively, nor do you have to draw out the suspense and make a show out of it (not that that can’t be fun sometimes).
8. What would be your message to younger readers?
Jessica: There is no ‘wrong’ way to read tarot. Let yourself have fun and explore, and ultimately, let yourself make ‘mistakes’. Don’t be afraid to say the wrong thing. If you feel stuck, go back to the basics and start with what you know; the rest will follow. Practice, practice, practice. There’s a great tarot community online, just a click away – we’ve all been where you are now.
Tarot is a mirror; it will reflect what you put into it. If you want it to be a divine tool for guidance, use it like that; if you want to ‘scare’ people, be prepared to scare yourself. If you sincerely want to help people, tarot can be your guiding light. If you ask a question, trust that your cards are answering. They may not tell you what you want to hear, or you may misinterpret them, but they always tell you what you need to know. It takes some time to learn how to trust the cards, but it’s worth the wait.
Learn more about Jessica at her site: http://constantine319.wordpress.com/ and don’t forget to follow her on Twitter for great tarot tweets and more: Constantine319
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Blessings!
Theresa
Be sure to watch for tomorrow’s post with Courtney Weber!
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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