Tarot is on everyone’s lips right now, and for some of us it is always in our hearts. There’s a new film coming out, and my new book Tarot Every Witch Way releases soon. So I’m taking this fortuitous opportunity to highlight some of my favorite tarot professionals. This time it is a fellow New Orleans Witch, someone who is both near and dear to me, Juliet Rose.
When did you start divining?
I started divining when I was in high school. My cousin gifted me my first oracle deck when I was 15.
With what method?
I started out with oracle cards and then became fascinated with tarot pretty soon after. I bought my first tarot deck (a pocket-sized one right by the register that I could buy discreetly amidst other purchases) at Borders Books. I grew up in a conservative small town, so my tarot practice was like this beautiful, secret thing that was just mine—a world I could disappear in and connect with spirit for clarity and guidance without anyone else knowing. I fell in love with the practice and started divining about everything—relationships, life path, what college to go to, etc. I still mostly used oracle cards in my teen years, but started using primarily tarot when I got into my twenties.
Which method do you use most often now?
Definitely tarot (and mediumship/channeling). I find tarot can answer most questions and clarify most situations really effectively. Sometimes I use oracle cards and crystals to add further emotional and situational context to a tarot reading
How important is the choice/phrasing of the question?
I used to think it was not important, and then I started tracking my readings for myself in a journal and realized that when an answer “didn’t make sense” in a reading, it was usually because I hadn’t asked a real question or my question was too confusing/interpretable in a variety of ways. If you’re just looking for general guidance, I think it’s okay not to have a question, but then it’s important to be open to whatever message comes through. If there’s something you want to know, I’ve learned it’s better not to be “shy” with spirit and just ask what you want to ask, in the way you want to ask it, and then trust the message you receive is actually the answer to that question. I’ve also found clarifying timing to be important in certain readings. I remember about nine years ago, I pulled some cards about a cute guy I met in a bar. I was curious if we had any possible future together/if I should keep flirting with him, and I was happy to receive the two of cups and the ten of pentacles. I thought we were going to get close and maybe even have a romantic future with one another and was disappointed when “nothing happened.” Lo and behold, I ended up staying friends with the person and we did get emotionally closer in a way that has turned somewhat romantic a few times over the years—but not until many years after that initial reading.
Do you have a yes/no method of divining you recommend?
In the past, I’ve used pendulums for this, but I felt like I was influencing the results of the pendulum too much, so I switched to single card tarot pulls for yes or no questions. I have certain cards I think of as “yes,” “no,” or “maybe” answers to yes/no questions and depending on which single card I draw, that’s the answer to the question.
Is there any advice you have for newcomers when using divination?
You don’t need to rely on the guidebook as much as you think. A lot of new readers are sometimes put off from learning tarot because they’re worried about “memorizing all the meanings.” Personally, once I started trusting my own intuition more than I was trying to recall or remember specific traditional meanings of cards from any one book, my readings became more effective and specific to the people I was reading for.
What’s new and next for you?
I’m finishing some tarot and oracle deck concept ideas I’m hoping to try and pitch by mid-2024, as well as a poetry chapbook. I’m also excited to be presenting a class at WitchCon and working on a product line of talismans made from magickal plants.
What’s the best way for people to get it touch and get a reading?
One can book readings with me in-person or by phone at Potions Lounge, Vampire Apothecary, or Omen in the French Quarter (NOLA) or by scheduling online for a virtual session through my website, sunkissedowlmagic.com Clients seeking a custom time slot or appointment can email me at tigerjrose@gmail.com
Biography:
Juliet is an Indigenous and Sicilian witch and a priestess of the Alexandrian tradition. She’s a fiery Aries from Philadelphia who has been using her psychic and mediumship gifts to help people since she was a child. Juliet has over a decade of cartomancy experience and has been reading professionally in New Orleans since 2018. She works closely with her spiritual teachers and magickal ancestors (who hail from the Narragansett Indian Tribe and the volcanic mountains of Catania, Sicily) to channel information for the highest good of all.
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