savannah jvmes

Why I read Tarot

+ Eclipse readings, the opposite as medicine

Savannah  James's avatar
Savannah James
Sep 18, 2025
∙ Paid
5
1
Share

on about a monthly basis, I am going to start posting a written summary of my intuitive work. This will range anywhere from collected insights from tarot readings, astrologically informed happenings, or research-based findings as I continue down a path of self-study. Paying subscribers will receive the full report.

also, if you’re interested in booking a reading or have any questions regarding this work, feel free to reach out. I will be reading Tarot this Saturday at Flower Cat in Greenpoint, 1pm-6pm.


My initial interest in Tarot came from my equal attraction to playing cards and esoteric knowledge. I learned playing card games when I was very young. The cards gave me butterflies. I’d look into the eyes of a Queen or a King, run my fingers over the multiplied symbols of the suits. I felt a deeper knowing from the cards, and even more so, felt safe with them in my hands.

In my teenage years, my hunger for knowledge extended toward the eccentric, generating a natural interest in things like oujia boards, astral projection, and existential quests. Somewhere along the way, I learned of Tarot. I was apprehensive to purchase a deck— I didn’t feel worthy of doing so. Around sixteen years old, however, my curiosity piqued, and I purchased a Rider-Waite Smith

I familiarised myself the with Arcana by pulling a card everyday and writing about it in my sketchbook. I quickly learned that Tarot wasn’t so much a tool of telling the future as it was a mirror of life. The symbols and colours of the cards drew me in, just like playing cards had.

Over time, I experimented with past-present-future spreads, cards of the month, etc. One night, at a house party my friends and I threw in our Bushwick apartment, R. told me to get out the cards and do readings for people. Her and I had been reading cards for each other regularly on our roof. So I did. I remember particularly reading cards for her ex boyfriend, who felt his reading was so accurate that he escaped to the roof to smoke a cigarette afterwards. This was the moment I realised the Tarot can have a deep effect on others, and I may be a good facilitator in providing that message.

Nearly two years ago, I started doing regular lunation readings at Flower Cat. The idea came about around Valentine’s day, when my coworker, Mack, also a reader (and extremely talented astrologer) did love readings. The feedback was good, and we both felt like regular readings would be a great opportunity for us to practice our gifts.

Since, it’s been a massive language immersion journey. I’ve cycled through a few decks. I’ve also enriched my readings with astrological knowledge, thanks to Mack. I’ve learned so much about people on a collective level, and most certainly have learned about myself in ways I never expected— like that I hold a lot of tension in my stomach, that my synesthesia might run deeper than I thought, of my own flawed dynamics with my parents.

This is all to say, I’m ready dive deeper into my practice. I crave further understanding of the cards and their healing qualities. In efforts to do so, I am embarking on Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Art of Tarot. This book has been in my awareness for a few years, and I’ve followed Jodorowsky’s teachings on magic for quite some time now. I relate to how he articulates circumstance in a way I struggle to relate to many New Age readers.

From the start, Jodorowsky advises all readers to ask why they read Tarot; to keep this intention in mind while reading for others. This struck me; part of the reason why I want to deepen my studies with the Tarot is to remind myself why I began in the first place.

2018, at said party, mid-tarot read

I read Tarot to remind myself that life is always in motion. That not everything is as it appears; or, it may be as exactly as it appears and it’s time to believe. That I am a Magician, a Fool, a Divine Empress, a Priest with a Devil on my shoulder. That this life is nuanced. That everything is a continuation of everything else.

I read for others to remind them, too, that they are living in a world of creation. Things don’t just happen, but happen in response to action or perspectives taken. I read to help others see what might be left out, what might not want to be looked at. I read to help others heal, because the Tarot has helped me heal in more ways than one.

I read to connect. Reading Tarot for a stranger is one of my favourite ways to connect with someone. The cards are a common ground to share experiences over. Like a campfire, they illuminate and inspire vulnerable truth to be shared. The cards offer an opportunity for acceptance and understanding that can otherwise be difficult to find.

In just a few months, I will enter my Saturn return. My perspectives are bound to be challenged, destroyed even. Embarking on a deeper study of the Tarot seems like an apt move as the time approaches; as layers begin to peel back, I feel the cards will serve as great support for truths I might not comprehend in completion on the first try. In cultivating a deeper connection with the cards, I believe I will also understand exactly how I want to connect deeper with others as well.

these days @ Flower Cat

ECLIPSE READINGS : PART I

At the beginning of the month, we entered the second eclipse cycle of 2025 with a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in the sign of Pisces. The first of two eclipses, this lunation touched largely on themes of honing in our dreams and what to shed from our life in order to achieve them.

I read cards on the Friday and Saturday before the lunation— Friday at an event, Saturday at the café. After each session, I try to find a pattern or through-line message. This time around was right on point with the eclipse energy of this season; how to transition out of relationships, jobs, and beliefs we have long-outgrown.

Friday, September 5:

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to savannah jvmes to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Savannah James
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture