I went for a tarot reading for the first time — here’s what happened
There are smiles and spells as Emer Harrington and Stacey Walsh share a light-hearted tarot moment together. Picture Chani Anderson
Tarot reading was once considered something for highly superstitious people, who would cross a fortune teller’s palm with silver in return for a glimpse into the future.
Today, tarot is becoming a popular way for people to make sense of a chaotic world. With readings conducted by Zoom, email, or over a glass of Prosecco, it’s fair to say this centuries-old craft has had a glow up.
Curious to find out more, I visited tarot reader Stacey Sayers, aka @this_irish_witch on Instagram.
Although she usually does readings online, she has offered to meet me at The Liberty Bar in Cork City, where she holds regular Tarot and Prosecco events.
The pub’s upstairs room is a fitting venue for my reading, with its dark walls, subdued lighting, and antique furniture and mirrors.
There’s a gothic vibe to the space, and I half expect to see a witch’s cauldron bubbling in the corner.
Instead, I meet Stacey, who greets me warmly and shows me to a table with several decks of cards laid out.
“All the cards do different things,” she explains. “They all have their own little purpose.”
People often come to a tarot reading expecting to hear about their future, but Stacey believes the past can be more revealing: “I think sometimes people expect, ‘You’re going to meet Mr Tall, Dark, and Handsome’, and instead I’m like: ‘You’ve got trauma!’”
A mum of three based in West Cork, Stacey grew up in a Catholic household.
She began to explore her own spirituality after struggling with secondary infertility.
“It just set me on this complete journey of trying to understand my body, and my energy, and working with my womb. My biggest passion is empowering women,” she says.
Witchcraft and spirituality have helped her connect with her own innate power.
“Something I’ve learned over the last few years is that traditional religion teaches you God is outside, so you need to go to Mass, or you need to have your confession,” she says.
“With spirituality, I understand that the goddess is actually inside of me, and that I have control.”
Stacey has been reading tarot cards for the past two years.
“My friends hate to see me coming when we have a few drinks because I’m like Mystic Meg.
“I’m like: ‘Come over here, I want to talk to you,’” she says with a laugh.
Her relaxed and friendly manner immediately puts me at ease.
She begins our reading by connecting with my energy, which appears to be that of a slightly stressed woman who has just navigated city centre traffic in the rain.
“I’m feeling a lot of jaw pain, just on the right side,” says Stacey.
She elaborates that this might be indicative of something I’m holding back on in life.
“Sometimes, the right side can be masculine energy. Let’s say there’s a man in your life or there’s a very strong woman … you want to say something to them, and it’s like you’re clenching and you’re holding back.”
I’m not sure who this might represent — I’m fairly confident that my husband never has to guess what’s on my mind. However, the dentist did tell me recently that I need to stop clenching my teeth, so clearly this woman has a sixth sense.
That is not the only thing Stacey picks up on as she turns over the cards. She tells me that the queen of wands card indicates my natural fiery energy, which is pretty spot on.
“You are somebody who likes to go places … If you get stuck in a nine-to-five Monday to Friday job, you’re actually going to drive yourself bananas,” she says.
“The fire energy from the wand means that you’re extremely passionate. You have to be very driven in what you do, and it has to really stoke that fire inside.”
Passionate, driven, easily bored — I can feel myself nodding along as she talks.
She interprets the king of pentacles card as my husband’s practical nature balancing out my fiery side.
“He’s very grounded. He needs to make sure the bills are paid, and the house is okay, and the tyres have air in them,” she says.
Knowing that he has just had our car serviced and purchased new tyres for winter, I can’t help but smile at the accuracy of this assessment.
Throughout the reading there’s a big emphasis on the need for more self love.
Stacey senses that there is a past version of myself that never believed I’d be where I am today.
“I think it can be a really good exercise to look at your past, and what I recommend to people is writing a letter to yourself,” she says.
“You can say ‘thank you for everything you’ve done,’ or whatever it is, and you can release or set fire to it.”
I personally love that idea, and might take it on board as a little Samhain ritual.
AT ONE point, she turns over a card which depicts a figure stabbing another one in the neck. This can’t be good, surely?
But she quickly assures me that there is an important message here about self kindness.
“There’s this fear of people judging you behind your back, but when you feed yourself love, it doesn’t matter what anybody says,” she explains.
“If you begin talking nicely to yourself, then other people’s judgments won’t really matter as much.”
Stacey’s advice for when I find myself in a slump is to “lean into the love”.
She notes that women are often seen as caregivers, but we also need to take care of ourselves.
“We always give outwards … but our well runs dry. But if you start pouring into your well, your well overflows, and everybody benefits.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Not everything hits home in an obvious way.
When Stacey reveals a devil card, she warns of a potentially toxic atmosphere at work and a boss figure who “takes a lot of the credit, even though he’s done none of the work”.
Thankfully, this doesn’t sound familiar to me. While working alone as a freelancer comes with its challenges, dealing with office politics isn’t one of them.
I appreciate that a tarot reading isn’t necessarily meant to be literal, and Stacey doesn’t claim to have all the answers. The cards offer an opportunity to reflect on certain situations in life, and perhaps gain a new perspective.
I believe these things work best when we take what resonates with us, and don’t get too bogged down in the rest.
Occasionally, Stacey has clients who appear cynical and don’t give much away — but this doesn’t affect her ability to read the cards.
“It’s funny, I’ve had people who sit across from me who give me nothing. They just sit there and they won’t even look at me … and at the end they’ll go: ‘That was the best reading!’”
Overall, I left the reading feeling calmer and with some helpful insights to take away. Whatever you believe about tarot or witchcraft, spending half an hour with someone who encourages you to be open, reflective, and kinder to yourself is balm for the soul.
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