When I was 12 years old I used to watch an afternoon television show about some high school kids and the shenanigans they would get themselves into.  In one episode this moody goth-type girl brought her Tarot cards to school and started giving readings to her classmates. I was immediately hooked. I had no idea what Tarot was, but I immediately decided that it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen and I wanted in.  

 

I was persistent enough that my mother went into a tobacco shop, they sold all kinds of playing cards in those stores back then, and bought me a Tarot of Marseilles deck. I still remember the light blue box it came packaged in.  And that was the start of the 30+ years journey I have had with the Tarot.

 

Over time though I felt the urge to dedicate myself to do Tarot exclusively.  I made a deal with the universe: if I was meant to be a full time Tarot reader I would need a very clear sign.  The same evening, as I was walking down Mulberry Street in Little Italy, a door opened and a man appeared.  We locked eyes for a second and he asked me if I had rang his bell. I said no, as I was just walking down the street. His dog came outside, and we started chatting.  The man was Frank Andrews, one of the most famous and sought after Tarot readers in New York from the 1960s to the present day. I ended up asking him to mentor me on my journey.  He was in his 80s and retiring, and not really taking mentees, but he would think about it.  

 

For the following ten months I went to his house every Tuesday morning at 10 am sharp.  He often said, “Don’t be late or I won’t open the door.”  Frank shared with me a lifetime of experience and stories involving common people, rockstars, actors, royalty, and gangsters.  I call those ten months my PhD in Tarot.  After many sessions, Frank told me that I was ready to go out in the world and make my own career.  He noted eventually I would have stories and experiences like him or better, and to have fun with it. So out I went.  To this day, I periodically catch up with Frank and I have the opportunity to tell him my own tarot stories.  My approach to tarot comes from this experience.  

 

Tarot can be used in many ways, and at times I have used it for meditation and spiritual practices.  In my practice and in my lectures, I approach it as a practical tool to use to gain insight on certain situations, and to find answers to pressing questions.  My current working deck for readings is the Ancient Italian Tarot, a 1850’s version of the Marseilles deck.  I have done lectures all over New York, and am currently working on taking the teachings of Tarot on the road.