We recently connected with Sanyelle Sandusky and have shared our conversation below.
Sanyelle, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
About six years ago, I was working at a mall for a small, local business. I had the honor of working with some great people, who I am still close with today. When it came to matters of the spirit, I was recovering from a fundamentalist religious upbringing, but softening again towards allowing myself to believe in more than the material. A few of my co-workers were interested in Tarot and astrology, and as I listened to them talk about the practices, my interest was piqued. The mall had a store that sold Tarot decks, so on a whim and a lunch break, I bought my first Tarot deck, The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans.
My first approach to Tarot was through the lens of self-help, rather than divination. I saw it as a way to shift my perspectives and to better understand myself. Divination seemed too “woo” for where I was at in my recovery from Christianity. I read with my friends, using the guidebook that came with my Tarot deck, trying to memorize the meanings behind the abstract imagery in the Wild Unknown Tarot.
Over the past six years, I have accumulated close to 50 decks and many books on the topic. I listened to podcasts about Tarot and practiced reading for myself and my friends, and even my clients at the shelter for unhoused youth I began working for. As my interest in Tarot as a more spiritual pursuit grew, so did my interest in other spiritual practices. Tarot opened a door for me to pursue a magical practice that brought me more fulfillment and development than my twenty-some years as a Christian ever had.
As a Tarot practitioner, I had to overcome a lot of imposter syndrome, and further deconstruct my previous ideologies about the nature of spirit and the toxicity of religious indoctrination. Looking back, there’s little that I regret about my approach to Tarot, even as it has changed over the years. Every stage of development and familiarity with the practice taught me something valuable; especially when it comes to holding on to our ideas and perspectives with a loose grip. I do wish I had started with a more traditional deck, as the imagery in those decks holds specific keys to interpretation and spiritual development. My path of study took me from memorizing Tarot card meanings to trying to understand the deeply esoteric nature of Tarot and its power to reveal potential futures.
Reading Tarot, for me, is about connecting with myself and my own intuition, as much as it is about connecting with whatever you may define as a higher power or source. It is about trusting your gut as you study the images in the cards and helping clients form their own connections with the cards. When I was first reading, I had little to no faith in my ability to understand the messages from the cards on a deeper level, which I think really stunted my growth in the practice. I was so focused on rote memorization rather than intuiting the more complex meanings of the cards. For those who grew up with the famous series, His Dark Materials, I liken Tarot to Lyra reading the Alethiometer. Each symbol on Lyra’s “Golden Compass” has multiple meanings, and Lyra had to understand the complex narratives the simple symbols could weave as she looked past the surface. The beauty of Tarot is how much each reader can bring to the interpretation of the images, even without studying the esoteric traditions that form the foundation of Tarot.
As my Tarot practice continues to grow and expand, I keep returning to the importance of daily practice, as well as tracking my readings much more carefully. It’s incredibly helpful to be able to look back at reading with hindsight and say “That’s what that meant!” Daily practice and diligent recording of readings have helped me not only build my relationship with the decks that I use but also to build relationships with each card. I am able to better familiarize myself with the potential stories each card can tell, and the ways in which the cards respond to one another. I do highly recommend additional research beyond the guidebooks that accompany most decks, as Tarot has a rich history and great depth beyond just its use for readings.
Sanyelle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a Tarot reader and magical practitioner with a healthy dose of skepticism and a passion for research. My work is largely informed by my experiences as a former Christian and my passion for decoloniality and liberation. My educational background is in Gender Studies, and I started a Masters program in Social Work. My “day job” is in social services, a field I’ve been in for nearly a decade. When I read Tarot for my clients, I rely heavily on my background in trauma-related care and my knowledge of oppressive systems and structures. When clients come to me for readings, I want them to be able to contextualize their situations and the interpretation of the cards in the larger contexts in which we exist in this world. My goal is to help my clients better understand the practice of Tarot itself and to understand potential pathways that will result in their growth and expansion. I believe that my experiences with religion, spirituality, social work, magic, decoloniality, and liberation practices give me a unique perspective on incorporating Tarot into long-term development and self-growth. However, I feel like I am very skilled in meeting clients exactly where they are and at intuiting what additional insight may be helpful or not. Realistically, no one is everyone’s cup of tea, but I find myself able to read well for people from various backgrounds and who have different levels of comfort with Tarot.
Currently, I offer four different ways to connect with the Tarot for my clients. For those local to Southwest Utah, in-person readings are an option, offered in 30-minute increments. I also offer readings via Zoom for those who are distant, and I also provide recorded readings or transcript readings for those who cannot make a live reading work. My experience is that a powerful reading can happen even if I never see or speak directly with the person I am reading for. For every reading, the client receives a beautiful PDF recap of the reading, including pictures of each card.
The services that I offer are on a sliding scale, as I want my services to be accessible to everyone. Folks can book any of the following services: in person, via Zoom, in a transcript, or through recorded video at my website https://www.innerspacetarotreadings.com/ Readings are currently scheduled via email, and my website includes the discount code for sliding scale prices. Current rates range from $30 for an introductory spread, up to $120 for more involved spreads and longer readings. You can learn more about my perspectives and work through my free substack at sanyelle.substack.com. My Instagram is @inner.space.alien
Folks may wonder how much info they need to divulge for a reading. The most common readings I see requested are general readings, but some folks have a specific question and elect to keep the query to themselves. Others feel comfortable sharing their questions. It’s up to the client to decide what they are comfortable asking or not asking. If you are curious about Tarot and want to know more about my process, you can reach me via email at [email protected]
If you feel like you are ready for a reading, but don’t want to commit to a 30-minute or longer reading, you can book an introductory reading for a simpler three-card spread. If you want to book for the first time with me after reading this article, you can use code NewCanvasRebel in your email to get 25% of your first reading with me.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
My path into Tarot, spirituality, and magical practice has been a convoluted one. As I have continued to study and grow in my practices, I have had to switch tracks many times, admitting to myself that my current approach or methodology was not sustainable or conducive to growth. When it comes to these areas of study, there is an endless amount of information out there to sift through and it can be quite overwhelming. In my opinion, taking on something like Tarot or magical practice requires a lot of humility and gentleness with one’s self. None of us can ever hope to know everything about the things we love. For me, it has been about learning to identify what honors the person I am, and what brings me into greater alignment with my values.
For the longest time, I was stuck in patterns of really prescriptive practices. It felt like I was contorting myself to fit into the mold of a Tarot reader, witch, or magical practitioner that others insisted was the Right Way or the Only Way to find success. This past year has been about shedding these limiting perspectives and allowing myself to create my own approaches that feel much more genuine and authentic for me. This has involved quite a bit of trust and faith in myself, which was part of healing from a belief system that told me that I was nothing without a personal savior. The beautiful and liberating thing about Tarot is that there is so much room within the practice to apply your unique perspectives. When I was able to accept that I am able to bring a unique voice to the table, I was able to allow myself so much more growth. Not to mention, shaping my own magical practice and Tarot practice that meets my specific needs allows me a creative expression that was lacking when I tried to follow the paths that others were on. And that’s the thing; we are all on different paths, and the path that someone else is on may not be accessible for you, or lead you to the destination meant specifically for you.
This is the kind of liberation that I want to bring to my clients; the understanding of multitudes of paths and ways of being that can lead to new experiences and opportunities.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
When I first started out on my journey with the Tarot, I had no agenda other than satiating my own curiosity. It was a fun way to learn more about myself and tentatively feel out possibilities. The more I engaged with the Tarot, the more I was transformed by it, and the more I wanted to share it with others. Even though it has evolved into a deeply spiritual journey for me, I believe the Tarot has something to offer to everyone, regardless of their beliefs. We are all on the Fool’s journey of trying to make sense and meaning of our existences, trying to identify if we have a purpose and what that purpose could be.
My mission is to help people connect with their own journey and path, to better understand where they are and where they want to be going. Tarot is a medicine, a gift of insight that allows us to shift perspectives and see the world in a different way. It is a portal to inner-knowing, not just for the reader, but for the querent as well. Right now, my focus is on developing my own personal medicine that I can share with others, honing my craft so that I can meet people at the right place and time for the Tarot to present itself. It can be really hard to disengage from the intense grind of social media and self-promotion, but I have been relaxing into a state of receptivity rather than struggle.
Contact Info:
- Website: innerspacetarotreadings.com
- Instagram: inner.space.alien
- Substack: sanyelle.substack.com
Image Credits
Personal photo: Alexander Hamilton