We recently connected with Alejandra Luisa León and have shared our conversation below.

Alejandra Luisa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

In my late twenties, I had finished college, but I was perplexed as to what path to take as far as career went. I had always been the artistic type, and the job market left a lot to be desired for me. I continued to wait tables, as I had done for quite a while. I worked in a clothing store as well. I had been reading Tarot for friends and family for free for years, but had never considered making it my profession. One thing led to another and I got my first gig reading at a party. The lightbulb went off. It felt so clear. I spent months coming up with my business name, and finally settled on The Lioness Oracle. I bought the domain name, made it my instagram handle, and created a website. At the same time, my father passed away, and I began to collage. This medium soothed my nerves and helped with the grief process. Within a year I decided I would make the collages into a Tarot deck. I was reading the cards all over the Bay Area at this point, and building up a following. In the last quarter of 2016 I launched a Kickstarter to fund the self-publishing of my first deck, The Lioness Oracle Tarot. It was successful, and when it arrived it sold really well. I was able to work full time for myself at that point, and I have ever since.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Tarot came into my life when I was having a crisis at age 17. Through serendipity, I ended up at a woman’s table who only gave readings out of her home once a week, and you could only see her if you heard of her by word of mouth. It was monumentally helpful for my young soul, and after that I delved into learning the cards for myself. I also delved deeper into Astrology as well. Meanwhile I always had a creative side. I took music lessons and dance classes growing up, and my favorite thing in grade school was theater arts. The two interests of Tarot and creativity organically blended together right before I turned 30, leading to my current work, which has been self-publishing hand made collage decks for divination. I also see people one on one, read Tarot at events, and teach classes. I think I am most proud of the fact that I built this from the ground up with no money to speak of. I do not come from generational wealth, and I wasn’t working with any inheritances. I launched a Kickstarter and worked hard to keep it going from there. If you would have told me in my twenties that I would be doing what I am doing now I would have been surprised, because I truly didn’t know how I was going to be myself in a career. It is such a joy to hear from people around the world that they find meaning in my work. That is the true pleasure, that it is bringing people beauty in some form or other.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There have been several times in my journey where it has been difficult to keep track of inventory and keep my products in stock. I do it all myself, and being creative and a business professional at the same time is not always easy. There were times I was tempted to quit, or thought I would have to. Each time I would persevere, and find a way, whether that was a small business loan or managing my finances differently. Ultimately, it was important for me to show up and keep doing my thing, because I can’t see myself doing anything else, and I do love it. When you blend your passion with your work there are going to be times where it is like any other job. You get tired, you get bored, you lose steam. It is vital to find a way to breathe new life into the business somehow. In my case the business is me, so I have to do that for myself. I do things that remind me of why I began this journey. What I love about it. A lot of that is connecting with people. I can be feeling a certain way, and if I get a meaningful message from someone who benefited from my work it is so uplifting. I love that.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The first lesson I unlearned was that you can’t make a living being creative! Add Tarot to that. Before I began this process, if I would have told people about my idea I think most of them would have thought I was insane. I kept it close to heart for a long time, and believe me, even then there were naysayers. While I was working on my first deck, barely making it financially, it was all too easy at times to think what I was doing was a pipe dream. I had to take the risk and see for myself what would happen. I am so glad I did because it ended up being the best choice I ever made.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thelionessoracle.com
• Instagram: thelionessoracle

Image Credits

All photos taken by Julia Corbett. Thank you for crediting her!