We were lucky to catch up with Brandy Rachelle recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Brandy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
The biggest risk that I have taken in my life was leaving the comfort and safety of my well established career to do what I love. I read tarot full-time as a professional, but that wasn’t always the case. Prior to my taking a leap of faith onto this path, I was a law enforcement Crime and Intelligence Analyst specializing in violent major crimes. I can remember watching the intro to the show “Cops” and thinking about how I was going to grow up and be a cop around the age of about 3, it’s one of my earliest memories. That desire to go into law enforcement stayed with me, but the specific role changed through the years. I remember as a teenager when the original “CSI” debuted on TV and I watched it with my Dad; I immediately knew I wanted to work in investigations. That lasted through my undergraduate years in college while I double majored in Psychology and Criminal Justice, but it wasn’t until Graduate school that I decided to go into crime analysis and intelligence. After 7 years of school and taking out a ton of student loans, that’s what I intended to do until retirement, but that all changed after I found myself faced with working in a field that cared more about numbers and politics then it did about people. It really came bubbling to the surface in 2017 when out of frustration in not being listened to by the Special Victim’s Unit of the agency I was working for, I went to the location of where I believed a serial sexual assault suspect would strike next, and I found myself face to face with the suspect. I put myself in an incredibly risky situation, along with the other analysts that went with me, and in turn realized that I had nothing left to give to this career because if I continued, I’d end up putting myself in another dangerous situation and might not be so lucky. I gave my supervisor a heads up and started looking for another job that could float me until I figure out what to do next or how to make the tarot readings a full-time gig. I spent a year going through the TX state certification process to be teacher while teaching criminal justice for a major school district, and then resigned after a year and a half so that I could focus on my children and building my tarot business. This fall will mark 6 years since I formally left the field working as a law enforcement Crime and Intell Analyst, and while it hasn’t always been easy, it’s been worth it. I get to do what I love, read tarot. While I still regularly assist law enforcement on cases as a Crime Analyst and Forensic Psychic, my days are spent reading tarot and giving clients the insight, clarity and answers that they need in their life to make a real difference rather than reading incident report after incident report of some horribly violent crime(s) that has taken place.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hi there! My name is Brandy, or more formally Brandy Rachelle, and I am a professional tarot reader, as well as energy healing and spiritual guide, writer, podcaster, and teacher.
I have been studying and reading tarot for around two decades, and began openly reading for the general public in 2015 towards the end of my career in law enforcement. Up until 2017, I worked as a Crime and Intelligence Analyst, and used my intuitive gifts and the guidance of the tarot to work major crimes cases across the country while exclusively reading for friends, law enforcement and those that worked within the criminal justice field. As you can tell, I have a rather unusual background compared to most tarot readers and metaphysical practitioners.
While I continue to regularly assist local, state and federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies on cases as a Crime Analyst and Forensic Psychic, the vast majority of my time is spent reading tarot for private clients looking for guidance and direction in their life. Contrary to what most people would think, my background, more specifically in working with people from all over the US and foreign nations has actually helped me be a far more well rounded reader. I have a better understanding of the human experience and challenges, and know firsthand the vital importance of empathy, compassion and professionalism. These deeper insights have carried over well into serving such a diverse clientele from all walks of life, belief systems, cultures, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses and more.
Aside from reading tarot and assisting law enforcement, I love to research, write, and teach!
I am always reading, researching, and might possibly be addicted to learning (Sag Rising). If you haven’t looked at my blog (Seekers’ Insights) yet, you most definitely should. One of my favorite things to write and teach about is how to connect to Universal wisdom by recognizing and interpreting messages from the Universe through signs and symbols. I’ve found that learning to read and follow the signs is paramount in creating a life of fulfillment and following my life’s path purpose. In 2022 I met my best friend, Jennifer Steidley, a fellow symbolism nerd, and together we have launched Keepin’ It Symbol, the podcast channel dedicated to helping you interpret signs from the Universe through the art of symbolism! Available on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcast!
In an effort to change the way in which law enforcement and the public view and engage with psychics and tarot readers, both personally and professionally, I am actively training other tarot readers and psychics in how to fine tune their skills, as well as work with law enforcement and the families of victims or missing persons as a forensic psychic.
I taught the wildly popular Tarot for Criminal Investigation at The International Divination Event (TIDE) and the Northwest Tarot Symposium (NWTS) as a Featured Speaker in 2022, and returned to TIDE in May 2023 as a Keynote Speaker teaching Profiling the Court Cards: When Good Cards Go Bad. I will continue to push boundaries and forge alliances until these two professions are united in a cause to help with the recovery of missing persons, the closing of cold cases, and giving closure to families.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
The best source of new clients has been through word of mouth. There is a large push to use social media and run ads, but I have found that social media while advantageous, is also daunting with little pay off. Followers does not equate to clients or sales. My clients have grown as a product of just doing my job well, following up with clients, making adjustments where needed, and then letting them do the marketing for me by referring friends and family.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My reputation has been built by getting out there and doing the work. I refuse to play it small, and refuse to back down. If you want to make it somewhere in your line of business, find the person at the top and figure out how they got there. You don’t have to copy their work, but you can most definitely use their course of action as a road map. Evaluate it and ask what they did right, and what they did wrong. I have made it further in my career as a professional tarot reader in the last few years than those that have been in this industry for decades. Why? Because I set my eyes on what I wanted, showed up to do the work, and refused to back down or play it small. A few weeks ago I was a Keynote Speaker at The International Divination Event (TIDE) in Dallas Texas where some of the top names in the industry were in attendance and even some of them speaking. Despite not being a published author or deck creator, I still managed to land the big stage and to share it with two of the biggest names in the spiritual, metaphysical and tarot industry, Mary K. Greer and Devin Hunter. It was only possible because I showed up to do the work which in turn was recognized and my reputation built up rather quickly. That of course is at the business level. When it comes to clients, my reputation builds with each satisfied customer, each new subscriber to my email list, each new blog reader or student, and each review that is left. Do your job and do it well, the rest will follow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BrandyRachelle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandyrachelle_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrandyRachelleTarot
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrandyRachelle_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC30h-OyyGcH0uags_Vc8VEA
Image Credits
The International Divination Event (TIDE), Michelle and Roger Welch