Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicholas Newell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nicholas, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I chose an eclectic major in college, Religious Studies. I continued on that academic path after finishing my Bachelors degree to get a Masters. At the time, I made that choice because my life had been centered on religious thinking. I needed to understand how my experience had compared with other people’s perspectives.

I had started a college career six years before this choice, only for a couple of semesters. At the time of my second enrollment, I was struggling with my health and I needed a way to get back on my feet. I also had two small children who needed my support. Another reason I thought that a religious studies education would benefit me is that I already had a strong background in religious scholarship so I expected that the content would relate to what I already knew. Still, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the degree once I got it.

My health problems were neurological. I experienced depression, anxiety, and paranoia. This was all after recovering from an inability to deal with any stress at all. My mind would shut down so that I couldn’t move or speak for extended periods of time. It was frightening, and I wasn’t sure that I would recover. This was another factor of risk. I didn’t know if I would be able to handle the pressure of formal education at that point in my life.

Being accepted by my peers and professionals in the school was a big step to recovering my confidence. The academic work was a pleasure. Forming relationships served as a safety net that allowed me to deal with stress. I found jobs within the university that worked with my schedule and allowed me to support my family. More than this, my network of relationships and what I learned helped me to understand my place in the world, and how to use my uniqueness for the benefit of others. I gained clarity about how I could fit into organizations as university administrators recommended me for leadership roles.

While my masters degree in religious studies did not lead to strong employment opportunities, it gave me the experience I needed to understand my life. It gave me the confidence to pursue success and identify habits that reduced my potential. The wider world of spirituality and culture that opened to me has allowed me to pinpoint the spiritual concepts that motivate my clients and the work that will lead them to satisfying progress.

When I first enrolled for classes, I did not know if I would be able to complete them. I still wasn’t sure how I would survive. It is only because I took these risks that I am able to be who I am today. I can support my children and offer them lessons from my own challenges. The friendships and communities that I hold dear are a result of this risky education and my persistence through it.

Nicholas, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up expecting to be a missionary of a niche branch of Christianity. As I reached adulthood, that path was closed for me. In response, I studied mythology, psychology, and literature. Ideas about perspective and how we can consciously develop healthy viewpoints have always been very powerful for me. I wanted to find the best way to share tools for that development.

In the meantime, I was meeting people, and discovering how to be social outside of the religious context I was used to. When I went to parties, small talk bored me. I started bringing a tarot deck with me so that I could get into conversations about what really mattered to people. It served as a way of initiating healthy contact with strangers.

Years passed. Outside of raising my kids, the most meaningful moments I had were in the tarot readings I gave. I applied myself to researching the conditions that produced the old, inspirational models for the modern decks. This process revealed an ancient system of meaning that people unconsciously connect with. I distill this broad context of what tarot has been and can be into a program of personal action for individual journeys.

People started coming to me for tarot education. Some of them I knew well, some seemed to appear out of nowhere. Our combined success with my methods revealed the mode of building healthy perspective that I had always desired. My readings indicate how clients can develop inspiring connections with others that fulfill their social and emotional needs. The continual success of this process urged me to develop Newell Tarot as a company.

The readings that I provide help my clients locate the narrative for their lives that they want to participate in. Access to community, healthy influences, and reasonable goals for lifestyle transformation emerge for those who incorporate tarot wisdom into their lives.

My spiritual education program identifies the steps clients need to take to heal. This process always reveals gifts specific to that person that they may use to help others. It will also reveal the connection that their family history provides to healthy spirituality.

I provide information about tarot and spiritual practice on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

One of my current clients is revealing more of his inner world to himself each time we meet. He feels increasingly connected with his girlfriend as he shares his progress with her. Another is exploring the story of her ancestors and developing a personal connection with them. She is finding greater purpose and joy in life as she ties the loose ends in their lives. My readings have opened the process of healing for deep emotional wounds, and brought the courage required to act boldly in the face of challenges.

Newell Tarot shows people how their lives are much more than mundane, random occurrences so that they will find sustained joy and friendship on their personal paths.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The initial inspiration for the beginning of Newell Tarot was a friend who had started her own successful business some years ago. When I gave her tarot lessons, she suggested that I develop a series of video lessons to sell online. It had been her dream to sponsor new business owners and use the momentum of her own work in marketing to help these novices succeed. I was flattered that she saw so much potential in my work.

I connected with a close friend who is an experienced videographer. We planned out the video series over many meetings. I wrote scripts for each lesson. We identified a location and established a filming budget. I worked with our sponsor on branding. The three of us had monthly meetings to discuss how the business would be organized.

At this time, I was working as a factory overseer, and taking care of my children. I lived almost thirty miles from my two partners. Getting to these meetings, making time to write and rewrite scripts, took a great deal of focus. As far as the videos themselves went, they were developing into something that we could be proud of.

During a series of three months, our sponsor partner was taking a lot of recreational trips. We attempted to stay in touch through email, but she would take a long time to respond, or not respond at all. When we did talk, she insisted on a share of the business that would cut the videographer’s share to almost nothing. My vision had included him as a full partner, since his skills would be key to producing additional content that matched the feel of the brand.

I thought for a long time on the work I had done, and the potential of the product in front of us. We hadn’t filmed anything yet, or made investments beyond our time. I decided that if the sponsor partner could get the business up and running in a fast tracked timeline, our videographer would see the income to make the endeavor worth his efforts.

Conversation revealed that our sponsor wanted full control over the timing of the project, and didn’t expect things to get started for an extended period. I continue to celebrate the level of financial success she has seen. Her position did not offer her access to our perspective as hard working people who were eager to find rewards for our efforts. The plan that she offered us did not reveal long term benefits to the videographer and I. There was no point in continuing that partnership.

Through all of that work, and the research I had done in business setup and development, I saw my path to personal business ownership. I had initiated relationships with other businesses centered around spiritual growth, and found my work and organizational acumen appreciated wherever I went. I realized that selling educational video lessons may not take off without a marketing model that could push it consistently. But there were already many tarot video businesses with a strong SEO model to compete with.

My business would grow around personal attention to my clients’ individual needs. I also saw potential in building relationships between businesses and spiritual communities that need each other’s support. My videographer has agreed and we continue to support each other’s professional development with partnered projects. This pivot from a fully online business to providing in person care and community resources has revealed needs that I can serve in a much more satisfying and interactive way.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Developing a reputation as a spiritualist is a dicey endeavor. There are entire identity categories organized around denying the use of spiritual exploration. Despite the large population of spiritual service providers with integrity, many remain who would take advantage of emotion and belief without providing anything substantial.

I had to have a clear idea of what kind of spiritualist and tarot reader I wanted to be long before I decided to take on the role professionally. During my tarot training of fourteen years, I read cards for atheists, professional academics, and the faithful of every religion I could find. In this way I made sure that I had something real to offer rather than just a manifestation of a gullible person’s expectations. I identified how I could use tarot readings to help and educate all types of people.

This exercise means that when I give people readings, I am not referring to anything that is outside of their experience as a source for solace and effective effort. I am talking to them about their own lives from their own perspective. This reputation has proceeded me gaining me work in restaurants when they have special events, and for groups of psychologists. Newell Tarot is known as a brand that makes the best parts of tarot practice broadly approachable.

Because I do not hold back when difficulties are coming to a person, I’m known to tell bold truths. This aspect of my reputation brings me clients who know they have hard challenges to face and want to be prepared for the best and worst eventualities.

I am generous with my knowledge about spiritual traditions and how to develop them. Those I have helped tell others, and often reference the information I have given them when they describe progress in their practice.

In a difficult industry that can attract charlatans, I’ve found that experience with people of all systems of belief, honesty and empathy about what challenges will require from my clients, and generosity with life changing information have provided Newell Tarot with a reputation for substance and integrity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.newelltarot.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newelltarot/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NewellTarot
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@newelltarot

Image Credits

Katheryn Schambach, Ouroboros Photography