Meet Alissa Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alissa Smith.

Alissa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I think it all started when I was 13 and found my mom’s yellowed copy of Scott Cunningham’s “Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner.” It was then that I started being included in the family’s magickal ways. Part of that meant getting me my own set of tarot cards. My mom bought me the Quick & Easy Tarot Deck, whose small pictures and even smaller type ultimately led me to put the deck down. I kept up with other forms of divination and magick, but I didn’t feel those cards ever call to me again.

Years later, I moved out and sought to distance myself from my magickal upbringing in the way that most people feel the need to rebel against the environment they were raised in.

I don’t know whatever happened to that deck (here’s hoping it’s tucked in a small box of mementos at my mother’s house), but I saw a deck last year that led me to dive back in without hesitation. It was a doorway not just to my intuition, but back to the craft. Soon, I ran out of questions for myself, so I started reading tarot cards for my friends. But, of course, they also ran out of questions, so I turned to the only group left to read: Strangers.

I first started charging for readings months later at Modern Mystic Shop in Ponce City Market. Of course, my voracious appetite for tarot and all things witchcraft meant that I ended up launching a platform of my own. I’ve worked hard to know what type of reader I am, but I finally feel comfortable calling myself a professional.

I’m also working on getting certified in cognitive behavioral therapy to better address stressors, anxieties and traumas that tend to pop up in readings when you’re delving into someone’s psyche.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Except for the break in my craft, I’d say it’s been a pretty smooth road. In the woo world, there’s this idea that the universe often supports you acting in alignment with yourself, and I feel like that’s very true for how my tarot journey has been in just the past year.

Considering I grew up in an environment that was wildly supportive of my witchy ways, I feel like my journey to where I am and where my business is has been smoother than I could have ever hoped.

However, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t challenges, some of which are ongoing. When I turned away from the craft, I turned solely to the world of reason. I trusted what was seen, and much of what is seen in everyday life is ugly. There’s constant warring, mass shootings, lack of social safety nets, environmental issues such as poisoned water and California seems to always be on fire.

Throw in the trauma from being an adult in the modern world, and I suddenly found myself without much hope. It was hard finding that hope again, and it was even harder fighting this now sudden instinct I had to immediately shut down and over rationalize anything that could even potentially be seen as otherworldly.

I’ve done a lot of shadow work, but as anyone versed in mythology knows, the way out of the underworld is much more fraught than the way in. As such, I’m still working through issues that continue to complicate my practice and business. Currently, I’m working through a large emotional scar that has continually caused a rift between me and whatever outside magickal environment I find myself in.

Alright – so let’s talk business. What else should we know about you and your career so far?
I’m a professional tarot reader, which means I read tarot cards for people and often provide spiritual counseling. I think my practice is set apart by my high level of empathy and healthy level of skepticism.

Part of being a tarot reader is being able to read the cards and provide the client with the information they seek, the other part is making sure the client understands the cards only provide insight and guidance. The client has agency over their life, and the cards aren’t ever going to order them to act in a certain way. What happens next in the client’s life is up to them.

Additionally, I am not afraid to turn away clients who are over-reliant on magick and tarot or who aren’t able to make decisions for themselves. I also pride myself on keeping to my scope of practice, meaning I don’t hesitate to refer clients to licensed mental health professionals or specialists when needed.

I’m also a professional journalist, so I don’t blindly believe anything. I try to instill this instinct in my clients, some of whom I have had to educate on the ways of would-be scammers who seek to take advantage of their emotional or spiritual vulnerability.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
While I think timing has a lot to do with my successes, I also think that most of my accomplishments can be attributed to my work ethic and drive. I think the Chariot card most accurately describes my life and business. It is a card of willpower, of being able to gather all the opposing forces in your life and move them in the direction you want through sheer determination. And fun fact, that card just so happens to be connected to the astrological symbol of Cancer, my sun sign.

Pricing:

• $25/15 minutes for readings
• $100 per hour at event, two-hour minimum

Contact Info:

• Website: alissasmith.red
• Phone: ‪(404) 631-6669‬
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byalissasmith/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/byalissasmith

Image Credit:
Please credit the item named Credit Alli Royce Soble, who can be found at alliroycesoble.com and @roycetakespics

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