Alysha McGuire’s journey into tarot goes back to when she was traveling in Texas with her friend to see “the greatest artist of our time, Taylor Swift.”
On their drive to the airport to head back home from the Lonestar state, they stopped at a Goodwill; McGuire wondered out loud if there would be any tarot cards. There weren’t any. They left the store and she decided to see if there were any shops nearby that carried any decks, and there was — 15 feet away — in the same parking lot.
They browsed the botanica and she settled on her first deck: The Deviant Moon Tarot by Patrick Valenza.
“Tarot and other ‘witchy’ things like crystals and spell jars have been growing in online popularity, I’ve noticed, since about 2016,” she said. “Back then, I spent most of my online life on Tumblr, which is where I first started seeing content about the full moon, tarot cards [and] herbs.”
McGuire began Tales of the Tarot shortly thereafter, offering readings for people as a tool for self-awareness, growth and introspection. After her T-Swift trip, McGuire returned to work — which, at the time, was Eddie’s Sports Bar. She says she brought her cards to work the “first day back and every day after.”
“One night I was working the downstairs bar and a group of three came in and told me they had come because they heard a psychic worked at the bar,” McGuire said.
She says from there, her work with the tarot took on a life of its own. McGuire participates in pop-ups around Anchorage and its surrounding areas, from bars to yard sales and farmer’s markets.
“I’ve been met with positivity, praise, acceptance, and kindness from both the community of marketers and those who are seeking the service or just browsing a market, as well as my family and friends,” McGuire said. “I’ve had a few awkward, religiously focused conversations and have had a few choice things shouted at me in passing — but I don’t let those kinds of things influence me or affect my day.”
McGuire says it’s a blessing to be trusted with others’ emotions, insecurities, fantasies, dreams, “and all the other bits that make them who they are.”
“Reading tarot has offered me something I can’t put into words,” she said. “It can’t be conceptualized in its entirety, because it’s something that is both beyond words and is still shifting and reshaping daily and honestly, always will.”
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
