From Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
brownstargirl tarot is open for business: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
I asked Leah if I could put this up on my blog and she said yes! If I can muster the extra monies I am going to schedule my own reading with her. Got to support our community!
Little blurb:
Hi people. I know a lot of us are broke, but I am posting this anyway because I have $200 to my name post moving and could use some scratch. I am an amazing tarot and numerological reader with 18 years of experience doing high quality divination from an anti-colonial, disabled working class queer femme feminist of color perspective. I am really good, and I do Skype, chat and phone readings. Please email me at brownstargirl@gmail.com if you’d like to set up an appointment, thanks!
The full blurb below:
Hey family,
I’ve read for friends and clients for the past 18 years, and have also read for the public at street fairs, in my home, and, briefly, at a truly weird Toronto psychic hotline. I’ve also been honored to offer intuitive counseling at CUAV’s Safetyfest and the 2012 Allied Media Conference’s Healing Justice practice space. I have many testimonials from folks I’ve read for about the accuracy, straight up-ness, and helpfulness of my readings. (And for some of them, look here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/brownstargirl-tarot-oakland ; I just finally set up my Yelp page!)
About my readings:
Tarot is a set of cards used for divining the future that were probably developed by Roma people (who are mixed North Indian and Eastern European.) The Tarot deck consists of four minor suits, corresponding to earth/the physical, fire/energy and passion, air/the mind and water/emotions and love (with many permutations within) and one major suit; the major suit, known as the Major Arcana, traces all the possibilities of a life from conception to revolutionary satisfaction.
My deck: I use the Collective Tarot (http://thecollectivetarot.blogspot.com/) an amazing deck grounded in people of color, queer and gendervariant, disabled and other communities. I also read from Daughters of the Moon deck for many years.
I don’t do readings where I tell you, “You’re going to meet someone with red hair at 7-11 next Tuesday who’s going to change your life.” Instead,what I offer is an intuitive reading that can clarify what’s going on in your life, how your past history, legacies and choices are affecting your current decisions, and what your sources of strength and options are as you move into your future. If you have questions about lovers, healing, money, moving, destiny, work, school, depression, big or little life decisions- or if all hell is breaking loose in your life - tarot can help you figure out what is going on. For me, the idea that the future is unwritten, that we write it with our choices every day, and that we have personal and collective power while still living within systemic oppression, are important political beliefs that infuse my work.
As a disabled working-class-raised queer cis femme feminist of color, I look at how the realities and legacies of trauma, abuse and oppression can affect the options you choose as you work towards freeing yourself and creating your life, as well as how our ancestors, communities and genius individual survival strategies can be resources for you.
I came to tarot from a family tradition of being psychic/intuitive. My mom always knew who was on the phone before she picked up (this was before caller ID, y’all ;)) and raised me to know that sensing possibility and being open to Spirit letting us know things was just another way people can be. I picked up my first deck when I was 19 and have been on a path of studying and using tarot as a form of counseling and healing for my beloved communities every since. My connection to my chosen and blood ancestors, the earth, my body and different goddesses and gods help guide my intuitive self. Most recently, I’ve been so happy to offer my services as an intuitive reader at community healing justice spaces such as CUAV’s Healing Justice Practice Space at the 2011 Safetyfest and the 2012 Allied Media Conference’s Healing Justice space. It feels so good to be able to offer intuitive counseling as part of our communities’ work to create spaces of liberation and healing.
I’m in touch with spirit but not woo-woo to the point of annoyance. I’m also sex/poly/kink-positive, queer and trans positive, criptastic, respectful of many choices and live a life centered around QTPOC community, culture and activism.
Numerology: Numerology is a system of divination that’s been used by many cultures, from Egyptians to South Asians to the early Christian Gnostics. It’s a system that sees a relationship between numbers and reality. In numerology, your birth date is boiled down to a single digit that corresponds to a Tarot card, which then gives insight into your life path, gifts and challenges. It’s also possible to figure out the numerology for your current year, which can show you why all of a sudden certain patterns, challenges and gifts are hitting you upside the head.
Services and prices:
tarot reading (takes 1-1.5 hours, I can talk real fast if time is of the essence): $40-$100 sliding scale
Numerological reading: (takes one hours) soul destiny, personality, current year: $40
Tarot and numerology combo reading (takes 1.5-2 hours): $60- $100 sliding scale
You decide how much you can pay based on how much you have. Folks who pay on the higher end make it possible for me to offer affordable tarot on the lower end of the scale.
Note: For those paying via PayPal, please add a $2 processing fee (Paypal takes a chunk of every donation) unless you can mark it as “living expense” which should avoid the fee- some folks seem to be able to do it, some not.
Readings take approximately one hour. Combination tarot and numerology readings will take closer to 1.5 hours. You can visit me in my beautiful North Oakland home or I can come to you. I’m open to coming to most spots in the East Bay. I also do video Skype, phone and g chat readings. I do readings for couples and collectives.
This is a great gift for someone for their birthday, anniversary or graduation. If you or someone you know is having a kid, I’m happy to do their numerology. I’m also open to being booked for parties and events-
please contact me for details. I am experienced and skilled at reading in a loud-ass gay club environment. ;)
Please spread the word. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
brownstargirl@gmail.com
www.yelp.com/biz/brownstargirl-tarot-oakland
Testimonials:
“in a very short 90 minutes, Leah was able to synthesize what felt like a lot of chaos in my life, as well as provide me with some specific advice on how to tackle it. Leah was so intuitive and tuned into my question. and funny!! i laughed the hardest when i was being scolded. i hope this is the first of many readings to come!”
“I highly recommend Brownstargirl Tarot. Leah knows the deck well and was able to read the subtleties and nuances of the cards and reversals well. She brought a lot of other wisdom to bear to the reading as well, folk wisdom, feminist wisdom and a lot of common sense. She broke it down! She said it plain. She was funny. She was real. I came away with a lot to think and feel about and even more to put into practice.”
“I HIGHLY ENDORSE LEAH FOR TAROT! She has rocked my world on a million occasions and also uses the Collective Tarot which is the most beautiful and multi-people inclusive deck I’ve ever seen. She’s able to tune into what is going on with your life and also breaks things down in a way that makes sense.
I’m also very inquisitive by nature so I ask a bunch of clarifying questions and she is very patient and sweet about her explanations. I still remember the time she pulled the Disaster card for me—literally the next day my GF dumped me. I didn’t see it coming but Leah did!
Also during a really tumultuous summer she pulled the Strength card in one of my readings that that image as she described it to me—Emma Goldman staring into the face of a lion—stuck with me during some difficult times.
But don’t think LLPS only predicts difficulty, I always feel empowered and have a lot of fun with my readings from her.”
the Lovers card, by Gloria Diaz
the High Priestess (also my numerological path), as drawn by Sarah Sass Biscarra
(via nudiemuse)
