With it being Halloween, I decided to do something quite different from what people usually do. Dressing up in a spooky costume wasn’t exactly enough for me this year. I wanted to experience something more intense, something that would give me the chills. Plucking up all of my courage, I put on my detective hat and started my hunt for a tarot reader — a professional one, I might add.
Luckily, I was able to get in touch with Nada Jan, a tarot reader, or as she likes to call herself a “spiritual coach” or a “shamanic healer.” To be honest, excitement wasn’t the only thing accompanying me before meeting with her, nervousness was also taking over. For some reason, I was uneasy with the idea of getting exposed to magic-related predictions or assumptions about my life, especially ones that I might not be necessarily ready to face.
But after our discussion, I was completely flabbergasted! “Tarot reading is not about future prophecies or magic as most people may assume. It’s a divination tool that can be used to see where someone is standing in the way of their own life. It can help people find out the reason behind the blockages that they’re facing,” Jan expressed. “I don’t read the future, the future is you, in this exact moment, deciding that life is what you make of it.”
A law school graduate, Jan explored different career paths before becoming who she is today. From being a lawyer to a real estate salesperson, working in advertising and movie production. But throughout her professional journey, she was looking for something different; a sense of freedom and self-realization that seemed almost non-existent in the corporate world. Most of all, she wanted to work in something that she was passionate about.
Jan found her spiritual calling in 2011 when she started meditating. Suddenly, she was able to heal herself, and later on, others. She believes that human beings are capable — in most situations — to heal themselves spiritually by facing oppressed emotions and practicing self-love. More importantly, she believes that humans, animals and the universe are all connected through something called the collective subconscious. In her meditation work she works with animal spirits, which are in fact archetypes – universal symbols – that can function as mirrors, showing people their potential.
In some aspects, her job is very similar to being a psychotherapist, however, she isn’t one as she hasn’t studied psychology. To become who she was, she had to delve deep into the arts of symbols, alchemy and archetypes. She uses intuition and her gifts as an empath, combined with profound knowledge of the tarot cards, shamanistic meditation techniques and experience obtained through life. “Intuition is very much underestimated nowadays, people are told to use their mind rather than to feel,” she told me. “People tend to look for answers outside, while all they have to do is take a good look on the inside. That’s how I help people heal. I invite them to dive deep into their past, their present and ultimately their soul.”
Mohamed Sammad for 925
Jan’s first encounter with the cards happened when she started diving deep into meditation. “I learned that the cards kind of show you where you stand in life,” she stressed. “Cards are a way for me to connect with people and find out what’s blocking them from living peacefully. These cards are a concrete representation of the whole universe, with all of its elements and layers. They’re divided into two main groups: Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana consists of 22 cards, where each one of them reflects a part of one’s spiritual journey. The Minor Arcana, consisting of 56 cards, represents the daily issues of a human being. It is subdivided in four suits, each of them representing one of the elements of the universe (water, fire, earth and air).”
When people pick a card, it doesn’t just happen coincidentally. The universe is sending them a message.
There is no specific age group that comes to Jan, yet she has expressed that twentysomething people are not usually ready to face themselves. People who are older tend to be more prone to reflect on their lives and let out emotions that they have kept in for so long. “It’s very understandable because it’s not always an easy ride to confront yourself with your deepest emotions or embrace your mistakes or flaws. This is the price of feeling complete,” Jan added. “An important part of the process is forgiving others but most of all, to forgive yourself.”
The most common problem that Jan’s clients tend to have, are issues with self-love, traumas and abuse. People are not taught to love themselves and are too busy trying to seek validation from the physical world. They completely forget about their own peace of mind. A very classic exercise that Jan asks her clients to do is to stand in front of the mirror and say “I love you, you’re unique, and you’re beautiful.”
Mohamed Sammad for 925
Jan doesn’t think that tarot reading has anything to do with heresy. Later in our conversation, she revealed to me that she’s a Muslim who finds comfort in Allah’s realm. Going into another dimension and seeking comfort, does not go against religion or the will of God.
“Remember, as Rumi said, you’re not a drop of water in the ocean, you’re the entire ocean in a drop,” she told me as she left.
