The healing crystals in front of Lilith Strega reflect the warm rays of afternoon sun seeping through the windows at Higher Ground Cafe, as she pulls out three decks of tarot cards to set up for the day’s work.
Strega has been offering professional tarot reading services for three years. Her journey began 12 years ago when a friend gifted her a tarot deck. She started by pulling cards for herself once a day until it gradually became a religious practice and a source of structure in her life. Now, Strega is guiding Calgarians with tarot readings on a regular basis.
“I’ve devoted myself entirely to spiritual exploration so that I can help other people who are struggling,” she said.
Strega is an intuitive healer, specializing in complex trauma and addiction.
“I want to help other people with this because (tarot) helped me so much,” she said. “I started meeting people in this coffee shop, finding people online, and reading for them.”
Strega shared her personal experiences with alcohol and substance abuse.
“I used to be a severe alcoholic and drug addict,” she recalled. “But as I started to connect more and more with tarot, I started to realize the things in my life that were holding me back, like drugs and alcohol, which I no longer touch anymore.”
Tarot reading allowed Strega to gain a new purpose and perspective.
“I learned more about myself from the process,” she said. “My purpose is to help people understand different sides of themselves that perhaps they didn’t notice through the cards.”
Strega promotes her services through her Instagram account as well as her website.
And, she says, there are considerations to ponder before submitting to a session.
“Someone seeking desperate answers should not get a tarot reading,” she said.
According to a 2021 master’s thesis at Memorial University, practitioners can utilize tarot to help clients with decision-making and offer insights into problems. It is a dynamic practice affected by a person’s circumstances and attitudes.
“The goal of tarot is not to tell your future,” said Strega. “Everything changes with every decision that you make.
“It just gives you a tool to approach a situation with emotional intelligence and preparation. That’s all it is.”
Strega often encounters clients who only rely on the cards for answers.
“There’s so much more to this than just saying, ‘You’re going to lose your job in six months and you’re going to break up with your boyfriend.’ It doesn’t work like that,” she said. “I’m here to offer emotional support and spiritual guidance and to explain things with so many different layers.”
Cheyenne Seely, a professional tarot reader for 13 years, agreed with these sentiments.
“No one knows what the future holds,” Seely said. “(Tarot reading) can give you little insights that can be incredibly beneficial, but tarot cards are also meant to be intentionally big. It’s telling you that someone is holding power over you, or you’re letting someone’s opinion of you control your thoughts and feelings. But it’s not going to tell you immediately.”
Strega sometimes deals with online harassment from dissatisfied customers who do not get the response that they expected. However, she knows how to protect her peace.
“Someone with a fixed mindset looking for direct answers is always going to leave unhappy or dissatisfied,” she said. “You need an emotional connection and an open mind to receive the high yield that tarot offers.”
Therefore, Strega says she lets them live their chosen reality.
Regardless of criticisms of her and her practice, Strega continues to help her clients live happy, authentic lives. She has been receiving glowing testimonies.
“It makes me feel so good. Because I know that I can give somebody some sort of insight,” she said. “And I know right there, I’ve done my job.”
Strega is encouraged by the financial benefits that tarot reading brings her. However, she values her craft and advocacy of helping other people more.
“I’m not in it for the money. I’m here to help people,” she said. “ Yes, it does benefit me, but at the same time, I care about the people who come with their problems. I want to help them.”
