This morning, we were transported to the ancestral plane at Wellness House at the 2024 ESSENCE Festival at Ernest Morial Convention Center. For those connected to our ancestors and spiritual guides, the Read The Room session with spiritual psychics and mediums Thomjana Ferguson and Tiffany Monique enlightened us to dig deeper while allowing our souls to guide us to what we need. Guidance is at its center regarding the significance of Tarot card readings for Black women. Ferguson, a New Orleans native, has been practicing Tarot readings since 2018 for the sole purpose of helping Black women tap into themselves and their ancestors for life’s most troubling questions. “I read Tarot to support my community and to provide them this experience to understand their inner selves.” She continued, “Tarot provides the opportunity to tap into the spirit while providing the space to slow down and allow life to catch up with life to catch up with life and to be centered in who they are, and receive messages from ancestors they miss because life just goes so fast.”
Tarot is a spiritual practice for Black folks, especially in New Orleans. Ferguson agreed with my observation. “I love that you frame it that way because a lot of times you see Tarot being displayed in the media, you see a European woman or some person outside of Blackness that reads Tarot. However, in history, divination has been a religion used in ancient African traditions. So, Tarot is another way to reclaim your history and understand that divination was our first altar.” She believes that Tarot uses the history of life, as energy can’t be created or destroyed. So, the Tarot practice is a set amount of energy and several principles.
Ferguson aims to bring clarity to the Wellness House guests via Tarot. “I hope to answer some questions that have been in their spirit. I hope to bring them to a new walk on a new path more aligned with them. I want them to feel lighter. I want them to feel at ease. I want them to feel heard and seen. I want them to have a space to let their guard down. I want them to realize that spirituality is them, that they don’t have to feel like there’s this barrier. I want them to be comfortable. I want them to feel safe. That’s the main thing, to be safe,” she states.
As for Tiffany Monique, she’s been practicing Tarot for 30-plus years, and she’s the Tarot Manager and a reader at Crescent City Conjure here in New Orleans. She believes the most effective way Black women can benefit from Tarot by combining the practice with ancestral connection. “It’s a wonderful proactive tool. It gives you a screenshot of where you are, the placement in the situations, and the challenges you’re trying to meet. If it’s something that’s going the way you want it to, you can keep on this path and move forward. If it’s something you do not quite like, or you see something that’s going to be a bump in the road, you can adjust accordingly. So, using it as a proactive tool is your quickest, easiest way to see the efficiency of Tarot.”