The Turning Card is a tarot service from interpreter Natalie Vanlandingham (that's me!). I have been reading tarot at small events for over ten years. I work primarily in the south Georgia and north Florida areas, and along the Gulf Coast. I have a deaf dog named Winnie who my social media mutuals see quite a lot of. In addition to reading tarot, I make ritual salts and other folk practices. I hope you'll follow me on FB or Instagram so we can talk tarot, Southern folklore and modern magic.

Check the calendar on the main page! But be ready for pop-ups in Tallahassee, Atlanta, Decatur, and Albany.  You may also find me popping up in Cape Coral & Ft. Myers.

I'm always open to new opportunities to read and share the tarot. In addition to regional festivals and events, consider booking a tarot reader for your Southwest Florida business. Occult and oddity shops, cafes and bars, outdoor venues, event spaces, hospitality businesses, spas, staff events, and grand openings are all great opportunities to entertain and enlighten your customers or guests with a tarot event. 

In addition to reading, I also teach tarot. I can also include a talk or discussion on modern folk magic. I am available in person in my service area (Ft Myers/Cape Coral and surrounding areas through October), and on Zoom (or other major video platforms) nationwide. Reach out to me using my contact page or get in touch on socials.

Tarot can be a great addition to your book club, spooky season party, bachleorette, graduation,  or wedding. I can also work with you before or after the event to make sure your guests make mystical memories. For book clubs, I often bring a variety of beautiful divination cards to explore and study.

Please reach out to me for private event rates and availability using my contact page or get in touch on socials.

Yes, you can get a reading today, or give one as a gift! Fill out the online reading request. 

There are as many ways to approach the tarot as there are tarot readers. At The Turning Card, the focus in on: appreciation for tarot as a text and part of material, literary, gaming, and folk culture; tarot for self-exploration and self-development; reading for entertainment and social connection; and using the tarot to surface unconscious or subconscious thoughts, and encourage the quierent to self-directed action. The traditional and past meanings of the cards are important, but so is their relationship to each other and the querient. The way cards appear together can refine the meaning of one or both. Every reading is unique and personal.

More practically, you should know that I use reversals in my readings. Ethically, the focus of every reading is the quirent and their needs--that means I can't tell you how someone else feels or the guaranteed outcome of a situation. I also believe that while tarot can address complex and difficult topics, a reading should be an empowering and encouraging experience that helps you feel a little more connected to the mythological world.

The tarot is a deck of divination cards that have images with symbolic and allegorical meaning. Most tarot decks include 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards. 

If you've ever seen a standard playing card deck, you already know a lot about tarot. Tarot was also gaming deck for most of its history. The designs on some tarot cards are more than five hundred years old. 

The use of the tarot cards for divination and cartomancy (card magic) are more recent. By the late 1700s, tarot decks were being used in Italy for this purpose. The classic tarot decks used in the U.S. are based off of this Italian and French system. In 1909, British occultists produced a tarot deck based on the ancient designs. This is the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which has been used for entertainment and divination ever since.

By shuffling the cards and drawing cards at random, you can produce millions of combinations of symbols and imagery. In fact the chance of drawing any three cards in a specific position in a reading is a little more than 1 in 3.6 million.

The way cards are laid out and symbolically connected to each other is a spread. How the spread is interpreted is caled a reading. In addition to divination, people now use the cards for all kinds of purposes, from art and creative inspiration to deep psychological inquiry. 

Usually a reading is for just one person at a time (though it may happen at a party). You sit across from the reader. They thorughly shuffle the cards. You may chat about what you need guidance about or the question that is on your mind. The reader will draw several cards and lay them out in a spread. Then they will share their interpretation of the cards and what it means for you.

Tarot readers have different rituals, means of shuffling and drawing, and approaches to the cards. Every tarot reading is different.

Getting a reading isn't scary, but because the cards work with deep symbolism, they can be surprisingly emotional! Some people seek readings to help get clarity in times of trouble. Some just enjoy the fun of a tarot reading.

You may have heard that there are “bad” tarot cards like The Tower or Death. There is a suit of Swords that can address anxiety and conflict. Some cards bring insight to the conflict, loss, or heartbreak that may have led someone to seek a reading. Cards that appear reversed may have a different meaning than upright cards. 

While any of these cards can symbolize the more challenging parts of life, none of them are bad news. Part of the message of the tarot cycle is that the upheavals and mysteries of life are part of the journey to wholeness. For example, Death is only the 13th card in the Major Arcana. It is not even close to the end. 

On the other hand, even cards that seem good have a shadow side. The Fool can rush forward too carelessly; The World can be turned upside down, and send us spinning back to the beginning of the cycle. The cards remind us that everything should be taken in moderation.

If you find a particular card disturbing, we don't have to use it.  Be aware that Rider-Waite-Smith system cards may contain mature imagery, including nude figures. 

In a world with free will, tarot cannot (and probably shouldnt!) tell you exactly what is going to happen. However, a reading may be able to bring to light what is going on right now and the likely outcomes of continuing on certain paths. For some quierents, the mystical and occult aspects of a tarot reading are an important part of the experience. For others, it is mainly the opportunity for reflection and engagement that is the most interesting part of getting a reading. 

Yes. You don't have to believe in the occult to find tarot meaningful. The tarot is primarily a set of symbols. Over hundreds of years, these symbols have acquired cultural meanings. Exploring what these symbols mean to each person is a core practice of tarot. You can experience tarot as a party game, a cultural practice, a performance, a ritual, or some combination of these. Give it a chance--you may be surprised at what turns up.