Meet Mandy Jeanne

We were lucky to catch up with Mandy Jeanne recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mandy, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome is very real. When I began reading Tarot professionally 20 years ago, I started slow with friends and family, eventually branching out to small private events, as I built my client base. I had printed some simple business cards with my name and email below a wispy heading that read: Tarot Readings. Although I had been learning and studying the cards since I was 11 years old, I still found myself with “stage fright”. Usually, these butterflies dissipated once the session found its footing.

Nothing could have prepared me for my first convention, however. I had been to several Metaphysical Fairs in the past, and I desperately wanted to be amongst the other purveyors of Spiritual Counsel. I had so much to give, and I wanted to share it with everyone. So I signed up for a booth at the largest and most respected conference in my area- a full weekend of Reading, fully immersed in and around people I looked up to and those I wanted to help.

I got checked by reality real quick. Setting up the night before opening day was alarming. Of course, having been to these summits in the past, I knew visually what others’ displays and layouts looked like, but I immediately felt out of place with my hand painted sign on an old easel, and severe lack of extra adornments. I had no table banner, no neatly printed posterboard with details, not even a windchime. Not only did I stick out like a sore thumb, I was nearly invisible.

That weekend was rough. I had never been exposed to the public at large, and it was terrifying. To bring attention to myself, I offered discounted Readings thru the door prizes. Aside from those, I only received a handful of interested patrons. I had also never truly been challenged before, both on my knowledge of the Cards, and in other ways which weren’t so nice. I panicked more than a few times, and I know some folks left unsatisfied. I was in over my head. I thought: What the hell am I doing? I don’t belong here.

Now I’m able to see that weekend for what it was: a critical learning step. I may not have had a tremendous showing, but ultimately, I was proud for putting myself out there. It takes guts to do that, and even though no one told me that, I knew it was true. I ended up signing up again, for the same convention, and several others of all sizes.

Twenty years later, a lot has changed. I’ve learned to trust myself; to listen to my instincts. I also understand that not every Reading will be a great Reading- maybe I’m having an “off” day, maybe the person and I just aren’t connecting, maybe it’s the weather. I’ve learned not to take it personally, and most of all to give myself grace. We’re all human. I still get butterflies, though. But I don’t think it’s Imposter Syndrome anymore. I think it’s the excitement of doing what I love.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I come from an Appalachian family, raised by my grandparents in a beautiful, secluded home surrounded by forest. Nature became my sanctuary. My grandfather and I would explore the woods every day, making trails, watching for wildlife, and catching crawdads in the creek. We spent lots of time visiting his hometown of Pineville, Kentucky, where he grew up with his 6 brothers and sisters across from the town in the holler. There was nothing I loved more than running barefoot on the mountain, playing Ghost in the Graveyard with my cousins, and telling scary stories.

He taught me to play Poker when I was 5 (we didn’t tell Grandma) and he told me there was a special way to use the playing cards to tell fortunes. He would say “That’s mostly Hill Talk,” but we had a way of understanding each other. And I learned to speak in Hill Talk.

A wonderful gift my Appalachian Roots has given me is a deep bond with my ancestors. I was taught that those who have gone before are still with us, watching over us, and protecting us. This is a belief I saw take hold on my grandfather in real time as a very young child when, one day, instead of taking me to my preschool class, we ended up at my Great-grandparents house instead. When they asked why I wasn’t in school, he couldn’t give a good answer and said he just felt like having me home. That day my class went on a field trip, and there was a horrific accident where several of my schoolmates and teachers were struck by a truck whose parking brake snapped. It really sat with him, so much so, he sought the guidance of a seer, who told him a woman named Jo had intervened that day, causing us to end up at my Great-grandparents home, and ultimately saving my life.

Jo, or Georgia-Bell, his younger sister had passed several years before I was born. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of her, but I do feel like I’d know her if I saw her, and I talk to Aunt Jo all the time. I cherish the feeling of being encircled by my family. That lesson at a pivotal age drastically changed my outlook on death and life, and everything in between.

I do identify as a practicing Witch, and believe I was born into a gifted family, with a unique and peculiar set of sensitivities. We’ve always had a touch of the unexplained, and I think there are a few who find it unsettling, but it brings me peace. For me, to describe myself as an Appalachian Witch is plenty, and when it comes to my work, I enjoy engaging with folx from all walks and paths. I was taught that learning never ends, and the smartest thing you can say is “I don’t know,” because it gives you the opportunity to acquire more knowledge.

While my primary focus has been Tarot Reading, I offer Tarot Education for those who wish to learn to Read themselves or are interested in the sinewy history of the Tarot. I also offer Spiritual Guidance and Craftwork: this is aimed at folx who are just or re-discovering their Ethereal Being and are looking for gentle mentorship. I think true, powerful Spiritual Awakening is inherently attainable for everyone, and Magick is a palpable force- but it must come from YOU.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

My journey from birth to age 41 has been a million journeys, side-quests, dead ends, roundabouts, dramatic voyages, gridlock, and pitfalls. Sometimes it’s scary to think I may have another 41 years! It’s true that time gives you the ability to see what you couldn’t before. If time is a ladder, each year is another step up, and while you can’t see the top, you can see the valley below, and the focus and clarity that comes with it is powerful and healing, if you allow it to be.

If I could offer 3 wisdoms for anyone starting out, or struggling to find footing, I would offer the following, as this has been crucial to my healing, and my ability to carry on.

1. Get to know yourself. Don’t be afraid of who you are. Do not allow the fear of the unknown to hold power over what you want in your life. In the Tarot, The Devil Card represents embracing everything we are: our best, our worst, our beauty, our flaws. It asks us to live in the moment. To really dig deep and harness our core potential- whatever that may be. All we have is right here, right now. We can choose to squeeze ourselves into arbitrary rules, dreamt up by old men and magazines to affect a sort-of “perfection” no one really asked for; or we can break free of that rigid mold, and live exuberantly, expectations be damned! At the end of the day, we’re all living on a rock spinning thru space. We can’t really know anything more than that. So, know yourself.

2. Give yourself grace, and space to change and evolve. Because you will. Changing your mind based on new information doesn’t make you weak or look stupid- this is how things are supposed to work. Have a theory. Test it. Try again. Get a new theory. It is OK to set and demand boundaries. Be nice to yourself. If you’re working towards a goal and have a bad day, that’s ok too. Don’t berate yourself for “failing”, congratulate yourself for trying and doing. Remember: the world is full of jerks who are all too happy to tell you what you’re doing wrong, and how you should be doing things, and how they would do it better. They’re not interested in being nice or kind to you. Become Very Interested in Being Kind to yourself.

3. Make peace with your past. Forgive as you can. This doesn’t mean forget. Understand that some people are only meant to be in our lives for a little while. Don’t compare. Comparison is the thief of Joy. Allow space for others to grow and change. You cannot move forward fully, until you are fully free.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am always interested in the curious and off beat happenings around Cincinnati, and Ohio. If you would like to partner with me, I am open to many different causes and events, particularly those supporting our LGBTQ+ communities, Women based organizations, and Alzheimer’s. Inquires can be sent to: [email protected]

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nocturnetarot.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nocturnetarot/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nocturnetarot

Image Credits

all photos taken by me or my husband Brad Lednik, @elichrome on Instagram