Meet Sarah Rose Anderson from Mystic Rose Tarot

Curious to learn more about the story of Mystic Rose Tarot? Meet founder Sarah Rose Anderson and hear about her journey to connecting with tarot and bringing it to her community.

When did you first find tarot? What was your first deck?

I'd always been tarot-curious when I was little and I really liked witchy things, but I didn't get my first deck until I was in my early 20s. I bought the traditional Rider Waite deck for myself.

I like that deck because it initiates people — I feel like it even started to wake up my power. So, I used it to self-soothe during a difficult time in my life and found it to be really helpful.

Then, a few years later, I got the Wild Unknown Deck. That’s when I really got into tarot and started reading professionally as well. Since the deck has all animals and natural elements in it, I felt it was easier to connect the images to emotions within me. Using this deck helped me realize how transformative tarot can be and things started to shift within my own life soon after I found it.

What does tarot mean to you?

Mystic Rose Tarot founder Sarah reading tarot at a wedding.

Tarot is an opportunity. It's a tool and you get out of it what you put in. So, if you decide that tarot is a way for you to help find clarity at work, then it will. If you decide that it's going to help you make peace with family members, then it will.

Almost like the energy of the Aces in the deck itself, tarot is an inert and neutral tool that’s buzzing with energy of raw potential and possibility.

Tarot has brought me on a wild journey that I never could have anticipated. It’s so magical to just share my hobby with folks and have them be appreciative and transformed by reading.

Favorite deck right now? Why?

When I read for other folks, I like to use the Wild Unknown Tarot because we just have a great history together. It is my partner and it delivers extremely clear and accurate messages for me.

But, when I read tarot for myself, I like to use the Neo Tarot, Homebound Tarot, and The Gentle Tarot. I like these kind of softer, gentler, more flowing decks that are inspired by self-care because I’m on my own self-love journey right now and I find these style of decks to be supportive for me and where I am today.

What can clients expect from a reading with you?

One of the most transformative things that happen when we read together isn't really even something I can take credit for, but it's just the act of creating the container for clients to express themselves and the act of being seen or witnessed.

Those two things are very affirming and validating. By giving them this safe space to reflect, it lets whatever needs to bubble up to the surface rise. That's before we even shuffle the deck!

Then, we ask some questions and pull some cards and clients start to hear things that they are perhaps already aware of on some level, but they need it to be validated. Going to the tarot with me is kind of like going to an older sibling or trusted friend.

So, in addition to hearing things they might have already known at some level, consciously or not, they also start to hear practical advice and tips for integrating the messages from the tarot into their everyday lives. They’ll also hear insights into situations, people, and decisions in your life and all this information will help them to make choices moving forward that are aligned for them and their goals and purpose.

It’s almost like letting your subconscious mind or your higher self have the mic for a while and take center stage. And hearing from them so clearly helps shift energies in your life and moves the needle so you can make change and transformation where you want it.

Where did you learn how to read tarot? Or are you self-taught?

I am a self-taught reader. I learned what I know now mostly from the Wild Unknown tarot deck and my own healing journey.

After I got into tarot, I noticed that there wasn't a community for me to talk to people about it. So at that point, I decided to take some tarot courses, so that I could connect with others who shared my interests and get a chance to share my love of tarot with others.

I have taken a tarot 101 class, a tarot & inner child healing class, and a tarot & symbology course. I might even want to keep taking them because I always hear new things and new ideas that help me grow and develop my unique voice as a reader.

What do you say to someone skeptical about tarot?

I would respect their right to hold their own beliefs.

And, if they were open to having a conversation about it with me, then I would encourage them to get curious about where that belief comes from. Is it what they truly know in their heart of hearts to be true? Or, maybe is it a belief they inherited from culture or a family member? It could be that they picked it up along the way and never revisited the belief to see if it was true for them.

I also think that anyone who says that might be coming from a place of fear. We always fear the unknown, right? So, I would have compassion for them.

I would respect their sovereignty and wouldn’t try to change their opinion unless they were coming to have a heart-centered conversation with me. I believe that a tarot deck is just as much a tool for the devil’s work as a frying pan, a video game, or a piece of clothing. A tarot deck is just as much a spiritual tool as a guitar, a candle, or a soft cuddly toy.

It’s the intention that matters, what we’re putting into it that matters, and when I read tarot my intention is growth and healing.