How KeepItSaussie Helps Guide Souls Using Tarot
Samantha Mark (left) and Aussie (right) of KeepItSaussie.
LA native Samantha Mark and her Australian-raised partner, Aussie, make up the gifted tarot-reading name @KeepItSaussie. This year, for The Queer 26's first Virtual Pride Con, Sam joined us during our Pride Party on Sunday, June 6, 2021, to do tarot readings alongside Mx. Nicky Endres. Sam offers personalized tarot readings via video and PDF for now, but she is hoping to transition back to in-person events in the coming months. The couple was kind enough to sit down and share this during a phone interview with Queer 26 writer Jasmine Lowe.
Jasmine Lowe: So, how did you get started with tarot? What drew you to pursue this as a career?
Samantha Mark: I was just watching it for my own pleasure on YouTube, watching a lot of YouTube readers, and doing readings just by listening to other people. Then I started doing readings for myself and Aussie and just started growing it from there. I was like, oh, these are pretty accurate, and then I started doing it for a couple of her friends.
I posted in an LGBT women's group on Facebook that we're a part of, and I ended up doing it for 20 strangers. I offered free readings on Instagram and did a few people I didn't know. I created my Etsy shop out of it. I thought, well, I might as well get paid since I put so much time and effort into it, and that's how it all started. It's been very fluid. I'm just kind of open to any opportunities. I've also recently discovered that I could do animals too, so I've been on this journey of trying to test out different pets. When people just throw stuff at me. I'm like, sure, I'm going to just try it.
Jasmine Lowe: That's really cool! So how long have you been doing this?
Samantha Mark: So, officially, as a business, I started at the beginning of April, but as far as being in the world of tarot, I bought my first deck probably five years ago.
Jasmine Lowe: What do you try to incorporate when you are doing a reading?
Samantha Mark: I like to always maintain a relatively positive and encouraging attitude in the readings. Sometimes they can be talking about things that are pretty deep and hidden away, and for a lot of people, that can be difficult to bring up in a reading. So, I always like to make sure I ways in which we can work with these energies. I ask, what are some things that we can do to work our way towards having these breakthroughs? I also try to have a more compassionate touch with them.
Jasmine Lowe: That is so important. I wanted to ask both of you, like, how did you guys deal with the world of tarot at first? This avenue isn't really the traditional career path. [laughs]
Samantha Mark: I think one of the funniest things that we joke about is like, at least you can get a lifetime of free readings. [laughs]
Aussie: [laughs] Well, when we first met, we connected through tarot. She would be doing the YouTube ones, and I hadn't actually seen the ones on YouTube, but I had gone to Tarot readers in real life. So, I was like, oh, I wonder what this is like, and it was actually pretty accurate in terms of our own journey and how we were meeting and what was happening. It wasn't until Covid that it opened my eyes up to another world of tarot online.
I noticed that Sam was doing readings, so I was just like, hey, why don't you do a reading on me? You have cards. So, she did, and it was just mind-blowingly-accurate. So, I told her to try reading my friends, and then we started out just that way. We got great feedback from people from all walks of life—people who didn't believe in tarot to people who do believe in tarot. I was like, I think you've discovered a gift, and she just loves doing it, and it just comes naturally to her.
Jasmine Lowe: You mentioned that you have an Etsy shop. Do you also sell tarot cards? Or is it just the service? Are you planning on selling merchandise later as well?
Samantha Mark: We have definitely thought about that. It just hasn't been something that we've had the time and effort to put into that yet. I have been wanting to do some journals or create my own type of things to go along with the readings and building partnerships with other professionals. I'm actually working on a program with a friend of mine who's a spiritual and life coach. I'm doing a tarot coaching program with her so, that is definitely in the works. Everything is in the planning stages still.
I do sell readings online as an individual or packaged readings. I recently started offering the Zoom ones, but I was primarily doing prerecorded YouTube videos following someone's request, and I just record the video, and I send them an unlisted link so they can watch as often as they want and whenever they're free. They can pause it; they can share it with their friends. That's how I was primarily doing it during the COVID environment.
Jasmine Lowe: What advice do you have for individuals, especially young queer people of color, who want to enter the space of tarot reading?
Samantha Mark: The biggest thing is to just have trust in yourself and as long as you're coming from a good place of really wanting to help people or make a difference in someone's life. Just test the waters. I went from just watching tarot, to doing them for myself, to then my partner, and then close friends, and then strangers. It kind of just expanded from there. So, I would say just trust in your abilities and don't be afraid to put yourself out there.
KeepItSaussie is currently holding a deal for 40% off the entire shop during Pride Month. All of June, all services will be 40% off. You can purchase one of Sam and Aussie's tarot reading packages through their Etsy site here and follow them on Instagram @KeepItSaussie.