Melissa Cynova 
During a massive binge of The Hermit’s Lamp podcast, I heard the delightful story of how Sarah Barry started reading professionally. She just did it. Such enormous bravery – she’s seriously one of my heroes. And look at her frickin bike! Anyway, she’s now been reading for years and has such an enthusiasm for tarot – it’s engaging. She’s got a blog that dates back to 2010, and I’ve learned so much from her. Sarah is on Instagram and Facebook, and you should also sign up for her newsletter. I love that the internet brings me closer to kickass Australian tarot readers. Learn more about Sarah below!
LFT Questionnaire
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What you appreciate the most in your friends. Honesty, authenticity, and being real.
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Your idea of happiness. Bushwalking in the Blue Mountains while wearing a tutu (optional), surrounded by thousands of trees and waterfalls, with my beloved and a thermos of chai and quality dark chocolate in my backpack. Friends welcome too. So is lying around in a cushion/blanket/duvet pile with chai, comix and my beloved. Friends welcome too. And basking in the metta (loving kindness) vibe at the end of a 10-Day (or longer) Vipassana meditation course.
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Your idea of misery. Totalitarianism. Also: not being able to make a cup of tea.
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Your favorite colors and flowers. I am rendered too giddy by all the colours and all the flowers to pick a few. Wild and freaky is best on all accounts. Luckily the Australian bush offers this aplenty. To narrow it down somewhat, I would say two of my favourite flowers are the waratah & the grevillea. This can change with the seasons though. And if I am to add in a favourite tree, one of the most aesthetically, texturally and tactilely pleasing trees I have met is the Paperbark Tree. They make me happy.
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Your favorite poets. Hafiz.
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Your heroes/heroines in fiction. I guess I have been affected by various characters throughout my life, but there was a book called Back Home by Michelle Magorian that I used to read a lot when I was in my early-mid teens. The main character Rusty was a 12 year old girl who was strong, defiant, self-assured, creative and fun. She affected me in a good way I reckon.
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What role does divination play in your life? Well it’s my full-time work, so it is there at least four days a week when I am with my clients in a practical, connecting way. I usually have a deck with me when I go out on my days off (though often I don’t use it, I just pull it out if it feels right), and I usually have a tarot deck next to my bed, but not every night. When I am sitting a meditation course it’s not in my life at all – I am just there to meditate. So it is a regular and exciting part of my life, but not an addiction, and something that I use to gain understanding for myself and for others.
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Your heroes/heroines in real life. Ursula Le Guin. Kiran Bedi. So many members of the Sydney Queer community who consistently bring their love, political intelligence, skill-sharing, creativity, generosity and defiance of out-dated ideologies.
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What is your present state of mind? Calm.
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What is your favorite tarot deck or divination tool? How to choose amongst my sacred babies? I like several for various reasons. For a while now, the Dark Goddess Tarot and Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince have been right up there for sheer depth, power and illumination. They are the only two at the moment that I will allow to sit beside my bed as I sleep.
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Your favorite songs? Seriously, this favourite thing – how does anyone do it?? For now I’ll just go with Dressed for Space by Trust (also Bulbform by same artist), and Free Tibet by Hilight Tribe (Vini Vici mix). You need good speakers to listen to these ones. Such complex sounds that deserve to be heard!
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What is your favorite word? Gesticulate comes to mind at time of writing. It would be another word on another day though. Metamorphosis and mesmerising sound nice too.
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What is your least favorite word? Foible. Again, I’m not hard and fast about this. I am making these decisions on a sound-only basis by the way.
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What sound or noise do you love? The sound of rain outside when I’m tucked in bed, or just when we’ve had a really long dry spell.
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What sound or noise do you hate? Scratchy violin playing by amateurs.
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What turns you on? Experiential wisdom integrated and shared with clarity and integrity.
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What turns you off? Unasked for advice.
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What is your favorite curse word? Fuck-that-shit. That one’s often a real winner if I happen to say it during a reading. One client once gave me the feedback that I am the most eloquent swearer she’s ever heard! It’s all about the delivery really.
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If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Heaven, God and the Pearly Gates requires way too much of a stretch of my imagination to even contemplate this. I wish more people would contemplate why, of all the invisible beings that require a belief system to sustain them, like the Christian God, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy – why do people who believe in God not believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy? Why are kids who believe in Santa Claus seen as being childish once they get to a certain age, but a belief in God is seen as plausible? It makes no sense to me.
You can find Sarah here:
Instagram: @sarahthepsychic
https://www.facebook.com/sarahthepsychic
