MARBLEHEAD — Marblehead residents won’t have to travel far to get a fix of the spooks and spirituality of Salem, as Sabrina Velandry will be leading tarot card reading classes starting this month.
Velandry, a longtime resident known online as “Sabrina the Good Witch,” will be hosting two tarot card reading classes on Jan. 7 and Jan. 14 at her home to help her clients “start to understand and learn your own intuition as a guide to live your very best life. I just want to help people — empower people to do that.”
Velandry said she currently has 10 people signed up for her classes and expects to cap enrollment at 15, with potential future classes if more people are interested in attending.
The price of the class is $25, according to Velandry. Residents can sign up for the class by sending a private message on social media or by email at [email protected].
Velandry said she believes the rise of artificial intelligence is “hijacking people’s intuition.”
To combat this, she said she is “trying to get people to… just listen to yourself. Listen to your gut. Let a seed of information come into your third eye, and then let it come into your body. Think about how you’re feeling about that. Think about the feelings that are coming through.”
She said the class will teach people to understand the 78 cards in a tarot deck and how specific cards read together in “spreads” convey a message.
Velandry said that the orientation and direction in which you read the cards are also important in conveying a story.
She added it is also about “teaching people to really think about the feeling when they look at these cards. It’s almost like when you look at a painting, or if you look at anything, let’s use a painting or even a movie. Think about the feeling that gives you.”
Velandry said she was inspired to start offering classes after working on a Mahi Harbor cruise, after attendees asked if she would teach them to read tarot cards.
Currently, Velandry operates a page on TikTok where she posts online tarot card readings and videos of her life in Salem and Marblehead. She is accompanied by her daughter in some videos, known online as “baby witch.”
Velandry said her daughter will also be assisting in the tarot card reading classes this winter.
Velandry is a psychic medium who can connect people with their passed loved ones. She also reads tarot cards and completes dream analysis.
Previously, Velandry owned and operated Sabrina, The Good Witch, a shop located in Salem’s Derby Square, where she would provide readings to patrons for two seasons.
On Christmas Eve last year, Velandry was evicted from her shop by the East Boston constable for the line of guests outside of her shop.
“That’s essentially like reporting underage drinking at a bar,” she said.
Velandry said her experience is considered by her to be a modern-day Salem witch trial, as she was not only evicted from her Salem shop, but she also found it difficult to be hired by other establishments in Salem and had her social media accounts hacked and never regained access.
“It’s very, very competitive, and it’s dark … And I’m not dark; it sounds kind of pretentious, but I feel like it’s a gift from God, and I just try to use it in a positive sense. I don’t work with spells. I don’t do anything dark.” she said.
