Next Level Soul Podcast – BONUS MONDAYS: Top Tarot Card Expert Predicts The Future of US Economy & the Rest of 2024!

Host: Alex Ferrari
Guest: Julia Gordon-Bramer
Date: November 3, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Alex Ferrari delves into the mystical world of Tarot with renowned psychic and tarot expert, Julia Gordon-Bramer. Together, they explore the origins and evolution of Tarot cards, practical guidance for beginners, misconceptions, how Tarot relates to psychic abilities, and Julia’s insights into the current and future U.S. economic climate for the rest of 2024. Julia shares her personal journey as a reader and scholar, offers advice for those curious about Tarot, and provides a grounded, spiritual take on a frequently misunderstood subject.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Julia’s Introduction to Tarot

• Julia’s beginnings with Tarot stem from a serendipitous encounter at a magic shop in her teens (03:36–05:26).
  • “A girl behind the counter motions to me and says, you want to see some real magic? And I come over and she shows me these tarot cards and that was it... They were a part of my life for the next 45 plus years. I’m 60 now.” – Julia (04:07)
• Her psychic abilities and Tarot study both began around age 16.

Origins & History of Tarot

• Earliest known Tarot deck: 1400s Renaissance Italy, now kept in Milan (05:52).
• Tarot lore: Traveled among repressed groups (Romani, Jews); encoded with mystical traditions, numerology, and Kabbalah (06:28–09:20).
  • “Tarot is structured on the Kabbalah tree of life, Kabbalah being ancient Jewish mysticism...so there’s just all of this, you know, deep spiritual information encoded in the cards...” – Julia (07:04)
• Universal symbolism: Tarot reflects archetypes shared across all cultures, like the mother, father, lover, wise man, etc.

Evolution to Modern Tarot

• Tarot started as a card game (Taroki/Tarok), especially among European royalty (10:46–14:30).
• Transformed in the late 19th/early 20th century by the Golden Dawn and figures like Aleister Crowley (14:30).
  • Pamela Colman Smith and Arthur Waite made Tarot’s meanings visually accessible in the Rider-Waite deck.
• Carl Jung used Tarot with patients, regarding it as access to the subconscious and collective archetypes (17:38).

How Tarot Works: Structure & Symbolism

• Structure: 78 cards divided into Major (22) and Minor (56) Arcana (21:01–24:28).
  • Major Arcana = major life themes, milestones (The Lovers, Death, The Hermit, etc.)
  • Minor Arcana = day-to-day aspects, four suits (Cups = emotions/love, Pentacles = work/earth, Wands = inspiration/fire, Swords = action/air)
• Number symbolism: Each suit card’s number adds nuance (Aces = beginnings, Twos = partnerships, Fives = conflict, etc.)
• “The way they work together will tell a story...the cards interact with each other, how they may look at each other or not, you know, any sort of conflicts. It’s all a big picture telling a story.” – Julia (26:59)

The Reading Process & Philosophy

• Readings are personal, not for predicting lottery numbers or horse races.
• Common spread: Celtic Cross (past/present/future) for general readings (28:19).
• Tarot shows the trajectory you’re on, but you always have agency:
  • “Tarot shows you the path that you’re on. If we see something coming up that you don't like, it's an opportunity to do it differently. So I’m never going to tell you you’re doomed...” – Julia (28:40)
• Energy and focus: What you focus on amplifies in life.

Coming Out as a Tarot Professional

• Julia faced skepticism and “black sheep” status in her intellectual family and academic circles (33:58–39:48).
  • “They just dismiss me...I wasn’t willing to betray who I am...I’m really good at what I do.” – Julia (39:48)
• Her Tarot insights into Sylvia Plath’s poetry went largely unrecognized in academia due to bias against Tarot readers.

Misconceptions & The “Satanic” Myth

• The biggest misconception: “That it’s satanic, that it’s evil...People are just afraid of it...” – Julia (57:17)
• Julia grounds her practice in spirituality aiming at healing, not magical manipulation or “darkness.”

Tarot and Psychic Abilities

• Everyone has some psychic ability; Tarot can be read psychically or by intuition based on card meanings (45:00–53:14).
  • “Everyone can sing at least a little bit…some people you could listen to all day. And some people, it's like, ‘Oh god, please stop.’”
• Julia is mainly clairaudient (receiving words/phrases internally while reading).
• She sees Tarot as a “tool” or “visual aid”—psychic connection can occur with or without them.

Predictions & The U.S. Economy for 2024

• Julia does not use Tarot for direct macro-level predictions like who will win elections.
• Her thousands of personal readings for clients reflect general economic anxiety (64:07–67:05):
  • “I have seen that just by gauging from so many clients with the same kind of readings, I can get that we're not coming out of this really quickly, economically...” – Julia (65:28)
  • “In the next couple of years, I’m seeing most people hurting...Financially, everybody looks concerned. So that's interesting.” – Julia (66:13)
• Sees anxiety across all economic strata, from billionaires to working-class clients.
• Trends of AI disrupting certain professions, especially in academia and teaching.
• On sociopolitical division: She refuses to take sides and calls for unity (69:04).

Advice for Tarot Beginners

• Myths debunked: You don’t have to be “gifted” a deck, you can buy your own (71:39).
• Trust your intuition over rigid rules when learning; “Lean into your intuition and trust what comes to you.”
• Her book Tarot Life Lessons offers stories, tips, and practical wisdom.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “What we put our mind on grows, you know, so just in the same way that the athlete keeps their eyes on the prize...The tarot gives you a heads up.” – Julia (29:20)
• “A Course in Miracles says that the world is illusion. It's very Buddhist, and I'm also Buddhist. This illusion is our sandbox...and manipulate the illusion, you know, and grow and learn from it and ideally heal our stuff.” – Julia (57:25)
• “To call me a Satanist... I'm failing miserably.” – Julia (59:31)
• On meaning and purpose:
  • “A fulfilled life is reaching our highest potential...using our talents to the max, to the best of our abilities.” (72:42)
  • “The ultimate purpose of life? I think to love in every way and every form, including loving ourselves, to self-actualize, to reach that God potential.” (78:04)

Key Timestamps

• Julia’s first Tarot experience: 04:07
• Historical origins of Tarot: 05:52–09:20
• Golden Dawn & Tarot transformation: 14:30–18:15
• Tarot’s archetypal symbolism: 18:41–21:01
• Tarot structure & card meanings: 21:01–26:59
• Reading process & Celtic cross: 28:19
• Coming out as a Tarot professional: 33:58–39:48
• Misconceptions and “Satanic” myth: 57:11
• Tarot & economy predictions: 64:07–67:05
• Advice for beginners: 71:34

Further Resources

• Julia’s website: juliagordonbramer.com
• Tarot Life Lessons and The Occult Sylvia Plath (both available as audiobooks)
• Social: Twitter & Instagram @JGordonBramer

Final Takeaways

• Tarot is a centuries-old spiritual tool rooted in a rich, multicultural history, not just a party trick or sinister “fortune-telling” method.
• Julia sees Tarot as a personal compass: a spiritual mirror, not a deterministic oracle.
• The climate ahead (2024–2026): more economic anxiety and discomfort is seen among all types of people.
• The value in Tarot lies in self-understanding, self-actualization, and maintaining hope and agency through all of life’s cycles.

“I'm on the side of humanity… I'm on the side of love and I'm not going to divide. I will not do it.”
— Julia Gordon-Bramer (69:04)