By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer
I stood at the door eagerly waiting as a wave of uncertainty filled my body. I knocked three times and looked to my right, studying a blue swing set in the front yard and thinking about what to expect. I was unsure of the questions I wanted to ask or what I wanted from the palm and tarot card reading.
A friendly woman greeted me at the front door and motioned me to come inside and follow her to the dining room, where she had me sit across from her and laid out a deck of cards.
Sonia Black is a Waco palm reader who has been in business for over 30 years. For Black, spiritual endeavors came naturally. She said her mother and multiple other people in her family are also gifted and helped guide her when she began to discover her own spiritual gifts at the age of 12 years old.
When I first sat down, Black began by asking me to place the money for the reading in my hands and make a wish. She then proceeded to ask me to cut the deck of tarot cards she had earlier placed in front of me. After doing so, Black asked me to ask her two questions I wanted to know about.
I asked Black various questions during the tarot card reading, ranging from career to personal life. With each question I asked, Black flipped over a new card from the deck, responding with quick answers and giving me more insight into an overall view of my life.
While Black’s business model appeared realistic and free of gimmicks, some answers that I received were vague, such as that I was going to go through lots of career changes and that I cared deeply about the people around me. I understand that there is only so much that can be revealed from these type of readings, but in reality, who doesn’t care a lot about the people around them?
“I get a lot of people who are skeptical, and I understand their view, and I respect that,” Black said. “I pick a lot of good energy, and I can tell them a lot of things that can help them. Some even want to get mentored by me, but I kind of lean back from that because they have to make their own journey.”
After the tarot card reading was finished, Black prompted me to put my hands on the table for the palm reading. Immediately after doing so, she began telling me things about my current and future life, like that I would have three or four kids and that I was cautious yet focused on my career.
Before meeting Black, I expected a sense of detachment during the reading — something more hokey and elaborate — but once I sat down, I realized this wasn’t a gimmick for Black. Instead, this was something that she took seriously and really cared about.
“Some come in here scared,” Black said. “They think it’s voodoo, witchcraft or magic, but this is not about that. I don’t do that because life is full of that stuff already. Why add to it? I’m here to help.”
Black said when her abilities first started appearing, she became emotionally exhausted from what she was picking up from the people around her. She said growing up, she would talk to her friends and pick up on other kids’ painful and happy emotions. As she got older, and with her mother’s help, she said she learned to protect her own energy while helping people at the same time.
There was nothing magical or out of the ordinary in my session with Black. It felt as if it was second nature to her, similar to going to a religious figure or therapist for advice.
Overall, my biggest takeaway from my session with Black was that these readings are meant to give you small insights rather than a map of your future. In no way did I feel that Black was fake or a scam artist. However, I do feel that if someone goes in with exact expectations of how a tarot card and palm reading should go, they may be disappointed.
