Bay Area Raised Tarot Reader Breathes Life into Her Audience

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It's late at night, and no sleep is coming. Anxiety fills the mind and body due to the uncertainty of the future. So far, a proactive plan has been set in place to move forward, be a better person, and have faith that things will work out. A ping sounds from your smartphone, and it's a notification from your favorite YouTube tarot card reader- "What do they feel about you right now?" Sitting up in bed, you click on the notification, getting ready to pick a pile out of the three that resonates with you…

  Ashley Forbes is one of many who are changing the game regarding the new digital age of tarot card readings. Her career is inspired by her mantra, helping others via body, mind, and spirit, and keeping it real through channeling energy and opening her new holistic shop.

Forbes, deep in her heart, has always been and will be a Bay Area girl. She wears her long hair in a high bun, has large hoop earrings, loves her sweatshirts with a full face of fresh makeup and has an attitude that will make a person laugh but set them straight at the same time.

Before she became a success in her career, Forbes was born and raised in Hayward, California; she moved to Dallas, Texas, at 18 years old, right out of high school.

"I left kicking and screaming, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me because I was doing crazy shit when I was hella young," Forbes explains, laughing. "Texas was a new start, and that is where my journey before my spiritual journey began."

Her spiritual journey began when she met her former husband. It felt like a whirlwind romance where her life changed forever within a six-to-eight-month period- she became pregnant with her first child, got married and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. That was when her Dark Night of the Soul Journey began.

   Dark night of the Soul and shadow work go hand in hand. The first is going through a tough chapter in your life that is either transformative or it will break you down. It is up to the person on how they want to proceed. The latter is a method which forces the person to look at the other side of themselves; the darker side: their flaws, things they don’t want to acknowledge and what responsibility they need to take accountability in why they are in the position they are in. It is about accepting who they are as a whole and not just the good parts to have growth in their body, mind and soul.

It was almost immediately Forbes found out that her ex was unfaithful and felt he was a karmic partner but didn't know it at a time. A karmic partner is an astrology term in which a person has a relationship with a partner that teaches them lessons through the highs and lows of it. Often, they do not last but are there to teach people lessons.  

She had been doing tarot and astrology since she was 13 years old, but she stopped due to the ongoing trauma of the relationship.

  "I was always into that but did not get fully into that deep (spirituality) until 2016," Forbes recollects. "Because of this between 2013 and 2016, this person had put me through everything a person can possibly put another person through. From mental abuse, emotional abuse and physical abuse like cheating and mind fucking with me."

That was the most challenging part of it, and because of this experience, Forbes was in a difficult spot, not taking care of herself, depressed, and not eating well.

Forbes shuffles her tarot cards back and forth on her now rare Instagram live readings as viewers fill the chat. Then, using her no bullshit attitude yet friendly demeanor, she announces what she will be offering- $11.11 one question special, $22.22 two questions special and so forth. Each video is different and dependent on the time of the month, the astrological significance, or that she's just in the mood to chat and to read tarot. 

Forbes touched on a subject that most people do not talk about, the growing popularity in YouTube tarot readings but the darker side of it. Let's just say that a person is on YouTube and suddenly a suggested video will pop up, "What are they feeling about you right now?"

Then the person clicks on the video, and there the tarot card reader gives their own unique introduction and proceeds to show three distinct piles encouraging their viewers to choose the one that resonates with them. Sometimes these videos are distinctive based on the zodiac sign it is representing. Once the pile is selected, the reading begins, and chances are it may resonate to the person who wanted that question answered, "What are they feeling about you right now?" Basically, this is a free tarot reading that caters to the general audience.

During Forbes's darkest times, she admits that she would go through these videos all the time.

"(I was) Realizing that it was toxic spirituality," she recalls. "Because it's like a drug when you're experiencing what resonates with you where no one else does or no one else understands or no one else gets it. I used to barricade myself in the car and just listen and go through videos for anything related to me. And that is what you do when you're depressed, and you are just trying to fill that void."

After this revelation, she decided to get herself together and immersed herself into her spiritual journey by kicking her ex to the curb, practicing mediation, astrology, affirmations, and other methods.

Even then, a career in reading full time was not on the horizon since she successfully had been in corporate for over a decade with benefits and good pay. But, like people who do follow their calling, her own family, boyfriend, and friends thought she was crazy at first when she took the plunge. It wasn't easy at first, but eventually, it paid off.

Since she was drawn to Zodiac readings on YouTube, she had the idea that she would be a YouTube reader herself, but that fell apart since Forbes found out that she was uncomfortable in front of the camera and had anxiety over her product’s placements. Getting invested in creating a YouTube channel alone cost her a lot of money because she felt like she had to have certain crystals and related items to create an aesthetic. After Forbes realized she was better off using Facebook live at first due to its familiarity and already having people who knew her personally. Instagram live came after…YouTube is now the third platform she uses based on her brand, where she occasionally posts zodiac updates.

Some of her clients and fans would know her solely based on her Instagram live readings. Like a call-in psychic show, people would pay a certain amount via mobile banking apps and then write in a question in the chat where Forbes would shuffle her cards and give an answer based on her psychic gifts-intuition, spirit and the guidance of her divination techniques.  Despite the spiritual aspect, Forbes has been trained in psychology earning a bachelors from the Remington College Associates University if Phoenix. It had always been her intention of combining her gifts and education to help others.

"I really feel like spirituality needs a heavier light shined on it because it is so controversial and there needs to be a voice where I can base my business and my platform off of," says Forbes. "My whole schtick is taking general surface level psychology and merging it with deep-seated personal tarot readings to bridge the gap and to tailor it to you, which is not a fake or a scam."

The biggest challenge most readers and healers deal with tends to be putting boundaries between them and their clients. Getting a reading is not a cure-all or a one-and-done process. It is about accepting different perspectives and doing the Shadow work.

"I struggle with that heavily because I have sympathy and empathy levels for people but…I have a difficult time telling hard truths… (to) someone who is clearly having a hard time and clearly going through it. What I do is switch it from cards to psychology as therapist mode, so tarot is not abused." Even though she does offer therapy sessions on her website, the readings often turn into them so her clients can vent.

Forbes further explained that when someone is in a desperate state, tarot can give different answers each time because it feeds off the current energy. "Tarot is energy. I can tell you x,y, z happens or what but you have to make the choice of your free will to what will happen next."

Currently, she is expanding her brand by selling lavender and sage sprays. Depending on the month's time, she will enhance the sprays by letting the liquid batches sit under the moon, creating moon water. Moon water can be used for spell work, manifestation, setting the tone and enhances the products.

With each aspect of her brand and the use of her social media platform, it really is about connecting the body, mind, and spirit. Social media is where people connect, socialize, and try to meet like-minded people. Ashley Forbes is making it her business to aid people by using her own personal experiences and psychic gifts to build that bridge to enhance their lives.

"People will always be saying fix me, fix me, I lost my leg, I need another one from you, and I'm like I can't give you another leg, but I can tell you the quickest way to get one," the social media reader explains about the people who want the quick fixes. "People think Shadow work or using any tools is summoning demons, but it is not. Here are the tools, I will show you how to use them, and it is up to you to destroy or construct."

Ashley's business is now known as WayUp Network to broaden her mission to help people live their most authentic lives through psychology, philosophy, metaphysics and astrology. This is executed 'while the content is derived from the lenses of Ashley's higher perspective and driven by her own, personal life experiences, divine encounters and professional studies.'