This article was originally published in ShoutOut Miami on April 26, 2023.
We had the good fortune of connecting with Sasha Graham and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Sasha, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking. How do you know when to keep going or give up? The eternal question! I never give up on things I care about, whether it be people, myself or my work. If you allow your life to be guided by internal stirrings and passion you will intrinsically know when a well has run dry. Giving up entails releasing what’s not working anymore and moving out of your comfort zone. The tricky part is fear. Who doesn’t love safety and comfort? It is unnerving to change course and evolve. When you understand that internal gulches of terror often signify the correct course of evolution then you can use fear to move you in the right direction. Signs and synchronicities will help you navigate your course. Uncanny coincidence is the universe letting you know you made the right decision.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community? My work is grounded in supernatural power, mystery and fun. I started out as a horror actor in the 90’s and still make movies today when directors call me. I never played the role of the victim. I was always a vampire, werewolf, mafia hit chick, etc. Even if my character was destroyed, I never went down without a fight. I write metaphysical tarot books and create tarot decks which ground readers in their supernatural power. Every person is extraordinary. I love helping readers access magic and enter alignment with their own unique energy, I created and host “Ghost Stories by the Fire” which is a live spooky story share. It grounds the audience in the commonality of the unknown. It offers people a chance to tell personal stories while giving the endorphin, youthful rush of sitting around a campfire in the dark. I also get to go on the road with “Ghost Stories” and teach tarot workshops around the world!
I got to where I am by following what lights me up on the inside. It was NOT easy! I came from nothing, no college or family support. I moved to New York City at 17 years old like lots of us did back in the 80’s. That was the narrative back then, right? Leaving a small town in search of “making it” in the big city with the odds stacked against you? I probably embraced that narrative to my detriment. Made so many mistakes. But, I learned from my darkest moments. I learned that life is short. You have to keep going before it stops. I want to be an old woman, like Rose in Titanic, with a long slow pan of a wall full of photos of younger me doing amazing things. I’ve done a pretty good job of filling that wall!
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes! A huge, warm and grateful shoutout to the Tarot School in New York City created and run by Wald and Ruth Ann Amberstone. When I decided to go pro with tarot over a decade ago it felt like I needed a school to hone my work. Wald and Ruth Ann held in-person tarot classes a few blocks from my apartment. They mentored me, brought me into a tarot community (before social media was a “thing”), challenged me to teach tarot masterclasses on their Reader’s Studio main stage, inspired me with their books. I’ll never forget Ruth Ann sitting at her computer while working on the index of their “The Secret Language of Tarot” book. I remember thinking, THIS is what I want to do. I want to write. And when I started publishing, Wald and Ruth Ann were cheering and supporting me like proud parents.
Read more with Sasha at "The Importance of Retelling Our Stories."