Tarot and Astrology in the Catskills with Nikki Burst
Photo: Nikki Burst Tarot
When the topics of astrology and tarot arise, most people have very strong feelings. Right now, as you read this, there's a good chance you're either rolling your eyes or getting ready to tell me your sun sign, moon sign, and rising sign while whipping out your favorite tarot deck. If you fall somewhere between Total Believer and Curiously Open-Minded, I need to tell you about Nikki Burst, a thoughtful and perceptive writer, poet, tarot reader, and astrology practitioner who recently relocated from Brooklyn to the upstate town of Hobart, NY.
I met Nikki through her husband, Charles Burst, who made some of my favorite records on my husband's label. I always thought Nikki seemed really smart and cool, so when she started doing tarot readings, it seemed like a good excuse to hang out with her. That reading surprised me because Nikki—without knowing me very well—dove right into a topic that had been bothering me in ways I couldn't articulate. It ended up feeling like therapy, with more magic and less emotional turmoil.
Nikki does readings remotely now, so when I was researching an article for Brooklyn Based about Zoom birthday celebrations (which will hopefully end soon!), I asked her if she did group readings. She hasn't, but she mentioned that people sometimes give Zoom readings to friends as birthday gifts. Since I know very little about astrology, I set up a session for Nikki to read my natal chart—that is, the placement of the cosmos at the moment I was born.
Nikki Burst, top right, makes natal charts fun.
Now, I don't understand how the position of the planets at the time of someone's birth could affect their personality. And it doesn't seem logical that a selection of tarot cards could help answer an important question. That said, I also don't get how streaming TV works, but Lord knows I accept it and welcome it into my home every day, no questions asked!
Astrology can be very technical, too. When Nikki talked about things like ascendants, descendants, and a stellium of planets in a particular house, she may as well have been describing how the internet works (another area that I can't fully comprehend), but I loved hearing her insights. I love how Nikki used planetary placements as a tool to talk about specific areas of my mind and my life. I honestly can't remember the last time I spent an hour talking to someone about my thoughts and hopes and worries.
If you've spent a lot of the last year alone, or if you've spent it tending to the incessant needs of small children, a conversation that's all about you can be really rejuvenating, no matter where you stand on divination and folk magick. Personally, I don't see myself becoming an astrology scholar, but I've been feeling the need for a little extra spiritual guidance as the world opens up again, and I feel lucky to know someone who has access to the ancient wisdom of the cosmos.
You can learn more about Nikki and book a reading at nikkiburst.com and follow her poetic astrological musings on Instagram at @nikkibursttarot.
