Meet Fox Woods of Fox & The Empress Tarot

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fox Woods.

Fox, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hi folks! I’m Fox Woods, a queer Tarot reader living in Los Feliz. I’ve been reading and studying Tarot since 2020, after being introduced on my 39th birthday by reader Erisa Byrd. I knew instinctively the path of Tarot was for me, and I’ve loved watching my practice braid together the many spiritual creative paths I’ve had the pleasure of traveling: musician, artist, writer, and therapy nerd.

Getting started with Erisa felt so lovingly placed in my path by the Goddess. Numerically, my birthday is a system of 9’s and 3’s and on my 39th birthday I came across her Tarot booth in the back of a vintage shop in North Hollywood. She gave me such a spooky, stellar reading, and she intuitively knew I wanted to learn how to read. She sold me my first deck, Ethereal Visions, by Matt Hughes, and this is still the deck I use most for client readings.

I mostly taught myself over the first 2 years, pulling a card a day and journaling about it, sharing with friends about my journey along the way. In year 3, I started doing readings for friends and learned that I was a pretty gifted reader. As a kid, I knew I had intuitive gifts, but they scared me, and I remember praying at age 14/15 for them to stop. I was being visited by spirits/energies that really frightened me. These days, I channel these gifts through my readings, and understand my own boundaries with mediumship.

In year four, the inner voices got so loud about becoming a professional reader that I started my Tarot business, Fox and The Empress Tarot (foxempresstarot.com). I began with shorter online and in-person readings, and within a few months was booking nightlife gigs at queer bars like Akbar and Precinct, and expanded into daytime creative markets. It’s pretty amazing that I get to make a living reading Tarot, and I’m super grateful for the communities that continue to support me (shout-out to DJ Promoter Ray Hernandez and market-owner Alanna Bailey).

Now in my 5th year of reading, I’ve finally dove into the more scholarly world of Tarot, attending festivals and workshops, learning from today’s most influential readers, and of course continuing to read books in our classic (and ever-growing) canon of Tarot literature.

My style of reading is trauma-informed and marries the world of traditional Tarot with the ideas of various therapeutic modalities. Some of my favorite lenses include IFS, AEDP, Expressive Arts and Witchcraft and my practice is in a constant evolution. It’s been really cool to watch today’s therapists and psychologists begin to embrace the tools of Tarot, a trend I hope continues as we move as a culture towards a more spiritual path of collective liberation.

Curiosity, honesty, gentleness care are at the foundation of my practice, and I love to meet a client right where they are, as we build narrative and meaning together.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most of my challenges have been internal. Self-doubt, fear, and of course imposter syndrome have always been present, but I have a record of risking it all for creativity. I feel like I’ve always intuitively known the teachings of The Fool, and have followed books like The Artist’s Way since my early 20’s. In the past, I’ve created work on a professional level in sculpture, poetry, illustration, graphic design, branding, and vintage jazz dance. My life has been pretty colorful.

Currently, my external struggles are just questions of expansion and manifestation. Do I want to go the scholarly route? Do I want to grow into creating my own events programs? Double-down on connecting with my monthly one-on-one clients? I’m in a really fertile place right now where I see Spirit is meeting me wherever I grow, but there is always the question of purpose, resources and the limitations of just simply being human!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Fox and The Empress Tarot is my Tarot business, where I join forces with the spirit of The Empress (abundance, pleasure, connection to nature, vulnerability) to read for clients. I do readings online and in-person, teach lessons, and of course am available for on-site events and parties. As an artist who is also a reader, I think folks are really drawn to my set-up, which feels like its own intimate art installation. I want folks to know that Tarot can be fun and supportive, and that most fear around the practice just comes from the unknown. Tarot has been used as a tool for direct communication with the divine for almost a thousand years, and I’d love to see a deck in every person’s home so they can connect in their own personal way. I love to introduce first-timers to Tarot and believe my openness and caring practice helps folks feel comfortable and at-ease.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Liberation. Both individual and collective. Tarot is most of all a tool for getting free, growing, and becoming a fuller version of one’s self. As we align with our own understanding of the divine, we begin to trust ourselves, and we begin to disconnect from any unhealthy power structures present in our lives.

Pricing:

• 30 minute reading: $90
• 60 minute reading: $120
• Small events: $200 event fee which covers the first hour of readings, then $120 an hour.
• Large events, please reach out for a quote.

Contact Info:

• Website: foxempresstarot.com
• Instagram: fox_kendall_woods
• Other: tiktok: fox_kendall_woods

Image Credits
Park Image is from photographer Monica Orozco