Emmyrose Nowinski is the resident psychic at The Witchery in downtown Galveston. She offers spiritual guidance through tarot. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

The Witchery’s resident psychic channels spirits and angels to help others

Emmyrose Nowinski has seen her share of skeptics. They sit across from her giggling or, worse, snickering as she lays out a tarot spread on the table between them.

“But then Spirit speaks to me, and I tell them something they never expected to hear. And they stop laughing,” the resident psychic at The Witchery, 2116 Postoffice St. in Galveston, said.

Nowinski goes “above” and “beyond” to offer spiritual guidance. That guidance, she said, comes from above, from Spirit — some might say God or a higher power — and from beyond the veil from ancestors and deceased loved ones.

Her gift, she explains, is a combination of finely honed intuition and trust in the visions and voices with which she is connected. Combined with the energy of the person she’s reading for, it uncovers highly personal messages and counsel. Tarot is the medium through which the energies guide her, she said.

Nowinski’s role isn’t necessarily to tell clients who they’ll marry or whether they’ll get that raise — although she’ll pass that information on if that’s what her spirit guides feel like sharing, she said. On telling a client she was about to meet her soul mate, Nowinski said, “Spirit whispered in my ear, ‘Oh, snap, he’s cute.’”

Yes, the communication is that real, Nowinski said. But more importantly, she’s there to tune people into the path they’re meant to take, she said.

“It’s all about evolving the soul,” she said.

If the spirited 56-year-old doesn’t give off a “Dark Lady” vibe like in Cher’s 1970s hit, it’s because she decries most of the stereotypes that have been foisted on the craft of tarot reading.

“People start conjuring up ideas of the dark arts, voodoo, Hollywood stereotypes and scammers,” she said. “But it’s not dark. It’s not anti-God. I work with my archangels and with spirits. I stay in the light.

Emmyrose Nowinski uses tarot to help people find their purpose, she said. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

“If I’m helping a person, unblocking their mind, their spirit, their soul and helping them find their purpose, how is that anti-God?” she said. “There are so many wonderful readers out there who really care, the lightworkers, who get bad raps.”

Some clients go into readings with specific questions. Sometimes, they get the answers to those questions, Nowinski said. But often, Spirit just wants to talk about something else, so they get answers they didn’t know they needed, she said.

Other clients go in for a “soul check,”
to see whether they’re on the right path, she said.

Nowinski also has helped people find missing loved ones, she said. One thing she won’t do, however, is speak about death, she said.

“Certain things are left to the Higher Power, and I will not tap into it,” she said. “Even when it comes to missing children, I will help locate where they are but I won’t go beyond that.”

Nowinski began having visions at a young age, she said. Her mother chalked it up to a vivid imagination. But when her visions became stronger, the gift became problematic.

“Her best friend, Lynn, was a master tarot card reader, and my mother told her, ‘I can’t even take her out in public; I don’t know what she’s going to say to people. I either have to commit her or, if she really does have the gift, I want to empower that,’” Nowinski said.

Studying with Lynn helped to focus her gift, Nowinski said.

Nowinski has degrees in theater, the classics and child development — and an affinity for Galveston. She’s “obsessed” with the 1900 Storm and feels connected to the spirits who inhabit the island because of it, she said.

“Those spirits come and visit me all the time,” she said. “I feel phenomenal energies when I come to Galveston.”

Tarot helps people make sense of their path, of their purpose, Nowinski said. And in times like these, it’s especially important. The turmoil of 2020 came as no surprise to psychics, she said.

“We knew this was going to be a horrific year, a transformational year,” she said. “We need to get out of this energy of greed and into the energy of gratitude. It’s a tough birth, and we need a lot of healing.

“We all need to keep walking in the light toward really being a better person, better friend, better partner,” she said. “That’s where we’re going.”