Sleeping Gypsy...

The Woman Behind the Cards

Hello! My name is Leslie Yetter...Welcome to my website!

I thought it would be a good idea to let my visitors get to know me a little better. It is a little awkward writing about one's self, so please bear with me. I will try to be as humble and objective as I can.

I have been reading tarot cards since I bought my first deck at the age of 15, back in 1971. I saw the deck sitting in a little esoteric shop down on the mall in the town where I was born in rural Michigan. It caught my eye, and then it caught my attention. I felt a bond with the imagery and symbolism from the moment I laid my eyes upon them. Whenever I gazed at the images on the cards, they would seem to come alive for me in my thinking and perception of them. It was enchanting and fascinating for me to experience such a thing and at such a young age. I really had a feeling that I had found a way to make sense of things of which I didn't understand at the time. I had always been "different" as a child. I could see and hear things that others could not. I kept the cards and used them on a daily basis, but mostly for my own inner journeys and for my own enlightenment and enjoyment. In 1977, after experiencing an NDE, an event which happened during and as a result of a serious traffic accident, things suddenly started to become much clearer for me spiritually. Without going into a great amount of detail here, let's just say that my Third Eye was opened wide and a new, more sensitive and aware chapter of my life began to unfold. I began reading for others on a professional basis in the late 1980's and by the early 1990's I was doing readings at a little flea market for $1 per card. I became somewhat of a hit and had an impressive little following. It was about that time that I met the man of my dreams and moved out to Los Angeles to be with him. This was the first big city I had ever really experienced, and the lights and immensity of it all dazzled the eyes of this little country girl.

The move to L.A. was a move in the right direction and made positive changes for me and in all the right ways. My new love not only accepted me for who and what I was, but encouraged me to just be myself and share this wonderful talent with others and to help as many people as I could on this journey down the path of my life. Without his loving and kind encouragement, I wonder if I would have grown to be the person I am today...happy, self-accepting and very caring towards others. I studied theology and Biblical text at Loyola Marymount University and pursued still other areas of spirituality, such as religions of the world, including Judaism, Hinduism, Gnosticism and then furthered my studies of Native American spirituality to add to what I had already accomplished at an earlier time in my life.

Michigan called me back with the birth of my first grandchild and the passing of my mother and then my older brother. I was busy, but managed to work in readings and psychic fairs whenever they beckoned and were within reach. The weather in California spoiled me, and though I thought that I could handle Michigan winters in the stride similar to that when I was younger, I soon found out that this was definitely not the case. The northern winters were sheer torture for me and I never was comfortable nor warm enough. So, after only 4 1/2 years in the Michigan climate, we decided to take a lesson from the robins and head south. And that is how I ended up in St. Augustine, Florida.

We originally had our sights set on the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area, and made plans for a vacation there. At the last minute, however, my dearest friend, Connie, made the suggestion that we check out the St. Augustine area. So we booked our flights and headed south in October of 2009. Although warm, the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area reminded us of Los Angeles in so many good and not so good ways. We were disappointed in the way the city had not seen any real growth and that the recession was taking its toll on these tropical metropolitan cities. So, with St. Augustine as our "plan B", we headed a little north and planned a few days in the country's oldest city. Were we ever in for a surprise!"

The quaint Spanish Colonial city of St. Augustine has so many things to offer both visitors and residents: history, entertainment, good old fashioned southern hospitality, sumptuous food, shopping at neighboring Jacksonville and the two huge outlet malls just outside the city. There are beaches in this state for as far as one can wander and you are willing to drive, whether it is 3 blocks to the local pier, or a few hours away to hot spot destinations like Daytona and on further down all the way to the Keys. But the one thing that it has that people don't really talk too much about, but was the very first thing I noticed when we arrived here,is the one thing that most people just do not see...and that is...the ghosts and spirits of generations of souls who have lived here and called this little city home.

Needless to say, we were quite captivated by St. Augustine. We decided to sell the house in Grand Haven and move as soon as we could. Our house sold very quickly and by April of 2010 we were getting settled into our new home, in a more rural area in north eastern St. Johns County. After touring the Old City, I quickly came to the conclusion that I was simply too sensitive to be able to live in or very near to the downtown district; just too much spiritual activity goes on there to afford me to try and ignore it all and keep any semblance of sanity. So, we found a newer, cute little shotgun style home on the edge in a quiet neighborhood with lots of trees and wildlife (the four-legged kind!) to keep me happy and grounded in nature. We have a modest home with a cute little garden and lots of lizards and snakes and birds and squirrels to keep me, my wonderful man and our four-legged children happy and entertained.

My style of reading in unconventional. There are no hard and fast rules, only that real three dimensional cards are used. No computer generated programs are ever used in an email or phone reading. And even though I have scores of other decks in my collection, the only deck I will ever use for a phone or email reading is that old original Rider-Waite classic deck - my very first deck - that I started with so long ago. For in-person readings away from home, for spirit and psychic fairs and the like, I have a newer and more colourful Universal Rider-Waite that I use, as the vibrancy of the deck is appealing to those whom I read for. It is very important that anyone who has a reading with me can see the cards themselves and draw their own feelings, impressions and meanings from them. Phone readings are different and difficult for obvious reasons for people to get to see the cards as the reading progresses, and so I will email them the images if they so desire, as it is very important for anyone who gets a reading done from me to be able to see and feel the cards as well.

From the beginning of the reading, I let the cards dictate how the spread will be laid. It is the relationship that the figures in the cards themselves have in relation to each other as well as myself and the querent, that dictates how they are read and what meanings they reveal. The cards are merely a tool to tap in to what ever it is that comes my way psychically, intuitively. They stimulate and communicate, very much taking on a life of their own. Many things can come through in a reading, including guides, spirit presences and angels should they have the desire to make themselves known, and it has been many times and during more than one occasion that they have physically made their presence known through noises, smells, and other means to let us know that they are there and are listening and wishing to communicate. Sometimes the messages come through the cards in the form of a channeled communication. These are quite spontaneous and can happen at any time before, during or even after a reading. It really is quite fascinating and never ceases to amaze me, even after all these years of doing this, how the messages from the other realms come through. The world of spirit is so very active and ready to communicate with this side, so whenever people open themselves up to spirit, that is when the ability for those in spirit to communicate readily jump at the chance to have their voices be heard.

In any reading, the numbers are considered by tallying up the numbered suit cards as well as the numbers of the Major Arcana and then added until there is a single value from 1-9. Together we evaluate the essence of the reading through the final single digit number that defines the vibration of the reading. And then, last but not least, a totem power animal is discovered, to establish a natural guardian and protector to spiritually have with you to carry you through until the next reading or encounter with the cards, whenever and whomever that may be with. Having a strong Native American tie through lineage on my mother's side has led me to be a natural student of Native American Spirituality from a very young age. Having been guided and protected by power animals and totems since a small child, I firmly believe that our connections with the planet through natural presences like the animals, the plants and the trees, gems and stones, even the elements of earth, water, air and fire, and all natural beings - both seen and unseen - can help us and protect us and guide us through the help of their energies. It is uplifting and enlightening when one realizes that we have all this help around us, if only we all knew how to tap in and share these wonderful things within and throughout the Realms of Spirit. I have vowed to dedicate my life to doing just that...helping others to tap in and touch their very own powers and spirits through a talent that we all have to one extent or another.

Some people ask how I came up with the name of "Sleeping Gypsy" and it is really quite simple. One day soon after I had settled in L.A., I saw the painting by Henri Rousseau called "The Sleeping Gypsy". I was thoroughly inspired by the work of art and identified with it immensely. It speaks to me on so many levels, the image of the gypsy, sleeping on the sands, the animal nature of the man being set free by the dreaming, free and under the starry skies, with only the moon to witness his humanity and his animal nature co-mingle when no one else is watching, the man aware and yet not aware both at the same instant. On the other hand, the animals come when man is asleep and commune with him as he slumbers; his own nature tempered by slumber, making him easier to approach than when he is in his full waking state. For man is aggressive and frightening to wild animals as they amble through the day; it is only at night when their peace is evident and approachable. I identify with this painting in so many ways. It seems that every time I look at it new meanings come to bear. Add to that a possible Romany or European Traveller connection through lineage on my father's side, it all just seems to quite fit for me. And the rest, as they say...is history.

The Egyptian influences? It goes towards past life experiences and the origins of the tarot. This is a hot debate that has been argued over for centuries, the modern times being no different. Without getting too carried away in my own passions towards this subject, suffice it to say that I believe in my heart of hearts that the tarot is much older than even the oldest civilizations, that it is symbolic of something that is encoded upon us through a genetic memory and could even reside in our DNA. With that said, I feel that the Egyptians had knowledge of the keys of the tarot long before the card format was invented. I find it very hard to believe that such a powerful tool could be conjured up at the whim on some lazy Sunday afternoon by a handful of bored courtesans with a pile of money and nothing better to do. The Egyptians had knowledge of things that we are not privy to because of such unfortunate events such as the burning of the Great Library in Alexandria, the delicate nature of the popular medium of papyrus and the looting of the temples throughout the whole of Egypt. We may never know the extent of their knowledge, but I feel that being close to them through their art work and the writings that do survive will have some positive effect on the whole of mankind.

Currently I am working on a book about intuitive tarot and how anyone can use this tool to tap in to the higher realms of spirit. I will be constantly working on and updating my website on a day to day basis, giving readings and helping people to not only get in touch with themselves and those in spirit, but to nurture and grow their own intuitive psychic abilities and talents so that they can tap in and help others to do the same and so on, a beautiful chain of souls lighting the way for those on this side and the other, making this world a better place for everyone.

Thank you for sharing this time with me and taking the time to get to know me just a little better. Please feel free to email me at any time with questions, whether of a serious or just a curious nature. I would love to hear from you!

...Namaste!