Bijou Fortune
Max (he/him) - Spirit Medium
Need advice from the beyond? Here at Bijou Fortune we use Tarot, dice, oracle decks, bibliomancy, and even digital divination tools to connect with spirits on the other side and bring back wisdom and a new perspective for clients like you.We approach our work with a uniquely queer modern perspective and are dedicated to serving every individual who comes to us with an open heart for guidance, no matter how odd society finds them.Bijou Fortune is a queer- and trans-owned business operating out of the central Seattle area. We also provide virtual sessions and written reports.
© Max Alderdice. All rights reserved.
Fortunes Told
At Bijou Fortune we reach out to the other side for wisdom using Tarot cards and other fortunetelling methods.✪ What is the Tarot?
✪ Other forms of fortune-tellingI offer two pricing schemes: by the number of cards and by the hour.Under the former, I charge $20 for a three-card spread and $30 for a five-card spread, whether the reading is conducted in person or virtually. I also offer a discounted option where I do the readings without your participation and send you a report afterwards.According to the latter pricing scheme, I charge $50 for half an hour of drawing and interpreting as many cards as you need. Like other readings, I can do these in person in the Seattle area or virtually for clients around the world.As an additional, optional service, I offer written reports, delivered digitally, of readings after they've concluded. These include a short explanation of each card's meaning, a summary of my interpretation of the reading as a whole, and brief notes on any other salient points I brought up during the session. If you chose to fill out a fortune profile beforehand, a copy will be included. For readings of five cards and under, this costs an extra $10; above five cards, it costs $20.More detailed written reports of fortune-telling sessions are available as well; these include detailed explanations of each card's meaning, my interpretation of the reading as a whole, notes on any other important points I brought up during the session, and suggestions for helpful spiritual practices and simple magical exercises based on the content of the reading. If you chose to fill out a fortune profile beforehand, a copy will be included with commentary on how it reflects upon the reading. For readings of five cards and under, this costs an extra $25; above five cards, it costs $45.I am also available for hire as an entertainer at parties for several tiers of hourly rates depending on services rendered. See the Events/Parties page for further details.If you're interested in purchasing a Tarot reading or session from Bijou Fortune, please contact us.
Other Fortunetelling methods
In addition to the ubiquitous Tarot, I use numerous other methods to gain insight from the beyond.✪ Bibliomancy is a form of fortunetelling using random number generation (whether with dice or digitally) to select passages out of a book. Some books (known as bibliomanteia) are made specifically for this purpose, but any book can be used.
✪ Dice with words or pictures on them may be used for fortunetelling that leans on loose associations and gut feelings more than the stricter language of the Tarot. I own a number of dice of both such kinds.
✪ I also make online bots for divinatory purposes; these may generate strings of random emoji or phrases or pictures from a databank.Setting up a book of your choice as a bibliomanteion and divining truth from that requires a half-hour session priced at $35.I do not currently tell fortunes from dice alone, but I can use them as clarifiers on a Tarot reading for an extra fee of $10.Contact me with inquiries about either of the following for further details:
✪ The creation of online fortunetelling bots. Prices for this service range from $50-$150 depending on the platform chosen and the size of the databank you want constructed.
✪ The enchantment of permanent bibliomanteia for your personal use. This requires multiple sessions to cover not just the consecration of the book itself but also discussion of how to use it. The cost ranges from $50-$75 in addition to the cost of the book if not provided.Please contact Bijou Fortune if interested in any of these services.
Land Acknowledgment
Bijou Fortune conducts business on the unceded traditional Indigenous lands of the Coast Salish people, including the Duwamish, Suquamish, and Muckleshoot peoples. These nations, along with their gods and spirits, were the first inhabitants of the material and metaphysical landscape from which I now reach out to spirits all over the world and beyond. They remain here now--gods and humans alike--still a powerful and important part of our world and society.
This acknowledgement does not take the place of authentic relationships with Indigenous communities, but serves as a first step in honoring the land we are on. These communities are still here, and many indigenous people are strong and thriving. We honor the people past and present who belong to this place.--text from Visit Seattle
Links About Native Seattle
Honoring the local indigenous gods & spirits
The ancestral gods and spirits of the Coast Salish peoples live on in both thousands of years of history and throughout their lands today. This includes in the city of Seattle. Thus it is simply a matter of respect and common spiritual sense for me as a spirit medium working in Seattle to take a moment to make space to honor them. The old gods and ancestral spirits are still real, and they will never be powerless.
With these words we honor and offer respect to the Changer who made the world we know and lives on in this age as the Moon; we honor and offer respect to the immortal providence of the Salmon he gave to the people.We honor and offer respect to the ancient Powers who became the three winds: the bitter North Wind, the life-bringing Rain Wind, and the powerful Storm Wind.We honor and offer respect to the sacred mountain Tahoma which overlooks our world.We honor and hold a space of respectful silence for the mysteries of the powerful, personal guardian spirits of this land's first peoples, and we honor with awareness the memories of the dead and all other ancestral spirits who remain with us here.
In addition to honoring the Indigenous gods and spirits of the land here with words, we also pledge to engage respectfully with the living Native inhabitants of this city and extend our energy in support of their voices whenever possible.
About
Bijou Fortune is the result of a spiritual journey that started in 2016, when I began a meditative ritual practice that, over the course of a year's work, would reveal to me the divine power of the life, work, and legacy of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Although I had been reading Tarot as a hobby since the late '90s, this experience opened my eyes to the importance of ancestor worship and hero cult throughout human religious history and gave me the chance to establish, then hone, my skills as a spirit medium and fortuneteller.From late 2021 through early 2024 I read Tarot professionally at a local gay bar. Many times since then, I have seen firsthand the effect of the advice given by those who have passed on to the other side and the other spirits who linger there. I have seen the spirits' broad, timeless perspective cut through needless anxieties and confusion time and time again. And I have seen the emotional effect of connecting with the spirits charge and uplift my clients, many of whom have in the past taken great spiritual damage from mainstream Western society's frequently toxic approach to religion and mysticism, again and again.Bijou Fortune was formed to take that work to the next level. Here I offer not just Tarot readings and other forms of fortunetelling, but simple lessons and coaching to help beginners find their own unique forms of spiritual connection.
Certification
You can think of the way I read Tarot as a kind of reflective coaching: I use the cards and other divinatory tools to hold up a mirror to the client and counsel them about what they see. Due to the emotional content of my Tarot sessions and spiritual coaching, I have supplemented my long-time spiritual skills with peer support and counseling lessons.I completed Peer Facilitator Training at Peer Seattle on March 21st, 2024, and continued my training by enrolling in the Recovery Coach Academy. I graduated this latter training on July 21st, 2024, and I am now officially certified as a Peer coach.
Spiritual Coaching
Many people in our modern society yearn for spiritual connection, yet they struggle to find what they need on their own. The fact is, existing organized religions aren't for everyone. Here at Bijou Fortune I offer simple lessons and detailed coaching on how to find your own personal spiritual path.My focus as a spiritual coach is helping you find what works for you. As such, coaching consists of questions about your spiritual preferences, exercises to help you figure those out if you haven't already, and feedback and advice as you go along.
Pricing
Coaching sessions begin with an hour-long interview (in person or virtual) involving multiple methods of divination as well as detailed discussion of your spiritual needs, at a cost of $100.If you decide to proceed with me for spiritual coaching, I will produce a workbook chapter for you to use to jumpstart your spiritual journey, containing approximately 2,000 words of information, exercises, and study questions. The price for each such chapter--as well as for my reviewing it with you afterwards--is $150.You are free to continue purchasing workbook chapters as long as you feel the need, or to stop anytime.
Events & Parties
Planning a party or other event and looking for a unique form of entertainment? Bijou Fortune might be just what you need.I offer my services as a Tarot reader and mystic as entertainment at parties. Tarot readings for groups are great ways to break the ice, start conversations, and entertain everyone. I also have other ways of livening up a party.All of Bijou Fortune's party entertainment packages require a semi-private or out of the way space with seating and a surface to read cards and other fortune-telling tools on.
Experience
From September 27th to November 2nd in 2024, I played the role of the Spiritualist at the House of Spirits just off Broadway in Capitol Hill, Seattle.The House of Spirits is at once a cocktail party, a haunted house, and an immersive theater experience. I spent these weeks not just playing a role in the ever-changing show but also providing insightful, colorful, and entertaining Tarot readings to hundreds of intrigued and delighted guests.I returned once more in 2025 to what was now called the Haunted Soiree and reprised my role as the Spiritualist in that year's show, which now included contortionists and rope acts in addition to all the excitement available the previous year.The skills I honed during these productions are now available to you.Services available as party entertainment include in-depth readings for guests of honor, shorter readings for other party guests, mingling with guests to offer spiritual wisdom on request, and developing a character and theme for the party. Contact us for details about our services.
Disclaimer
"The imagination. That's our out."
JOHN GUARE, Six Degrees of Separation (1990)
Services rendered by Bijou Fortune are for entertainment purposes only. They are not a replacement for consulting licensed professionals for medical, legal, or financial advice.
Contact
You can contact me for any reason using this form or by email at [email protected].If you are interested in purchasing services, please provide as much information as you are able about your needs.
Thank you
Thank you for reaching out to me! I will respond to your message as soon as I am able. Meanwhile...May you be blessed by the spirits of rock'n'roll!
A Tarot Primer
The modern Tarot has its origins in gaming card decks produced in Renaissance Italy as propaganda for wealthy and powerful noble families. In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, occultists began to transform this combination of casual game and political tool into a source of occult insight for anyone who wanted to learn it. Since then, countless decks of all different styles have been produced for this purpose, and now anyone can find a deck that suits them.The 78 cards of a standard modern Tarot deck each have their own meaning and associated symbolism, but like any language, its interpretation changes depending on context. Unique messages emerge every time one reads the cards.Each Tarot deck is divided into 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. What follows is a brief summary of their meanings.
major arcana
a numbered set of 22 individual cards commonly understood to depict a spiritual journey and its associated events and archetypes
0: THE FOOL -- beginnings, new journeys; the querent as journeyer, especially spiritual journeyer; the number zero and all it entails: the blank slate, the cipher, the one outside the system
1: THE MAGICIAN -- personal power; the active principle; manifesting one’s will; making things happen
2: THE HIGH PRIESTESS -- the power of the unconscious; prophecy; inner secrets; unique personal spiritual paths
3: THE EMPRESS -- motherhood and maternal figures; nurturing yourself and others; emotional maturity
4: THE EMPEROR -- fatherhood and paternal figures; authority, the rule of law; being in control of yourself or others
5: THE HIEROPHANT -- conventional religious structures; religious education and spiritual learning; someone who reveals spiritual truths
6: THE LOVERS -- relationships, especially (but not always) romantic; choices (especially with regards to other people), the crossroads on the path of life
7: THE CHARIOT -- drive, self-discipline, controlled power; the concept of “riding” and all it entails
8: STRENGTH -- inner strength and resolve
9: THE HERMIT -- wisdom gained through solitude; observing others without connecting; searching for the truth
10: THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE -- the vicissitudes of fortune, the cycle of fate; major life events, especially though not always those outside of your control
11: JUSTICE -- seeing and evaluating clearly; facing the truth and its consequences; the name and all it implies
12: THE HANGED MAN -- letting go, release; spiritual ordeals; seeing things from a new and different perspective; personal sacrifice leading to wisdom
13: DEATH -- endings; major change
14: TEMPERANCE -- emotional balance, inner calm; moderation; all that the name implies
15: THE DEVIL -- the material world and its restraints; the problems of the flesh; addictions and other things that chain us down; hedonism
16: THE TOWER -- catastrophe, especially one that has become more and more inevitable as events have progressed and now must happen to clear the way for the new; the collapse of a (metaphorical) corrupt and rotten structure
17: THE STAR -- hope; recovery after disaster; high aspirations and lofty dreams
18: THE MOON -- the weirdness of the collective unconscious; dreams, illusions; the alien, the strange, and the unknown
19: THE SUN -- joy, triumph, positivity; truth and light
20: JUDGMENT -- the reckoning to which your path has led you; "this is it, the big moment”; big choices, big consequences
21: THE WORLD -- completion; a happy ending
minor arcana
four suits each containing ten numbered cards depicting situations and four court cards depicting people
Numbered cards: root meanings
Ace -- beginnings; all the potential within a given suit
Two -- a union of differing forces
Three -- family or community; a merging of disparate forces
Four -- a pause in your journey; a foundation for what is to come
Five -- conflict and instability; a low point at the halfway mark of your journey
Six -- balance and harmony
Seven -- inward retreat; inner strength
Eight -- change; forward motion
Nine -- plenty; a great deal of whatever the suit represents
Ten -- culmination; the end each suit leads to if followed
Court cards: root meanings
Page (sometimes Valet or Princess): a youthful person, or someone learning; messages, a messenger; someone with the potential of the suit in them
Knight (sometimes Prince): someone who carries the suit’s qualities out into the world; activity, motion, riding
Queen: a powerful woman or feminine figure in the querent’s life; one who has mastered and embodies the qualities of the suit
King: a powerful man or masculine figure in the querent’s life; one who has mastered and acts out the qualities of the suit
The suit of Swords: matters of the mind; reason, intellect, noble ideals…but also conflict, pain, aggression; can be seen as “attacking” the inherent meaning of a number; the element of air
Ace of Swords: new ideas, thoughts, principles; the potential of thought and intellect; truth, cutting through lies
Two of Swords: a difficult decision; a dilemma; making a choice without all the facts
Three of Swords: heartbreak, betrayal; pain caused by denying your own heart
Four of Swords: pause, inward retreat; rest or sleep
Five of Swords: conflict; acting out of self-interest; openly dishonorable actions
Six of Swords: a journey; moving towards the future
Seven of Swords: running away from something; retreat; theft or other hidden crimes or dishonorable actions
Eight of Swords: confinement, imprisonment
Nine of Swords: your inner fears; a terrifying situation; facing your fears
Ten of Swords: utter despair, a nadir in life; ruin brought on by one’s own actions; being trapped in despair
Page of Swords: learning to communicate; receiving messages; finding your truths
Knight of Swords: clear communication; active intellectual efforts; carrying truth out into the world
Queen of Swords: someone who knows and is satisfied with their beliefs; being in tune with your inner truths
King of Swords: mastery over truth and communication; clear rules and expressions of authority
The suit of Cups: matters of the heart; emotion, passion, intuition; relationships; the human aspect of a situation; the element of water
Ace of Cups: emotional beginnings; opening your heart
Two of Cups: new romance or passion; the fun of romance; flirtation; love and kisses; raw emotional chemistry
Three of Cups: a loving group or celebration; harmony in a group; supportive community
Four of Cups: quiet introspection; going inwards and focusing on one's own feelings and needs
Five of Cups: loss, grief, tearful situations; moving on from grief and loss
Six of Cups: happy memories, nostalgia; finding your comfort zone
Seven of Cups: having many options available to you; daydreaming, distractions, diversions
Eight of Cups: moving on; walking away from something; letting go of attachments and going with the flow
Nine of Cups: happiness, contentment, lots of love
Ten of Cups: achieving your dreams; family; lasting happiness
Page of Cups: a beginner when it comes to emotions and relationships; messages from your heart
Knight of Cups: outwardly expressing your emotions; a romantic type of person; wearing your heart on your sleeve
Queen of Cups: someone in tune with their emotions; being emotionally stable and balanced
King of Cups: someone who has mastered their heart and how to act on its demands; emotional authority
The suit of Wands: matters of power; action, creativity, sexuality; the active principle; life force in general; the element of fire
Ace of Wands: raw creativity, passion, sexuality; a new project; acting on impulse or out of passion
Two of Wands: making plans and putting them into action
Three of Wands: forward motion; expansion; progress in a project, especially a collaboration
Four of Wands: a celebration; having made something worth celebrating; having laid solid foundations
Five of Wands: disagreement, conflict; competition, striving
Six of Wands: triumph; public success or victory
Seven of Wands: aggressive defiance; conviction; standing up to overwhelming odds
Eight of Wands: rapid action; things happening all at once; "think and act fast!"
Nine of Wands: endurance; making the last and most difficult step in a long journey or project
Ten of Wands: an immense, overwhelming amount of work; a great burden
Page of Wands: someone young and passionate; learning about one's talents; messages about what drives you
Knight of Wands: expressing your desires; investing passionate effort in a work; a passionate, energetic person
Queen of Wands: someone who knows what they want and need; nurturing and being in tune with your inner fire
King of Wands: someone who has mastered their passions and talents; successfully exerting personal power
The suit of Pentacles: matters of this world; money, material goods and success; hard, productive work; anything physical or concrete; the element of earth
Ace of Pentacles: material beginnings; a new business endeavor or project
Two of Pentacles: balancing priorities, juggling tasks; achieving a state of balance so you can grow and change
Three of Pentacles: teamwork, collaboration
Four of Pentacles: greed, possessiveness; clinging to what you have
Five of Pentacles: poverty, need; lack of resources where you expect to find them
Six of Pentacles: generosity; giving and sharing; fair exchange of resources and effort
Seven of Pentacles: evaluation and assessment; considering the harvest from past actions; a change in direction
Eight of Pentacles: hard work; increasing skills; "git gud!" in video game parlance
Nine of Pentacles: wealth; ample resources; having plenty of what you need
Ten of Pentacles: legacy; family; inheritance
Page of Pentacles: a beginner in one's career; listening to the messages the world sends you
Knight of Pentacles: a hard worker; putting forth effort on external projects
Queen of Pentacles: one who has found their place in the world and is comfortable with it; a stable person
King of Pentacles: mastering one's career or physical resources; one who is in charge of something concrete
reverses
Most (but not all) Tarot readers do not only read the cards with their primary meanings, but also take into account whether a given card was turned upside down (or reversed) during the process of shuffling.A reversed card's meaning changes in unpredictable ways. Sometimes it becomes the opposite of what it normally means; other times it simply takes a twist.Some examples:
A reversed Fool may tell the querent that they've been on this path before and should know from experience what to do.
When the Star is reversed, it may mean, "Ground yourself in reality instead of getting lost in the clouds."
The Eight of Swords reversed usually means breaking free from some kind of trap or confinement.
The Four of Cups reversed often says, "Get out of your own head and communicate with others."
A reversed Six of Wands can speak of either a recent public failure the querent is dwelling on, or a need to seek private personal victories instead of public affirmation.
When a Knight shows up reversed, it often means that the querent is expending too much energy on external projects in that suit's sphere and needs to redirect their efforts inwards.
If any King is reversed, it may signify that the querent is not in control of what's happening in that part of their life.