3 Things I Loved + 1 Thing I Hated in May 2025

We are coming to the end of the month. I thought I would create a monthly blog post about three things I loved about the current month and one thing I hated about this month.
This can be ANYTHING from my life. It can be about TV shows I watch, music I find, or even personal things that happen to me.

Without further ado, let's hop into this list!

3 Things I Loved About May 2025

1.  I loved Spotify's Angry Mix playlist it generated for me. I was feeling pretty frustrated a lot this month. From annoyances with Justin to a tarot reading client being a no-show and ghosting me completely. I found some great new music that have become a favorite, such as:

"Choke" by I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME. This song gives hating your hometown, or where you currently live, wanting to burn it to the ground, see the people who disrespect you suffocate.Watch on YouTube here.

Another song that fills me with rage (in a good way) is "Wasting My Time" by Default. This song reminds me of how much time I've wasted going back and forth to Justin and how he doesn't appreciate my time. And also, it reminds me of the client who no-showed and ghosted me. Both are clocksuckers (which is a new word I learned via Facebook, and it's a noun for people or things who waste your time in a bad way). Watch the music video here.

And lastly, I discovered "Chop Suey!" by System of a Down. This song was popular when I was in high school or college, if I remember correctly. This gets my rage out! And my emo kid is rocking! watch their music video here.

2. A client showed up and paid for a reading at Totem Books this month, and I had a lovely time there. I enjoyed cherry lemonades made by Frances. And I browsed the metaphysical section, hoping to find something that caught my eye. Nope, found nothing. There was a lot of Sylvia Browne books, but my Sylvia Browne phase was so 2005. She's a fraud. I know better now. I hope she's rotting in Hell.

3. I enjoyed the 80-degree weather we had. It was perfect for running errands and sitting outside, and just vibing with my parents while they smoked their cigarettes (and, yeah, my parents are old. They're 69 and 74 and they both still smoke! My dad is trying to quit, last I knew). We just sit under our carport and talk with each other and enjoy each other's company. Sometimes I'll ask my mom "what's for dinner?" haha.

Now...for the one thing I ABSOLUTELY HATED THIS MONTH!

It's...a tie...ladies and gentlemen, it's a tie! Between the woman who looked bitterly at me and insinuated I had shady motives for being kind to a child at Totem Books. And the client who was a no-show and ghosted me! 

Both incidents made me feel embarrassed, dirty, angry, and frustrated. Anyone who has read my books, know what I've been through. And people close to me know my heart. 

All I was doing was talking about Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with the little girl for pure nostalgic reasons that my niece and nephew watched the show when they were little. She then called me "her friend", like all children that are three and four year olds do when they meet friendly and kind people or kids. I know I called everyone my friend when I was a kid and was very trusting to where I almost got kidnapped outside of my grandmother's house when she was babysitting me. If it weren't for my grandma stepping outside when she did, who knows where I would be.

This woman acted like I was going to take her in the bathroom or had some other shadowy, dark motive. And the pedophilac problem in the Genesee County area is real! But seriously...that's a strong accusation to make, even if you were just insinuating or trying to protect the child. There was a better way to handle it. I felt like the woman projected her own trauma or shadow self onto me. The little girl "introduced me" to the woman as her friend. The woman then told the little girl in a defensive and protective tone, "Kids should not be friends with adults". I then reassured the woman that I was not the child's friend. And from that moment, I wanted a hole in the floor to open up and swallow me. I never felt so embarassed and so dirty for just being a kind human being to a child. Lesson learned: Never talk to children, just smile and nod.

As for my no-show client, it was the first time in my 18 years of professionally reading tarot that this has happened to me. I learned I need to just accept payment upfront and not go by the honor system. I was really relying on that money for something in my business. As a result, I got in touch with my business's soul and aligned myself. I remembered why I started my tarot business. My itention was that I never really wanted to do in-person readings. I wanted to do them occasionally and occasionally do psychic fairs, just to help get my business name out there. And I think I am going to realign myself with what I wanted to do with my business from the start — e-mail readings, texting sessions, and prerecorded YouTube readings. That's more in my heart and what I enjoy doing.

Meanwhile, I blocked the client and had a guilt trip session the next day. I probably shouldn't have been so harsh with the client and blocked her. I should have been more understanding. But my business coach and friend, Lauralyn, said it was a good thing to set the boundary in the first place and to next time, make sure they are paid in full at the time of the booking. 

Overall, my rating for this month would be a 3 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐

Not a bad month entirely, but it sure felt like it sometimes! Oh well, next month will be better, hopefully?

Until next month, I'm signing off. See you next time!

Sunshine, Soundtracks, and Summertime Vibes

Ah, summertime weather in Michigan. It makes me so happy. I am not a fall or winter girl. I am more of a spring and summer girl. My most fond memories take place in the spring or summer.  Going to concerts, beach days with my family up in Baldwin, Michigan; swimming in my grandpa Jim and step-grandmother Karen's Olympic-size pool in Flint, Michigan, with my baby cousins. Spring and summer are also a peak time for me and my tarot reading business.  This is usually when people around Flint, Michigan, have disposable income due to getting their taxes back. My season is NOT witchy. Oh heavens, no! It's tax time! 

Right now, I'm sitting in my bedroom with the warm air coming through the window. I got my fan going and some tunes playing on the Spotify.  I just finished revamping my blog, making it more me.  I also decided to take the plunge and buy a domain name for my blog. Samanthajeantate.com is officially live! It will forward you to my blogspot/Blogger!

Along with my blog, I have listed my books you can purchase from and a tip jar, if you feel compelled to tip me for some odd reason (I've seen other bloggers have a tip jar on their sites before). 

So with this nice weather, it's got me thinking about summer plans.  I am planning on attending Pixies' North American Tour at the Fillmore Detroit. I was originally going to go with my on-again, off-again boyfriend Justin, but he's having car issues and will not be able to make it up here. I may end up not going if I can't find someone to go with me. I may have to sell the tickets. I'm hoping I don't have to sell the tickets because I really want to go, and also I don't feel like getting on Burton City Chit Chat or Grand Blanc Residents Uncensored and having to figure out if someone is going to scam me or not.

I tried giving the tickets to my sister, who introduced me to Pixies. The night that I am going to go on happens to also be my nephew Sollux's 18th birthday. Sollux isn't a fan of concerts. So Sollux and his mom definitely can't go together. Maybe my sister will change her mind?

I know what you're thinking...wait...aren't you on the autism spectrum? Yes, yes, I am. However, I enjoy concerts when it's a band I enjoy listening to anyway. I've been to four concerts total in my life. 

My first concert was when I was 15 and a freshman in high school. I went and saw former New Kid On The Block Joey McIntyre on his Stay the Same tour. I was in the pit, and I was screaming my head off. I lost my voice! Joey was such a great performer, even my parents, who were hanging out at the bar, enjoyed his performance. I forget who opened for him. It was some rapper. He was pretty good, too. When Joey McIntyre got on stage, I almost cried. It was on my bucket list to attend one of his concerts, since he and New Kids On The Block broke up.

My next concert I attended was in 2011. I finally got to see New Kids On The Block, as they got back together. They were on tour with the Backstreet Boys. Jordin Sparks opened for them. It was amazing. I enjoyed Jordin Sparks. She sang a song that reminded me of my first love, Z. The song was "Tattoo". I was scream-singing it, thinking about Z, I remember. I attended this concert with my high school friend Tiffany. We got lost on our way down to the concert, and two cute guys helped us find our way. 

Joey McIntyre at NKOTBSB 2011

This particular concert is also when I said I was no longer going to anymore New Kids On The Block concerts unless I got front row seats and could do a meet and greet photo op. Our seats were terrible. They were playing at The Palace of Auburn Hills (now known as Little Caesar's Arena). Our seats were in the nosebleed sections, I could barely hear them. As a matter of fact, here's a clip from someone at the show! You can tell how horrible the sound was in there! And I was really looking forward to the "Single" opening because I had just recently got out of a relationship, and he was supposed to go with me originally.

So after that horrible experience, my next concert was in February 2014. This time, I was seeing a real band. I bought myself, my sister, and my brother-in-law tickets to see Pixies / Cults for Christmas 2013. I remember being nervous because I had never listened to Pixies before, other than what my sister played when she would babysit me as a kid. I was expecting fireworks and a lot of noise.  When we were at the concert, I plugged my ears the majority of the time because I was afraid of fireworks and explosions. But to my surprise, there were no explosions or fireworks. The crowd wasn't super loud. The music was AWESOME (especially Cults, which ended up becoming a new favorite band!). I enjoyed myself for the most part. Except for some idiot dancing and he spilled beer in my hair.

The Pixies February 2014

My next concert wouldn't come until June 2022. I had just finished paying off student loans with my stimulus checks from the government. I decided to splurge and thought it would be fun to do a girls' trip with two of my best friends, Jen and Sabrina, and do a meet and greet with New Kids On The Block. My mom didn't like the idea of all three of us going. I had also gotten into a fight with Sabrina and Jen. So instead, I asked my sister and her best friend to go. I then made up with Sabrina, and Sabrina still wanted to go. So I bought another ticket and a meet and greet for all four of us, since Jen didn't want to go. I then booked a hotel room at the casino, since that is where they were playing.  All in all, this whole concert cost me over $2,000. But it was worth it.

My sister, her best friend Andrea, Sabrina, and I got to meet New Kids On The Block by ourselves. We each got to hug them. We got our photo taken with them. Donnie Wahlberg thanked us for coming, and he said he appreciated us. I told Joey McIntyre I was his number one fan, and he smiled big and thanked me. And Jon Knight talked to me a bit, asking where our group was from. I had a brain fart, but then remembered we were from Flint. I was smitten after that conversation with Jon. And all he did was ask us where we were from LMAO. This was a dream come true and was number one on my bucket list since I was eight years old.

All of us meeting New Kids On The Block (with their masks on since it was post COVID -- first year concerts came back)

My niece and I at Cage the Elephant

My last concert happened last summer, in September 2024. I went and saw Cage the Elephant and Young the Giant with my niece, Frances. It was a couple of days before my birthday, and I wanted to bring in 40 by doing something fun. Cage the Elephant was a band my on-again, off-again boyfriend Justin introduced to me back in 2013. We joke about the song Aberdeen.  We'll randomly text each other Aberdeeeeeeeeen. If you know the song, you know the song! I was really hoping they would play Aberdeen. But I got wind of their setlist. Aberdeen was NOT on the set list! I was disappointed and crushed. I almost didn't want to go! But I sure as heck glad I did go! My niece was dancing the whole night, Young the Giant played my favorite song "Cough Syrup", and Cage the Elephant did my favorite song "Telescope". I once made a tarot spread based on that song. 

Cage the Elephant lead singer, Matt Shultz

The openers for this particular concert were Willow Avalon and Bakar. I was in love with Willow Avalon. She sounded like Dolly Parton. She also had funny stories with her songs. One thing I remember was she said was "His brown eyes were full of shit".  I died laughing. I immediately posted that to my Facebook. 

Willow Avalon

And that sums up to all the concerts I've been to. Tell me below, what was your favorite concert ever? Bonus points if you have a link to their music (YouTube, please!)

Works In Progress, A1c Update, and a big THANK YOU!

I am currently writing some new poetry and prose for my next upcoming book, which will be about finding love, manifesting love, and love in general. I'm hoping to go into more hope, infatuation, and falling in love; rather than breakups, toxic relationships, and the like. Since I am on a journey of finding the love of my life, seeing how Justin and I decided to part ways for good, I thought I would embrace my more sensual, desire, and wishful side. I'd like this book to be a book with my deepest wishes and desires in a romantic relationship. What I truly want and need in a partner. And maybe someday, the universe will hear these prayers and bring me the love that is meant for me.

Here are some works in progress I'd like to share with you all!

I Hope
By: Samantha Jean Tate 
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

I hope you fall in love with someone who makes you feel seen and heard.

I hope you fall in love with someone who wants to be around you, in good times and bad.

I hope you fall in love with someone who will fight for what you have.

I hope you fall in love with someone who brings light to your darkness.

I hope you fall in love with someone who can make you laugh during the hard times.

I hope you fall in love with someone who appreciates you and what you bring to the table.

I hope you fall in love with not just anyone, but someone who doesn't dim your light and makes your sparkle shine.

This one I wrote to my higher self. I hope she falls in love with someone who is all those things and more, compared to the people whom I've previously dated. A lot of the men I dated from my twenties and thirties were not a lot of these things. And I think it's because I didn't know what I was looking for. In my twenties and partially in my early 30s, I just wanted a husband and kids. But now that I'm older, going on 41, I want a husband, a best friend, a confidant, a soulmate, a partner. I want someone who makes me feel seen and heard when I express my feelings or give my opinions. I want someone who wants to be around me during my good times AND in my bad times. I want someone who will fight for our relationship and for me. I want someone who will bring light to my dark times. I want someone who makes me laugh during the trying times. I want someone who appreciates me and what I offer. And I hope my next person will not dim my light and make me sparkle and shine. They will be the cherry on the sundae.

I don't need someone afraid of being alone. I need someone who wants to add their light to mine. I don't need someone who only wants me for my body. I don't need someone who feels threatened by me.

Here is one more work in progress:

Dear Universe By: Samantha Jean Tate Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

Dear Universe,
Please hear my prayer.

I don't deserve someone who is apathetic
I don't deserve someone who is cold
I don't deserve someone who barely laughs
I don't deserve someone who never cries
I don't deserve someone who is cruel to his fellow human
I don't deserve someone who puts themselves on a pedestal, thinking their the best thing since cable TV

I do deserve someone who is warm and kind
I deserve someone who spoils and dines
I deserve someone who loves to laugh
I deserve someone who's not afraid to shed a tear
I deserve someone who has a big heart, for humans and animals
I deserve someone who treats me like a queen -- no, no, an empress!
I deserve someone who loves animation, dancing, pop music, and McDonald's

Now it is up to you, universe, to hear my prayer
I send this up in smoke
Hoping you will grant me this wish
To find my person
And to be with them
Once and for all!

Yeah, kinda hokey. Maybe it doesn't go well with Law of Attraction stuff, but that's my prayer. And yes, I did date someone who doesn't cry, and I did date someone who barely laughed! He would smile, but not outwardly bust up in tears laughing or cackle even.

Samantha Jean Tate: Mystic & Muse 101 - An Introductory Post

 

Welp, this is my first real blog post! An introduction to me, Samantha Jean Tate - Mystic & Muse.

I'm Samantha. I'm a forty-something-year-old self-published author of three books.  I am from Michigan, Burton to be exact.  Burton is a city just outside Flint.  I've lived here my entire life.  I was conceived here, I was raised here, I'll probably die here.

I think introduction posts are boring, and I don't like to talk about myself all that much. I haven't won any awards for my writing or done anything super cool with my writing. I'm just out here writing bad poetry and publishing it on Amazon and selling books. 

My first book I ever wrote was a tarot spread book, since I'm a professional tarot reader for my day job. I used ChatGPT to help me research the book and help me write it a little bit. Therefore, a lot of people in the self-righteous tarot community boycotted it and called it AI trash, despite me heavily editing it and hiring an actual editor. This book is called Saturday Morning Tarot: Tarot Spreads For Your Inner 80's Child. It's available on Barnes and Noble online and only has two reviews total.

The next book I wrote was a book of poetry. I had written these poems between 2021 and 2024, reflecting on toxic relationships, my mental health, my 2001 rape from a classmate who I met online, and other miscellaneous subjects that were near and dear to my heart. This book is titled GROWTH: A Healing Journey of Poetry and Prose. 

My most recent book to date is another book of poetry focusing on the different shades of goodbyes. I explore losing my beloved grandmothers and step-grandmother, losing my cat Razzles, and letting go of friendships and relationships. This one is a shorter read and has a lot less swearing. I polished up my writing a lot for this book. I think it shows growth. This book is titled See Ya & Other Goodbyes: Poems & Prose About Life, Love, and Loss Through My Eyes. This book and GROWTH are both available on Amazon and available to read for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Some other fun facts about me: I'm on the autism spectrum (Asperger's), I have bipolar disorder, and I live with my parents. I have a long-distance boyfriend named Justin, who can be the bane of my existence and the love of my life at the same time. I have a niece who works at a bookstore in Flint named Frances, and a nephew who is transgendered named Sollux. I have two cats. I'm a proud cat mom to named Skittles, a calico cat, and Sassy, a gray tabby cat. Skittles and Sassy are technically my parents' cats as my sister gifted them for Christmas one year.

Sassy (gray tabby) and Skittles (calico cat) cuddling in dad's chair.

My intention with this blog is to write my thoughts. I'm hoping to post at least once a week with a new post. I started this blog to write about stuff that's NOT related to tarot and to get my name out there. I'll probably share some of my poems, my prose, my essays, events I do, and more!

It's lovely to meet you! I hope you will stay and read a while! I don't know if anyone still reads blogs that aren't Medium or Substack. But I'll give this a try and build some content! Give me a follow on Instagram and Facebook! I would love to connect with you over there.

Tell me something about you. Tell me something funny, wacky, or weird.