At The Royal Countess Zingara, Adrian van der Velden offers tarot readings that focus on introspection and personal growth, transforming the experience into a journey of self-discovery rather than fortune-telling.
Tarot at Zingara: Why Adrian van der Velden sees it as self-reflection
At The Royal Countess Zingara in Melrose Arch, tarot reader Adrian van der Velden is offering guests something a little different from the usual dinner-and-show sparkle. According to the venue, his readings are not framed as crystal-ball predictions, but as a chance to slow down, ask a real question and see what emerges. That fits neatly with a wider view of tarot as a reflective tool rather than a fixed forecast, with practitioners and wellness-focused guides often describing the cards as a mirror for thoughts, feelings and decisions.
Van der Velden says many of the people who sit down with him have never had a tarot reading before, so he tends to begin with the present moment rather than the future. The point, as he puts it, is not to hand out certainty, but to help someone explore what is already bubbling under the surface. In that sense, the cards become a conversation starter, whether the issue is love, work, a crossroads or something harder to name. A card such as the Hermit might suggest retreat or inner searching, but, as he sees it, the meaning only truly lands when it connects with the person in front of him.
That approach also explains why the experience can feel surprisingly personal. Van der Velden says the readings often open up conversations about grief, confusion, relationships and the ordinary ache of not quite knowing what comes next. For some guests, simply voicing the question aloud is part of the value. Tarot-focused guides from Psychic Sofa and Tarot.com describe similar benefits, suggesting that readings can support clarity, decision-making, emotional processing and a steadier sense of self when life feels a bit wobbly.
His route into tarot was not especially mystical, which may be part of the appeal. He was given his first deck in 2018, but his background in literature gave him a strong grounding in symbolism, and he later trained more formally before taking on readings full-time. The Royal Countess Zingara sets that work against a theatrical backdrop, yet Van der Velden is clear about the limits of his role. “I’m not a psychic. I’m not trained in that,” he said. Still, he believes the ritual matters: the shuffle, the order, the pause. Whether someone reads that as chance, intuition or something more mysterious, the appeal is the same. It is less about predicting life and more about helping people make sense of it.
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