I’m Alana — a wife, mum of three, animal lover, traveller, writer and endlessly curious human being based in Townsville, North Queensland.
I’ve always been fascinated by people and the world around me. I love history, ancient cultures, symbolism, spirituality and exploring the places and beliefs that have shaped us. Travel is one of my greatest loves — whether I’m wandering somewhere completely unfamiliar, exploring an old building or simply sitting back and watching the world go by, I’m happiest when there is something new to discover.
Tarot has been part of my life since I received my first deck at fourteen. What began as an intuitive connection became a lifelong journey of reading, studying and questioning the cards. Over the years I’ve developed my own reading methods, written my own Tarot book and designed Tarot training to help others understand the cards beyond simply memorising their traditional meanings.
My relationship with Tarot has evolved over the years, and so have I.
Life has taken me through motherhood, Defence Force life with my husband Warren, different careers, travel, loss, change, unexpected turns and more than one complete reinvention. Those experiences have shaped not only the woman I am, but the reader I have become.
Earlier in my journey, I believed being a good reader meant having answers. Today, I see things differently. I’m far more interested in helping people ask the right questions, recognise their own patterns and possibilities, and trust themselves enough to make their own choices.
I’m comfortable exploring the spiritual and unexplained while still questioning what I experience. I don’t pretend to know everything — in fact, some of the most interesting places in life begin with the words “I don’t know.”
Outside of my work, I’m still simply Alana. I love my family, my animals, travelling somewhere new, getting completely lost in a historical rabbit hole, studying Tarot, staring at the stars and laughing — usually at something I probably shouldn’t.
Atica is the name attached to my work, but it is only one part of who I am.
Alana is the woman behind it — and she’s the person you’ll meet.
Outside the Reading Room
There’s a lot more to my world than what happens across a Tarot table.
When I’m not reading for clients, I’m usually learning, writing, travelling, creating — or following whatever has made me curious enough to disappear down another rabbit hole.
Tarot is one of those lifelong rabbit holes. I received my first deck at fourteen and, decades later, I’m still discovering something new in the cards. That curiosity led me beyond reading professionally and into studying Tarot more deeply, developing my own methods, writing my own Tarot book and creating Tarot training designed to teach people how to understand the cards rather than simply memorise them.
Travel is another great love of mine. I’m fascinated by history, ancient cultures, sacred places and the beliefs humans have carried across generations. I love experiencing somewhere for myself — wandering through museums, old buildings, temples and landscapes, meeting people and inevitably coming home with another hundred things I want to learn about.
I also love sharing the conversations that happen beyond a traditional reading. Through my writing, social media and podcast, I explore Tarot, spirituality, symbolism, intuition, the unexplained and sometimes simply the strange questions that make me stop and think.
And then there is ordinary life — which is probably my favourite part.
I’m a wife, a mum of three, and our home is shared with enough animals to occasionally make the word “home” feel more like “small wildlife sanctuary.” I love being with my family, laughing, travelling, learning and allowing myself to change my mind when life teaches me something new.
Everything I explore outside the reading room eventually finds its way back into it somehow — through experience, perspective, knowledge or simply a better understanding of people.
I don’t believe we ever finish becoming who we are.
And I’m still very much enjoying finding out who Alana becomes next.
