Rev. Corbie Mitleid

This is the view Corbie sees every morning! She lives in the Schoharie Valley with her husband Carle, a professional historian and musician, and their three extraordinarily spoiled cats.

Is Corbie Mitleid your real name, or did you choose it?

Both names are chosen names for very special reasons.

CORBIE: Ravens have always been the birds I love most, and Corbie is the old Scots name for ravens (and crows). Ravens are my guides and avatars. The raven is seen as the guardian of in absentia healing, a courier on the Spirit Road, and first cousin to Coyote the Trickster as a major deity for Northwest First Nations tribes such as the Haida and Tlingit.

MITLEID: It’s the German word for “compassion.” It’s important to me that I always remember why I do the work Spirit’s asked me to do; I stay focused on the fact that I’m here in Service. It’s not about my ego at all.

How did you know you were psychic?

When I was nine, I read a marvelous children’s book called The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes. Instead of thinking “ooh, that’s scary” or “ha ha ha,” my initial reaction was “…and your point is?”

I knew there was magic in the world. I just had to find it.

Fast forward to 1973, when I was a senior in high school working part time at Spencer Gifts. That was the year the James Bond movie Live and Let Die came out, with Jane Seymour as Solitaire, the Tarot reader. Spencer carried The James Bond 007 Tarot Deck – and I bought it. After all, we were all hippies then!

So for 20 years I read for friends, keeping my ego out of the way and making sure I was a clear channel for the information.

In the early ’90s, I was doing some deep-dish work on past lives.  Suddenly, I found myself able to do hands-on healing work, distance energy work over the phone, and act as a liaison between discarnate entities and those of us currently in body. I proved to be a doorway Home for souls caught in the Grey Spaces — those who have died, but for one reason or another can’t get to the Light on their own, and haunt the living. And I found I had a talent for channeling souls and Higher Selves for those who need to know the “hows and whys” of their life challenges. All this without training.  As I say, that’s when the Universe handed me my draft notice and said, “Hello, you’re working for Us.”

So I started work as a professional intuitive, keeping it part time until 9/11.  That’s the day, as we watched the Towers burn, that I told my husband the psychic work needed to be full time.  “I believe in you,” he said, “go do it.”  I stayed in the corporate world one more year, while packing in the psychic work every evening and weekend, making sure I really could make it my profession… and in 2002, I took the full time leap.

Now?  I work six days a week.  I read over a thousand people a year.  I write, I travel, I teach, I share what I’ve learned through those unexpected gifts and the new tools I’ve found useful over the years.

And I get to get up in the morning, I don’t have to get up in the morning.  When that happens, you know you’re right where Spirit wants you to be, and there’s joy in doing work you were meant to do.

You do a lot of psychic fairs and public events. Is a reading with you appropriate for a public place? What about scary information, bad news, that sort of thing?

Yes, I’ve got the elegant clothes and table trappings most people expect from a psychic.  But most folks say sitting with me is a comfortable, safe experience;  they feel like they’re with a long-time friend, not a stranger spouting a bunch of mystical jargon.  And I don’t believe in “bad news” — we have opportunities we can go after, and challenges to get past. My job is to give you the tools and courage to deal with both situations. Everything else is free will, and up to you! 

You talk about “laughter on the path” — what do you mean?

I LOVE  the mystic comedian Swami Beyondananda (Steve Bhaerman).  He gives his audiences some real “home truths” through humor and an unusual viewpoint that people remember. Like Swami, I think that if you get people laughing, their everyday conditioning is set aside; they’re more likely to listen to what you have to say. Laughter doesn’t compromise the truth— it just makes it more palatable. (I’ve even done stand up comedy about being a psychic. That’s because while I take my work seriously, I’m pretty realistic about me.)

You say that everyone is their own best healer. Why is that and what does that have to do with my reading?

No one’s experiences or challenges are quite like yours. So, any healing journey has to be uniquely your own. One way to find healing is through self-knowledge: understanding why you do what you do, and how those actions bring certain events into your life.   When we work together, I’ll walk with you as guide or mentor, but YOU are going to discover your own wellspring of healing abilities, and that you can turn even the toughest road that Spirit sends you into a journey of fulfillment. 

What is a legally ordained minister?

I am honored to be a legally ordained minister through the Sanctuary of the Beloved (of the Order of Melchizedek), an incorporated, non-denominational church in New York State and in the United States. I am able to perform sacred ceremonies (baptisms, marriages, commitments, funerals, house blessings, etc.) and welcome inquiries from all walks of life and couples in all circumstances. My special talent is crafting ceremonies to assist you in celebrating your life-passages with beauty and dignity. For more information regarding the Sanctuary of the Beloved, visit: www.sanctuaryofthebeloved.com

What is a Certified Tarot Master?  A Certified Professional Tarot Reader?  You say you are both; what’s the difference?

I was named a Certified Tarot Master by The Tarot Guild, based on my years of experience as both a professional reader and teacher of Tarot.  I became a Certified Professional Tarot Reader through the Tarot Certification Board of America, which was a non-profit organization setting standards for amateur and professional Tarot readers. Practitioners were certified by standards of knowledge and skill established by the Board and guaranteed by a standardized testing procedure. While the Tarot Certification Board of America is currently on hiatus, the certifications they bestowed are still very much legitimate. By coming to a Certified Professional like me, you are assured of adherence to accepted standards of ethics and excellence, the legitimacy of a certified practitioner, and adherence to the TCB Client Bill of Rights.