Sundays, 2–5 pm, in the Library
Tarot & Tea
A pot of tea, a warm lavender scone, a fire in the grate and twenty unhurried minutes with Madame Corvina and her cards.
Meet Madame Corvina
Every Sunday afternoon, a small woman in a velvet jacket and a great many rings settles into the wing chair by the Library fire, unwraps a deck of cards from a silk scarf and pours the first pot of tea. That is Madame Corvina, our resident reader. Off duty she goes by Lucia, and for thirty-one years she taught English and drama to teenagers, which she says is the best possible training for reading tarot: "You learn to listen to what people are not quite saying."
She learned the cards from her grandmother, who read them at the kitchen table for neighbors, and has been reading for friends for most of her life. When she retired, a friend dared her to do it properly. She chose her stage name from a crow that used to sit on her classroom windowsill. She has been reading at the Crane & Lantern since 2017, and by now she has regulars who come every season, a few who plan their anniversaries around her, and one gentleman who has asked the same question about his garden every spring for six years.
Madame Corvina is warm, funny, a little theatrical and completely unspooky. She is happy to read for skeptics. She is especially happy to read for skeptics.
How a reading works
You'll be shown into the Library a few minutes before your time. The tea is already brewing: our house black blend, or chamomile, or peppermint (a nod to Dr. Pell, whose apothecary was across the hall). A lavender scone arrives warm from the Lantern Room kitchen, with clotted cream and a little pot of jam.
Madame Corvina will ask your first name and whether you'd like to think about something in particular or let the cards choose the subject. Either is fine. Many people come with a question: a decision, a change, a relationship, a new chapter. Some come with nothing more than curiosity, which she says makes for some of the best readings.
She uses a traditional seventy-eight card deck, worn soft at the corners, and usually lays out a simple three-card or five-card spread, or for longer questions a small Celtic cross. She turns the cards one at a time, tells you what each traditionally means, and then talks with you about what it might mean for you. It's a conversation, not a pronouncement. You are welcome to ask questions, disagree, laugh, or sit quietly with your tea. At the end she'll write the cards you drew on a small card for you to take home, if you'd like.
Readings last about twenty minutes. Couples and friends can book back-to-back readings, or a shared reading together (same time, same price per person; just let us know).
For reflection and enjoyment
Tarot & Tea is offered for reflection and enjoyment. Madame Corvina's readings are not predictions, and they are not a substitute for medical, legal, financial or psychological advice. She will politely decline questions about health, pregnancy, lawsuits or lottery numbers, and will steer the conversation somewhere more useful.
Salem has a long and living relationship with tarot, astrology and the craft, and there are many readers in the city, some of whom take this as a spiritual practice and a serious vocation. We respect that. What we offer is something gentler and smaller: a quiet room, a good pot of tea, and a thoughtful person who will help you look at your own situation from a slightly different angle. Most guests leave saying that's exactly what they needed.
Prices and times
| Reading | Includes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Single reading, 20 minutes | Pot of tea and a lavender scone | $40 |
| Two readings back to back (for two people) | Pot of tea for two, two scones | $80 |
| Shared reading for two | Pot of tea for two, two scones | $80 |
| Extra scone | Because one is never enough | $5 |
- When
- Sundays, 2:00–5:00 pm, year round (except Easter Sunday and the last Sunday in October, when she reads at the costume brunch instead)
- Where
- The Library, ground floor
- Slots
- 2:00, 2:25, 2:50, 3:15, 3:40, 4:05, 4:30
- Ages
- 16 and up; 13–15 with a parent in the room
- Open to
- Inn guests and the public
- Payment
- At the front desk, or charged to your room
There are only seven slots each Sunday, so booking is advised, especially in autumn. Walk-ins are welcome if there's a gap; ask at the desk after lunch. In October, Madame Corvina's Sundays are usually full by the end of August.
I asked about a job I wasn't sure about. She didn't tell me what to do. She asked me three questions I hadn't asked myself. I took the job.
— A guest, the Lady's Chamber, March 2024
Book a reading
Looking for a present? A Tarot & Tea reading makes a lovely gift card.