With a legacy that spans decades, Sasha Fenton is more than just a consultant in astrology, tarot, and palmistry—she’s a guiding light in the world of metaphysical wisdom. A respected figure in the British Astrological and Psychic Society (BAPS) since 1982, Sasha has worn many hats, from Secretary and President to a driving force behind the organization’s evolution. Her steady presence and commitment to the field have shaped the very fabric of BAPS, ensuring its integrity and growth through rigorous standards, vetted courses, and structural developments. Beyond her leadership roles, Sasha’s contributions have reached far and wide, with over 135 books to her name, published by prestigious houses like HarperCollins and Sterling Publishing. Her expertise, not limited to one discipline, covers a broad spectrum of Mind, Body, and Spirit (MB&S) subjects, and her books have been translated into 15 languages, making her a household name for seekers of metaphysical knowledge around the world. Whether on stage at international seminars, sharing her insights on radio and TV, or writing columns that resonate deeply with her readers, Sasha has brought the mystical arts into mainstream consciousness. In this Mystic Mag‘s interview, Sasha delves into her storied career, reflecting on her journey from the early days of astrology to becoming a trusted voice for millions.
You’ve been deeply involved with the British Astrological and Psychic Society (BAPS) since 1982, holding various leadership roles. Can you share some of the most significant changes you’ve seen in the organization over the years?
BAPS was started in March 1976 by Russell Grant, Gordon Arthur Smith and Tina Artemis in order to bring the infighting between astrologers and mediums that was going on at that time to an end. Russell was well known in magazines as an astrologer but he was also a medium, so he bridged the gap. BAPS encouraged all readers to respect each other and to work together at festivals. I knew nothing about this at the time and only heard about it about many years later.
I joined in May 1982 and was immediately vetted as a consultant in astrology, palmistry and tarot. I was invited to join the committee as secretary in 1984. I stayed in that job for about eight years, then served as President for a year, after which I had to give up committee work because I was busy with other things. I still maintained a good relationship with BAPS though, and helped out as treasurer some years later when they didn’t have one.
In 1976, the New Age was going full steam and an entrepreneur called Graham Wilson put on the first festival of Mind, Body and Spirit in London. This became an annual event, but after a couple of years, Graham decided that rather than have independent readers of varying quality dotted around the hall among the traders, he would let BAPS have a big space where all the readers would work in one area, and he also wanted the readers to be properly qualified. This meant that anyone who wanted to work in the big festivals in London, Birmingham and Brighton had to be a member of BAPS and also had to be vetted by BAPS. There were many readers who wanted to work in these prestigious money-making festivals, so this made BAPS very popular for many years, but then Graham Wilson retired and the people who took over did not want BAPS and went back to having independent readers dotted around the room. BAPS would have died then but for a weird circumstance. The UK government started a scheme for people who wanted to train for new careers if their own jobs came to an end, whereby the government paid a certain amount for training and the students paid the rest. BAPS became part of this scheme, running postal courses on a variety of mind, body and spirit subjects, and that kept it going for a few more years until the government scheme ended and the students drifted away. BAPS closed in 2017 after nearly forty years of existence. During the early years, local branches of BAPS invited speakers to come and talk to groups of interested people, but this also faded away as time went on.
As a Consultant qualified in Astrology, Tarot, and Palmistry, what unique insights do each of these disciplines bring to your work, and how do you integrate them when guiding clients?
I met Jan Budkowski in South Africa 1996 and we married a year or so later. We started Zambezi publishing on November 14, 1996, so I finally stopped working as a consultant and became a publisher. I still do the occasional reading for a fee but my main work is publishing books in the mind, body and spirit genre. Jan and I create books and tarot cards that sell all over the world.
Where readings are concerned, it depends upon what the clients want. Palmistry is fascinating but it has two drawbacks, the first being that it is not ideal for answering day-to-day problems unless the palmist is also clairvoyant. Astrology and tarot are better for such questions. The second problem is that palmistry is hard to learn, so you will rarely see a palmist working at a mind, body and spirit festival because there are so few of us around. If I was still working as a consultant, I would read the hands first and finish with a tarot reading to fill in the gaps.
Astrology is wonderful and it is interesting to see the client start to pick up the technique while sitting next to me at the computer. I would not bother to give a palm or tarot reading as well as the astrology one, because it wouldn’t be necessary and it would take too long.
What type of services do you offer?
We work as conventional publishers of books and cards, also packaging (working with a large publisher where we provide the content and they take the financial risk). We also offer self-publishing services to those who want it and this can be in any genre or type of book, as long as it is publishable.
From your experience teaching and consulting around the world, how do you adapt your approach to cater to diverse audiences across different cultures?
Different cultures? The vast majority of clients are women, and their concerns are the same wherever they come from. Women the world over want a good, loving, caring husband who will earn a living and not spend his wages on drink or on himself. We all worry about our children however old they are, and we all work hard and try to keep the home from falling apart. It doesn’t matter whether the client is from the jungle in Africa, a palace in Saudi Arabia, a shack in Harbin in Mongolia, a big house in Dallas in Texas or living in poverty here in Plymouth, I have read for people from every corner of the globe and come to the conclusion that women are pretty much the same all over. Yes, there are some unpleasant women around and some real users and takers but most are not. One has to take care when reading for men because it takes a while to work out what their motivations are and what they want out of life.
I do bear in mind some cultural differences – especially arranged marriages and so on, but for the most part, the readings cover the same ground and the teaching is the same for everyone.
You’ve been instrumental in developing the BAPS vetting system. Can you walk us through why this system is important and what makes it unique compared to other similar organizations?
This is how the BAPS vetting system worked. The applicant applied in writing and the committee looked at the letter to see if the applicant seemed sensible. If they were deemed to be alright, they would be asked to do two readings. These could be in person, on the phone or by email, and they would do one reading each for two different BAPS consultants – preferably one who worked in their discipline and one who did not. For instance, a numerologist would be sent to another numerologist and then maybe to a tarot reader or a medium. The consultants would report back to the committee, and if the applicant was considered competent, they would sign a code of ethics, be given a certificate of competence (this was renewed annually), listed in the Register of Consultants – and in the old days, allowed to work on the BAPS stands at the big festivals.
After BAPS closed, Jan and I opened MBS Professionals to do similar work, but without the festivals, it never got very far. Consultants need to make a living, and unless an organization can help them achieve that end, it is limited in its objectives. There are other organizations that are highly respected, such as the Astrological Association or TABI (a tarot organization) but none run vetting systems or work in the same way as BAPS.
If you could rewrite one of your earlier books with the knowledge and experience you have today, which one would it be, and what changes would you make?
I have reworked several of my old books, updating some of them and adding information where new material has come to light. For instance, we have produced “The Big Astrology Guide Volume One” and “The Big Astrology Guide Volume Two” each of which contain five books that are a mixture of updated and new material. This is now a compendium that can take a beginner to the level of professional astrologer if that’s what they want.
I have updated other books from time to time, sometimes because the world I wrote about no longer exists. For instance, it is no good suggesting someone sends a palm print by fax anymore because young people don’t even know what a fax machine is!
I am happy with the books and articles that I have written, but whenever I have been pushed into writing an article or book in a style that someone else demanded (such as stupid jokey stuff) I disliked the end product. These days, I turn down such jobs and would advise other writers to be careful as well.
