From a career in law enforcement to a near death experience, Tia Belle explains the path that led her to become a celebrity psychic medium

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

At age three, when other kids were playing “make believe,” Tia Belle was playing tarot cards – and it was something that was very real. Prior to becoming a respected psychic medium, television star, and owner of her New Jersey mystical shop, The Craft by Tia, Belle was a little girl with a gift that often left her searching for answers. In the middle of the night, the departed would visit her, and she was able to foresee the future. With such overwhelming insights, Belle often felt like things were out of control in her youth, but her natural tenacity allowed her to persevere. She’d spend hours reading library books trying to find others with these abilities, but of the few she found, Belle was even more exceptional because she was both a medium and a psychic.

“When I was a little girl, I’d go around knocking on doors. Italians are known to have what they call card readers, and I would want to talk to them. They’d say to me, ‘your gift is much more intense than my gift; I can’t help you.’ It often made me feel like I was alone on an island.”

Luckily, Belle starting working with an older woman that was a witch who helped her channel her powers by playing tarot. Starting when she was eleven, Belle used tarot cards as a tool during her readings. She even remembers her sixth grade teacher calling her mother to ask if Belle could go to her home after school and read her cards. In addition to tarot, Belle had another “tool” to guide her – a loving family.

“[My gifts] were always very pronounced. I’d get up in the morning and say to my mother, ‘this is going to happen, or so and so came to me crying last night,’ and the next week, that person’s son would have a heart attack. My mother would look at me like I had three heads. It was very difficult because it wasn’t normal as far as parents are concerned. It always scared my mother; I can see her face to this day. Her eyes would get really wide, and I’d try to explain myself to her. My father was much calmer about it, but my sisters, my mother – everyone in the family knew this about me for my entire life, and they were always very supportive.”

Perhaps Belle’s grit as a child foreshadowed her 10-year career in the paramilitary outfit of the sheriff’s department. For most of her life, only Belle’s family knew about her abilities. So, what might seem like a surprising career path for a psychic medium, actually made sense for a woman whose father was a marine.

“I was raised to react to a situation and help people, but never panic. That was kind of how my father was, and I think that helped me with being psychic. Being an extremely strong person allows you to get control of your gift and understand it. I’ve seen people that are scared of it, but we were raised to be very strong, and that’s how I kind of gravitated towards law enforcement.”

While Belle’s time working in the crime scene unit might seem like an episode from the television series Medium, she made it a point to keep her career separate from her abilities.

“A lot of times I would walk into a home where there was a stabbing or a shooting and spirit would still be there, but I would keep it quiet because you’re working with your peers, and a lot of people are full of doubt as far as this is concerned. I would keep it quiet because I never wanted that to interfere in my career, but yes, I did feel things, and yes [my gift] was predominate at times when I would do detective work.”

However, it wasn’t until Belle was in dire condition that she knew her path needed to change. “I’d gotten very, very sick, and I was near death. I felt my body shutting off, and I said, ‘Look, if you keep me here, I’ll do your work; I’ll do the work that you need, and I never went back to law enforcement. It’s been a ride ever since and a great one.”

One of the more thrilling parts of Belle’s ride has been her work on television. After allowing her gifts to blossom as Psychic Tia, she started reading Jacqueline Laurita from the cast of the reality show, The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Immediately recognized by Laurita and her friends for her incredible insights, Belle was asked to make an appearance on the television show. Her readings continued to amaze people, leading to the 2013 launch of her own A&E reality show appropriately titled, Psychic Tia. On the show, Belle would read individuals cold, never having met them before they walked on camera. Although Belle’s unmatched capabilities have allowed her to reach the status of celebrity psychic medium, Belle’s passion for her work is rooted in her desire to guide people so they can find their path to happiness. When people make an appointment to be read (by first name only) at Belle’s shop, she knows nothing about them, until they sit down at her table.

“As soon as you sit in front of me, it’s just the two of us looking at each other, and it’s all there. When you come in, you can’t hide anything that’s on the table. We get some things that aren’t always pretty like child abuse, rape…those are all things that some people have to endure, and it’s coming out so we can find a path to heal.”

While some things might be painful to have revealed, Belle won’t withhold information from her clients because she knows it’s there for a reason, usually so she can warn and protect people. This is especially true for her specialized area, medical readings. On multiple occasions, Belle has predicted medical issues that have saved people’s lives.

“The minute you walk in my door, I’ll tell you what’s wrong with you. I had a client come in and I said, ‘You need to take your husband and get him to a cardiologist now, or he will die.’ She goes, ‘We just did that.’ I explained to her that she needed to go to a different cardiologist because the first one was wrong. She listened to me and insisted that her husband have more tests done. Well, it went from testing to immediate surgery. He had so many blockages that he would’ve died. The doctor said to my client, ‘I need to ask you, what made you push these tests?’ She said, ‘my psychic.’ So, I was the talk of the cardiac floor.”

Despite Belle’s accurate readings, she still encounters skeptics, but she believes everyone is entitled to their own opinion regarding psychic abilities. Belle explains, “I’m not going to waste my energy on someone who is closed minded. They want to think, if I can’t smell it, touch it, or feel it, it doesn’t exist, because that’s called fate.” Skeptics aside, Belle is thrilled at the progression that’s been made regarding people’s acceptance of psychics and mediums as legitimately gifted individuals. This holds particular importance to Belle, as she is not only Psychic Tia, but also a grandmother to her two and a half year old granddaughter who is already flipping tarot cards.

“My granddaughter is going to have it. I see it in her eyes. It’s going to be great because I’ll be able to guide her, and she won’t be alone like I was, trying to seek out answers.”