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Professional Tarot:
The Business of Reading, Consulting and Teaching
Going Out-of-Print / POD OPTION
Llewellyn Publications, 2003
Learn your theories as well as you can, but put them aside when you touch the miracle of the living soul. C.G. Jung
On this page...
Professional Tarot: An Overview
Afterward: The 20/20 Vision of Hindsight
The Power of Three: A Meditation
Handle with Care
Going Pro with Tarot
CJ's Professional Tarot Code of Ethics
ATA Code of Ethics for the Professional Reader
Related Links and How to Order
*If you are brand new to the world of tarot, click Tarot and You for suggestions on how to begin.
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PROFESSIONAL TAROT: An Overview
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Do you want to read tarot cards professionally, but don’t know where to begin? Are you a professional reader wanting to improve your business?
Professional Tarot describes the different aspects of being a professional tarot reader--from establishing a clientele, to advertising to interacting with clients in crisis.
The book explores how to:
*Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a tarot reader;
*Develop your special niche as a reader;
*Deal with money issues (attitudes about money, what to charge);
*Market your unique skills on a shoestring budget;
*Expand your customer base with Internet or phone readings;
*Learn about zoning and tax laws in your community;
*Keep important legal records for your files;
*Work smarter with barter;
*Begin and end a reading with grace and style;
*Handle crisis situations;
*Find an effective focus for short readings done in quick succession;
*Understand the special needs of teenage clients;
*Organize and teach a tarot class;
*Evaluate your tarot class from the student’s perspective;
*Recognize signs of psychic burnout;
*Close your business with professional expertise.
Appendices include a tarot code of ethics, business and tarot resources, and outlines of beginning and advanced tarot classes. Create prosperity for yourself and provide helpful advice to others with your own successful tarot business.
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AFTERWARD: THE 20/20 VISION OF HINDSIGHT
Additions Following Publication
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I was disappointed when this book was published in 2003 because of printer typos and editorial choices that I did not like. I spent a lot of time and web space here trying to "fix" things.
With the exquisite 20/20 vision of hindsight, I could have written and done many things differently: I could have expanded the Cyberspace chapter by discussing PayPal, Google, and Instant Messaging as it relates to online readings.
I could have included a target audience of men and women instead of using the exclusive feminine pronoun. I also wish my editor had not relegated the concerns of teenage boys to a footnote in the back of the book; but I can't go back and change anything now.
Since the book is going out-of-print, I have deleted most of the corrections and responses from this page because they don't matter any more. I have left the additions that expand upon the theme of professional tarot reading. The entries in this section do not appear in the book.
Many of you offered thoughtful reviews and I learned from your remarks and suggestions. More of you E-mailed supportive notes and I am grateful that you took the time to share your generous comments with me. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to all of you who found value in my writing. Thank you! CJ
In Chapter 4, The Business of Tarot:
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I wish I had written more about the office as a place to conduct readings. Office space, whether in your home or outside, is important, and it needs to be mutually healing to yourself and clients. The basic rule in office design is: Appeal to the majority of your clients while being inoffensive to all.
Things we don’t even consider can sometimes affront clients. For example, I had a painting of a full-breasted woman at the peak of her sexuality in my office. She looked wild and charming to me, much like the Kathy character of Wuthering Heights. Yeah, she was almost naked.
Imagine my surprise when a client told me she was "offended" by my pornographic picture! Yes, I believe my client had a problem with her body image, and the shame so often associated with sexuality, but it wasn't my place to judge her. A paying customer was offended by my choice in art--I replaced the painting with a nature scene and hung the beauty in my own bedroom.
The main sources of offense are forcing your personal or religious beliefs onto others, and invading a person's sense of smell, sight or sound. Most people accept one or two religious symbols in an office, but will be ill at ease if the room is cluttered and filled with icons they don't understand or appreciate.
Keep your reading space client centered by creating a place that is comfortable for your client. Some people are scared by new age artifacts. In order to stay in business, you want to increase your client base. Why frighten someone and scare off potential customers? Find a way to balance your personal preferences with your clients' needs. Dark and mysterious isn't always better.
If you read in your home, remember that a lot of people are allergic to pet dander or are frightened of cats. (I know...How can anyone be scared of kitty??) If you have dogs or cats, be sure to tell your client before the appointment. Keep your pets away from the reading area when your client is there. Vacuum and dust your reading area, and groom your pets, on a regular basis.
Be careful with incense because your client may be allergic to smoke, or find a heavy fragrance nauseating. Ask before you light incense. Use caution with your own cologne or perfume for the same reason: commercial cologne is made of chemicals and can cause unpleasant respiratory reactions in some people such as watery eyes, sniffling and sneezing.
Sound creates a mood, but low volume is always best during a reading: you want your client to focus on the reading, not the music. Invest in a good system that has an auto function so the music doesn't stop halfway through the reading. Purchase a wide variety of music to suit a variety of clients, preferably without distracting vocals, and make sure you can easily adjust the volume.
Lighting is another important consideration. Avoid glare and harsh lighting. Natural light from a window or skylight is great, but you may not have access to it. In this case, place lamps in different areas of the room to give balanced, indirect lighting. You can now buy pink light bulbs and they cast a soothing glow.
Assess the books in your reading space. Which ones are on eye level? Try sitting at the reading table where your client will be. Look around. What do you see? Place appropriate books related to the tarot, or your specialty, in the client's line of vision. For example, my nursing texts and psychology books are all at eye level when the client is sitting. When she stands up, she sees my tarot and therapeutic touch books. Astrology and business books are on the bottom shelf.
Continuing with sight and visual effect, choose your paintings, mobiles, wallpaper, knick-knacks and furniture with the client's comfort in mind. How do you do this? Review your client base and identify your target market. (Please refer to Chapter 2 of the book for info on target markets.) Then consider what an ideal space is for them, and balance that with the image you wish to project as a professional reader. Decorate accordingly.
Nothing detracts more from a pleasant atmosphere than clutter and dirt, especially in the bathroom! Keep your reading space and bathroom clean and free of clutter: No old MacDonald's wrappers and half-eaten food, please. (I really saw that the first time I went to a new reader. It looked and smelled disgusting. I didn't go back.)
Here is My list of Reading Space No's:
No trash cans overflowing with garbage, no dirty dishes in the sink, no dust bunnies under the table, no coating of dust on furniture, no scum in the bathroom, no empty tissue roll, no disintegrating bar of soap, no dirty towels. And as obvious as this is to most, no dirt under your fingernails! Hands are important in your work as a reader and people will look at them. Please keep your hands clean and well groomed.
Consider the image you wish to project and the characteristics associated with it. Do you want calm and quiet? Mystery? Do you prefer the clinical therapist atmosphere, or something entirely different? Regardless of the atmosphere you desire, you always create a mood--intentional or not. Choose with care.
Chapter 5, Counseling Clients:
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I wish I had written that people will not remember much of what we say during a reading, and they probably won't remember what we do. But they will always remember how our readings made them feel. Something to consider, isn't it?
Also in chapter five, people pay us to read for them with their hard-earned money. It is our responsibility to avoid distractions and be present in the moment. We need to minimize extraneous noise and interruptions as much as possible. We turn off our cell phones and pagers, put the business phone on voice mail, close the door, and give our paying customers 100% of ourselves.
When conducting phone readings, once we have laid out the cards, we need to avoid the temptation to open our mail, rustle papers, talk to someone else, or attend to other business. Not only is this rude because our clients will hear us, but it interferes with our ability to listen and concentrate.
More counseling ideas...
When reading for another face-to-face, actions speak louder than words. Learn to look directly at your client! It shows that you are interested and paying attention.
You can also learn much by observing - and listening to - your querent. It doesn't take a psychic impression or a tarot card to tell you that your client is nervous if you have observed that her nails are bitten to the quick, or that she can't sit still.
Pay attention to the physical cues and you will get a real sense of your client before you lay out the first card. For example, does your querent look tired, unkempt or sad? How about puffy eyes from crying? What could bruises mean? Closed body language, such as sitting with arms folded tight against the body, may reveal defensiveness or anger.
Even your sense of smell can alert you to possible life lessons: If it is 9 AM and you smell alcohol on your client's breath, you can bet there is an issue (or two) for you to explore. Yes, some night shift workers get off work at 7 AM or 8 AM and have a drink to relax. But morning alcohol intake might be worth a mention, especially if the Three of Cups turns up in the reading.
From my experience, if a querent has an addictive problem, the Three of Cups symbolizes it as "excessive celebration" or excessive behavior of some type, especially if it is paired with the Devil or King of Cups.
THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?
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Ah, the conundrum...which comes first, the payment or the reading? Several professional readers have taken issue with the fact I suggest that we take payment first because it is easier for us to issue a refund than it is to argue about price at the end of a reading. Sylvia Browne does it and so does Laurie Cabot, so taking payment first puts us in substantial company.
I make the suggestion based on my life experience. I have had incidents where people walked away without payment. The worst one came after a ninety-minute reading. When we were done, the querent looked at me with a grin and said, "Sorry, I don't have any money." With that she laughed and walked out. Yes, I know it was her bad karma, but that didn't make me less angry that she stole my time.
As I wrote at the top, it is easier for me to issue a refund afterwards. If the reading doesn't go well, or my client is not happy, I do not hesitate to return the fee because I don't need the energy of his or her money in my life.
We all must reach our own decisions based on comfort level and life experience. You decide which comes first, the chicken or the egg?
SIN OF OMISSION
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I received an E-mail asking me if I could recommend books on psychic development. It seems that in Chapter 1 of Pro Tarot, page seven, I promise to list my favorites later in appendix C. Unfortunately, no such listing made the final editing of the book. Here is, in part, my reply to a very observant reader:
You are right, there is no list of psychic development books in Appendix C. Oh, wait, I know...people were supposed to divine the list! A lot of things went wrong at the Llewellyn printing house in the transition from manuscript to printed book.
Asking about psychic books is a tricky question because we all learn differently. I can only recommend books that have helped me. I tend to like writers who seem to have their feet on the ground even though their heads may be in the clouds. I get nervous when people start reporting their experiences with ectoplasm.
I hope my suggestions below help you, but don't take my word for it. Go to a bookstore and let your inner wisdom (gut, if you will) guide you. This is not a cop out, it is the beginning of trust in your own inner wisdom, that still small voice that knows without knowing. Trust is the hard part! Trust your first gut response to a book (or a card or a situation) and then get your head out of the way.
If the answer is simple and devoid of emotion, it is probably your intuition. If the answer is noisy and full of the pros and cons of the issue, it is probably your intellect or emotion at work. You now have my complete knowledge of psychic ability--we all have it if we can quiet the noise of everyday life and listen because intuition whispers, it never shouts.
Amazon carries reader reviews of the books I've listed below--everything from wonderful to don't bother. I think this proves that we learn differently and what helps one does nothing for another.
My favorite male author on the topic of psychic ability is John Edwards. He's so....grounded, with a good sense of humor, and I believe he is the real deal. Anything by John Edwards, but start with Crossing Over.
There are three books I especially like on the subject of general psychic ability:
The Psychic Pathway: A Workbook for Reawakening the Voice of Your Soul by Sonia Choquette. Crown Trade Paperbacks, 1995.
The Psychic Workshop: A Complete Program for Fulfilling Your Spiritual Potential by Kim Chestney. Adams Media, 2004.
You Are Psychic by Debra Lynne Katz. Llewellyn, 2004.
You can learn a lot about psychic ability by reading the authors of books on after-death (spirit world) communication. Start with the works of Allison DuBois, James Van Praagh, John Edwards, Sylvia Browne, Echo Bodine (Christian focus, but with a good section on what the Bible REALLY says about psychic ability if you have anyone in your sphere who objects to your interests because of Christian beliefs) and Hans Holzer, author of many wonderful ghost hunting books.
Most of the books I have mentioned carry recommended reading lists that will enlarge the scope of your search until you find the information that rings true with you. Trust that you will find what you need.
Word of caution: While I have learned something of value from every author, and every book, James Van Praagh is sometimes too boastful of his abilities (a real name dropper) and Sylvia Browne is just plain wacky at times.
If you have an interest in psychic ability as it applies to spirit world communication (ghosts), please refer to my recommended reading list on Ghosts and More found by clicking the page name bar above.
A DIZZYING PACE
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Professional Tarot was published a few years ago and web sites come and go at a dizzying pace. Unfortunately, a lot of the web references in the back are no longer in existence. I hope the book is still useful to you, but you will now find many obsolete web addresses. Drats...
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THE POWER OF THREE©
A Meditation for Professional Tarot Readers
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NOTE: The following tarot meditation may be copied for personal use. If you share it with anyone, including friends, students or clients, I ask only that you tell them in writing where you found it and who created it. Thank you!
The three core traits of establishing a successful business are belief in self, the willingness to work and a desire to be of service to others. Try a meditative journal exercise I call "The Power of Three."
Pull the Queen of Wands, Pentacles and Cups from your favorite deck. Have them in sight as you do this activity.
*Please see the end of this article for thoughts on the Queen of Swords, added here after the book went to press.
Underneath the Queen of Wands write 'Belief in Self.' Below the Queen of Pentacles write 'Willingness to Work.' 'Desire to be of Service to Others' belongs to the Queen of Cups.
Read the following comments about each one, then look at her card as you pen your personal response to each Queen.
1. Belief in Self (Queen of Wands): What do you believe?
One way to identify your beliefs is to ask yourself what might happen if you actually did manifest a successful tarot consultation service.
Do you worry you may be asking too much or feel unworthy to realize your dream? Does bringing change into your life make you nervous? How will success change your life?
The Queen of Wands is businesslike and exuberant about everything she does. She has reserves of energy and is passionate about things she believes in. She devours details and follows her hunches because she trusts her intuition.
The Queen of Wands believes in herself. So the real question here is how good can you stand it? That's as good as it gets. Make an entry in your journal.
2. Willingness to work (Queen of Pentacles): How much elbow grease are you willing to apply to make your dream real?
Willingness to work requires that you identify and eliminate everything that keeps you from focusing on your dream. It means finding the time and discipline to establish the order that a successful business must have to grow.
Chaos, clutter and unfinished business on any level are energy bandits. Every moment you spend looking for things, apologizing for being late or mentally hiding out from unfinished business is time you have lost forever.
The Queen of Pentacles is infinitely practical, a go-getter, and is comfortable in both the home and the office. She also listens to what her body is telling her.
If she is hungry, she eats and she rests when tired. She takes care of herself in every way. By replenishing her reserves, she makes room for new energy and the creative life force to flow.
Desire equals discipline and there is no such thing as a free lunch, but the Queen of Pentacles succeeds by balancing work and personal life. Her life does not appear more unstable than the lives of her clients. Instincts and logic work together and she empowers others by empowering herself first. Make an entry in your journal.
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3. Queen of Cups (Desire to be of service to others): How much are you willing to love?
When you choose to bring love and enthusiasm into your tarot practice, the whole process takes on a magical and healing quality. You stop hitting a brick wall. When you introduce love and enthusiasm into your work, it will remove obstacles and help you find balance.
Bringing love into your choices as you work towards your goal of being a professional reader draws in the support of the universe. When you are enthusiastic and loving, divine support will join you.
This is about power. Not the kind of power that erupts out of the personal ego, but the kind that gracefully flows through you when you tap into the powerful, loving support of the universe.
The Queen of Cups is filled with compassion and her nurturing extends to all who come into her realm. She excels in metaphysics, accepts her natural psychic abilities and makes a marvelous professional tarot reader.
The Queen of Cups' nature is spiritual and loving and her work must be emotionally satisfying. She practices the spiritual law of "give and it shall be given to you."
This Queen understands the law of cause and effect. She is generous in her kindness to others because she knows that as she gives, it will return to her a thousand-fold.
When you expand your heart and generous spirit, you expand your capacity to be happy and fulfilled, and to operate from a sense of abundance. Thoughts are real. Let your thoughts be of divine awareness, rightfully expecting and easily sharing all the gifts the universe has to offer you.
Surround yourself with supportive and loving family and friends. As a professional tarot reader, you can help many people deepen their connection to the divine and gain clarity about their chosen paths. Be proud of who you are and what you do, as you prepare for positive life changes. Make an entry in your journal.
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THE QUEEN OF SWORDS: DETACHED COMPASSION
Not in book.
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Back to Power of Three Meditation
The Queen of Swords is Feminine Air, Aquarius. She has compassion for humanity and thinks clearly, detached from emotional agendas.
Often depicted as the "Widow" of the tarot deck, she has lived, loved, lost, and lived to love again. Her life experience gives her strength and wisdom. She recognizes inner wisdom in herself and others, and has the ability to be fair and just.
The Queen of Swords is professional, helpful, friendly, loyal and a social reformer. Her journey is in the realm of the intellect. She knows when to take a time out from emotions and is helpful in times of sorrow because she maintains perspective.
She also excels at public speaking, especially in the arena of political consciousness. She is the essence of Aquarius and all that the Water Bearer represents. Above all, she keeps her own wise counsel and is Queen of the written word.
Create a personal meditation for the powerful Queen of Swords. What does the phrase "detached compassion" mean to you when reading the cards for another? How will you use the energy of the Queen of Swords in your professional tarot practice?
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CJ's PROFESSIONAL TAROT CODE OF ETHICS
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I follow the American Tarot Association's Code of Ethics. You can access the complete Code from from the links below.
The ATA encourages professional readers to develop their own Code of Ethics based upon individual beliefs and practices. If you see something here that you want to include in your own code, please do so.
I adapted the ATA Code to fit the fact I wrote tarot books. Perhaps this adaptation stimulates your own thought processes about the need to create something that is unique to your reading situation. If so, great! The closer the code matches your core beliefs amd practices, the better.
1. I will serve the best interests of my clients, conducting my professional activities without causing, or intending to cause, harm.
2. I will treat all my clients with equal respect, regardless of their origin, race, religion, gender, age, or sexual preference. I will be prompt, friendly and honest in all my interactions with clients.
3. I will keep confidential the names of clients and all information shared or discussed during readings, unless otherwise requested by the client, or required by a court of law.
4. I will ensure that my clients know that they have free will and the personal responsibility to act upon it. I am not a psychic, but rather, a guide.
5. I will recommend clients consult a licensed professional for legal, financial, medical, or psychological advice that I am not qualified to provide. Because I am a registered nurse (RN) with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, I will clearly differentiate between the tarot reading and any professional advice I may provide.
6. I will respect my clients' right to refuse or terminate their readings at any time, for any reason, regardless of prior consent. I also have the right to terminate a reading at any time for any reason.
7. I will be honest and fair in the rates that I charge. The cards do not always convey what we want to know, but they always reveal what we need to know. I will issue a full refund if a client does not feel my reading was useful or worthwhile. (Note to my visitors: This rarely happens, but I am willing to refund because I do not want the energy of angry money in my life.)
8. I will honestly report what I see in a reading, and will do my best to provide helpful and compassionate interpretations of any card that appears. If, for any reason, I cannot read for a client, or the cards do not cooperate, I will issue a 100% refund and suggest using another reader.
9. In a reading, the focus is on my client and only my client. I will not read for another without his or her consent, and I will not read about another person in his or her absence. If it is not possible to answer a question without causing actual or potential harm to another, I will rephrase the question or decline the reading. Likewise, I will not practice magic of any type on another’s behalf.
10. I will represent my educational background, credentials and publication history with honesty and integrity. I will never believe that I have “learned it all” and I will continue to strive for increased reading skill. Reading for others is a privilege and I will humbly remember how blessed I am to help another.
11. I will not use a client’s “case history” in a forthcoming book, or on my web site, without express written consent from the client. If permission is granted, all names will be changed for confidentiality.
12. I recognize that all metaphysical readers have the same rights and obligations, and I will respect and honor my colleagues, making referrals when appropriate.
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RELATED LINKS AND HOW TO ORDER: Going Out-Of-Print
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My books are going out-of-print. The Llewellyn page will remain as long as the publisher has copies to sell. Also available through online used bookstores. If you live in Ohio, the public libraries of Lakewood (Cleveland area), Cincinnati and Newark carry all of my titles.
2008 UPDATE: Llewellyn now offers my books on its site at deep discount prices. Once all the warehouse copies are gone, Llewellyn may consider a print-on-demand (POD) option where the traditional paper books are produced one at a time as single orders come in. Please check back for details as they unfold throughout the year.
The other links include professional tarot ethics, helpful sites for mental health awareness that can aid in increasing your counseling confidence, a book review, and Tarot Reflections, an online publication through the American Tarot Association, edited by Sheri Harshberger.
Links below open new windows.
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HANDLE WITH CARE
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Knowing the meaning of the tarot cards, how they relate to one another in a layout, and the ability to weave a narrative are prerequisites for becoming a professional reader. But knowledge of the cards alone is not enough to be a pro.
Whether you are reading free for friends or charging money, you are using your understanding of the tarot as a counseling tool because you are influencing other people’s lives with your knowledge. Professional tarot readers have a moral/ethical responsibility to develop awareness of the counseling process and build counseling skills.
If you are planning on using the tarot directly with other people, you are exposing yourself to situations where people in need will turn to you for help. Without extensive psychological training, you will have to deal with troubled individuals: the confused, the immature, the suffering, the grieving, who so often look to tarotists, astrologers and psychics for guidance. Even if you define yourself as a reader, and not a counselor, you will still have significant influence upon your clients’ conceptions of life.
Knowledge of psychology and counseling techniques is needed to handle emotionally charged issues with intelligence. This knowledge allows you to phrase a reading so that the client can relate to the information and feel empowered to change what is no longer useful, or build upon existing strengths. It is wise to enroll in one or more counseling courses, attend workshops and read books on the counseling process.
Most people who practice divination with the tarot for any length of time find that it takes on the character of therapy. The healing emphasis of divination is on the emotional, psychological and spiritual life.
People work through problems, explore thoughts, feelings and intuitions and formulate strategies much like they would in a therapist's office. During a professional tarot reading set in a healing atmosphere, time is precious and the space is special because it is protected from the outside world.
On the surface, people have tarot readings for fun, on a whim, out of curiosity, to be entertained, to catch a glimpse of the future or just to talk about life. On a deeper level, people have tarot readings because they want a private place to talk about problems, reveal secrets or discuss concerns.
They may express feelings and thoughts that they do not want to share with others. The client may feel more comfortable giving this information to a stranger rather than a friend or therapist. As a professional tarot reader, you respect privacy and confidentiality and give the client a safe place to think, feel and make decisions without violating the sacred trust the client has placed with you.
Your role, as professional reader, is to interpret the client's cards and feed this symbolic knowledge back to the client for her consideration. Your reading will make it possible for the client to confront and examine difficult or upsetting realities about themselves and work through difficulties in a more independent manner. This puts the power to change the client's course of life through awareness, growth and action squarely back where it belongs: in the hands of the client.
By emphasizing the subjective meaning of a card, (thoughts and feelings), as well as the obvious objective meaning, (events), the client is prepared for her reactions and feelings surrounding an event or situation. You have given the client insight needed to change, or accept, the course of events.
When you let go absolutely of outcomes, and respect the life choices of others, you have empowered the client to grow in her own time and her own way. You have created the opportunity for your client to be the architect and author of her own life story.
It is important to emphasize that there is no such thing as "good" or "bad" tarot cards. They symbolize a spectrum of life experiences and every card presents an opportunity to learn and grow. Life brings change, with all its attending joys and sorrows.
When people have a run of bad luck in their lives, they may be vulnerable to the suggestion of curses or hexes. Why is this happening? They want it to stop. Any reader who tries to turn their clients’ fears against them (to make them more afraid) is out to control, rather than help, others.
Nothing in tarot is preordained. We always have the power to change trends through responsible choice. It is your duty as a reader to be honest. If you truly see a catastrophic event, such as loss of income or serious illness, you certainly need to be candid, but your role is to assist your client, not scare her to death.
When catastrophe does strike, your client will be better prepared because you have helped her examine possible reactions to the situation ahead of time. A worthwhile tarot reading empowers your seeker to face any type of change with courage.
It is important for you to be up front with a client about your style of reading and state clearly what you can and cannot do. As a professional reader, you decide if you are a fortune-teller or guide.
Putting oneself in the position of High Priestess with all the answers promotes dependency in clients, and makes you, the reader, responsible for the clients' actions. And who truly wants to be responsible for the decisions and actions of others?
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GOING PRO WITH TAROT
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When we work with the counseling aspect of the tarot cards, we can know just enough to do a lot of harm to others and to ourselves. Operating solely on goodwill, or the desire to be helpful, does not make us competent to read the cards for money. True professionalism gives us a healthy sense of where we stand, what we know, and what we can—and cannot—do.
We need time for regular study. Some people who engage in reading the cards everyday seldom consult tarot books or attend workshops. Perhaps they feel that they know all there is to know about the tarot. No matter how much experience we have, it is always helpful to study the cards to expand our frame of reference because we are reading for other people in all walks of life.
A wise proverb reminds us that knowing others is wisdom, but knowing ourselves is enlightenment. All professionals go on learning throughout their lives. The desire to learn more through the use of the tarot is at the heart of being a professional reader.
One of the most remarkable things about reading the cards is that it works even when the reader is imperfect. Doing some of the right things in a reading makes up for doing a lot of the wrong things—and doing things right centers on letting go of the need to fix people or have all the answers. We need not worry or be ashamed of the truth that human beings make mistakes and errors will always be part of the human condition.
If, after all our best efforts, we feel that we do not function well as readers, there is nothing wrong in deciding that professional tarot reading is not for us. We do not claim to be professional tarot readers if we truly are not. Such a decision frees us to develop other talents and may reveal our better skills, and higher purpose, in healing, writing, astrology, spiritual advising or any other path.
Professional tarot reading is a process that can assist those who choose to use it to become stronger and more capable. At best, professional tarot readers can help people find a greater measure of personal satisfaction in their world, clarify goals and deepen their connection to the divine.
At its heart, professional tarot reading assumes and respects the capability, integrity and self-determination of all those who seek our services. What a worthwhile profession. Be proud of who you are and what you do.
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My E-mail: FindingTheMuse@aol.com
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Trust the still small voice that says, "This might work and I'll try it." Diane Mariechild
© Copyright 2001-2008 Christine Jette. All rights reserved.
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