Professional tarot readers

Apollonia

I would insist on only reading for clear minded people on ethical topics. Its my reading, I'm in charge, and i will happily turn away anyone i judge to be of bad character. There's plenty of professional readers who will glady take their money, so i presume. I'm not their jesus, and if they start getting shady i will quit in the middle of it too. My game, my rules.

But for the clients that *do* need a good interactive reading, i will be that reader. They can cry, get mad as long as they participate and show self growth from reading to reading. And i know we all know the difference here without pointing out specifics.

When i started, i was more than eager to read for anyone on anything. And it was all friends and friends of friends. All in good nature. I never encountered a negative reading situation but I've had plenty of hostile and negative customers to give me a decent amount of experience to apply in handling difficult sitters.
LOL. This is a pipe dream that has nothing to do with the reality of being a full time professional reader. If a person is totally clear minded, what on earth will they come to you for? Whose ethics? Yours or theirs? You won't be much of a reader if you impose your own ethics on others. Will you make them fill out a form before you read for them?

I've been reading for about 20 years now. I have read for a great many wonderful, sincere people. Some of them had ethics that were 180 degrees from my own. Some of them had severe mental illnesses. Some of them were illegal immigrants so they were breaking the law. Not many of them had bad characters, and the ones who did probably fooled me into thinking they were saints, because a true sociopath is a charming liar.

This is a business where referrals are your bread and butter, and the way you grow your business. If you stop a reading in the middle because someone got “shady” you bet they will talk about you, and I imagine you will feel very pleased with yourself for maintaining your rules, but you won't get any repeat or additional business from that reading.

You are not being realistic if you insist on self growth from reading to reading. I've had clients who have grown tremendously in the nine or ten years I've been reading for them. Some of them grew consistently, and some were stuck where they were literally for years and then found the strength to take huge leaps in just a few weeks. But you wouldn't have given those courageous folk a second reading?

My advice is to keep your day job, maintain Tarot as a hobby, and stay out of it as a profession. You are not suited for it, not because of your insistence on your rules, but because your insistence on your rules will severely limit your customer base and therefore your ability to make a living at it.
 

Sulis

I would insist on only reading for clear minded people on ethical topics. Its my reading, I'm in charge, and i will happily turn away anyone i judge to be of bad character. There's plenty of professional readers who will glady take their money, so i presume. I'm not their jesus, and if they start getting shady i will quit in the middle of it too. My game, my rules.

Hi missed_piggit, I think this is your problem (above).. You see it isn't your reading, it's their reading. You're just delivering the message..
Once we start thinking in terms like 'it's my reading, my rules', you're letting your own ego take over… What someone does with their reading is entirely up to them and if they don't want to use it to help them to grow or improve their morals or ethics then that's their choice and it has nothing to do with you…

I think if you go into reading professionally thinking as you are doing now, you'll fail because you'll be doing it for you and not for the people who are coming to you for help.

I really do think that our job as readers is to deliver the message that we see in the cards and no more.. I think not judging or expecting things from our clients is really very, very important.. That's not to say that you can't refuse to read for someone if you think that you can't relate to them for any reason whatsoever, personal boundaries and integrity are very important but leave the judgement and the ego at the door and strive to become a good messenger and that's it..
 

misser_piggit

I think its pretty lame the same 4-6 people showed up on this thread to criticize and insult. I've seen you some of you do this before to other new people. I don't give a flying rats ass what you think of me. And I'm pretty sure in my first post i made it more than clear i was intrested in the how you did it and not what i need to do.

Congratulations old timers. Point made.
 

Hooked on TdM

Ah I find it unfortunate that this is being taken as a personal attack. Many excellent and thought provoking points have been brought up. Can you remove yourself from the equation and see some of the questions and issues as valid?

Ask yourself: why do I want to read professionally? How do I determine what a clear minded person is? How will I handle rejecting reading for someone? What are my ethics? What happens when my sitter has different ethics from mine? How will quitting a reading in the middle affect my reputation, finances etc?

These are excellent points to work out for yourself before you start readings. It's part of the process to becoming professional. You need to know where you stand, why, and how you are going to handle the different situations that will appear.

I recommend reading about how to work out your own code of ethics, policies, and mission statements. Maybe look up different sources too, social services, medical fields etc..

I hope you can see the positive directions you can follow up on.
 

Zedrex

My best experience as a reader was in a New Age bookshop. I had a private table with candles, crystals and pleasant background music, the counter staff took my bookings and payment and would pass the money to me at the end of the day, minus their very reasonable commission. I never had an unpleasant encounter while reading there. If you can organise something like that in a bookstore or cafe, it might be a worthwhile option.

Best advice :) I'm doing that right now and it's as positive as it's always been.... having nice people around you who handle all the details is nice. And it's a venue that attracts the clientele who'll be the most positive to interact with.
 

UrbanBramble

I agree that people are straying into personal attacks here... I would feel put on the spot too. I have been reading professionally for a very long time and setting boundaries was one of the biggest challenges for me. The truth is, you don't know who is going to show up at your table and what their baggage is until they sit down. It is totally within your right to decide how to handle a person who is asking for a reading for the wrong reasons, gets too needy, is showing signs of obsession (very common in my experience), etc.

I often have regulars that I have to "cut off" for a certain amount of time, generally because they are either a) calling me at all hours of the day or night and expecting me to be available at their whim or b) spending a great deal of money getting readings on a topic that is not going to change any time soon and / or they are obsessing over. I consider the first a personal boundaries issue and the second an ethical issue.

I handle the first situation by being very clear and structured about my schedule and only picking up the phone during "office" hours, or telling people to come in when I am reading at the store (I do phone and in person readings). I have co-workers that take the late night calls because they make more $ on them. That's not my style. The second issue I handle by telling people that their readings are not going to change until their circumstance changes, and tell them to give it a month before asking for another reading. I generally don't lose these clients, they respect me for being straightforward with them.

I also often have to figure out what to do with the folks that want what I call the "dog and pony show" - i.e. "you're the psychic, why don't you tell me?" In my experience you either spend too much time trying to explain the point of tarot or you just give them the type of reading they are looking for because, well, they are paying you and you are sick of fighting that attitude. I've done both, generally depending on my mood.

If someone is being disrespectful I send them away from my table. Period. If someone is mentally unstable and seems as though they may hurt themselves or someone else (I've had a woman threaten suicide, had people that seemed like they wanted an excuse to physically harm their partners) I send them away or cut them off. Period. I don't need to be treated poorly and I don't need to be responsible for something terrible happening. I feel like this can only help my reputation as a reader and I'm not afraid of losing the amount I would make on that reading. Businesses grow from being professional, setting boundaries, and charging what you think you are worth.

I guess my point is please, if you feel like you need to set boundaries around who you read for, do so. But you won't know what this entails until you are actually reading.

Also, PURELY as a side note, don't quit your day job. You won't be able to survive on tarot reading alone. Maybe tarot + astrology + reiki or something like that, but not from just tarot. Think about doing other things like starting a blog and a facebook page, standard small business stuff, to build your client base, even if you are reading through someone else's storefront / business.

Just my 2 cents.
 

Disa

I think its pretty lame the same 4-6 people showed up on this thread to criticize and insult. I've seen you some of you do this before to other new people. I don't give a flying rats ass what you think of me. And I'm pretty sure in my first post i made it more than clear i was intrested in the how you did it and not what i need to do.

Congratulations old timers. Point made.

Wow!

What a rude and insulting statement you just made to the experienced readers taking time out of their lives in an attempt to show you a different way and to potentially have you consider thinking outside of your own personal and judgemental box. Personally if I were new here(and even now that I'm not new), I'd have been honored to have these particular experienced readers respond to my thread trying to offer any words of wisdom at all. If you are shooting towards the goal of being "professional" I think you just blew it. Good luck to you. I hope you find all of the clients who are exactly to your specifications and you have a long and prosperous career.
 

Hooked on TdM

I would further like to add:

I am also on the fools journey to becoming a professional reader. I am educated as a social service worker and, volunteered and worked in the field. I was reading live, online, and personally towards becoming professional. I stopped around six years ago. I needed to sort out some serious issues in my life. I'm now adjusted with managing a chronic illness, letting go of an abusive past, and in my first long term healthy relationship. I mention this because helping others requires you to have helped yourself first.

So my plan is:

1. Know what my strengths and weaknesses are: professionally, personally and entrepreneur wise.

2. Work out my policies, ethics and conflict resolution techniques.

3. Study and practice with tarot cards, spreads and communication.

4. Apply for a business starting course to help me learn and start my own business. ( how to grow a customer base, where to read, etc)

5. Start readings.

This is a flexible and growing list that I expect to take years.


This is my way of going about it. I'm at steps 2 and 3 right now. I'm reading for practice at a party Saturday. Just for fun stuff. I'm rather nervous and excited. :) I don't know if this will help you but it's all I know.

Oh and my motivation? I naturally try to help people. I love tarot cards. Getting paid to do what I love? Now that's priceless!!��
 

gregory

I think its pretty lame the same 4-6 people showed up on this thread to criticize and insult. I've seen you some of you do this before to other new people. I don't give a flying rats ass what you think of me. And I'm pretty sure in my first post i made it more than clear i was intrested in the how you did it and not what i need to do.

Congratulations old timers. Point made.
Sorry you see it as insulting etc. It has nothing to do with your being new. (you aren't very new, anyway !) But if you want to read professionally, the points being made are ones you do need to look at - you asked what you needed to do - and these are issues you need (as you asked !) to consider.

And it is your sitters who are your customers - if they feel judged - they won't be telling other people about you. If you are as selective as you suggest, you will need this not to be your main source of income. It won't matter how well you set up your advertising, how you design your business cards, choose your venue and the rest, if you have no clients you are comfortable to read for.

Good luck, whatever.
 

RunningWild

The shops around here charge 50/half hour and up. So I'm not jumping up & down for that either-no matter what their experience & education is- its still a pack of cards.

I can't quite decide if you think that is out of your league or if you think you can earn more than that. Just in case the math passed you by, that's $100/hr and if you can work your way toward a steady clientele, a more than decent income. I'm positive that is more than someone with only a high school diploma can hope to earn in any other industry.

I shy away from public reading because....way too many needy crazy people do show up. But...its always something i would like try. And since i live in a tourist area, there's a lot markets to set up and charge donations.

It's true, there are lots of needy people out there who sometimes just want someone to listen to what's going on in their lives and help them to make sense of it. I don't think that makes them crazy.

It's also true that there seem to be loads of people who claim to have integrity and a set of personal ethics and who claim, as well, to be highly spiritual who, at the same time, pretty much toss all that out the window as soon as money is involved. I read for others because I enjoy it. I don't have an investment in their lives and I genuinely want them to be able to move on from whatever situation they currently feel stuck in. The readings are never about me and I rarely remember the details of a reading I've given.

I think its pretty lame the same 4-6 people showed up on this thread to criticize and insult. I've seen you some of you do this before to other new people. I don't give a flying rats ass what you think of me. And I'm pretty sure in my first post i made it more than clear i was intrested in the how you did it and not what i need to do.

Congratulations old timers. Point made.

I was just thinking the other day that I rarely see "flaming" online anymore. And I don't miss it. And then this.

I've read the entire thread more than once. I thought perhaps I'd missed something. No one insulted you. These were, by and large, well thought out responses. Were you hoping for a formula? A quick path to fame and fortune? Most of the people who take tarot seriously appear to take it as a learning journey, whether they use it for their own spiritual development or to read for others. I wish you luck in whatever you do, but I think you might want to take a long hard look at your motivation for wanting to jump into professional reading. It may not be for you.

*Adjusts her wig and her teeth. Looks for her cane.

*Eyeballs ravenest. You didn't take it to add to the bonfire, did you? I'm going to need that so I can hobble down to the pharmacy to get my Geritol.