There’s a broken wheel on the gurney

[Lain_82]

However, it's a cultural thing, I think. Wouldn't you say so, Lain? It's something that's part of the belief system of certain people of your country. I'm reminded of the Europeans who came to America and immediately started to force Native Americans to adopt Christian beliefs, which they've also done in so many other countries. Teach by example because that's going to win out over time. That's the most powerful. Deciding you're going to force everyone into the same Tarot mold just because of your personal beliefs will just cause those who disagree with you to hold more stubbornly to their beliefs.

I agree. That's what happened with some christian relatives: the more they tried to convert me, the harder I resisted, until they bored and started to ignore me.
There are people who deeply believe in the type of service that the temple I told you guys about provided, and not only on health matters. Their cultural background and belief system support it, and I'm in no place to condemm those activities. However, and just as you said, I can choose to be a different type of reader.
The thing with Tarot is, that its great cualities can also become its flaws. There are no required courses to become a qualified reader, wich is awesome, but it enables dishonest people to play with other's feelings, just for the sake of money. It's also harder to find a mentor, or a place where you can go if you have a question, so for newbies like myself is easy to make mistakes without realizing it, thinking that tarot has no boundaries and whatever we choose to do with it is great. Of course, that will bring another question, Does Tarot practice actually has boundaries or limits of any sort? Umbra seems to draw a line in terms of subjects to read about, could this be the only one or just one of many? I actually have no idea.

 

[Marcia959]

Deciding you're going to force everyone into the same Tarot mold just because of your personal beliefs will just cause those who disagree with you to hold more stubbornly to their beliefs.

Agree totally. A zealot will polarize, no matter what the book of their belief.

We have different gifts, different styles. Some will hope to enforce law and order. Some starry-eyed (myself included) will hope that patience and love and kind advice, only one voice among the many, will cause others to think before they do harm to themselves and others. We are all, I think, at some time, one of the 78, or one of the 156 if you like reversals, or one of the zillion combinations of those. It is the chorus of humanity. We each find affinity, a resonance of our own frequency, our place in the chord.

I know I am not the Emperor but only the Page of Cups, the often awkward bearer, sometimes, of the imperfect gift that spills onto the road of the journey. We know not weight our words may carry. Is it useful? I only know it is given with kindness and love. We do not control the consequence but sometimes the cup is very heavy. We can share the burden when we ask, "Do you want to know everything?" But we still bear responsibility for judgment in our words. We can seek to do our best. It remains the imperfect gift.

And at the same time there is a matter of practical expertise in areas of specialization. If you've hurt your head, please see a doctor. If you have a legal matter, get expert representation. If you seek investment advice, go to a financial advisor.

 

[Grizabella]

The thing with Tarot is, that its great cualities can also become its flaws. There are no required courses to become a qualified reader, wich is awesome, but it enables dishonest people to play with other's feelings, just for the sake of money.

There are thousands of us here on AT who are replacing the dishonest and unethical with honest and ethical readers. It's definitely going to catch on more and more as we all live it in our own lives as examples.

It's also harder to find a mentor, or a place where you can go if you have a question, so for newbies like myself is easy to make mistakes without realizing it, thinking that tarot has no boundaries and whatever we choose to do with it is great.

You have this place---AT. There's no better place in the world to find a mentor if you want one than here or for the answers to any imaginable question about Tarot. You'll certainly also learn to find your good balance with personal ethics and honesty.

 

[moderndayruth]

I really can't imagine a (hypothetical) reader with a sign 'for entertainment purposes only' sticked out doing a reading on sitter's, or even worse, on a third party's, mental health...

 

[gregory]

My biggest issue with all this is – even if I were all seeing and wonderfully gifted (yeah, RIGHT….. ) and if I then tell the sitter exactly what I see and which is the absolute truth and all the rest – I still do not have the power to know what they will do with the information I have given them. And the result of them acting inappropriately on my advice – even if that advice is right - is too awful to contemplate….

 

[nisaba]

My biggest issue with all this is – even if I were all seeing and wonderfully gifted (yeah, RIGHT….. ) and if I then tell the sitter exactly what I see and which is the absolute truth and all the rest – I still do not have the power to know what they will do with the information I have given them. And the result of them acting inappropriately on my advice – even if that advice is right - is too awful to contemplate….

Well, we can only provide teh best and most responsible service we;re capable of.

What they do with that information is only in their hands.

Hell, what I do with the information I source in books or on the net is in my hands.

Ultimately, I'm also not going to let a financial adviser make investments with my (non-existent) money without my thinking about what they've said, and currently I'm currently doing all the diagnosis-stuff exactly as my doctor says, but when it comes to treatment time, I'll be making my own decisions, informed not only by her opinions, but by my own active thinking on the subject. And the same if I'd had a reading on finances or health: you take information from whatever source it comes from, then ***THINK*** about it before making (or sanctioning) a move.

That is the client's decision. Anyone who doesn't *think* about the options available to them once they've received information from any source, deserves all they get.

It seems to me that we (me as well) have been a bit cavalier about the role of the querent in all of this: are they helpless, passive little people who have no say in their lives? No, they are not. They have been living their lives for years, for decades, making their own decisions. If htey choose to listen to other people, or even to lean on other people even to unhealthy extr4emes, that is still *their* choice.

Be as level-headed as you can when you read, give the best service you can. Then let go of the reading - give the client some credit, let them take the responsibility for any future actions that THEY choose to take or not take.

 

[franniee]

Has everybody lost their minds?
....


I think we’ve lost a lot of wisdom with our knowledge.

I also feel a whole swath of AT has lost their way – and are rudderless.

Tarot is NOT A TOY.

Care in how we treat others, is what the ‘Do no harm’ thing is all about. We cannot CARE for others, if we continue to behave in irresponsible ways.

The EMOTIONS of OTHERS are not a toy.

Grow up people.

The rest of you – start leading.

Many people have lost their minds. There is no doubt about that. They are rudderless. Just yesterday I got an e-mail from a client asking me this or that about a reading I did over a month or so ago (this reading was a business question btw) but she is taking every thing I said and putting it under a microscope and overly analyzing it! She is making me ill! Why? Because everything she is doing goes against my grain! She wants me to tell her what to do. This is exactly why people get taken advantage of in the most ridiculous and cruel ways!!!!

Don't give your magic, your power, your fate, your spirit away. That is what she has done! That is what you do when you take the word of the cards or reader as gospel! That is ALSO what you do when you take the word of a doctor, lawyer, accountant etc as gospel! USE your brains!!! Think for a minute. Take responsibility for your life and your choices!

I had a test a few months ago. The original doc said it was something to watch but nothing serious. My doctor at the time urged me to go see a surgeon who made me go see a radiological specialist....who decided to perform this invasive test. The entire time every inch of my being knew this was all nonsense and that no one had the back bone to just say it was ok let's recheck it in a few months. My family said just go and rule everything out. My gut said don't waste your time. They prepped me for this surgical test and the idiot doctor couldn't get the right picture! I was furious! Furious at myself for going thru all of this nonsense and not trusting my instincts.....but I erred on the side of caution - they wanted to put me under to do the test and that is where I drew the line.... I said No way - there was probably an expletive in between . They are still calling me to reschedule! NO way no how!!!

What is the point of this story???? Use your brain. Question and probe and think things through logically. Use your head. Take responsibility.

Do I read the cards? YUP I do. How do I internalize the message - I read it and I think the message through and then I do what I want to do - what I feel is right. Basically I take it as advice - NOT AS LAW!! If I read on a medical issue it doesn't mean I wouldn't still get checked out.... that is silly! And nonsensical.

This is NOT a toy! When you read for someone you need to be VERY careful how you say something as well as what you say! VERY careful. I am empathic - I can usually feel a person out. However I have made mistakes, I have said things I shouldn't have. It is what it is but trust me I am careful and the more I read the more I am careful.

I am not one who thinks you tell everything you see. I DON'T! I tell what I think the client can handle. Then I hope the client will use it as it was meant to be given - as added info to the situation - info about a moment in time.... and if they choose to change the outcome they have more info to do that but ultimately it is their destiny and their power!

 

[Debra]

A lot of people learn by playing. I don't see tarot as a toy--now. I don't see why it can't be both a toy AND a power tool.

 

[Welf]

Many people have lost their minds. There is no doubt about that. They are rudderless. Just yesterday I got an e-mail from a client asking me this or that about a reading I did over a month or so ago (this reading was a business question btw) but she is taking every thing I said and putting it under a microscope and overly analyzing it! She is making me ill! Why? Because everything she is doing goes against my grain! She wants me to tell her what to do. This is exactly why people get taken advantage of in the most ridiculous and cruel ways!!!!

I can sympathise with that... Many years ago I gave up reading for about 6 months to get away from someone like that... It made me feel so ill... Not only did she analyse everything over and over again, but then she starting ringing me at all hours of the day and night many times a day... Nothing for her to call me at 2am or at 4am to talk...

She got to a stage where she couldn't do anything without ringing me first to ask for a reading and even though I wouldn't, she would talk about stuff and ask for advice... Initially, I would only read for her once every two weeks or so and only ever did about 3 readings for her all up.... But that didn't stop her from trying to get me to do so at all times... Even after I stopped reading for her, she'd still keep perstering me.. it was like having a leech sucking off me... I was always making excuses to get off the phone and even after I told her no more, she still persisted...

Probem was, she was a casual friend of a good friend of mine and was hard to avoid at times so in the end I just gave myself a rest from Tarot... Then I could honestly tell her... sorry, I don't read the Tarot anymore...

Eventually after quite a few months, she faded away into other social circles and I never saw or heard from her again... and so the Tarot came out again...

Welf

 

[Nevada]

Many people have lost their minds. There is no doubt about that. They are rudderless. Just yesterday I got an e-mail from a client asking me this or that about a reading I did over a month or so ago (this reading was a business question btw) but she is taking every thing I said and putting it under a microscope and overly analyzing it! She is making me ill! Why? Because everything she is doing goes against my grain! She wants me to tell her what to do. This is exactly why people get taken advantage of in the most ridiculous and cruel ways!!!!

Don't give your magic, your power, your fate, your spirit away.

Absolutely. Wise words.

I think that for a reader to claim any amount of accuracy is highly irresponsible. Any. Because once you make that claim, there will be people who seem to want to hand over their power over their own lives, and you don't know when you say it whether the person in front of you is going to do that. I would rather they think I'm a rank amateur than have them do that. I'd rather say that I'm more likely to be wrong than right. I've rarely been asked to read on any of those mentioned by Umbrae except general health. There are readings I won't do, or times when I decide I don't feel good about one.

I'm careful what kind of interpretation I offer. I don't like to offer specific advice.

I think that it's wrong to assume that only a health, mental health, legal, or financial reading can be irresponsible. Any reading can be. I've known people whose finances were ruined by the wrong marriage, and one person who died as a result of her choice in spouse. An innocent seeming romance reading can be a life or death reading for the person, or lead to financial, health, or legal ruin if they take it too seriously and the reader is wrong. So can a job interview, or a simple seeming art project (toxic materials, electrocution, slips and falls, getting hit by a bus on the way to work -- the list goes on).

The most important thing is to not rob the person of their own power over their life and their decisions, to never presume to tell them that you have the answers for them, or that what you say is the end-all and be-all of TRUTH for them. It's not.

We are fallible, we are human. We aren't trained professional anything, even if we're doing this for money. We're card interpreters, and that's a very subjective thing, like interpreting the Bible -- which we all know has led to about a bajillion forms of Christianity -- so who's right about that -- or any Tarot reading for that matter? Yes, sometimes we get an amazing validation of the accuracy of a reading -- but that's one reading, and it just isn't that reliable that we should get our egos all blown up and promise that every time. Yeah, it feels great to be right, but get a grip.

To pretend to be anything else but a Tarot reader when reading Tarot is wrong. To take someone else's power, even if they want to hand it over, is wrong and dangerous.