Whether you are new to Tarot and in the throes of building a connection with your Tarot cards or an advanced Tarot reader diligently honing your Tarot reading skills, I am putting out a Tarot tip a week to help you to consistently make Tarot a part of your everyday life.
I chanced upon a very disturbing news in the newspapers on Sunday, about a supposed "psychic" who was arrested for her attempt to cheat a client. The article has been appended within this blogpost for ease of reference.
I lamented often enough about skeptical people who thought metaphysical matters like Tarot, Numerology and Astrology were vestiges of quackery conjured by charlatans who coined the word "mystical" to describe spiritual matters in the hope of robbing you off your month's earnings at fairgrounds. I was often spurred by these skeptics to demystify the subject matter. I had also been helping my protégés and other Tarot newbies get comfortable with dealing with skepticism by writing at length about this.
That was why when I read that article in the newspapers, I was so filled with rage that fraudulent people like these had made my job even harder.
A Social Experiment On Close-Mindedness
I performed an experiment once, to understand perceptions of others to my intuitive skills. I registered to join an exclusive business women's group in Singapore a few months ago, using my Sun Goddess Tarot credentials. This group had strict membership policies and membership approvals were granted by an executive committee. Membership criteria included requiring one to be a female entrepreneur or a mid to senior level corporate executive. Fabulous! I was both. Its purpose was to foster learnings and networking opportunities between like-minded women who were achievers in their own right. I loved to meet more professional women and gain new knowledge from them. I still have yet to hear from the group's membership coordinator.
The next thing I did was to register for a membership to that group using my credentials as the head of Marketing and Communications for a financial MNC. I recieved an email a week later confirming that my membership request had been accepted. I declined the opportunity very kindly as I was not sure I wanted to be part of a group run by close-minded people. It just saddened me that this group of close-minded people were women. I thought women, through their multiple roles as wife, mother, daughter, and careerist who were open-minded enough to fight for equality in the workplace, adequate maternity leave, education against spousal abuse and other causes, they would have been open-minded to one who had a business that was a little different from the norm yet based on skills that were part innate and part nurtured through years of studies...much like Communications.
I acknowledged that such perceptions might have been fueled by differing opinions about metaphysical matters, lack of understanding about the subject matter or differing view points about what should be deemed a "proper job" and what was not.
Although I got quite annoyed by such close-mindedness, and would attempt to educate them as best as I could, it made me even more upset when I chanced upon news about fraudulent psychics who gave genuine ones a really bad name. I could not blame anyone for being skeptical about my gifts when there are such disgustingly fraudulent people who would prey on the superstitions of innocent people.
So today, my Tarot Tips for this Tuesday are meant to help new Tarotpreneurs establish trust and credibility with your clients.
1) If you are about to meet your client for the very first time, prior to that meeting, do start a conversation to know your client better. Ask your client how he or she had found you, was it via a random google search, your other social media platforms or word of mouth. Ask your client what he or she was hoping to get out of a reading with you. This would show how genuinely interested you are in your client's needs.
2) Before meeting your client, share your blog so that your client may understand your style, your skills and experience better. You might also want to share a list of client testimonials describing the positive impact you had on them.
3) At the start of the Tarot reading session, ask your clients if it was their first time visiting a Tarot reader and if it was, what their fears or worries were. Then allay your clients' fears by explaining the purpose of a Tarot reading, demystify the skill by explaining the reading process as clearly as possible, and allay his or her fears that you are not dabbling in anything sinister.
4) Do not rattle a bunch of misguided myths to your clients. An example would be telling them that Tarot cards could only be read by psychics. That would be absolutely untrue. Anyone can learn to read Tarot cards.
5) As a Tarot reader, you would be governed by a set of ethics which established the boundaries within which you operate. Explain these code of ethics to your clients upfront. You might also belong to a professional Tarot Association like the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI) or the American Tarot Association (ATA). They always have a code of ethics by which members are expected to follow.
6) Establish your credentials, be it certifications, your years of study, years of experience and even a ball park number of clients that you had been reading for.
7) Always do a check on the comfort level of your client, and clarify what he or she might not understand. Before you pick your cards to another Tarot spread, always ask for permission to read beyond the original question asked.
8) Assure your client that you took confidentiality very seriously, not only about the content of the reading but also about the fact that he or she had visited you at all for a reading.
9) One of the biggest hallmarks of credibility would be the acknowledgement of your skills by well-known, acclaimed and highly experienced Tarot professionals within the community. So do share any write-ups or references from these Tarot professionals about you should you have any.
10) If you had contributed articles to Tarot-related publications or spoke at a Tarot conference, do ensure that you make reference to these in your conversation with your client as well.
I hope these tips can help you build a relationship of trust between your clients and you, and over time, you could manage skepticism with ease as you build your credibility as a Tarot professional.
May your Tarot cards provide you with a full deck of possibilities throughout your day.
About The Writer:
The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and an intuitive reader by accident who deploys the combined modalities of a Tarot, Numerology and Astrology overlaid with her Clairvoyant and Clairsentient skills to deliver her readings with authenticity. She was awarded a Certified Professional Tarot Reader qualification from the Tarot Certification Board of America (TCBA) and is also a certified numerologist. She is currently running a consultancy based in Singapore called Sun Goddess Tarot, which provides confidential intuitive readings combining the metaphysical disciplines of Tarot, Numerology and Astrology via face to face and emails as well as readings at corporate and private events and workshops. A member of the American Tarot Association (ATA) and the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), she is also a reader for the Free Tarot Network and mentors Tarot protégés on behalf of the American Tarot Association
Website: www.sungoddesstarot.com
Email: Joanna@sungoddesstarot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SunGoddessTarot
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| From The New Paper on Sunday, 27th July 2014 |
