Tarot Tip Tuesdays - Learn To Say No

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.

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday: 

If you are a newbie to Tarot reading, you would find yourself always on a lookout for  opportunities to practice your reading on friends and family.  You might even consider volunteering to be a free reader for credible Tarot-related sites and organizations like Biddy Tarot, Tarot Association Of The British Isles (TABI) and the Free Tarot Network. You might even be willing to provide a mini reading or 2 when randomly asked by strangers.  Just be warned though that you might open yourself to a floodgate of recurring querants who might be totally dependent on the advice that your readings provide.  You might also be faced with a huge volume of reading requests which you might not have the capacity to cope with.  So here are some tips to help you say no when you are not able to cope with excessive amounts of Tarot reading requests.

Learn To Say No

• When you feel exhausted or not grounded enough to take on more readings, please have the courage to say no.  Tell them to contact you at a later date scheduled in a way which gives you enough time to ground yourself or have a good rest. 

• If the querant calls you incessantly for readings, even when you have already provided him or her with the advice that he or she needs, then do let him or her know that the best time to come back for a reading might be a month later.

• If you are not able to take on anymore readings at that specific time, do direct your querants to other free Tarot reading services available at some of the reputable sites and organizations I had mentioned earlier.

• Explain to your querant that you need time to recharge after completing a list of readings.  This would only make you a better reader, ready to take on your querant’s issues once you have regained your energy.

• You might want to set your boundaries upfront.  Let your clients know what objectives you serve when you provide a reading and how soon later he or she could call you again for another follow-up reading.

• Sometimes, it could be very encouraging when a querant tells you that your last reading for him or her had been spot on.and this might be used as a lead-in to garner more free readings from you within a short time frame.  Yes, it is a confidence-booster but remember, the reading is not about you.  It is all about the querant.  To serve the querant better, you will need to assess if you are ready or if the timing is right for you to provide her with more readings following his or her last one.

Remember, you have the free will to say no when you feel that you are getting too many reading requests.  Self care is so important so you will need to meditate and ground yourself regularly. Take breaks in between readings so that you can recharge yourself.  By the way, I had also made the decision once to say no to a client who requested for another free reading just because previously, he was rude, obnoxious, and had no decency to even say thank you after I had delivered that reading to him.  Yes, I have free will.  If I think the querant’s energy is toxic and not worth my time, I would definitely stick to my guns and say no if you are not ready  or not comfortable about doing a reading for someone.

May your Tarot cards provide you with a full deck of possibilities throughout your day.

If you like this blogpost, do follow my blog at http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com and LIKE my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot

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

Tarot Tip Tuesdays - Pressure To Perform

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.

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

"All too frequently, anxiety crushes not only your spirit and your potential, but your ability to take care of your mind and body." ~ Jonathan Davidson and Henry Dreher, The Anxiety Book: Developing Strength in the Face of Fear


That 9 Of Swords Moment As A Pro Tarot Reader 

A few weeks ago, after working with my intuitive coach, I came face to face with energies from the past that I needed to let go of.   These stemmed from a single fear - the fear of rejection - that had inhibited my growth along my spiritual journey.  Part of this fear of rejection, had sometimes put a lot of pressure on me to "perform" when I did face-to-face readings for clients.  Yes it can happen to anyone regardless of experience or skills.  I wrote a blogpost  about my painful but necessary process of letting go so do let me know if my story resonates with you after you have read it.  Being free from this fear, has allowed me to face my clients with a lot of confidence.  Channeling for them had become effortless because I surrendered my trust to my guides without any fear of rejection. The insights I got from my Tarot cards also became much clearer.

So I thought to dedicate this tuesday's Tarot Tip to anxieties and blockages that you might get when you do face to face readings for clients.  Many might not have a similar experience as I had whereby a past issue got in the way of my readings. However, I could imagine the fear and anxiety for some Tarot readers who could be  "newish" to the experience of doing face to face readings.  Have you ever experienced having sweaty palms, brow knitted in worry, an almost blank mind and the feeling of dread just before meeting a client?  I had experienced all these when I first started out as a professional reader.  Some of these fears and anxieties might be driven by the desire to be absolutely 100% accurate with the insights, the need to deliver a reading that was more compelling than the details behind the breaking news, the fear of dealing with a client's skepticism, or perhaps the fear of forgetting the meaning of the cards.

Frankly, fear and anxieties are so unproductive and can only serve to drain you off your energy which you can otherwise plough into delivering a more meaningful and authentic reading for your clients. The pressure to perform is all in your head.

“Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind.  If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained."  ~ Arthur Somers Roche 

Dealing With Tarot Reading Anxieties 

Here are some ways to help you deal with that pressure to perform in front of your clients.

1) Remind yourself that you are not doing a Tarot reading to entertain or "perform" for a client. You are not a circus act. You are doing a Tarot reading to help guide your client to make the right decisions about his or her life.

2)  Your insights will be  accurate if you learn to trust your intuition.  From my experience, intuition and the cards will never lie.

3) Meditate and ground yourself before and after a reading...ALWAYS. I cannot over emphasize this enough. Grounding yourself helps build a defense against negative energies that can drain you.  It also helps calm your mind, refocus your thoughts and clear the "mental debris" enough to provide you with a clearer vision.  

4) Slow your breath down as you do your reading. This will help give you space to think and feel the situation that your client is in, and the slower pace will also guide you to spend more time connecting the symbols and imagery within the cards to your client's situation.   This also takes the pressure off memorizing the meanings of each card.

5) Be realistic and manage your own expectations. Your clients expect you to deliver authentic readings from the heart that aim to guide them through their issues, and that is your sole purpose as a Tarot reader.  They are not expecting you to wave your wand to remove these issues for them. So do not be pressured by your own erroneous perception of what your purpose as a Tarot reader is.

6) Turn to the Tarot community for support whenever you feel anxious about face to face readings. The members of the Tarot community have thr collective experience to support and advise you.  At some point in their Tarot careers, they were just like you, 

7) If you are dealing with skeptics, remember to come from a place of love and compassion when you deal with them.  They are possibly more anxious than you are because of the challenges that had driven them to call on you for advice in the first place,

8) When you do feel any  blockages at any point during the reading, just slow down, and let the conversation with your client flow freely. You might get additional background information that could form a trigger to provide you with additional insights from the cards.

Most importantly, just have fun when you do face to face readings and treat these sessions like  a casual chit chat over tea with a friend. With time and experience, your 9 of Swords moments will gradually subside.

"Only man clogs his happiness with care, destroying what is, with thoughts of what may be." ~ John Dryden

May your Tarot cards provide you with a full deck of possibilities throughout your day.

If you like this blogpost, do follow my blog at http://sungoddesstarot.blogspot.com and LIKE my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot

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

Tarot Tip Tuesdays - Drawing More Insights Without A Book About Tarot Card Meanings

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.

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

I am not advocating that you throw out all your Tarot books.  I am sure these books provide you with aIot of information beneficial to your Tarot reading practice.  However, I caution against memorizing these meanings by rote and often encourage my protégés to intuitively connect with the the rich imagery within the Tarot cards to develop their own interpretation.  

One of my favorite practice in cultivating Tarot card meanings is by meditating to each card.  Here is what I have been doing since I had started my Tarot studies.  

I would begin my practice of Tarot meditation by grounding myself first.  I believe I had covered the topic of grounding in last Tuesday's Tarot Tip, so do refer to that post if you are unfamiliar with grounding.

Next, if I had a pressing issue, or if I just wanted a general advice on how I should manage my day at work perhaps, I would craft a focused question to which I will pick 1 card.  Let us assume that I have picked the 8 of Swords from the Radiant Rider Waite Tarot deck to the question, "What would I need to do to deal with an unreasonable colleague at work?"

Now I will close my eyes, maintain a steady breath to the count of 7 for about 7 times and imagine that I am walking through a dirt road towards a huge gate up at the end of that road.  Throughout the journey, I will take note of all my senses, feeling the warmth of the air against my skin, the roughness of the dirt road under my bare feet and the grey skies.  When I am about to reach the gate, I open my eyes to look at the card image and note that I am actually at the doorway to the 8 of Swords card that had grown bigger as I walked towards it allowing me to come through into the card.  As I enter the card, I take note of everything that I see around me. 

I see a woman, tied up and blindfolded, whilst being surrounded by 8 swords that looks like they are loosely planted into the ground around her, acting like a prison.  The first word or phrase I write in my journal is "imprisonment".  She stands alone, seemingly helpless and unable to escape. The second word or phrase I write in my journal is "lonely and helpless".  I want to help her so I tell her that the swords are loosely planted not all the way around her.  There are some gaps in between and she has the ability to walk away from the swords that are mostly behind her,  by moving forward. The third word or phrase  I write in my journal is "able to release self".  I spot a castle in the distance behind her and reckoned that could probably be her home. So again I tell her that if she could just step forward and remove the bindings from herself, she can easily reach home.  The fourth word or phrase I write in my journal is "reachable goal".  I am thinking that if she lives in that castle, why is she dressed in tattered clothes?  I look around her, and acknowledge the rough terrain and the grey skies. However, there are no enemies in sight. There is nothing in her way that could possibly harm her.  Perhaps she had been stuck in this situation for quite awhile, refusing to budge. So the fifth word or phrase I write in my journal is "a period of tension and conflict within self ". I note that one of her foot is touching some water while the other foot is stepping on dry ground.  So the sixth word or phrase I write in my journal is "need to be emotionally balanced".

I assess the 6 phrases in my journal that describe what I see in the 8 of  Swords card.  This allows me to piece together an interpretation of the card to my pressing issue of dealing with that colleague.  The advice from the card is that I am allowing my opinions of my colleague, driven purely by my negative perceptions to come in the way of my ability to work with her to achieve a goal.  So the advice that the card can offer me is that I will need to balance my head and heart, and resolve to remove these perceptions while looking at our work relationship from a different angle that could help and not hinder my ability to attain my goals.  The longer I put myself in this situation, second-guessing her every move, the harder it is for me to "go home".

Regular meditation using a Tarot card  will help you connect with your Tarot deck very quickly.  In time, you will be able to hone your intuition enough to connect the card images to any question without referring to a book of a Tarot card meanings.  In fact, as you advance through your Tarot journey, you will find that through the practice of meditation and visualization using Tarot cards, you can not only connect with your inner self to uncover solutions to your issues, but you can also use this very same technique of embodying the power of the rich Tarot imagery to  clear blockages along your path and manifest your goals.

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 a tarot card reader by accident. 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 Tarot 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.como
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/SunGoddessTarot
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SunGoddessTarot.

Tarot Tip Tuesday - Grounding

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.

This was written specially for a protege who had felt "out of sorts", depressed and exhausted every time she does a couple of Tarot readings.

So here goes your Tarot Tip for this Tuesday:

It is good practice to precede and end a Tarot reading with a short meditation that can help ground your energy.   If you are not familiar with the practice of meditation, I would like to invite you to close your eyes, and take deep breaths, in and out, to the count of 7 for about 7 times.  Once you keep that steady pace of breathing, imagine a white light from the top of your head flowing down through your head, and into your body, through your limbs, down to your legs, out through your feet  and into the ground. As you are imagining the white light flowing through your body, let it take the negative energy away from you, pushing it out of your being and into the ground.  As the white light is doing this for you, imagine thereafter that a green light is flowing from the ground, up your feet, through your legs, into your body, and out through the crown of your head. Allow the green light to cleanse your being.  Keep your breaths at a steady pace as you “pattern” the flow of white and green lights through your body in different directions, intermingling to the point of creating a growing shroud of light around you.

Now that you have created a protective shroud around your sacred space, begin shuffling your cards and feel it's energy within your hands. Stay connected with that energy and whisper and intent under your breath that the Universe may guide you through the use of these cards, with the messages you or your querants need to hear at that moment.  This practice of grounding is particularly necessary if like me, you are doing multiple Tarot readings in a day.  It helps protect you and prevent your energy from getting drained by any residual negative energy that your querant might leave you with during a reading.  If you are reading for yourself, it is even more important to practice grounding so that you can maintain a semblance of objectivity to provide yourself with the right advice.

Different metaphysical practitioners practice grounding in many different ways.  A former Tarot teacher practices grounding by walking around her garden barefooted before heading back into her home to do her Tarot reading.  In due time, you will find your own unique way to ground yourself as part of your standard operational procedure to support your Tarot reading efforts.  So go ahead and take that time to explore the different ways of grounding yourself and stick to one that you feel most comfortable with.

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 a tarot card reader by accident. 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 Tarot 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.

I Am Not Your Tarot Reader On Tap

 

Before I continue with this blog post, I just wanted to apologize if I came across sounding rude to those who had been supporting my work at Sun Goddess Tarot.  However, to protect my clients and to help me provide a better service to those who came to me for Tarot readings because of genuine issues that would have had major implications on their lives, careers and families, I thought I had to share my thoughts on an issue that had been affecting me recently – querants who assumed that I was their Tarot reader on tap.

 

Self Care

 

 

As a Tarot reader, it is very important that we regularly take necessary steps to protect ourselves from negative energy as well as from spiritual, mental, physical and emotional exhaustion due to the amount of readings we do every day.

 

Since turning professional with my Tarot cards, I had to remind myself about self care every now and then so that I can render better advice to my clients.  When my father got struck with a stroke, I realized that I needed time not only to take care of myself, but also time for the family.

 

Volunteering As A Free Reader

 

Having had my skills and experience honed by the numerous readings that I did for free for family, friends, and querants when I was a Tarot rookie, I had not forgotten my promise to give back to the community.  So I volunteered as a free reader with Biddy Tarot and the Free Tarot Network and have been doing a limited amount of free readings a week so that I can balance my time and effort between free readings, paid readings for my clients, time for my family and of course, time for myself.

 

I Am Not A Tarot Reader On Tap

 

The balance of time and energy I had been maintaining between my volunteer work and my work as a professional Tarot reader was very important for me.  However, sometimes, querants who had contacted me in the past through Biddy Tarot and the Free Tarot Network would contact me directly to ask for a free reading. 

 

I had to put a stop to this because it was unfair to querants who had been waiting in the queue to have their Tarot cards read for free when they had completed a request form online via the respective websites.  It seemed even more unfair to my clients who had paid me good money to read their Tarot cards.

 

Without sounding rude and ungrateful for your trust in my intuitive skills, I would like to say “STOP! I am not your Tarot reader on tap.”  I would be doing ALL my querants a disservice if I had continued to entertain requests for free Tarot readings from querants who contacted me directly.

A single Tarot reading session always takes up a lot of time and energy.  It is spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally draining.  I need a lot of time in between these sessions to meditate and ground myself.  Moreover, my paying clients are not just paying clients who engage me for a one-time consultation.  Over the years, they have become good friends whom I had spent a lot of time keeping in touch with and nurturing a relationship.  So my Tarot reading sessions do go beyond that hour with my client, hence more time and energy is put into these paid readings. 

 

With very limited time in my hands, I would not want to do you a disservice by agreeing to read your Tarot cards for free, only to end up providing you with a reading that is below average in quality.  I have too much of respect for Tarot to do that.

 

Where To Get Your Tarot Cards Read For Free

 

So, please do me a favour.  I have been juggling multiple commitments from conducting Tarot and Numerology lessons, to reading for clients, to volunteering as a free reader , to doing readings at events and charity fund-raisers' to taking care of my family.  From time to time, I might feel as if light had been zapped out of me.  I know it is just exhaustion hence self care is essential.   While I do thank you for your trust in me, my advice to you is that if you would like to get your Tarot cards read for free, please complete the online request form like everyone else at www.biddytarot.com,   www.freetarot.us or www.tabi.org.uk

 

There are wonderful teams of highly skilled and experienced Tarot readers within these platforms waiting to read for you with 100% passion and effort.  Should your request get allocated to me by these online systems, I would be most happy to put in that same 100% passion and energy into your Tarot reading the way my fellow readers would.

 

 

About The Writer:

The writer of this blog post is a marketeer by trade, and a tarot card reader by accident. 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 Tarot 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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