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How To Make Money as a Tarot Card Readerby Suzann Kale
page 1 of 2 I read Tarot cards for about a year, and I can tell you from personal experience that there is money to be made. However, there are ethical considerations that a Tarot reader must know, before she begins. Ethical Considerations
The first is that before you do any reading, you must remind your client that a Tarot card reading can't be taken too seriously. Even if you believe in them, which I actually do, the fact is that life itself is fluid, outer and inner events are always changing. And what might be an accurate card reading today, might be "off" tomorrow. So the cards must be taken as a tool for further exploration of the client's question. Second, never do any medical or health readings. Need I say more? Finally, here's how I look at Tarot, and it works beautifully: I use the readings to encourage the client to open up to certain issues in his or her life. The cards are a stepping stone to further discovery. They are a door to look behind. The old fashioned paradigm of the mysterious Tarot amazingly predicting you will have 2 children and then meet a stranger on a cruise ship, etc., no longer exists. We don't predict - we notice trends. We are simply starting a dialogue. The client may continue the dialogue with her S.O., with her therapist, with a friend, in her journal, with you, or not at all. 
We never want to frighten anyone. If you pull a scary card for a client, it's best to interpret the card for her in a positive light. For instance - the Death card no longer indicates impending death. The 21st century Death card means a metaphoric death and rebirth in the person's life. Perhaps the death of an old habit and the rebirth of a healthier habit. 
The old fashioned version of The Tower - a terrifying-looking card indeed - no longer means the person's life if going to fall apart. It now means that this might be a good time to restructure her life, if she chooses to do that. Today's card reader interprets readings in a positive light. And she always reminds the client that the readings are not written in stone. They are merely ideas to consider or not. It's all up to the client. Also old fashioned is the idea that the Tarot card reader comes up with a bunch of stuff, and the client just sits there, mute. No. Today, we want dialogue. We're not predicting how many grandchildren the client will have. We're talking to the client about her feelings toward grandchildren. continued below |
Know Your DeckI would encourage you to choose one deck and get to know it intimately. Different decks have slightly different pictures on the cards, leading perhaps to different interpretations. You want to know every tiny detail about one deck, and know it by heart. Read everything you can about the deck you choose, practice different layouts, read for your friends to try out different ways of relating the cards to the clients. I tried many decks, and finally decided on the Rider Waite, because it's the most traditional and because there are a lot of books on the Rider Waite deck. You don't have to attend special classes to learn the cards, but you can. I learned from all kinds of books: books about the cards' meanings, about the history of the deck, about interpreting the cards in a Jungian way, about using the cards as meditation tools, about layouts, about how cards affect each other if they are next to each other. You name it, I've read it. 
Not only do you have to know the cards like the back of your hand, you need to be so familiar with your deck that when cards are juxtaposed, you know immediately how one affects the other. You pull a Sun card and know that that card is so strong and so positive that it lights up everything else in the layout. So this is where you will put a lot of work into preparing for a career (or side career) as a Tarot card reader. When those cards are in your hands, you want your client to feel they've chosen a confident, positive, compassionate person to read their Tarot for them. Going to WorkThere are a number of ways to make money as a Tarot card reader. The Big GigsFirst, and this is what I did, is to work for a large corporation. In this case, you fill out an application, do some sample readings for whoever's in charge of hiring, and if you get hired, you can work from home. But: you must have a dedicated phone line, which means you've got the expense of putting in an extra phone line. And you can't have call waiting or any of that stuff on this line. I enjoyed working for a big company, because I made my own hours. You log on to a special number when you're ready to work, and then sit by your phone. The company routes calls to you. By my phone, I had my Rider Waite deck, a glass of juice, and a list of emergency phone numbers to give callers, just in case. When they called, I reminded them that I'm not psychic, I just read the Tarot cards. I've never had a client have a problem with that. You don't want to pretend to be anything you're not. Continue to page 2 of Make Money as a Tarot Card Reader 
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