Tarot Stamina

Here is something for professional tarotists and those who are considering become professional readers. This might be of interest to those with serious personal tarot practices as well.

Something you will hear from some tarot readers, even professional readers, is that tarot reading can be very tiring. This has never been the case for me, but I have heard this complaint from many friends and students.

I had always assumed that when readers complain of being tired, drained, or unwell after a reading or two it is because they are not working with energy appropriately. I was pretty sure that if they learned to manage the energy of a reading correctly, they would develop stamina. A great deal of stamina is needed to do eight hour-long readings in a day, for example, or to do twenty fifteen-minute readings at a psychic fair.

An astrologer friend disabused me of that notion. She said that some people’s astrological charts seemed to support their ability to effectively channel energy more than the charts of others did. That said, she agreed that energy management techniques could always help.

I see amongst my students that some readers can emerge from a day of tarot reading feeling more energized than they did when they began, while others are just wiped.

Both types of readers give great readings. Some just seem to have a capacity for managing the energy of tarot readings more than others.

I am going to share four energy management practices, which I refer to collectively as ‘psychic hygiene’. If you find yourself tired, drained, nauseated or headachy after a reading or after performing a series of readings, see if these things help. If they do, you have the stamina to be a full-time reader.

If you are still having some issues even after establishing a good psychic hygiene practice, you may be better being more selective about when, where, and how often you read for people. That might mean that you aren’t cut out to be a fulltime tarot pro, but you might be able to develop a great part-time practice.

There are four components to my psychic hygiene practice. None of these components are original or unusual. If you need direction learning exactly how to do these things, there are many books, teachers, and classes that can help you.

The first is to do a lot of chakra meditation and to get comfortable running energy up and down the spine and through the chakras.

The second is to energetically connect to the earth with the root chakra, and to heaven with the crown chakra. Then you can draw on the limitless power of both earth and heaven to support your work.

The third is to cloak yourself in the energy you raise in order to keep yourself free of extraneous energies, client issues, and empathic drain.

The fourth is to be like a straw in a client session. Give nothing of your own energy to the client. Take no energy or injury from the client. Use the energy that you draw from heaven and earth to power your reading. Be a conduit for that energy.

If you can do these four things successfully, and if your own nature includes the capacity to do this, the only thing that will get tired from a full day of readings might be your voice, from talking, or your hands, from shuffling your cards.

Tarot Toothbrushing and the Power of the Meetup

One of the sorrows of our global pandemic is that, at least for now, our monthly tarot meetup can’t gather at Panera Bread as we usually do. Yet, this has led to a great joy, as sorrows sometimes do.

I have moved our monthly meetup to YouTube Live. This has proved to be so much fun that, even after we can gather in person, I will still continue to hold these monthly sessions on YouTube.

During our most recent meeting, we discussed something I refer to as ‘psychic hygiene’. That is the meditative and energy work we do to keep ourselves energetically protected and psychically connected when doing a professional tarot reading.

Many of us shared our methods. Marion K Tarot prefaced hers with a warning that we might find it kind of crazy. Before each reading she makes sure to brush her teeth. Not just to freshen her breath, but to energetically prepare for the reading.

I thought this was anything but crazy. Since we deliver the reading by talking, to brush the teeth is to honor the mouth, and the throat chakra. To do this with intention is to prepare to communicate on a higher and more effective level.

I suggested that perhaps we should all consider doing this. Maybe we could even ritually prepare a special toothpaste and toothbrush to use only for this purpose.

The group engaged in some playful banter. Dena Moscowitz suggested that in ritual we would create “White Light Toothpaste”.

The best line of the conversation came from psychometrist David Victor. He suggested that this process be referred to as “aural hygiene.”

Sometimes in the work we do the mundane and the magickal meet. As above, so below.

Sometimes, when we gather together with our colleagues and peers, teachers and students, humor and innovative practical techniques weave together to create both fellowship and inspiration.

Five Tips for Marketing your Metaphysical Business that may Surprise You

There are so many talented healers, readers and coaches in business these days. Often, what separates the successful from the unsuccessful is not their skill in their field. The defining factor for most of us is how well we market.

That’s unfortunate because if we felt called to be marketers we would have studied marketing in college and be working in a marketing firm right now.

Perhaps there are a lucky few who can hire a marketing firm.  Most of us have to do it ourselves whether we like it or not.

If you have a metaphysical business and are in need of a marketing boost, consider these five surprising tips.

1. Write good copy. Okay, that’s not surprising. But here’s what is. Many metaphysical business owners don’t know what “copy” is, understand its importance or know how to write it well.

I have seen poor grammar and terrible spelling. I have seen copy that literally makes no sense. I have seen copy that uses so much flowery airy-fairy language that meaning gets lost. I have seen copy that looks like bragging, and I have seen the opposite, copy that is self-deprecating.

“Copy” is the writing you use to advertise yourself. It’s what you write for print ads, radio ads, your website, your business cards and your brochures.

One universal principle in advertising is “WIIFM.” That’s “What’s in it for me?” for the uninitiated. Your copy must reflect your mission and your credentials, but its primary focus must be to explain to your potential client what benefits they will receive from your services.

If writing isn’t your strong suit, get help with your copy. Many people want to make sure they come across as “just me” in their copy. Yes, it is good to be genuine and authentic. But why would someone pay a “just me” for a metaphysical service?

2. Avoid insider lingo. Never use insider industry lingo in your copy or in your conversation with clients. In fact, maybe don’t use it at all. Our clients don't understand our inside jokes and don't like feeling stupid.

An example is the word “muggle” from the Harry Potter series. In case you haven’t read the books, a muggle is a non-magical person. Recently those in the tarot industry have started using this word to describe their mainstream jobs, and to describe people who are not privy to our tarot wisdom.

Harry Potter is fiction. What we do is real. One of the biggest marketing problems we have is that people don’t always see that what we do is valid. Using fiction to describe our work isn’t helping. And, in the novels the term “muggle” is not complimentary. We don’t use the “R” word to describe those of limited intellect. We don’t use the “N” word to describe those of a particular heritage. Why would we use the "M" word to describe our target audience, even in jest?

Be conscious of the language you use. Make sure it is understandable and respectful to all. Insider lingo divides us from the people we are trying to reach.Insider lingo sets up a sense of “them and us” that keeps us from connecting with our clients.

3. Market to the mainstream. Unless you have a business that is specifically set up to only serve the metaphysical community, direct your marketing primarily to the mainstream. If you don’t believe the mainstream wants, needs or understands your product you need to change your thinking.

Often it seems that metaphysical people market solely to each other. It reminds me of the French Revolution scene in Mel Brooks’ “History of the World Part 1” where Cloris Leachman as Madame DeFarge says “Look at what we’ve become! Beggars begging from beggars!”

Yes, we use each other’s services. We are often each other’s favorite clients. But if we rely solely on each other we are failing to bring our services to the people who need us most. Worse, we are limiting our business to a very small community.

Be willing to be the only tarot reader at the Chamber of Commerce marketing event. Be willing to speak about Reiki at the Rotary luncheon. Be an interesting guest talking about angels on the local morning radio show. Will some people laugh at you? Of course. If you can’t take a little ridicule you are in the wrong industry. Some people will admire your moxy. Some people will call you for appointments. That’s all that matters.

When you tell the mainstream about your work you are truly in the position of being in service. These are the people who need us most. These are the people who can best afford us. These are people we can educate. And, most importantly, many people in the mainstream ARE metaphysical and are excited to meet us! We give them permission to be who they truly are.

4. Don’t focus on demography. This advice is counter to the marketing science that instructs us to identify our demo and market directly to them. In most business, demographics work. In metaphysics,demographics may be unnecessarily limiting.

Many of us can identify a favorite type of client. Many of us see more people of a specific gender or age group than any other. But unless you consciously want to limit yourself to just that type of client, don’t.

There are two reasons for this. First, at the end of the day we are all healers of one type or another. Is there some group of people who don’t need healing? If we relegate ourselves only to people we believe understand their need for healing or are drawn to what we do we are missing the clientele who can most benefit from our services.

Second, as healers we can understand the damage we do when we pigeon-hole people. How do you know the wealthy politician doesn’t want an astrology chart? How do you know the rapper doesn’t enjoy energy work? How do you know the retired army general doesn’t want to study tarot?

It is hard to encourage others to be open-minded if we ourselves are not.

5. Trust Spirit.  This one is simple. Believe in your calling. Ask your guides to help your clients find you. Use your metaphysical tools to help you strategize. So many metaphysical practitioners forget to use their primary skills and belief sets to their own business advantage!

If you truly believe in what you are doing, show your faith by using your prayers, meditation, magick and spiritual connection to grow your business!

If you know that Spirit has called you to your field, then you know that Spirit doesn’t want you to work in a vacuum. Use the same healing energy you use in your practice to help you create a thriving business.

Metaphysical marketing all comes down to three basic principles.Believe in what you do. Treat everyone with respect. Communicate effectively.

That doesn’t seem so hard, does it?