Skeptical Resistance at the Tarot Table

This article is about client skepticism that sometimes happens during professional tarot readings. If you are a professional reader, or an aspiring tarot professional, you may find this helpful.

If you are a tarot client, or a prospective client, you may be interested in this exploration of skepticism from the point of view of a professional tarot reader.

Very often, tarot readings work best as a conversation. Sometimes clients are uncomfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings about the cards, or about our interpretation of the cards. Sometimes this discomfort is based on a trauma history that is appearing in the cards. Sometimes the client is truly skeptical of tarot readings. This can cause a client to be resistant to the tarot reading process.

Skepticism at the tarot table often seems rude and off-putting to the reader. We have all had a client fold their arms and snidely say, “You’re the psychic, you tell me.”

Another oft-heard skeptical statement is, “Well, that is true of everyone, isn’t it?” This is particularly infuriating when it follows a very specific observation.

Some clients do not want to say anything at all during a tarot reading session, in order to avoid influencing the reading.

It is often hard to immediately discern whether a client’s resistance is borne of their genuine hurt, fear, or trauma, or whether their behavior is entirely based on their lack of buy-in to our process. Either way, that resistance can cause a reading to go bad quickly and irreparably.

Learning how to handle client resistance with grace, humor, and dignity, and to nonetheless give a great session, is an important skill for every reader to develop. It has taken me years to learn this skill. After much frustration, here are some things I have figured out.

We need to stop shaming our clients for being skeptical. I know readers who refuse to read for ‘non-believers’. To me, this makes no sense. How can someone believe in what I can do for them if they have never experienced it? Tarot, itself, is not a thing to believe in, nor to disbelieve. The value of the reading is determined by the skill of the reader, not the cards themselves.

There are many reasons for a new client to be skeptical. There are more scammer psychics than there are legitimate readers. There are also plenty of well-intentioned tarotists who went professional way too quickly and simply have not acquired the skills to give an impressive reading. It is very likely that your skeptical client has had a bad experience with a tarot reading, or that they know someone who has.

We need to understand that clients may be acting with resistance and skepticism because of their own personal issues. If they come to us with skepticism, they might be shocked when we share their painful truth with them. That shock can show up as resistance,

No matter what, we cannot make their resistance and skepticism be about us. We, as readers, cannot take their attitude personally. It took me years to learn this!

These days, when a client displays skepticism, I praise and encourage their critical eye. Right away, this improves the energy between us and sets the stage for a good experience. This is a huge shift from the days when client skepticism felt like a personal assault on my integrity.

The job of a tarot reader is to give a reading that is thought-provoking, inspiring, comforting, clarifying, and perhaps, entertaining. Skeptical resistance at the tarot table does indeed make that job harder. This is for three primary reasons.

The first is energetic. When a client crosses their arms and states the intention, either internally or aloud, that they “don’t want to give us anything”, they close off their energy and make themselves harder to read. This feels to me a lot like going to a hair salon and asking the stylist to give you a great new do, but instead of sitting in the chair, you prefer to stand on your head.

If you want me to read you, why are you intentionally making it harder?

I think they believe that if we can do the reading while they are resisting being read, we prove our talent to them.

Here’s the solution I have found. Rather than correcting their posture or admonishing them to open their energy, I remember that I am indeed a good reader, and I can get through the barriers they have imposed. Sure, they are making me work harder. Rather than resenting or ridiculing this, I accept it, and do the work.

The second reason skeptical resistance makes our job harder is that their attitude can shake our confidence. This is entirely on us, and not on them. We cannot make our clients responsible for our own confidence.

The solution here is both energetic and psychological. We very naturally meet their resistance with our own resistance. Instead, we need to breathe and allow the energy of the reading to flow regardless of their words and demeanor. We need to stay in our confidence and meet their resistance with acceptance. This keeps strong both the energy of the reading, and our confidence in our abilities.

The third reason skeptical resistance makes our job harder is that, often, we rely on the client to provide the context in which we interpret the cards. Since the cards can mean so many different things, individually and in groups, we often look to the client to help us understand what we are see. We can see the energies around the client, the client helps us understand why those energies are present.

If the client does not want to contribute to that conversation, we have an obligation to continue. We must rely on our intuition to supply the context, and on our skill in delivery to make the reading understandable.

This is not most readers’ favorite way to work. Yet, we should be able to perform this way. If this is how our client wants us to work, we should still be able to give them a solid reading, even without their verbal input.

There is an added benefit to us here. I have, on several occasions, been asked by a client to deliver a full reading with no input from them. This means that I simply tune in psychically and read the cards, trusting that what I am saying makes sense to them.

Each time I have been asked to perform this way, the feedback at the end has been magnificent.

These days, when someone says, “You’re the psychic, you tell me”, rather than becoming angry or resentful, I say “okay, fair enough!” And I tell them.

Would it be easier to do the reading in a more conversational format? Of course.

Might there be times that the information derived from a more conversational format would be more nuanced and complete? Sure.

Yet, sometimes when we just dive into a reading with courage and confidence, we can come up with extremely profound and helpful information.

There are ways the skeptical and resistant client can actually help us find our confidence. When we are forced to do the reading in less-than-ideal circumstances, when we must go with our gut rather than with guidance from the client, we learn to trust our intuition, and our knowledge of the cards.

When we disabuse ourselves of the notion that skepticism equals disrespect, we open ourselves to a better experience for our clients, and for ourselves.

Five Things to Help You Find Your Niche as a Tarot Pro

I had a great conversation recently with fellow tarotist Mitchell Osborn about the differences between tarot pros, and how we each need to find our own way, our own niche. I joked that it sounded like a good blog topic, so here we are.

It seems that many small business owners struggle to find a niche. Many business owners struggle to pronounce the word correctly (it is ‘neesh’, not ‘nich’). It may be that what I will share here is helpful to many solopreneurs, rather than only professional diviners.

Much of what I will share in this post involves concepts from my book for tarot pros, Fortune Stellar: What Every Tarot Professional Needs to Know. Much has changed in the tarot world, and the world of technology, since I first wrote Fortune Stellar in 2011 and released a revised Second Edition in 2017. Yet, the basic concepts of what it is to be a tarot pro, and what it takes to have a successful tarot business, remain unchanged.

What does it mean to find your niche? The answer to that question, is, in a way, as unique as you are. It might mean finding your tarot voice, and how you market yourself. It might have to do with reaching your preferred clientele. It might involve the venues in which you work, or the specific services you offer.

One of the best and worst things about being a tarot professional is that there is no single business model. This means we all must struggle to find our own way. Yet, it also means we can each build a business that truly serves our needs and allows us to serve our clients in the best ways possible.

Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should

This is the very first thing you need to know. You may be a great teacher, but not have the time and energy to teach in-person classes. You may be a great photographer, but not have the patience to build an Instagram presence. There are very few marketing tools or offerings that are essential to your success. You must do some things, but you do not have to do all the things.

Define Your Goals

What is the purpose of your tarot business? Do you want to ultimately make a full-time salary, or are you looking to have a great side hustle? Are you here primarily for your spiritual enrichment? How much time and energy can you devote to marketing, and to providing services? Beyond that, how do you define success? What needs to happen for you to feel that you are successful in your endeavors? These are the questions you must be able to answer truthfully for yourself.

Things Change with Time

Once you have found your preferred way to market, your preferred place to work and the services you want to offer, you are all set, right? Well, yes and no. You are all set for now. Things change. Technology changes. Trends change. Your own needs and abilities might change. You must be willing to reassess, and you must change with the times.

Only You Can Know What is Right for You

You can read books, talk with peers, attend conferences, take classes, and work with coaches and mentors. In fact, you should do some of these things regularly. Yet, at the end of the day, you are the best judge of what is right for you. Do not let anyone shame you or scold you. Anyone who says there is only one correct way to do this is unequivocally wrong.

Find the Cross-section of Excellence and Enjoyment

To find your perfect niche, you must figure out where you excel, and what you enjoy. The places where those two things meet are the things on which you must focus to build your success.

Tarot Filters: What you See Versus What you Say

Sometimes, at the beginning of a reading, clients request that we filter information. Some people will say, “Don’t hold back! I want to know everything, good or bad.” Others will say, “I don’t want to hear anything bad.”

Of course, when I hear these requests I want to launch into a discussion about how we often create our own future and how there really is no such thing as good and bad, but I don’t. My clients have a right to request the sort of knowledge they are seeking. And, as much as I hate to admit it, they are correct about one thing.

We do filter our readings. There is an inherent difference between what we see and what we say. That sounds terrible, since people trust us to tell them what we see. However, the tarot filter is a necessary part of a tarot reading.

When we do any kind of psychic work, most of us experience the information we get on a visceral level. In order to translate that into useful information, we need to find the words that our client can hear and understand.

Sometimes we have to pick and choose which information we share. But how do we decide what to share, and when to stay quiet?

First, we need to consider the client, and the context of the reading. An entertaining reading at a fancy dinner party is not necessarily the time to delve into gory details about your client’s colostomy. A client’s anxiety disorder will not be improved if we merrily tell them of their impending job loss.

But we do need to deliver the truth of what we see, don’t we?

Of course we need to share the truth. Our filters help us decide the way we will share the truth.  Often, when we see something undesirable coming for our client, we can ask more questions and pull more cards to find ways to mitigate the problem.

For instance, if you see job loss, it’s easy to read further and see the resolution, or something good that comes from the loss. Aiming your vision a little further down the road will help you give the positive prediction of “a new opportunity” or “a reduction in stress”.

Time is another factor that may cause us to filter readings. In a professional setting, the length of time a particular reading takes may be limited and inflexible. In this situation, the key is to filter out the less important information in favor of what will be most helpful or most interesting to the client.

Sometimes, our clients want us to lie to them. They really want us to see a happy future in the love relationship that, from the perspective of the cards, is truly doomed.

While it is important to remember that no one can know the future with 100% certainty, it’s also important to tell the truth about what you see. “I am sorry I can’t confirm that for you.” Is a nice way to give disappointing news without completely dashing a client’s hopes.

While we do try to listen to our clients’ requests, we, as readers, have the ultimate authority to conduct our work in the way that feels best. The person who wants to hear everything, good or bad, may not be as thick-skinned as she thinks she is. The person who doesn’t want any bad news may be very capable of discussing strategy to handle an upcoming stressful problem.

A tarot reading isn’t just the rote interpretation of cards in positions. A tarot reading is a transformative process. As readers, we are fully in charge of creating and overseeing that process. Using the right filters at the right times helps us create the most informative, helpful and insightful experience possible.

Answers to your Questions about Tarot: Using Oracles with Tarot

Today’s question is from Matteo. He writes:

It's Matteo again. I hope you are doing well! I'm writing to you again because I have another question that I hope you will help me with. The question is: do you have any useful tips or techniques to share for blending tarot and oracle decks in the same reading? And is it possible to do so without necessarily "tarotizing" oracles or... "oraclizing" tarot? (Third possible question: is it really bad to tarotize oracle decks?)

I've never been a huge fan of oracle decks (or Lenormand/ Italian Sibille cards, for that matter) and I always thought tarot to be an all-encompassing tool which needs no support other than a good question and a quiet corner to spread the cards. However, some time ago I had the chance to play around a bit with a friend's Oracle of visions, and after watching your review I finally fell in love and decided to buy it. I really feel connected to the cards, to the point that I don't even need tarot knowledge to understand them, and think that somehow they could fit in my readings well.

Thanks for a great question, Matteo.

You and I very much on the same page.  I agree, tarot is limitless in its function; no other tools are needed. However, there is also no problem with using another oracle, media or tool as part of a tarot reading, and the ways that you can do that are as limitless as tarot itself.

As you know, I also agree with you about Ciro Marchetti’s Oracle of Visions. It is a fabulous oracle deck.

First, let’s talk about the word “oracle.” An oracle can be a person who communes with spirits, a tool used to commune with spirits, or the message that is received.

So every tarot deck is an oracle, every tarot reader is an oracle, and every tarot reading is an oracle.

We use the term “oracle cards” or “oracle deck” to delineate between tarot decks and non-tarot oracles.

Incorporating non-tarot oracles into your tarot reading is a great idea for a few reasons.

First, the non-tarot oracles are often simple and pretty, and therefore very accessible for the nervous client.

Second, the way you incorporate companion skills and tools is part of what defines your unique reading style.

Third, the introduction of companion skills and tools can offer validation of the messages you are receiving, and can enhance the reading in terms of energy and information.

Ways to incorporate oracles into tarot readings are as limitless as your own imagination.

One possibility is to start the reading with an oracle card to set the tone of the reading. You could also pull an oracle card at the end for a final “wrap-up message.”

There are also oracle decks with specific themes that might be helpful for addressing specific questions.

Don’t be afraid to explore the many ways you can use oracles to enhance your tarot readings.

Enjoy the video!

Thanks for a great question. If you have a question about tarot, please email me.

Christiana Answers a Question about Using Oracles with Tarot

Video of Christiana Answers a Question about Using Oracles with Tarot

Seven Ways to Know it’s Time to go Pro

My book Fortune Stellar offers helpful advice to tarot readers and metaphysical practitioners who are ready to hang their shingle, or already have. But how do you know when it’s time to set up shop?

Today, many people make the transition to professional reading by working for an online service like Oranum, Keen or Spiritum. At some point, though, many professionals want to build a local business. Some read from their homes, others find cafes and restaurants, salons or executive office centers.  There are many ways to build a great local business, you just have find the courage and the inspiration to get started.

Recently I’ve seen some of my peers react to new psychic businesses in their area, and respond to new readers considering starting a business. The conclusion I’ve drawn is this. As a community we are all over the chart when it comes to deciding when the time is right to go pro.

I have seen tarot teachers and community leaders push students whom I am sure simply aren’t ready with statements like “Give it a try, you’ll be great!”

I’ve also seen tarot professional bristle when they discover someone who doesn’t have a lot of knowledge or experience has hung a shingle.

I’ve seen a wide range of reactions in students as well. Some students love tarot and are great readers but have no desire to be professional. That’s terrific – tarot is a wonderful tool for personal use.

Some students long to go pro, are talented and knowledgeable enough to do it, but are afraid to move forward. Sometimes they fear negative reactions from friends and neighbors. Sometimes they fear the business aspect of being a professional. Sometimes they fear they aren’t good enough.

I’ve also had students take beginner tarot classes with the specific idea that in a few weeks they will be able to make some extra money with their cards. These are the ones that worry me the most.

I don’t think any great reader becomes a reader because they think it’s a smart way to make some money. Great readers become readers because they feel called to it.

To the tarot pros who encourage students to take the plunge too soon, I say this. Provide your students with opportunities to read for the public. Teach your students and encourage them. But if you get them out in the professional setting too quickly they will become discouraged and disillusioned.

To the pros who are concerned about the market being saturated with lousy readers, don’t worry about it.  Lousy readers never last, and they give your clients the opportunity to see just how good you are in comparison.

To the great readers with stage fright, try to push out of your comfort zone and share your gifts with the world!

Now, as promised, here are seven ways to know you are ready to go pro.

1. People seek you out for readings. At work, at parties and at dinner people casually ask you if you happen to have your cards with you.

2. The friends for whom you do free readings offer recompense without being asked – they bake you cookies, buy you dinner or bring you a beer.

3. When you read for people, you feel alive, energized and connected.

4. You are excited to market your business.

5. When people ask you, you are comfortable saying “I am a tarot reader!”

6. You know and love your cards without question.

7. When you lay out the cards you can see stories forming in them.

If these seven statements ring true for you, you are probably ready to get started as a tarot professional. If they don’t ring true and you really do want to read professionally, don’t worry. Spend more time studying and practicing. Tarot has been around for 500 years – it will wait for you.

And, if you need extra money and already have the chops, tarot reading can create a decent income. If you need extra money and just started studying tarot hoping to make a few quick bucks, you may be studying tarot for the wrong reasons.

Intuition and Interpretation: Eleven Rules for Putting it all Together

Intuition and Interpretation: Eleven Rules for Putting it all Together

There can be a bit of friction between readers who believe that learning and using traditional card interpretations is an important aspect of tarot reading and those who tell us to throw the books away and just give the information that comes to mind when you look at the pictures.

Here’s my take.

If you have no concept of tarot traditions and have done no tarot study, you may be a very good psychic who uses tarot images, but you are not, by definition, a tarot reader.

If all you do is give rote memorized interpretations of cards and positions you may be a tarot reader, but not a very good one.

If you want to be a great tarot reader, you must be able to use both intuition and interpretation in your readings. Here are eleven rules to help you do that.

1. Actually study. Read many books, take many classes, memorize as many possible key words and interpretations as you can. Know you cards cold.
2.  Remember that anxiety is the enemy of intuition. If you are nervous about the reading, your ability to be intuitive will be severely curtailed. That’s one reason knowing your cards is important – the more you know the less nervous you will be.
3. Let your intuition guide you to the most likely accurate interpretation. Multiple choice tests are easier than fill-in-the-blank tests. If you know a card could mean five different things it is easy to use your intuition tell you which meaning is most appropriate.
4. Pay attention to everything you feel. During a tarot reading the reader is open to all types of psychic communication. What do you see? What do you feel? What do you remember? What comes into your mind? If you see it, say it, as long as what you see is helpful and for the highest good.
5. Use good energy practices before, during and after a reading. May sure your ground and center yourself, connect yourself to Source and connect to your client. After the reading, make sure you clear yourself and disconnect from the client.
6. You are a straw. During a reading, you are simply a conduit for the information. If you connect to the infinite and abundant Source you need give nothing of yourself in a reading. You also need not take on anything of your clients’. This way, you will have all the energy you need and never feel drained after a reading.
7. If you are unsure what to say in a reading, go back to your book-learning basics. Tell the client what the cards could possibly mean, even if that means giving a list of possibilities. Let the client tell you which meanings fit best. This practice will open up space for more information to flow.
8. Believe in the process. The Universe will guide the right client to the right reader with the right cards at the right time. What happens in the sacred space of the reading is what needs to happen.
9. Be in control of the reading. It is your job to structure the reading, figure out which questions need to be asked and answered and what tone to set. Gently, firmly and with compassion make sure that you give the client the best reading possible by keeping the reading focused, on topic and on target.
10. Know that a card can mean more than one thing at the same time. A card may give a specific piece of information, but may also blend with other cards to give some additional information. Even a single card might have more than one interpretation that is accurate at a given time. Sometimes you don’t have to choose which interpretation is correct because it’s all correct.
11. Look at the pictures. Sometimes the pictures tell you something different or more than the interpretation does. Sometimes your intuition will focus you on a particular aspect of the card. Pay attention to what you see and how it makes you think and feel, even if what you see is not strictly a traditional interpretation of the card.

Cards have many possible traditional meanings. Cards also have the ability to communicate above and beyond their traditional meanings. Allow the cards to tell you what you need to know by being open to all possibilities in a reading.

A great tarot reader uses many skills. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that one skill is more important than another. Intelligence and humor, compassion and honesty, spirituality and practicality, interpretation and intuition all come together to make you the best reader you can be.