Don't Put Your Angry Foot Forward

This week the case of Psychic Sophie caught a lot of attention in the Pagan community. This happened not because Sophie is Pagan, she's not. It happened because much of the community of professional diviners is Pagan.

Basically, the case as I see it is this. Like many other professional diviners, Sophie is expected to pay a nominal business license tax in the city where she works. Sophie didn't think she should have to pay her tax because what she offers is "spiritual counseling." The courts did not rule in her favor.

This case concerned the community of professional diviners partially because the court affirmed the local government's right to regulate and tax professional psychics.

How is this news? City, county and state governments have always had the right to regulate all businesses, and psychic reading is most certainly a business.

That regulations in some cities and counties are discriminatory against diviners has roused some understandable Pagan ire. Many are claiming this as a clear case of Christian discrimination toward Pagans and diviners. In my opinion this is not what is truly happening.

What is really happening is that most local governments' experience with "fortune tellers" is negative. They receive many fraud complaints. The vast number of visible professional psychics is comprised of those who extort large sums of money to "send demons back to hell," reunite lovers and lift curses.

These practitioners often litter parking lots with poorly spelled propaganda. They rarely participate in community events or attempt to give back to the greater business community.

When local officials think of professional psychics, this is who they thing about. They don't think about the Pagan Pride Day that brought business to local restaurants. They don't think about the local tarot meetup that raised money for the homeless. They don't think about the tarot readers who volunteered to do readings at Relay for Life.

In my opinion, this is not because of a religious predisposition. It's because those who harass and defraud are more visible than those who contribute and help.

It is always easier to claim discrimination than it is to actually make friends and let people get to know you. But if every angry Pagan and diviner made an effort to be a positive, visible force in their local communities we would have an opportunity to educate folks about who we really are and what we really do.

Anger is a good motivator toward action, but it rarely works well toward creating real change. Martin Luther King, Jr. was effective because of his commitment to non-violence in civil resistance, not because of his anger at racism.

There is certainly a lot of misinformation and discrimination against Pagans and diviners. Of course we are angry. Let's let that anger motivate us to put our best foot forward; to show our communities that we are good neighbors, loving parents and smart business people.

If we want to take advantage of a tax exempt status let's do it the right way - form a board of directors, have regular meetings and apply for the status the way every church, temple, grove and coven has to do.

Let's work to correct misinformation rather than adding to it. If we are in business, let's act like professionals. If we are spiritual, let's act with responsibility and love.

If we want people to view us as valuable members of their community, let's show them our value, not our anger. 

Be a Business Evangelist!

So often in my readings I find I am speaking with talented entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs. Many times the reading focuses on what they need to do to create and build their business. Many times these talented people are artists or healers; often, people who are very much like me.

I find a similarity in what comes up in the cards for many of these people. They are talented, trained and motivated. They are great at what they do. But they are afraid to market their business.

Truly, if we had wanted to become professional marketers, we would have majored in marketing and would now be working in a marketing firm. But the truth is this. Every entrepreneur must be great at marketing; there is no choice.

What are the problems people tend to have with marketing?

Often, they don't want to sound like they are tooting their own horn, or coming from a place of ego. Sometimes they are afraid that they just aren't good enough.

The similarity in these people's stories, and the cards that tend to show up in their reading, is mind-blowing.

One of the cards that comes up often is Judgment, Major Arcana 20. In the traditional Judgment image, we see an angel blowing a horn. For the shy marketer, this is the wake up call to get the word out! Go ahead and blow your horn!

Other cards I often see are the World and the Wheel of Fortune. In the Waite images, these two cards share a set of four characters in their four corners. These four characters are representative of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the writes of the Gospel who are known as the "four evangelists."

Of course the World, Major Arcana 21, and the Wheel of Fortune, Major Arcana 10, have different interpretations and different applications when it comes to business.

I see the World as saying "tell the world and take over the world," or "the world is yours!" I see the Wheel of Fortune as saying "You'll never know unless you try. Give it a go and see what happens! Now is the time to create your own fortune!"

In either case I take note of those evangelists.  In the Wheel of Fortune image they are busily writing in their respective corners. In them, I see two strong pieces of advice for business people.

The first is the need for quality written material. You need a strong website, a good brochure, a relevant blog. The second is to be an evangelist for your own business.

As annoying as they can sometimes be, evangelical Christians have a lesson to teach us. When they arrive at our doorstep to witness, they are not there because they believe in their own greatness. They are there because they believe in the greatness of their message. They may be shy. They may be afraid. They may have other things they would rather be doing. But they feel a mission to share their message because they believe in their message. It's not about them, as people. It's about the message.

When we own a one-person business, it is easy to confuse the business with the self. No one wants to go around bragging about themselves. But that's not what solopreneurs need to do. If it feels like bragging, or comes off as bragging, we are doing it wrong.

The lesson of the evangelists is this. Develop the message of your business, and recognize its greatness. When you communicate that lesson, you are doing a favor for the people who receive it. You are offering them the opportunity to avail themselves of your skills - the skills you graciously make available to them. You are not bragging on yourself, you are sharing an important message, and offering a helpful opportunity.

No matter how shy you are, or how much you hate marketing, you probably really do believe in your skills and the product or service you offer. Share that belief with others. Don't make it personal. Don't make it be about you. Make it be about the business, and what you can do for others. Be an evangelist about the good news of your business!