The common thread for ALL Tarot card readers is that they have the ability or interest to divine the past, present, and future through Tarot cards.
And a good reader will divine additional information from the cards that require only limited knowledge about numerology, astrology, colour psychology, kabbalah, occult, and social psychology.
If the reader is intuitive, visual, creative, & a good communicator/listener — they are able to put together a good story through allegorical information. This is “one” difference between an amateur and a professional. Another is how they conduct readings — before, during, and after.
Beyond that one will see a number of differing factors, which include but are not limited to:
- The Three E’s: Education, Experience, & Expertise
- Extensive knowledge of other divination tools such as: Western and Eastern astrology, numerology, pendulumn, Tasseography, Psychometry, Past lives, Auras, (specifically the symbology aspect), Feng Shui, Palmistry, Runes, I-Ching, etc..
- Psychic abilities: Clairvoyance (most known & understood), Clairaudience, Clairsentience, Claircognizance, Clairalience, and Medium/Channel for example
- Non psychic/divination tools to enhance the reading: Hypnosis, coaching, Reiki, counselling, meditation, spells/prayers, chakras, yoga, tai chi, dream interpretation, etc..
- Publications: Has the reader wrote a Tarot/esoteric related book, created a deck of cards, submitted Tarot/esoteric essays, etc..
- Public Speaking: Has the reader offered Tarot/esoteric seminars, workshops, keynote speeches, etc..
- Community: Does the reader focus on community or world issues by involving themselves in fundraising projects, free/pro bono readings, posting in forums & mailing lists, etc..?
- Atmosphere: Does the reader provide a great reading atmosphere?
- Professionalism: Has the reader drawn up a code of ethics, privacy policy, etc..?
- Previous work experience: Does the reader’s background provide additional benefit to the questions you ask? Were/Are they in the same industry, field, position as you? What function/level do they operate at?
- World experience: Do you feel comfortable around the reader? Have they experienced marriage, birth, death, disease, travel, study, ill parents, setbacks, success, etc.. World experience can have an effect on how a reading is interpreted and delivered.
- Spiritual affiliation: there’s a number of spiritual/religious directions a reader can take and that too will make the difference in the type of reading you receive. Think Buddhism, Islamism, Gnosticism, Paganism, Satanism, Hinduism, Native, Shamanism, Catholicism, Sikhism, Taoism, Rastafarianism, Animism, Christianity, Unitarian-Universalism, Judaism, Wicca, Santeria, Voodoo, etc..
As one can read, it would be unfair (for example) to expect or say that All Tarot readers are clairvoyant since each reader brings a number of differences to the table. Yes, clairvoyance and mediums are the most popular and understood *types* of psychics but hey, even Edward Cayce wasn’t either of them. In fact he used hypnosis and was clairsentient and claircognizant. 🙂
Then it’s important to look at their reading focus and values. Do they want you to focus on the past, present, or future in the reading? A combination of everything? That makes a big difference in delivery of messages. Will they want you to focus on internal or external issues? Are they telling you your fortune or helping you brainstorm ideas to move forward. Are they focused on predictions, your past lives, and/or using Tarot to help you discover yourself? What are their values, astrological sign, and numerological life path?
It all makes a difference in the type of reading you get.
It’s better to investigate by asking questions rather than assuming and being disappointed rather than pleased at the end of your reading.
Thankfully I go out of my way to communicate my personal differences to clients because the last thing I want is for anyone to feel as if they didn’t get what they paid for. More importantly, I’m here to help and if someone doesn’t feel they didn’t get their needs met then they were not helped. It’s because of my value of being people-focused that I offer guaranteed readings.
Finally we *all*, and that includes you dear reader, have differing gifts that are wonderful and useful! Just figure out what outcome you hope to have and then work backwards to the type of reader which will benefit you the most.
Abella Arthur
http://www.9ofcups.ca (private consultations)
http://www.3ofcups.ca (sponsored events)