"First names and dates of birth"? Why?

I have a question.

Now that I've signed up to do Tarot readings on kasamba.com, I've been reading the public message board for questions to answer.

I need to preface this by explaining that I've studied Tarot, but never astrology (if you don't count my reading my horoscope sometimes) nor numerology. Just Tarot. Period.

That's why I just don't get it when I see the vast majority of readers whose posted responses include statements like "I need first names and dates of birth of all parties involved".

At the risk of sounding obtuse, why would a reader request that information when they're being asked to do a TAROT reading? If they were being asked to do an astrological or numerological or some other sort of reading instead, that'd be different. But what kind of benefit does that information provide for a reader who's being asked to do a Tarot spread to answer a question?

P.S. I've discovered a pet peeve... some of the posted responses from readers have next to no connection to the actual question being asked. It's like some sort of stock answer that they have for ALL reading requests. I feel like hollering, "Show some empathy and prove you give a darn about what this person is requesting -- READ the question and RESPOND with a post that shows you've paid attention to what this person has asked". Maybe I'm just being a grump. But in this case, I think that this objection has merit.

Oh, well. That's enough grumbling from me for one day.

Wondered about that very thing

shelikes2read -

The astrology and numerology ingredients always feel like there's now a distance being created between me and what the Tarot wants to tell me personally at just that time. I don't want any other influences getting in on it - I feel like the intuition and the spirit that are present in a good reading is quite enough for my question and insight in that situation in that time, and anything else feels like an intrusion on that process.
I recently got a simultaneous Tarot and astrological reading - not by choice, it's just the way it went. The information was good and useful, but the whole thing seemed rushed and overpopulated. I was glad I taped it - I wouldn't have carried much home with me otherwise.
We could be in a minority here, but I know what you mean.

And you sure are right about the "book definition" readings - you can tell immediately when there's no intuition involved. We do better here in the Newbie Exchange than what I've seen in places like you've mentioned. Here I've always felt that there was a real attempt to connect.

And a Happy New Year to you.

~B~

Quite truthfully, I've always wondered things like that myself.

Some tarot readers also do numerology; your date of birth gives them information, such as their (the Querent's) Birth cards, or their Year card. Although you can do a reading without any other information, sometimes it helps with a few insights. Doing some quick math tells the reader the Querent is in the year of the Hanged Man - more info to help interpret the cards. Numerology is easy to do and as an adjunct can be very helpful. But you don't have to merge Tarot and Numerology to give a good reading.

Knowing what Astrological signs apply to each card - don't need to be an astrologer to know the sign normally assigned to The Emperor is Aries or to the King of Pents is Taurus. That slight information can be a boon to the Querent when you say "This is an older male- usually a Taurus, though not always" - for they may realise who the card represents (most people know their Sign.) You don't have to know how to cast a horoscope to use astrology.

As far as posting a 'stock' reading that has no connection to the question asked ... well, I hate that, too! Many people operate this way, though; their teacher told them the such-and-such card means your nose will fall off and they apply that meaning to the card EVERY time it deals up, no matter where it falls or what the question was.

brenmck said:

The astrology and numerology ingredients always feel like there's now a distance being created between me and what the Tarot wants to tell me personally at just that time. I don't want any other influences getting in on it ~

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Many people will also assume that if you read cards you 'do' astrology - I don;t know why. It might be because most people read their daily horoscope no matter how vehemently they deny it! maybe because astrology is considered 'normal' and tarot is considered evil?

Anyway, many people have asked me over the years if I 'know' astrology, and I always tell them the truth: Many parts of both Tarot and Astrological systems overlap and even compliment each other. However, Astrology is a complete field of study unto itself - and I find one system (Tarot) enough to deal with - much less two or more systems at a time! Yes, I've cast a few Runes in my time, threw a few chicken bones, done the Animal Medicine cards: all are valid - but I don't want to blend them togather in one reading! LOL!!!!

I had a very amusing approach by a potential client on Kasamba the other day. The person requesting the reading asked if I wanted their names and dates of birth----herself and the other party in the relationship. I said I don't need those because I just read tarot. She then said she wanted to know exact dates of things and names of people involved in this situation she wanted a reading about. I said that tarot isn't really that exact and that I wouldn't be able to give her exact names of people or exact times of things to happen and was going to continue but she then said "Oh, I see you're not professional yet then. The other people who read for me tell me these things and are 100% accurate" and zap! she disconnected.

I know what you mean about the bidders on the public board. I was wondering how they can type in that exact standard thing every time. Some of them are very long. I think they must have their spiel saved into a document on their computer and then they cut and paste every time. I'm still trying to figure out that public board thing. I've never had a single one of them contact me for a reading, but I've had other contacts that I suspect must have been reading the board at the time and then contacted me as a result.

Oh well, I just wanted to share that thing that happened. I sat there wondering if it was the equivalent of a prank phone call or something. LOL

Edited to add: If you look at the profiles and the feedback for a lot of those people who have the canned answers on the public board, you'll see that they've been there a long time and have a lot of good feedback, so I guess what they're doing must work for them. I'm new there so I don't figure I can criticize them. Who knows? Maybe what they do is what really works the best.

Thanks, tarotbear - I didn't necessarily mean to lump in numerology in my rant. In fact I just did my year card, and the numbers and combinations thereof on the cards are certainly a factor in any reading. But, as you said, those basic considerations are part of the reading and the basics are enough to establish the communication.

And I wonder if astrology is considered more "respectable?" I actually do enjoy and respect astrology, but I'd still rather sit down with an old gypsy and get a Tarot reading.

PS - enjoying your book every day.

~B~

Lyric said:

I had a very amusing approach by a potential client on Kasamba the other day. The person requesting the reading asked if I wanted their names and dates of birth----herself and the other party in the relationship. I said I don't need those because I just read tarot. She then said she wanted to know exact dates of things and names of people involved in this situation she wanted a reading about. I said that tarot isn't really that exact and that I wouldn't be able to give her exact names of people or exact times of things to happen and was going to continue but she then said "Oh, I see you're not professional yet then. The other people who read for me tell me these things and are 100% accurate" and zap! she disconnected.

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And there goes one of my other pet peeves: people declaring that they possess some unrealistically high accuracy level. But that's not just limited to kasamba profiles. That appears to be an issue throughout the internet/classified ads/etc. I did some google searches for sites belonging to tarot readers before I set up my own page, just to see how people who offer online readings set the pages up. I was appalled at how some of the sites promoted the person's skills... I'd fear getting run over by the karma train if I dared to claim that I was 100% accurate in all things.

I do my best to promote a REALISTIC view of what can be expected from a Tarot reading. I use the word "insight" a LOT. Many other readers out there are realistic, too. But I cringe when I see the exaggerated claims of that subset of readers who seem to be TRYING to attract the people who are desperate for answers of any kind. Those are the people who need real help, often from professionals OTHER than Tarot readers, and it's unethical to try and pry some dollars out of those people's wallets when they're hurting and desperate.

Caring readers populate the public boards, too. Some of the people seeking readings are asking medical or legal questions, and I can tell which readers care more about the person asking the question than about the dollars from the potential reading. The readers who gently direct the person to seek help from a doctor, lawyer, etc are the ones who'd rather see the person get REAL help than make a few quick bucks from a person in pain.

I know what you mean about the bidders on the public board. I was wondering how they can type in that exact standard thing every time. Some of them are very long. I think they must have their spiel saved into a document on their computer and then they cut and paste every time. I'm still trying to figure out that public board thing. I've never had a single one of them contact me for a reading, but I've had other contacts that I suspect must have been reading the board at the time and then contacted me as a result.

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I think you're right -- it's GOT to be copied/pasted, particularly when it's got the same wording and the same typos every time.

But I got a laugh out of the copy/paste brigade. There's a post right now on the boards where one person wished everyone a blessed new year. Some readers answered, "Thanks! The same to you!" or other such returns of the well-wishes. And others responded with "I need the names/birthdates of all involved"... "I am a psychic empathic clairvoyant clairaudient with 22 years experience and I can help you solve all your problems", etc.

Did I mention that some people don't seem to be reading the question before they fire off a response? LOL! Perfect example.

Oh well, I just wanted to share that thing that happened. I sat there wondering if it was the equivalent of a prank phone call or something. LOL

Edited to add: If you look at the profiles and the feedback for a lot of those people who have the canned answers on the public board, you'll see that they've been there a long time and have a lot of good feedback, so I guess what they're doing must work for them. I'm new there so I don't figure I can criticize them. Who knows? Maybe what they do is what really works the best.

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You're right. And I did check the profiles of the individuals who appear to be copy/pasting. Their ratings are high, for sure. I presume that once they're actually doing the reading, they know what they're doing... but they'd give an even better advance demonstration of that if their public-board responses showed that they were paying individual attention to each question.

MHO. Boy, I'm in Rant Mode today, no? I hope I get all these gripes out of my system before the new year kicks in, LOL.

I really do enjoy reading at Kasamba. They're very professional and a pleasure to deal with in my opinion. I'm sure with so many readers, they get all kinds, but they've chosen to accept those others that don't read like I do, so that's up to them. And I figure that just because I don't read with 100% accuracy, that doesn't mean someone else might not be able to. I also don't claim psychic abilities, but I know others have them. And if another person needs names and dates of birth to increase their accuracy, well----I guess I just haven't been at it long enough to feel I can expand into names and dates of birth for astrological and numerological purposes but maybe they have.

When I recounted my amusing experience, it was more because I really was amused and I thought it might give someone else a smile or a chuckle. It had me wondering how common the name and date of birth thing must be there, because if that person considered me non-pro because I don't do it, then there must be a lot of them who do.

I'm sure we're going to learn a lot as we go along reading there, won't we? It's an interesting place. I know of a couple of other AT members who read there, too, and it's good to know we're all ethical, caring readers from here.

One other way to look at this…

First names provide gender, and DOB provides a clue as to if their request is legal due to age.

Sure you can use the info for astrology or numerology…

But are they of legal age?

That’s why the question.

However they’d be smarter to ask for gender and DOB….I have a good friend Charley…She’s over 50.

Names alone can fool you.

Whenever I've done an online reading (my only experience with that is on Aeclectic) I've always asked for a first name, date of birth and sometimes occupation. I've never put a lot of thought into why I do this, it just made sense to me. It gives me a general sense about this person who is not sitting in front of me and is otherwise just an unknown lump. I don't need the date of birth so much (don't use astrology) but a name and one other piece of getting to know information is essential for me. Otherwise I just can't relate.

I think it is important to be introduced to someone with whom you are going to be talking about sometimes quite personal matters. Introductions are part of most professions and I think very important.

Ruby7