Exprienced readers: What's your advice for an amateur who's decided to turn Pro?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

DarkElectric	01 Aug 2002
Hiya Everybody! I know there are some absolutely great pro readers here on the forum, and I was wondering, what are some really important things to know about becoming a professional reader? If you could start from scratch again, what would you do/not do? And what would one need to know about dealing with the public?

Minderwiz	01 Aug 2002
Strangely enough I would say that the important things have little to do with your skills as a Tarot reader and a lot more to do with your skills as a business person. If you intend to seiously augment your existing income or even make a living from the Tarot you will need to consider issues such as who are your target market - both in terms of geographical spread and 'type' of person. How are you going to market yourself to them - why should they come to you for a reading? What price are you going to charge? How does it compare to competitors? What capital outlay (if any) is required? Will you hire premises or work from home? What will be your running costs? Will you need a loan from the bank to see you through the early period when you are getting established and income flows are low but you still neet to eat and have a roof over your head. And how much profit are you likely to make over the next three years AFTER allowing for your own wages. Most small businesses fail because of cash flow issues, will the money flow in when you need it to pay the electricity bills and the mortgage, etc) poor accounting (WorldCom is not alone in this problem) and getting into a muddle over tax (Which the Inland Revenue/IRS take a dim view of) - so you will need to sort all of that out. I don't want to appear negative indeed I'm thinking of becoming a semi-professional Astrologer when I retire from my current employment in a few years but being a professional means that at the end of the day the food on the table depends on your business capability not just your Tarot skill. All the best for a successful start up Minderwiz

DarkElectric	02 Aug 2002
Thanks Minderwiz, for the good points you brought up. I had some business cards printed, and am going to start out by doing a few local festivals. I will also be doing this from my home, by appointment only, except for fests. I know, be careful of letting people into my home. But I am very fortunate. I live in a huge building, a reconverted school. there is a lovely atrium, with comfortable benches, a water fountain/ wishing well, and an art gallery. I can bring clients there, and no one needs ever know where my condo is. It's a place I've read for friends with much success.

HudsonGray	02 Aug 2002
You can also arrange to meet someone at a mutually agreed on place--I know a copyright lawyer who meets & does business at the bookstore down the street from her. She didn't want to bring in anyone to her home (security purposes) and the bookstore has a sitting area at their coffee shop--she asked in advance if it was ok & they've let her do business there for years. I'd be leery of bringing in anyone here at home unless a second person was present, mostly for security reasons. but meeting at someplace else, even the library, would be safer.

truthsayer	02 Aug 2002
another good thing to know is the laws in your state concerning fortune telling in case you have an unhappy customer who complains or some other issue w/ your business being legal and not a miss cleo off-shoot. we wouldn't want you to end up like her! one way to legalize reading tarot is to called what you do "spiritual counseling" in which you just use the cards to focus your thoughts if you're ever confronted by the legal system. to prove that you are a spiritual counselor, you need to get a free ministry license from the church of universal life. i'm not kidding this is the truth! i have one to protect myself. if anyone asks questions, i am the reverand truthsayer, spiritual counselor. the site addy is: http://www.ulc.org/ulchq/ i have an article on the legal ramnifications of being a tarot reader. i'll try to find it and post it here.

DarkElectric	02 Aug 2002
Truthsayer, an excellent point. I am already ordained by the ULC, I too figured that it might come in handy. And I wish I'd thought about the "Spiritual Counselor" idea when I was ordering the business cards! Drat! (Too late now.) As far as security, I can definitely use the atruum of the building. The security is good, and I would make sure the client left the building after the reading. No one could find me in here anyway. It's like a giant maze, and there are 111 units in this building. I will be reading under a pseudonym. Everybody around here does, for security reasons. And I will be checking out the state laws. I may need a license, and in that case, it will be worth the price to get one. Thank You for the heads up!

Mojo	02 Aug 2002
The way everyone always talks about protecting yourself legally, it sounds like we're still living in the dark ages. I live in Georgia... the heart of the bible belt. I've been doing readings here for years. Since I don't accept money until after a reading (they don't have to pay if they don't feel they were involved, informed and/or entertained), I've never had anyone complain about my services. I've had maybe 2 or 3 people dissatisfied with a reading I did, but only one of them raised a fuss. She actually called the police. They came to my door, asked me my side of the story, then they turned to the lady and pretty much laughed at her and told her the next time she called the police on something so trivial, they would arrest her. As for turning "pro" (I hate that term applied to Tarot.... makes it sound too freaking legitimate!), the best advice I can give you (other than to stop calling it "professional") is to keep your day job. Especially at first to see if you really like doing Tarot for money (it's actually not nearly as much fun as doing it for free for most people). If Tarot becomes your livelihood, it becomes work. I would tend to think that most people's intuition works best when they can be relaxed and at ease. How many people do you know who are relaxed and at ease at work? I do Tarot for clients evenings and weekends (except for the occasional corporate client - you'd be surprised at how many CEOs come to the Tarot for guidance) and I go to their homes or have them to mine (for my regular clients). I also have an agreement with a local coffee shop to allow me to set up at a table and do readings for people for a "donation" (I charge "a bill" and leave it up to them to decide what demonination bill they put in the box). It's a really nice second income, and as long as I still have that day job, Tarot stays fun and fulfilling for me.

DarkElectric	03 Aug 2002
Hi Mojo! Thanks for the advice:) Unfortunately, I live in Massachuetts, which is the heart of the Lawyer belt. We have so many state laws and regulations, it boggles the mind. I had a friend who wanted to be a magician. (in the kiddie party sense.) He was hired to do a birthday party, and one of the parents asked him if he had an entertainment license. He didn't realise he needed one for what he was doing, and he said no. The next thing he knew, he was in the middle of making a balloon animal for some kid, and the cops showed up. Told him to put away his gear and hit the road. No license, no gig. No kidding.( No $$$ either. ) You are right about seeing whether I like doing it for money or not. I doubt it would ever be like a 'job' for me, because I have so much fun doing it, and I've met some really cool and interesting people doing readings. One just seems to lead into 3 more people asking me to do one for them, and I know folks would pay if I was charging. And I really need some form of supplemental income. Don't quit your day job, you say? This, my friend, is in actuality, a punchline, because my day job (actually night job) is Saxophone player! Maybe you're right about the enjoyment VS money thing. I think I love playing out so much because there's not a lot of money in the music biz. (you're Britney Spears.Ugh!)

LeoLady	03 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer site addy is: http://www.ulc.org/ulchq/ i have an article on the legal ramnifications of being a tarot reader. i'll try to find it and post it here. Is this legal in the UK does anyone know? I've registered with them anyway, cos being ordained in the church of Life appeals to me more than any other religion x

Minderwiz	03 Aug 2002
The UK legal situation is governed by the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951, passed in the wake of the repeal of the Witchcraft Laws following the trial of Helen Ducan. Under this law if you charged for services then you were definitely running a risk of prosecution. The Act does have a consent clause to prevent frivolous accusations and I believe that in 1993 the Act was amended to remove any implication that charging equalled fraud. However it is still illegal to fraudulently claim powers that you do not have in order to obtain money or goods. That being said, then number of Tarot readers charging at psychic fairs, etc shows that simply charging for a consensual reading is not illegal. Minderwiz

LeoLady	03 Aug 2002
Can I still be ordained my the American website tho? Thanks for the information my dear..appreciate it x

Minderwiz	03 Aug 2002
Yes you can be ordained by the Website - the question though is whether it will have any legal status at all. A TV programme here recently took this up with a reporter getting ordained through a web site and then performing a marriage ceremony. However the marriage only has legal status if there is a corresponding civil ceremony as well, so in effect as far as the UK law is concerned they wouldn't treat you seriously. Indeed it might be highly non-productive because if you were accused of fraudulently obtaining money or goods it might be argued that claiming to be ordained is evidence of a desire to deceive your client/'victim'. The best defence in UK law is that you are an entertainer and that you are performing Tarot (Astrology, et al) in order to entertain others. So an Equity card would be better than a Certificate of Ordination into an obscure church. Incidently my wife appeared on the show Psychic Lifetime which was shown on the now defunct Granada Breeze channel. She had to sign alsorts of releases etc so that she wouldn't sue them for 'bad advice'. This and the above tongue in cheek (but with some genuine concern) Equity comment shows the state of fear that our society is in when it comes to the Psychic and Psychically related issues. It also explains why such programmes appear on satellite or cable but not on the main stream 'off air' channels. Minderwiz

LeoLady	03 Aug 2002
Many thanks mindy! Just one more question for you..how do you go about getting an equity card, and what does it entail (what do i have to do?) Not that I want to be proffesional but am interested.

Strega	04 Aug 2002
Excellent advice, everyone! I'm not thinking of turning "pro" (yet), but I learned a lot from this thread. Thanks to DarkElectric for posting this topic.

Minderwiz	04 Aug 2002
LeoLady, my comment was rather tongue in cheek. The Law does give exemptions from prosecution if you do Mediumship or other related activity for entertainment. The presumption is that people don't take entertainment seriously and therefore can't really complain. So if you do readings on TV and are paid by the Channel as an entertainer then you can't be accused of being a Fraudulent Medium. If you have cable or satellite channels and can watch things like 'Crossing Over' with John Edward you will also see massive disclaimers in the credits, indicating that viewers should not take what they've seen seriously. Equity is the Actors trade union and I think its difficult to get into it unless you have already done some acting before. However if you did appear on TV as a Tarot reader (or in a magazine, on the radio or throught the internet) I don't really think you would need an Equity card. I think its a terrible shame that TV programmes don't allow Tarot, Mediumship, Astrology, etc to be taken seriously but that is the situation we are in. One last point, the Director of Public Prosecutions needs to assent to any prosecution under the 1951 Act, therefore only where deliberate fraud is alleged do prosecutions take place. The DPP would not be interested prosecutions where the reading is honestly given and their is no deliberate attempt to deceive. Minderwiz

LeoLady	04 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Minderwiz LeoLady, my comment was rather tongue in cheek. Equity is the Actors trade union and I think its difficult to get into Ok Am Thick x :D

Minderwiz	04 Aug 2002
No - I think it's more my warped sense of humour. Minderwiz

LeoLady	04 Aug 2002
No....I really am thick! Lol...I did know about the equity card being for acting, but i guess that I thought as it's the 'entertainment' business that perhaps it also applied for Fortune-telling/Tarot etc...

Kiama	06 Aug 2002
I am indebted to all who replied to this thread, and to DarkElectric for posting it in the first place... Everything was so useful! I am a bit nervous about reading 'professionally', but I am really interested in doing it. I would like to help out my income with it, and it will hopefully helpme improe my skills, not only with Tarot, but with people and business. What about advertising? Where do you usually advertise, and how much do you charge for a reading? I would like to do the thing where if the reading doesn't go well, then I dont charge, but being a bit scpetical, I am worried that querents will take advantage of that.... I am looking initially to target students at the Uni I will be studying at, so I am awre that I can't charge too much. How much would you be willing to pay, if you were a student living on a Student's Income? Kiama

HudsonGray	06 Aug 2002
There's some good info at this url: http://www.tarotconsultant.com/cgi/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=list&forum=DCForumID18&conf=DCConfID4 It's a discussion board about getting publicity, reading for the public & how to handle people. I know I've found some GREAT stuff by using a search engine & looking under 'tarot ethics'. You might want to look at that too--things not to cover, things that are ok (from a legal perspective) and also a few of them have checklists of things you'll need when reading for the public when doing it at a store, someone else's house or set up in a public place or fair. You'll have to cover as much ground in advance as you can to know what you'll do for problems that come up. Not just people hanging over someone's shoulders during a private reading, but what to do if you get a battered girlfriend wanting to know if things will get better for her..........

DarkElectric	08 Aug 2002
Thank you Hudsongray, for this invaluable link!

divinerguy	10 Aug 2002
Hey Dark - Don't forget to have your favorite attorney-Tarot reader draft up a disclaimer for readings.

Kiama	14 Aug 2002
I am now officially the Reverend Kimberley Huggens... Spiritual Counsellor! I am just worried that people will not see it as valid because it is free, and doesn't take years and years of study to get.. (Although I feel that I can take on the title deservedly and with pride.) I already have a counselling qualification aswell which I got a couple of years ago... Kiama

The Exprienced readers: What's your advice for an amateur who's decided to turn Pro? thread was originally posted on 01 Aug 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.