Burglary

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

catboxer	07 Oct 2002
When you begin to get known as a reader, sometimes people will come to you not knowing what to expect. More often than not they are looking for a few moments' diversion or amusement, and the depth they encounter can take them by surprise. This happened to me on Saturday. A woman came to me with a rather vague question about bad karma inherited from her past lives, but I don't do past lives. What we got instead was a very clear analysis of a problem -- a crisis really -- that's occurring right now in her love life. The reading was accurate, but I felt like she wasn't expecting, and wasn't ready, to have a stranger examine the intimate details of her personal life so closely. In the end, it turned out ok. But in some ways, I felt like I'd burglarized this person's intimate secrets. I guess we need to warn people to be careful what they wish for. I know it's been said here many times before, but it came to me again that these little cardboard pictures can be uncanny.

ChrisZ	07 Oct 2002
It's things like that that you have to look out for. Especially regarding your own friends...Unless you have a policy about friends (ie, you dont read for them), reading for friends may dig up things that will disturb your relationship with them...So I'd say that it's important to warn the person you are reading for, that what you might discover may come as a shock and be a) not what they expected, and b) rather unpleasant for both of you. Go carefully, I say...

Kazz	07 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by catboxer In the end, it turned out ok. But in some ways, I felt like I'd burglarized this person's intimate secrets. I guess we need to warn people to be careful what they wish for. Catboxer, I too have felt this way. just recently at a family party/get together, one of my husbands cousins wanted me to read for her, I wasn't there to do readings, but she really wanted one (she also reads tarot, but just learning). So she pulled 3 cards and asked me to tell her everything that I saw, no holding back. What I told her was ... she wants to leave her husband who is very domineering and mentally abusive ( I have never met the man) but is scared to do so. she was blown away at the fact that she has told no one of her feelings, and that I was right in what i had told her. I felt awful, like I was invading her private life and marriage. The cards can sometimes be very brutally honest. Cheers Kazz :TQC

DeLani	07 Oct 2002
That is one of the things about being a reader... I guess if you don't have the good fortune of learning from an elder, it can really bite. Luckily, I did have a good teacher who had read for a lot of years, and she made no bones about it. She said, when you read for people, you are being a spiritual counselor. You aren't "entertainment," or a "lark," but someone who will help people look into their souls and give them the info they need to grow. Now, whether or not they listen...that's a different story. So I guess I was fortunate that I was prepared. It's really strange to me to do readings at fairs and other events, but it's usually OK. People aren't usually ready to have a deep counseling session in the middle of a room full of people. But that's the Western way of thinking: that everything is supposed to be easy and quick. When I get a client who isn't "ready" to hear what I have to say, oh, well. Maybe the problem comes from the fact that people always coddle and soft-peddle around this person, instead of saying it like it is. I guess I'm a bit of a tough-love reader! It's the mom in me I guess!

Umbrae	07 Oct 2002
“This is not television. It is not passive. Should you come to me, I am not an entertainment source. I am going to look at, and into your life (perhaps your soul). I do not take divination lightly, I am aware of what I see, and where I am going.” ( http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/articles/reading_for_others.html ) Some look at ‘them’ as little pieces of cardboard with pictures on them…but as I have said: Tarot is a key. It opens doors. As a key it opens doors to the soul, the mind, the realm of the spirit, and the woven strands of the tapestry which we call time. Sometimes we only get a glimpse before the door shuts, leaving us breathless and wondering upon what we think we saw. Sometimes a door disappears to give us a new understanding, a new view of our world. Sometimes the doors are those in the lives of others and their realms. These doors provide us with the openings through which we may aid or assist others. It is a key by which we may open doors to light, or doors of darkness, weal or woe. It may be a language, a religion, music or mute; cardboard or toy and game. One day it may unlock a doorway to the depths of despair, and the next bring tears of joy. It is a key to a lock which no locksmith dare touch, for it turns the tumblers of the soul. ‘Snick’. Did you hear that? Perhaps the door is unlocked. Care to follow me through?

lili	07 Oct 2002
I do a lot of readings for people i do not know, i work for a Psychic hot line [[url]www.keen.com/categories/categorylist.asp?category=195&fplid=147825[/url]] and sometimes people over the phone get in a shock when i start reading for them, many times they ask how i know so much about their life by just reading over the phone, sometimes even if you do not know the person or even are not face to face with them, you can still get shocking reactions from them.

Alex	08 Oct 2002
Even when we are inexperienced as I consider myself, it's still the case that we can see a lot, more than people come by expecting. Naturally the first readings I ever did were for family members and close friends, and I was a bit shocked myself, whith what it revealed. So it's always better to warn people ahead of time, don't expect it to be a light encounter. Alex.

ladycj	09 Oct 2002
I've found that even when I warn someone, they still don't believe that I am going to be as accurate as I am.

cjtarot	09 Oct 2002
Hi, TAROT READINGS ARE MESSAGES FROM GOD/THE GODDESS..we just deliver them.. I am not a very experienced reader..BUT, when I do read, I always let the person know that what I get is what you need and may not be what you want to hear and the message goes no farther than this table. I try to make sure they understand this and encourage them to have the reading done 1 on 1..a friend had me read for her and let her 10 yr old daughter sit in..I WAS NOT THE HAPPIEST CAMPER THAT DAY..The reading ended up being about her and her husband not her job... Just keep your ethics and not discuss what was in the reading with others ...(the one and only time my lack of a good memory comes in handy..lol) and understand the message was ment to be delivered. Blessings Cj

DarkElectric	10 Oct 2002
This just happened to me too. When reading at a local psychic fair, I uncovered alcoholism, infidelity/ impending divorce, and prostate cancer,with concommitant terror of potential impotence, and death. All while reading for total strangers. I realise that I am indeed a spiritual councillor, and this is what kept me from being weirdly embarrassed by what I found out. Yes, my readings were accurate. No, I don't think my clients realised HOW accurate they would be, and Maybe, word might be getting around that I'm a "real" one. (Although a real WHAT, nobody's quite sure :P ) I have been asked to read at the same store this Saturday. I personally think this is the hardest part of it. It is for me, at least. There was another reader at the aforementioned fair. I had been warned about her. I'd been told she was a really pushy lady, and liked to snoop around other readers, look over their shoulders, and interject her own running commentary on their readings. In front of the clients, of course. She tried to butt in on my reading space, asked me to "Move Over so she could put her table next to mine..." (She had a primo spot already.) I'm so glad I held my ground and told her that I didn't think that was a good idea. I hold confidentiality to be the first principle. So, I was more comfortable that day, and so were my clients. I was far enough away from the other vendors so as to not be overheard speaking. And nosy lady was all the way across the parking lot. Whew! This is the reason I like to be able to give readings in as private an environment as possible.

catboxer	10 Oct 2002
I agree completely. Privacy is absolutely essential. We never know what our readings are going to turn up, and frequently they uncover aspects of a querent's life which that person either hasn't ever copped to or has been unwilling to deal with. It can be very painful for both parties, although such situations always remind me of the Tower Struck by Lightning (even when that card is not present). In the long run, such revelations are a good thing. I'm also glad to hear you stood your ground, and didn't let the pushy lady get her spoon into your grits. It was the right thing to do, and probably took a bit of chutzpah.

Trogon	11 Oct 2002
This aspect of the readings I've done hasn't really bothered me in the way that you all are speaking of. But perhaps I have an advantage in this matter. I have been a Police Dispatcher for 16 years... so, I'd already been dealing, on a personal basis, with people telling me the most intimate details of their lives for many years. In fact, I guess I've gotten so used to this, that when I began reading the Tarot, this aspect of it never occured to me as being a problem. I believe the thing that helps me is that I decided many years ago that I would always respect the people regardless of their problems. I would be non-judgemental in trying to assist them with these problems, and provide them with as much help as I could. I do have to admit that sometimes, as a Tarot reader, this is a bit more difficult than as a police dispatcher. As a dispatcher, most of the time, the problems are fairly clear cut as are the actions I need to take. However, as a Tarot reader, I feel a little closer to the situation. But I still try to retain a professional and respectful demeanor. I hope this makes sense and that it was helpful.

DarkElectric	11 Oct 2002
Wow! As a police dispatcher, you must see it ALL. I'm still getting used to the "disclosure factor" as I call it. I'm glad I have a lot of patience. I have always felt that it's not up to me to judge others, so I try to offer compassion and hopefully, sensible advice. I also uncover the "BS factor". You know, when someone is lying to you, to test your skill as a reader( or psychic), or because they're lying to themselves and are possibly deep in denial. This I find hard to deal with, because if someone is unwilling to see something staring them in the face, what do you do? 9 times out of 10 nobody even needs cards to tell them what's up. They just refuse to look at the issue. That puts me, the reader, in a sort of awkward position. And, yes, it took a lot of Chutzpah to hold my ground against nosy lady! She was really a scary person. She could have set up in the spot I picked, because she got there before I did, and she had her choice of places. She just changed her mind, and wanted to snoop in on my readings. She also proceeded to send me neggie vibes all day, and was absolutely poison at the end of the event. She whined, complained OUT LOUD, and was implicitly blaming me for the fact that she only did 2 readings. (15 people attended this, most of them just shopped, they didn't get readings.) Ye Gods. One of my clients actually admitted that the other lady scared her away, that's why she wanted me to do her reading. This is another reason I will continue to insist on privacy for my clients, and myself.

The Burglary thread was originally posted on 07 Oct 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.