Bad Tarot reading experience

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Jan 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

caridwen	27 Jan 2005
When I had just started learning Tarot, I was excited to have my first reading and learn what I could by asking questions and watching the technique of the reader. It turned into a terrible experience. I was asking questions before we started the reading and noticed he became very quiet and was just staring at me. He then asked me to shuffle and cut the cards. I asked if he wanted me to do this in any particular way but he said no. Then he asked me to pick out ten cards. I spread the cards in a row and picked them randomly. He freaked out and tried to snatch them back and they fell on the floor. I got up to help pick them up but he shouted at me to sit down and not touch them. I then did it again and handed them to him for the reading. As I had been shuffling a card popped out. It was a Chariot. I asked if he wanted to know what the card was in case it had any significance. He told me to stop being 'clever' and put it back in. He then told me I had 'messed up' the reading by spreading the cards out. I asked him what spread he was using and he wouldn't tell me, then I asked him to explain each card but he said that's not the way to read Tarot and he didn't read like that. In the end he told me that I wasn't attractive to men because I thought I knew everything and should find myself a mentor. He said some really nasty things I can't remember now and didn't even do a reading he seemed to be reading body language more than anything. The whole experience shook me up for days. To make it worse, like a fool I paid him! Anyone else had a bad experience from a reader?

IDN	27 Jan 2005
I think Tarot Readers are just like anyone else in the world- there are nice people and not-so-nice people. There are Readers (like the people who spend their time contributing on here) that wish to help people and contribute in some way to the querent’s life (even if it’s just giving them a fascinating experience) and then there’s people who’s interest is in themselves- building up their ego, etc. I think you were just (unfortunately) unlucky. I have only had two professional readings- both very good, but the first exceptionally so. The reading lasted about 45 minutes and then the reader sat and talked to me for a further hour and a half. All for £25. Please don’t let your bad experience put you off. Regards, Ian

caridwen	27 Jan 2005
Thank you so much Ian, yes it was a horrible experience but it didn't put me off Tarot. I've been reading for myself but would really like to have a reading done again. I think the problem was, he didn't really know what he was doing and I was asking an awful lot of questions. He was a con artist not a reader. Any good reader will be happy to answer questions - I love it. Tarot is fascinating.

Eco74	27 Jan 2005
That must have felt so strange... And I can't help but wonder what was going through his mind. Luckily I've had no such experience in person and I'm glad to see you've gotten over it so well. May you never find yourself in a situation like that again..

Flavio	27 Jan 2005
I think that reader had a very bad attitude all the time (if someone wants to play the "I'm a mysterious tarot reader" at least should be good enough reader to support such attitude) I understand you were interested in learning some techniques so you went through the complete experience, I'm not that tolerant and maybe had left the place quickly without paying. Now, thanks to your post we have learn one of the many things a good Tarot readers shouldn't do.

wandking	27 Jan 2005
I realize you weren't talking about THE Fool, but what a great card to be like. In spite of perhaps the rudest reader I've ever heard about, you obviously took that first step of The Fool into the abyss of Tarot. Like The Fool, we can learn from your expirience... Perhaps the lesson here is that being anal and bringing personal issues to the Tarot table is NOT conducive to good readings. I hope your quest into Tarot continues to be illuminating caridwen.

Eco74	27 Jan 2005
Another thing I just thought of... How come people who ask questions get accused of being know-it-alls. If they knew it all - why would they be asking questions in the first place?

Gwynne	27 Jan 2005
I've never had a really bad experience with someone reading for me, though I haven't had many people read for me. The two paid readings I've gotten were... well they were dead wrong. The first one told me my father-in-law would die in two years (it's been three, he's still kicking....) and then told me to "avoid occult matters, you just aren't ready to go there. Stay away from the cards, they will bring you nothing but pain." This while she was reading my cards..... It was an all Minor deck, which I thought odd at the time. I can see using all Majors, and even using playing cards, but this was obviously a Tarot deck in which she'd removed the Majors! When I said that I was a reader myself, she said that I was wasting my time and that I should consider "more Earthly pursuits" and not be so concerned with the spiritual. The second paid reading was just as wrong. She told me everything I wanted to hear, even though I knew none of it to be true! She was a master of reading body language, but the cards she drew had nothing to do with what she was telling me! She drew the Three of Swords and told me I'd be starting a new relationship soon.... I was like "uh huh..." My worst experiences have been when I was reading for others. A couple of years ago I was reading at a bar for a New Years party. Fairly busy, they'd put me in the quietest corner of the bar and tried to give us as much privacy as they could, though not much was possible in a busy bar. Some woman came over screaming that I was the devil incarnate, that I was playing with Satan's picture book and then she physically launched herself at me. The security guards pulled her away and the police were called. However there was a small bonus. The bar didn't charge me the 10% table fee that we'd agreed on. I guess they felt bad for what happened! Things aren't usually so dramatic, although I have gotten emails that I'm going to Hell, phone calls from women who want to know who the father is, and I've occasionally gotten calls from guys who want a phone actress not a Tarot reader (ick!!!) I often go to the local Borders and sit in a corner of the cafe working through my deck, making notes or whatever. I've had one person come over and try to preach to me and convince me to go to church. You should have seen the look of shock when I told them I do go to church, every week, in fact I'm a Sunday School teacher!

Chronata	27 Jan 2005
caridwen.. I am so sorry to hear that you had such a revolting experience from someone who called himself a professional. This reminds me very much of a tarot teacher that I had once, many years ago...who told us that if people ask too many questions about the process, that we should just do a cold reading for them...because we have no business giving away "tarot secrets" for free! How horrible is that way of thinking? Nowadays...the first thing I ask a client is whether or not they have ever had a reading done before...because I want them to be comfortable, and I like to make the whole process as least mysterious as possible! I always allow questions...about the cards, about me, as a reader, about the interpretations...about the whole darn process, because I find it irresponsible to do otherwise. Don't worry...I have a feeling that the next reading you get from a "professional" will be a far better experience!

tarotbear	27 Jan 2005
You paid him? After his second outburst, I'd have called the session off, told him he was a jerk, and then said that since there was no reading there would be no payment ... and left! His "reading" was skewed, too. He expected to be the ORACLE and you ruined his act. Any decent reader knows there will be questions and more questions. If he had 'particulars' that you were supposed to perform - cut with this hand, wipe your butt with that hand - then he should have told them to you before you started shuffling. People with a lot of 'rules' are hiding their inadequacies with ceremonies. I hope he didn't charge you a lot! What goes around comes around; maybe someday you will get to do a reading for him and you will get to tell him he is a total (fill in the blank).

caridwen	27 Jan 2005
I'm sorry to hear that Gwyne and can never understand how someone could put a time limit on and predict death! Let alone actually tell you... I would say something about failing health etc Thank you all so much for responding. That was a long time ago and needless to say - I haven't had a reading done since but that's mainly for lack of opportunity than anything else. I've been reading for others for about four years now and always explain everything I'm doing, what the cards mean, what the positions mean and how it all relates to the querent - so I suppose it was a valuable experience. Looking back on it I'm not surprised he freaked out - lol - he had the meanings scribbled on the cards - that's how I messed up the reading. He was really annoyed as well that I asked a general question: what do I need to know? He saw it as another example of me being 'clever'. lol (shakes head laughing.)

caridwen	27 Jan 2005
tarotbear wrote: You paid him? After his second outburst, I'd have called the session off, told him he was a jerk, and then said that since there was no reading there would be no payment ... and left! His "reading" was skewed, too. He expected to be the ORACLE and you ruined his act. Any decent reader knows there will be questions and more questions. If he had 'particulars' that you were supposed to perform - cut with this hand, wipe your butt with that hand - then he should have told them to you before you started shuffling. People with a lot of 'rules' are hiding their inadequacies with ceremonies. I hope he didn't charge you a lot! What goes around comes around; maybe someday you will get to do a reading for him and you will get to tell him he is a total (fill in the blank). lol - don't remind me!! I know I paid him and feel stupid now but at the time I was really intimidated - it took me totally by surprise. He really insulted me, called me a liar, told me I was unattractive but compassionate. That I put on a front that wasn't really me etc really horrible stuff like a bitter drunk at a bar. He also refused to actually READ the cards. I asked him what this and that card meant and he just smirked as though I was a dimwit and shook his head. It was $20 btw As for technique - I asked him if he wanted me to cut or whatever in any particular way and he said no. I realised afterwards because the cards were irrelevant - he just read body language. Don't worry - I sent all his bad karma back to him;)

Ceit	27 Jan 2005
I paid 40 dollars for a reading once. It was for one hour. She was dead on for the first part of the reading then she asked questions and got into the story-- The more that she read body language the more the reading took a turn for the worst. She kept doing crossing cards and then she started another spread.I think she got confused and didn't really read the cards. I did the hour reading when I should have most likely did the half hour. I went with my aunt and her friend to a "russian" tea room. My aunts friend choose the tea leaves and had to ask for another reader because she didn't connect with her, and the second one didn't do any better. You could choose between Tea, Tarot, playing cards, palm reading -- You could also by a "talk to the dead" party, and have a John Edwards copy cat come to your home. I also had tarot cards read for me while i was in Germany by fellow traveler, she did me a favor because she normally charged 50 dollars for a reading but she liked me and did it free. I am glad she "did" me a favor because she didn't do a good job. She was totally off the mark. She indicated that I would find my true love in five months and it would be a blonde pregnant woman! I told her that I wasn't a lesbian-- But she said it was all in the cards! I went to a festival with my then husband sat down and was going to get my cards read, but the woman didn't want to read for me because she looked at my hand first, told my then husband to go away, he did, then she turned to me and said that I should get marriage consuling! (She had told me that she saw in my hand, divorce heartache-- and that the one I am suppose to be with won't happen for a long time.) She was right.. I did divorce my then husband. Another professional reading was a present. He was pretty good and acurate, from what I could remmember. He also said that my marriage wouldn't work. Go figure... I am sorry that your reading didn't go well. I hope that you will get a chance to do it again, this time with someone that you can connect with. I have been thinking about getting a face to face reading, just to see if I am reading what I want in the cards or if I am right on the money. Ceit.

Phoenix Rising	27 Jan 2005
Thanks for telling us your story. It would of been all those questions you were asking, he obviously felt threatened and thought you must of known something about it. sometimes some people ask alot of questions to test to see if you're a experienced reader! I've only had one bad experience, but it was a medium. She kept me waiting for 20 minutes, she was making up all these dead people that I didn't connect with at all, she kept looking at her watch. Although I said that none of it didn't make any sense at all. So she didn't charge! Normally it would of cost $50. Yet when I saw her doing platform work for a "meet the medium night" in front of a crowd of 500 she was brilliant. I began to think she might have staged the whole thing. But the worst ones are the tarot phone lines, they describe the cards they've pulled, which can take longer. You can tell they're reading from a book. and they charge $4.99 per minute.

HudsonGray	27 Jan 2005
First I thought he might have been fairly new at reading & you just flustered him with how you shuffled & picked the cards, but then you indicated he was a body language reader. Oh well, figure scam artist. You'd need a poker face and no body motion to get a different kind of reading out of those people. It helps when the reader mostly looks at the cards, not at you, it's the cards they're supposed to be reading, after all.

Gwynne	27 Jan 2005
Phoenix Rising wrote: Thanks for telling us your story. It would of been all those questions you were asking, he obviously felt threatened and thought you must of known something about it. sometimes some people ask alot of questions to test to see if you're a experienced reader! I've only had one bad experience, but it was a medium. She kept me waiting for 20 minutes, she was making up all these dead people that I didn't connect with at all, she kept looking at her watch. Although I said that none of it didn't make any sense at all. So she didn't charge! Normally it would of cost $50. Yet when I saw her doing platform work for a "meet the medium night" in front of a crowd of 500 she was brilliant. I began to think she might have staged the whole thing. But the worst ones are the tarot phone lines, they describe the cards they've pulled, which can take longer. You can tell they're reading from a book. and they charge $4.99 per minute. A LOT of readers avoid those phone lines because of call quotas, and other requirements. I've looked into them and they are just not for me. I do phone work, but I set my own hours, my own rate and my clients are just that, my clients! Some lines the reader gets paid about 12 cents a minute, has to keep the caller on for an average of more than 20 minutes (not easy when the person knows they are paying upwards of $5.00 a minute!) and the reader has to capture addresses for mailing lists. I've seen lines where if you have no verifiable experience, they require you to buy a "Starter Kit" which contains a Tarot deck (with the meanings printed on the card) a set of scripts "Just in case you get a tough reading...", a cassette recording of "real live readings" and info on "making the most money with your business...." They get a lot of women who want desperately to work at home so they can be with their kids. There is a LOT of turn over. There are some legitimate lines out there, they usually require client feedback i.e. letters of recommendation from your personal clients. My only thought is how easy would it be for someone to fake such experience? The only way you can know is to get a reading, and even as a reader I won't pay $4.99 a minute! Especially knowing that the woman on the other end of the line is only getting between 12 and 20 cents of that! That's only between 7.20 and 12.00 an hour! Heck, fast food restaurants around here start at $7.50 an hour! I only charge .75 a minute and get not quite half due to administration and connection fees. It's not a lot of money, but I don't feel justified in charging more. I have nothing but positive feedback, and people are usually surprised that I don't charge a lot! I think they are just too used to scam artists! For in person readings I charge about $1.00 a minute for shorter readings, $45 an hour for longer readings and $200 for a 3 hour party with unlimited readings. It's good money, I can't make that much anywhere else with no "real" education! But you do have to watch out for scam artists, who are just looking for a quick buck. I'm sure there are people who are worth paying $4.99 a minute for, but I personally haven't encountered any.

Umbrae	27 Jan 2005
Quote: "...learn what I could by asking questions and watching the technique of the reader" Sit with me on this. Did you tell him what deck he was using and ask if he liked it? You know if I have a sitter that wants to read me reading, rather than have me read… And if the reader is any good at all, you know…they are more interested in how you read than what you’re gonna say… So yeah – I’d have been hacked-off. But I’d also have given you your money’s worth…

caridwen	28 Jan 2005
Umbrae wrote: Sit with me on this. Did you tell him what deck he was using and ask if he liked it? You know if I have a sitter that wants to read me reading, rather than have me read… And if the reader is any good at all, you know…they are more interested in how you read than what you’re gonna say… So yeah – I’d have been hacked-off. But I’d also have given you your money’s worth… First question: No because he was using the Rider Waite deck, I didn't know enough about Tarot at the time to ask if he 'liked' it. Second, I explained before the reading that I was just starting to learn Tarot - that I was interested in learning from someone with experience. That's all. We mostly talked about Tibet and Daoism - something I had been studying previously yet he hadn't read The Way by Laozi - when I mentioned I'd read and studied it, that's when he became very quiet. He was obnoxious before the reading. No I didn't want to 'read him reading' - I was interested in watching and learning. I asked questions such as: how do you want me to cut the cards? What spread are we using? What does this card mean, I don't really understand it etc I didn't know enough about reading at that time to ask a lot of questions about the actual technique - I had only been studying Tarot for about a year at that time so I was very green and inexperienced. I was very interested in what the CARDS said but unfortunately didn't get to hear that as he wouldn't tell me what any of them meant. He used it as an excuse to insult me - I was shaking afterwards as I said in the first post it really shook me up. As for being 'hacked off' - downright rude and insulting. He was a con artist and felt caught out - why I don't know because I wasn't attempting to trip him up - I really wanted to learn. He must have been used to people being totally in awe of him or something and accepting everything he said rather than asking questions about how he reached those conclusions. As I said before, I read for people and am happy to answer any questions - my reading take between one and two hours because I try to explain as much as I can. That's for a celtic cross reading or cross and triangle for example. A three card spread would take about fourty minutes.:)

FlashFighter	28 Jan 2005
Well, I've had 3 readings done.... a tarot reading at a county fair that was way off the mark, a palm reading in San Francisco, CA that was a scam, and a rather good reading from a gentleman who does readings out of his office in the back of a local New Age store. I don't remember much about the county fair reading, but the palm reading in San Francisco..... total fraud. The reader told me I was cursed and she could remove the curse, but she needed 9 candles that cost 100 dollars each....... urgh.....

mzoltarp	28 Jan 2005
In the end, karma will settle the score.

The Bad Tarot reading experience thread was originally posted on 27 Jan 2005 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.