Tarot Certification Board of America - a critical appraisal

Tarot Certification Board of America- a critical appraisal

Good Day!
These questions are fairly simple and yet underline some internal frictions. The frictions lay in the fact that none of the Board Members know how to change a website. The Website remains a thorny problem with its low tech and poor graphics. There are also spelling mistakes and that list of members. I personally don't like it. Have all of the the folks listed been certified to that level? Yes. Before our time( George Heisler, Allan curthoys and Myself), some of the very influential people in the Tarot Community were awarded Honorary CTGM degrees by the President of the Board. All had asked for and knew that they had received them and in fact went through all of the lower degrees. At one point, the CTGM was purely an honorary service degree for in house folks. I have expanded it to a specific skill and accomplishment set. From time to time, we may also bestow an award of degree for merit in the Tarot community. This is rare( twice during my watch)since 2002.
The TCBA is not a member driven organization. We are a testing body like the folks who produce standardized tests like the SAT, ACT and MCAT and the dreaded LSAT. All those three and four letter words}, . Those candidates who pass our criteria are certified. We certify that readers have met and practice under a certain level of expertise, quality and professionalism. We do not test a readers capability of reading.
Hope that helped our esteemed delegate from Australia. Next?
Tim.

Tarot Certification Board of America- a critical appraisal

Hey folks,
Another note on the Board. Before you think we make a whole lot of money in Amway-like Ponzi schemes, let me tell you that we have currently over our history certified about 500 folks. Most only desire to test to the CPTR level. There are a lot of folks who only test to the CATR level. CTI's need to test up to 25 levels not people. We make some income as an organization and it goes into advertising ,paying for the 1-800 number and office supplies.
Tim.

"CTI's need to test up to 25 levels not people."

Hi Tim Can you help me by clarifying the above?
Also on a side note, ever been to Rockford Illinois?

Tarot Certification Board of America- a critical appraisal

Hello Peregrin,
I don't believe that I have been to rockford, IL. However, We did hit Illinois in the Traveling Seminary. We may have passed through. I don't believe that I know you...but who knows. All things are possible. The Headquarters of our Tradition are in hoopeston, IL about 3 hours south of chicago.
As the candidates reach higher degrees, they have to do Community service in the form of helping with the testing of candidates. I oversee this process. You don't need to certify 25 different people. You just have to offer 25 exams.
As the higher levels can certify to their level, they can test one person for 6 different exams(Their CATR, CTR,CPTR,CTC and CTI) I currently hold a CTI certification. Trust me...I worked my butt off for it and still do.
Thanx for the question.
Happy Earth Day!!
Tim.

I shall at a later date take up what you have written above and make some comments.

However, first another series of simple questions.

When was the TCBA established?

For those of us that are hereon regularly, it is wonderful to have the input of those who are either irregularly here or rarely.

On a personal note, it should also be clear (and for those who know me obvious) that my concern is definitely not with the intent of most involved in either certification or equivalent programmes. Though there may also be charlatans as there can be in any area, I personally consider that the CTN, ABTC, TCBA, TABI and TGA's certification or endorsement processes are offered with the best of intent, and that those who work on these genuinely believe they are doing a service to the Tarot world.

I, along with others, of course consider that certification does a disservice to the Tarot community.

With regards to the TCBA, and as Timothy has not yet been able to provide a reply (fair enough - we each have other lives) I should point out that it was established around the first of June 2002, not the early 1990s.

Unless, of course, the TCBA would like to somehow really associate itself with the Clairvoyant Certification Board (1997) and its successor body, the Tarot Certification Board, which had a major problem with precisely what could be described as fraud. This 'exposure' followed from questions that J. Revak brought to TarotL back in 2001 (if I recall).

What the TCBA did is, as far as I can tell, take in globo the list of CTGMs and others from those earlier bodies and simply gave them similar titled certifications in an honorary manner. This was similarly done by the previous body.

Neither the website, nor their own descriptions, however, make any claim that this is even possible.

With regards to having to pay for a certificate, I personally have no problems with this. As mentioned by Timothy, running a website, having a telephone line, producing documents all costs money, and I trust that those amongst the legitimate who are involved either charge the TCBA either less or a fair amount for their involvement in the certification process.

I do not trust the very legitimacy of the certificate itself, however.

Even the note that for the later certifications, it is not 25 people that need to be tested, but rather 25 certification levels, was, I thought, made clear in my own analysis in the early post. But how does that make one a better 'instructor' or 'master'?

To be honest, this aspect simply smacks of plain increase in TCBA recognition and self aggrandisement.

With regards to the comment that 'We are a testing body like the folks who produce standardized tests like the SAT, ACT and MCAT and the dreaded LSAT', I am frankly unfamiliar with those acronyms in the context of, I presume, the USA. If they refer to 'standardised aptitude tests' made compulsory in some school districts, then I could as easily refer to the farce that these are in the context of an educational framework (they were established not for pedagogical reasons, but for bureaucratic ones) - as many educationalists have pointed out, despite cries to the contrary by bureaucrats. If the TCBA wants in any manner to claim a parallel, then this is another very good ground for doing away with the farce of certification for which the TCBA has established itself.

What I fail to understand is how some people do not see how detrimental the ongoing certification will be to the diversity of Tarot and in the integrity of its users.

Better, to my mind, that a body such as the ATA (from which the certification bodies prior to the TCBA derive), the CTN, TABI, and TGA list any and all readers that request the same. Here, of course, complaints to those bodies may very well see someone's name being withdrawn or being suspended according to regular negative feedback. This is different to assuming that a person can be certified.

Because of my volunteer work for the ATA's Free Reading Networks,
I sometimes will assist recent volunteer readers in learning the ropes.
Frequently, I have been asked for my views regarding "certification"
and even been asked if I can do the "testing" required for the TCBA.

That is a really difficult position for me to find myself suddenly facing,
because I don't see any value or even imaginary use for the certificates.
What can I say, but to try to show people how to learn more about it?
I'll suggest they go to the websites to read, and consider, what is there.

What possible justification is there for the existence of such a business?
The normal, everyday Tarot student and reader has no use of the TCBA.

Tarot Certification Board of America- a critical appraisal

Hey gang,
I'm slipping in a little bit of time for you all today as we prepare for the opening of my new art gallery. Saturday's 24-hour event went off without a hitch and had 300+ folks at it. Morris dancing, belly dancing, live drumming, tree planting, bands, poets and lots more. All in the rain. What a day!
I came on the Board of directors in June of 2002. The organization was in existence before then. My records( which I delved into when questioned) say 1998 as the beginning of the TCBA with john Gilbert (Then head of the ATA) as president. There are no legal papers stating any fraudulent activity of past board members or incarnations of the Board. There have not been any since my tour of duty. This sounds malicious and gossippy to me. However, I understand the process of public record on these lists and understand how false statements can be entered into the public record and then quoted by folks. These things happen. The obvious point here is that someone got disgruntled and spouted in 2001 or some other past date and nobody questioned his/her words. These days everybody has a list and it is difficult to be on all of them.
In answer to Peregrin( after the falcon or Pippin in LOTR?), basic readers don't need certification. It is useful as a credential should you try to get a booth at a fair or public event or teach at a continuing education center. I find that credentials also aid the practicing tarot readers as they build their businesses and attain clientele. It puts the client at ease if the reader has hard copy code of ethics, hard copy disclaimer and hard copy referal guide on site( all certified folks must do this). The reader is instructed on how to build a rapport with the client so that the client feels safe and comfortable with the reader. See Tarot certification is not just a piece of paper. You get quite a bit of instruction as well and we do have some standard things that our readers must do once certified. If you are just reading for yourself and a few friends, who cares. Certification is a big expense and although it would be character building, it would not be cost effective.
Tim.

Tarot Certification Board of America- a critical appraisal

Hey gang,
In response to JMD on self aggrandizement, the levels of testing are set in such a way that the first three levels deal with mechanical aptitude and the last levels are based on service to the organization and to the Community. So to say that the CTI level "smacks of self aggrandizement" would be in part correct. In other part, the spirit of that promotion is misconstrued. We are making sure that the organization continues. Most people certify only to the CPTR level and stay mechanical.
In regards to the bringing over of folks from the earlier incarnations, I just got off the phone with George Heisler. He said that we did carry over folks from the old distinctions so that their certifications carried over and that they didn't need to recertify with the new board at further expense.
Tim.

This then puts those of us who aren't certified in the postion of "not being good enough."

Who is to say that I'm good enough? Some group of people half way across the country or the person sitting across the table from me crying her eyes out because her husband of 3 years just left her for the cashier at the gas station across the street from his work?

How do you quantify a reader? How do you certify a process that is not, should not be set in stone? The way I handle one client differs from the way I handle another client.

And even as a professional, one who makes my living as a Tarot reader, I cannot justify the expense of becoming certified.

Who does the testing? Where do I find someone who does the testing? What about classes? Would I have to pay for those too? I've been studying Tarot for 14 years! Yes, it's entirely possible for me to learn something new in a Tarot class. But it's also even more likely that I'll end up teaching the teacher something new! How do I know that? Because I've done it before! I spent money on a Tarot class before I started reading for money. That was a little over 3 years ago. It was a small workshop and I was constantly pointing out new ways to look at the cards, to read the cards, to enjoy the cards. The teacher finally asked me to give her private lessons! Yes, there are people out there who have read longer than I have, who know more than I do. But, there are they certified? Honestly, they probably aren't. Because they don't need to be!

Divination derives from a word that means God. When I'm divining, when I'm working with Tarot, I'm seeking a connection with the Divine, with a higher power. No matter how you view that higher power, whether it's God, or your subconscious, your higher self, etc... HOW DO YOU CERTIFY A CONNECTION TO THE DIVINE? How do you say that one person's connection is better than anothers?

It's one thing to certify massage. A person can do real physical damage with massage. However anyone could lie and get through the early certification tests for Tarot. They're certified, they've got the paper, and then they go about their business of screwing people over. The practical aspect of "What does this card mean?" and "Read with this spread..." as well as the promise to follow a certain ethical code can easily be done by anyone. A charlatan will not hesitate to lie. Certification is, in my opinion, useless when it comes to Tarot. The fakes will get past the "controls" and the rest of us get screwed.