Getting certified

Hi out there! Is there anyone here who is certified themselves? I was wondering if it might be possible to just ask someone who is conversant with what they want on the test to look at my "key-words". I scored 100% on the verbal on the IQ test - ok, was that too much info?? Just wanted to say that I'm pretty confident of my lists, but would love for someone else to objectively take a peek.

Post, pm, whaddevah!

Certification Bodies

BlackRoseIvy:

I am past Vice President of the American Board For Tarot Certification. For this particular certification body, we did test readings (which were never graded by percentage, simply by did the person perform the reading in an acceptable manner), and we required a list of the applicants key words for each of the cards.

There was no right or wrong on the keyword list ... we simply looked to make sure that the applicant had a good idea aobut the basic nature of the card. As long as you feel that you can "defend" your keywords ofr any given card, that is really all that should be necessary.

Please note ... this may varyaccording to which board or certification body you are applying to.

Blessings,
Bonnie

Thanks for asking the questions, Blackroseivy, and thanks for the response, Bonnie!

I had always wondered how one would evaluate anothers tarot reading. It seems possible and by including the key words for the card in the reading I am sure the governing body will be able to evaluate one's understanding of the cards.

When I was first starting my tarot work, the hardest part for me was the overall synthesis of the cards in the spread rather than the individual cards themselves. Tying it all together was a challenge, but with patience and practice, and lots of readings (including reading books about spreads!) it finally started to make sense.

In the past there have been some pretty lively discussions on these boards about certification but it is possible (I think) to evaluate what can be a subjective discipline. I have been thinking of applying for certification myself.

~Deborah

Certification

Deborah:

Wishing both you and BlackRoseIvy a wonderful journey through your certification path.

Blessings,
Bonnie

THANK YOU so MUCH for your response, Bonnie!!

I have my key-words lists all ready. & as to that thing about not being able to synthesize the reading together - a long time ago, that was MY problem too! But I just found that it eventually happened naturally with me.

These readings, though - are they entirely fiction?? I'm not sure how well I'll do at that, but I'll take a crack at it...

Readings ... Fiction or Real?

BlackRoseIvy:

When I was doing the certification, I would allow the applicant to either take a question from me (that was in effect a real question), or make one up. I did this because I wanted people to feel comfortalbe ... and testing makes most people nervous. ;-)

You would have to check with whatever organization is certifying you to see whether you are going to be doing a "real" reading, or made up readings. Remember that all readings are stories, and just let the story flow. Look at the marvelous work that James Ricklef did with his Knighthawk series ... doing imaginary readings for prominent people fromthe past ... like Napoleon!

Blessings,
Bonnie

Thanks for bringing up this topic right now, so it came to my attention as something I aught to consider. After doing a thorough web-search, I'd like to know if there are any drawbacks, and if one certification is better or more reputable than another.

Drawbacks

Faeryreader said:

Thanks for bringing up this topic right now, so it came to my attention as something I aught to consider. After doing a thorough web-search, I'd like to know if there are any drawbacks, and if one certification is better or more reputable than another.

Click to expand...

It is the choice of the individual at this time as to whether they become certified or not. IOW ... In the US, there are no national or state laws that I am of aware of that insist that this be done. From this perspective, I really do not see any drawbacks to becoming certified.

It is also up to the individual to go to a certification organization's site and see what they require, and what they offer. There is one significant difference in the two US based certification organizations, and that is that the American Board For Tarot Certification does require CEU's (Continuing Education Credits) for Tarot Master and above. This simply means that the individual either attend a seminar, or a class, or present at a seminar, or give a class.

I hope this helps.

Blessings,
Bonnie

There are few areas related to tarot about which I have pretty strong views, and on this issue, Bonnie and I certainly are at the opposite ends of the spectrum (though on many other aspects, this is not the case).

If anyone decides to check themselves against any checklist and use that as a boost of self-confidence, fine. This is not, however, where certification usually leads, nor where the self-styled boards aim to have their certification stop.

There is a presumption that someone who is certified will somehow make a better (or 'minimally qualified') reader over someone who has not such certification - this is plain rubbish in terms of reading the cards at hand.

Unfortunately, those who engage in certification do a great dis-service to the broader tarot community, hence why I generally do not simply let these threads go unaddressed. It is not simply about those who may want such amongst themselves, but that the same is also falsely presented to the public as somehow displaying a certifiable proficiency where none is warranted.

At the very least, please also consider reading through the thread 'Tarot Certification Board of America - a critical appraisal', and my entry in for the ATS Newsletter: 'On certification, the codification of ethics, and reading Tarot'.

Certification

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I agree that JMD and I are diametrically opposed when it comes to certification. However, on almost everything else we are very much in sync.

The following link should clarify some of my thoughts on certification: http://www.angelfire.com/nm/spiritualwarrier/index.873.html

Enjoy ... and please remember that certification, and why you may want to, or not want to, become certified is an individual decision.

Blessings,
Bonnie