Tarot Certification Board of America- a critical appraisal
Hello Folks,
I am the Executive director of the TCBA and I also run a metaphysical shop in Schenectady, NY and operate an Art Gallery(opening soon). I am also a poet, priest( Assistant Pastor of the Astral light Temple (Correllian Nativist Tradition)and Pastor of the Schenectady Pagan cluster), Irish Musician and activist. I wear many hats. I was asked to come to this forum to provide info on the actual certification process and to answer any of your questions. I have read your concerns and will attempt to get to all of them. Should I miss any be sure to let me know. I encourage all of you to also contact me directly at
therev@capital.net or at our 1-800-872-0556 toll free number. I will be happy to discuss the process with you.
The TCBA was founded in the early 1990's and at that time was attached to the ATA( American Tarot Association) . John Gilbert was president of both organizations. John made some arrangements with folks in other countries to certify folks in those areas for us under our granting authority. Hence The Canadian Board, The Korean, the Japanese and the European Boards were founded. Today those folk still operate under our imperium. Several have changed their policies slightly. A few years back before my time as ExD, there was a turmoil amongst alpha personalities in the TCBA and portions of the ATA. The disgruntled folks formed a separate organization that is not under our imperium (ATCB). You will know folks who operate under our imperium by the proprietary terms of our seven levels of certification(copywritten).
We are not a certificate mill. There is a discernable process to follow--step by step. Each level tests different levels of aptitude and understanding. No you can't just get a certificate by paying for it. The candidate sends her test materials to me. I critique them and give feedback and may ask the candidate for more detail and likewise offer more detail. Then they pay and George Heisler sends the certificate. Then we go on to the next level. One at a time. You can of course do the first three levels ( up to CPTR) at the same time but it is a bear to grade that expanse of material and I don't recommend folks to do that. We are a testing board and do not offer classes or mentoring. However, The board wishes to instill a high degree of professional capability and ethicality in our candidates.
Rules will vary by locality. However, at this time, there are no Federal regulations for Tarot practitioners. In the States of NY and CT, there are local laws which place Tarot reading under the public entertainment and nuisance codes. This is an ancient codification that has not been challenged. We are currently looking into that legal challenge with certain lawmakers for the betterment of the Tarot Community. We do however insist that no matter where you are in the World ,that if you are certified through us, that you use the standard disclaimer "This reading is for entertainment purposes only. " before each reading. A woman recently was fined in Saratoga county of NY 50,000 dollars for not using it. If you are trying to make a living as a professional psychic counselor, use the disclaimer and you will be safe. Under the maxim:"Better safe than sorry." I personally say the disclaimer and then smile widely, breathe deeply...and then say" So, I hope you are highly entertained." The clients get the point and get a smile too. I recommend to our candidates and my students that they also have a hard copy in their physical location of the disclaimer , their personal code of ethics(which includes all of our standard code and any other points that they feel are important) and their professional referral list(list of experts in fields in which we do not have expertise.) The standard Code can be found at our website and at the ATA site. This has been hashed out over the decades by some of the greatest minds in Tarot. Of course, it is not the end all in the matter. This is why for the CPTR we ask the candidate to add to and also adhere to the standard Code.
I test folks on their understanding of process, their grasp of mechanical and iconographical meanings--mainly standardized over the years, the flow of their reading style, the rapport that they build with their clients, their ability to work with different layout forms and create their own to suit the individual case and many other areas of skill. I can not and will not test people on their intuitive ability and link to deific source of choice. I will however make suggestions on how to expand the candidate's knowledge of the Tarot complex and the meanings of the cards. I agree with JMD that each reader will have different meanings for the cards in each case. I further agree with him that each reader will add his own sense of personality and flare to his reading. I will suggest however that their are fairly standard/mechanical meanings which have been developed over the years that can be used as a foundation to grow our further knowledge of the Tarot. By linking the Tarot to other paradigms, we can expand the information given in a reading. For instance, if we get some birth data from the client, we can reach into the astrological material for some more corresponding information to back up and flesh out the reading. We might also choose an oracle card or a rune stone or pendulum swing to verify and strengthen the reading. This is why in one level we ask for the candidate to work with tarot and another paradigm. When counseling, you need to provide direction and advice to your client. Any set of tools that enables you to facilitate the healing process should be explored and embraced. We emphasize creativity and diversity of tactics in our counseling level.
Why do deck and book reviews? If we are attempting to create a professional body of readers and to better develop the leadership of the Tarot community, we better know what sort of people and products/tools there are in it. We should be able to critique the existing work and know where we currently stand on issues that are of importance to the tarot community. We should also be developing an understanding of the literature in the field so that we can represent it in the best light. When you are giving professional readings, you represent to that client the Tarot community. How can we best prepare somone to do that effectively? Have them explore the material.
Every reader from the novice to the certified, to the Masters is constantly changing and growing their understanding of themselves and their place in the world. Likewise, we are constantly evolving our understanding of our chosen divinational tool.
As it is 12:15am and I need to be up tomorrow for early shop hours and then preparing for a 24- hour Earth Day Event on Saturday replete with rituals, drumming, belly dancing and bands, I should probably go to bed. I hope this answered some of your questions and sparked the inqusitive nature of some. Good Day!
Tim.
Executive director of TCBA.