Tarot Ethics

[DrDave]

Our ethics isn't just saying what we see, it's also considering the consequences of the message.
And while the cards do give us messages for a reason, we need to (1) be sure of that reason before we present it?
Maybe THAT is why we're being told and MAYBE we should find out before discussing it?) and (2) the cards also leave it up to us to decide HOW to tell our sitters what we see.

That is perhaps the biggest part of our jobs and we should never forget it.

Our task is not just to present information, but to present it in a way that will serve the sitter, not destroy, hurt, damage, or abuse them.

We must not only be 100% sure of such dire messages, but also offer them to our sitters in the most useful way.
Thirteen

You are spot on there Thirteen.
I am a Medical Dr for a living and many times you do not have good news to impart.

But you dont crush Hope ever.
I have seen bad cancers live for years,when they should have been gone in months.
I have seen HIV sufferers ,completely turn around and focus on the good, and live for 20 yrs.

I don't give time frames when asked ,"How long Dr has he got to live" and I don't sugar coat the truth.
But like 13 says,If the cards tell you someones brother is going to be in a big car crash,rather advise to check the car's brakes Tyres etc

...............and the same with our beloved Tarot.

Never crush the spirit,and only the Great Spirit can call anything,there are many ways to impart what we know,to the sitter.

Don't abuse that privilege.




DD

 

[nisaba]

Our ethics ...

Your ethics are yours, not "ours". I find it breathtakingly arrogant of you that you should tell me what my ethics area. Not discussing, which I am happy to do, but laying down the law. No, thanks.

Don't abuse that privilege.

Thank you for knowing so much about me.

 

[GryffinSong]

I suspect that English is not DrDave's native language, and trying to take that into account, I don't read his note with the tone you do, nisaba.

On the other hand, this sounds like a continuation of another conversation, so I'm missing context.

*shrug*

 

[Chiska]

DrDave seems to be continuing a discussion with Thirteen from this thread.

He quoted Thirteen in the first half of the post, but it is hard to see that. It would be helpful if Thirteen's words were somehow delineated from the rest of the post.

 

[DrDave]

Sorry
Yes ,It started as a comment from 13 which I felt would be a good thread to start.
I would never be so presumptious as to tell people what to do
So IMHO this is not meant to P off anyone,just a comment.

As a Tarot reader,the power you wield is great,since the sitter will listen to
your words and have faith in them.

So you can choose to crush or not to crush,I don't crush.

Of course the other cards help explain what is going on in the reading.

But when it comes to telling it as it is,I feel that there are hard ways and soft ways to impart how you interpret what is going on

I have only commented rarely {200 posts} in a year and so I would not presume to know as much as someone who has posted over 8000 times.

You know "spirit of the law versus letter of the law"
Nisaba, you know exactly what I was alluding to in my first Post

I would never dare to presume to know all
Maybe you do
DD

 

[TheOld]

Hot thread lol

 

[gregory]

I'd agree that HOW you say what you see is crucial to helping a sitter.

What I sometimes wonder is if it is ever OK to keep your mouth shut if you see something so scary that you feel you should not say it at all.

If (I never have, but IF) I saw someone as incontrovertibly having terminal cancer with weeks to live and they had no idea - I think I would not say so, just say the cards suggest you should see a doctor - and soon. I cannot imagine seeing such a thing; it is just an example.

Partly I see it as an issue with professional knowledge. I am NOT a doctor. so it is not my business to diagnose....

On a radio programme the other day a midwife at a party was talking to a pregnant friend who complained of swollen ankles; the midwife asked about her vision and then said she should go to hospital for a checkup. No, not tomorrow - now - just to be safe. She did NOT say why. Of course she was right; her friend had pre-eclampsia - as she had thought - but she didn't say so; she left that to the obstetrician.

I think that's kind of the line I would take with anything totally gobsmackingly awful. Not sugar it as such, but not poleaxe my sitter either.

Not least because - for all our faith in them - the cards aren't 100% reliable for predictions. They are coloured by our own knowledge and the rest. Imagine telling someone they were dying, and they weren't.....

 

[Disa]

I agree with everything in the first post.

I see what I see and I struggle with how to relay the message. I'm aware that the way we deliver info can impact the sitter in a huge way, so I try to be very careful.

I have a close friend who tells me, "I don't care what you see, even if it's bad you better tell me!" Even when I did, it was so hard to articulate. After the event came to pass, I was glad I had told her ahead of time. The way the events unfolded were nothing anyone could have expected, but the outcome was still the same. I was glad I had only told her the image that flashed in my mind as I turned the card, the outcome I had seen in the card. I only gave what I saw, not what I thought would surround it. With the info given she took necessary precautions, but you cannot control the actions of others. Unforeseen people did unforeseen things and the outcome still occurred. Luckily, everyone involved was safe and perhaps learned something from the experience.

I think that's all we can do, present what we see in a way that is not hurtful and let the sitter do what they feel they need to do to either bring about the outcome or divert it. But then, sometimes- it's just going to happen anyway, isn't it?

 

[Caedryn]

DrDave, Gregory, and Disa...I agree with your views of ethics. These can be applied to life in general, and not just Tarot.

As Disa stated, I also believe it should be the sitter's decision as to receiving 'bad' information, yet that also leaves the reader with a burden. I would accommodate the sitter, but add that if I see anything that should be addressed, such as you should see a MD, be cautious about ____ etc. In this way I feel in good conscience.

~ C

 

[GryffinSong]

In terms of ethics, I feel that its very important to never, ever, ever say something about health or other critical issues in 100% terms. I'll give an example.

When I was in the middle of my cancer diagnosis, a friend who reads tarot told me in no uncertain terms that it was not cancer. She told me where in the breast the thing was, and that it was totally benign. It most certainly was not benign. It was invasive cancer and was not where she said. After nearly a year of life-shattering treatments, she tells me that its completely cured and will never reccur. You really think I'm going to trust my life to that? Everyone can be wrong. All of us. No matter what we think we see, and no matter how clearly, we can never be certain. So a reading should always, in my opinion, be tempered with care and wise advice. As others have said, if you see a medical issue, tell them to see a doctor. If you see a non-issue, perhaps you'd best think twice before telling someone NOT to see a doctor. To be fair, my friend never told me not to have further tests. But I'm glad I'm a skeptic, because if I'd believed her, I'd have felt even more devestated than I was by my diagnosis.

No one is infallable.