BTP128: Why I’m Proud to Be a Tarot Reader, and Why You Should Be, Too

In this episode of the Biddy Tarot Podcast, I’ll talk to you about my very first experience with a Tarot reader at age 17 and how it transformed my life.  I’ll also tell you about my transition from thinking of Tarot as a fun party trick to knowing that it’s an incredible tool that can change lives, as well as the range of emotions I felt on this journey.

But I’m not just sharing my story.  In this episode, you’ll hear from other professionals and amateurs in the Tarot world on what makes them proud to be Tarot readers.  Lastly, I’ll give you some tips on how you can get over any fears you have and feel truly proud to be a Tarot reader. 

In this episode, you’ll learn about:  

• How you can get past your insecurities and doubts and become a proud Tarot reader 
• Insight from other Tarot readers on what makes them proud to identify as Tarot readers  
• How I got the confidence to talk proudly to everyone in my life about Tarot 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

• Discover your unique Tarot reading style with my FREE quiz

WELCOME 

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 128: Why I’m Proud to Be a Tarot Reader and Why You Should Be, Too. 

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, where you'll learn how to connect more deeply with your intuition and live an empowered and enlightened life with the Tarot cards as your guide. 

Listen as Brigit and her guests share their very best tips and strategies to help you read Tarot with confidence. Now, here is your host, Brigit Esselmont. 

INTRODUCTION 

BRIGIT: Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast. Today, I’m talking all about why I’m proud to be a Tarot reader—and why I think you should be proud, too. 

Now, the thing is, Tarot can sometimes be one of those things where we think, “Oh, I’ve got to keep it hidden away, and I can’t tell anybody about it, and I’m not really sure what other people will think if I tell them that I read Tarot.” 

But I want us to feel super excited and super proud about what we can do as people who read Tarot. By the end of this episode, I hope you are just bursting to let everybody know that you read Tarot. 

WHY I’M PROUD TO BE A TAROT READER, AND WHY YOU SHOULD BE, TOO 

HOW I FIRST SAW TAROT 

Now, just to start off with a bit of a story about how I first saw Tarot… 

I first came across Tarot… Well, it was probably even as a teenager. As a teenager, I was really into things like Wicca, witchcraft, spell craft, ESP, how to improve my psychic abilities. I got into a bit of yoga and meditation, and I also go into spirituality and religion, and I even read the Bible for 2 years when I was a little bit younger, and I learnt a lot about Christianity. 

When I was 17, I came across a Tarot reader, and I saw the sign outside of this old staircase that led upstairs. 

I thought, “Well, maybe I should try this out.” 

At that time, I just thought Tarot was this fun thing that you do on the side. Maybe it makes you a little bit of a rebel or someone a little bit on the fringe to get a Tarot reading. I was really just intrigued to find out what would happen and what this person could tell me about my future, because of course, Tarot reading, in my mind, at that point, was all about telling the future and doing a bit of fortune telling. 

So, up the stairs I went, and I had my Tarot reading. 

The woman looked very mysterious. She had all this crushed velvet in her room, and it was a tiny room with a round table in the middle. 

She laid out the cards, and she said, “Oh, the Emperor! You're going to meet your boyfriend very soon.” 

I’m like, “Oh, whatever. I’m sure you tell this to everybody.” 

But lo and behold, 6 months later, I had a boyfriend while I was traveling in Germany, and I thought, “Goodness me! There’s something to these cards.” 

So, I thought I would start learning to read Tarot myself, and I thought, “Cool, this is going to be the coolest party trick to have with my friends. They’re going to be amazed by my psychic abilities, now that I can lay out these cards, and we’ll know exactly what’s happening in their future!” 

That’s how I saw Tarot very early on, but as I’m sure you’ve experienced, as soon as I started to learn more about the cards, even to open up that very first book and go, “Right, what is Tarot?” I started to understand that there is so much more to Tarot than just it being a cheap party trick or a fortune telling tool or something that was all mysterious and mystical. 

In fact, I started to really see it come to life. 

The more that I learnt about the cards, I saw them as this 78-page book all about your life. 78 pages filled with lessons about life and how to deal with certain situations, and I was absolutely amazed. 

How could someone figure out everything that existed in life—all of our spiritual lessons and our journeys—and put it into these 78 Tarot cards? 

I really started to get into those cards, and new possibilities really started to open up to me. 

I saw this as a tool that could help my self-growth and my understanding of who I really was. Especially at that age, at 18, 19, 20, early 20s, it’s a point at which you are learning “Who am I? And what place am I taking in this world?” as we step into that place of adulthood. And to have the cards supporting me in that was just fabulous! And to have a way to start to connect with my intuition and my inner wisdom was very helpful indeed. 

Now, interestingly, I still kept it to myself in those first few years. 

Of course, I told a few friends. I had to show off a little bit and say, “Look what I can do!” and they thought that was amazing. But I also became starkly aware that some people were not going to resonate with the idea that I read Tarot cards. And whether it was they thought I was doing something evil or that I was worshipping the Devil, that maybe I was doing something that was not trustworthy, or sometimes just being written off as “Well, there’s your silly little side hobby,” like, “Yeah, you go do that if you really want to. I’ll go and do the important things.” 

Some of that came up, and I really just didn’t want to be judged, so I kept a lot of it quite personal and to myself. 

But over time, I started to share a little bit more. 

It’s just kind of funny. Sometimes I would share about my Tarot reading, and I would get a really odd response, but other times when I would be thinking, “Gosh, maybe I shouldn’t be sharing this…” 

For example, I was at a corporate event after work. I was talking goodness knows what, employee engagement with some 50-year-old male in a suit, and here I was as a 23-year-old fresh out of university. For whatever reason, I said as a hobby I like to read Tarot cards, expecting him to be running off and making a really quick exit. 

He actually turned to me and looked me straight in the eye and said, “Really? What are your favorite decks? I love Tarot, too?” 

I’m like, “What! How is this even happening?” 

There were those funny mixed surprises, where I would have this inkling that there was something special and valuable and honourable about reading Tarot, and then I would have these other experiences that made me feel like, “Is this the right thing? Why do people think that it’s a bad thing?” 

It’s actually quite confusing, and maybe you're in a similar position now, where you're like, “Well, when I think about Tarot, yeah, I’m proud to be a Tarot reader, but sometimes I get some weird responses from people that leave me questioning whether I ought to be proud as a Tarot reader.” 

Now, fast forward to probably around 2012—that’s when I left my corporate job. I decided to step into Tarot full time. 

It was a funny time because I still had it on my LinkedIn profile that I was in HR, and I was looking for new career opportunities in HR. 

I kept thinking, “When am I going to say I am the Founder and CEO of Biddy Tarot? When am I going to fully own that and say that my corporate career is now in my past?” 

It probably took me a good 6 months to update my LinkedIn profile and change, essentially, who I was in a professional sense. But I knew I needed to do it. If I wanted to step up as an authentic reader and show and express my pride as a reader, I knew that I needed to just fully own that, and my LinkedIn profile was one of those big pieces that would tell me that I was really owning it. 

At that point, too, my business was really starting to take off, so Biddy Tarot was growing and growing, and it’s grown into what it is now, which is amazing. 

What I thought about at the time was if I’m still trying to hide who I am, or if I’m not going to be full up front with everybody that I know, I’ve really got to step into that place of pride, and I’ve got to own this. 

My conversations really started to change. 

I really started to talk, again, with that sense of pride when I would introduce myself perhaps to fellow online entrepreneurs. 

They would say, “Well, what’s your business?” 

I would say, “Adult education online? Yeah, that one.” 

But I thought, “No, I’ve got to own this,” so I would say, “I’m the Founder of Biddy Tarot, and we’re one of the leading websites online for people who love Tarot.” 

I really had to work on this and get my tone and my confidence levels up. I would say that now I’m pretty close to being able to say that with true confidence. 

Isn’t that ridiculous, though? Because what Biddy Tarot is now is amazing, and I’m so proud of it. And yet, still sometimes there are those little bits of fear that creep through, and I think, “Oh, what’s this person going to think of me when I talk about my business?” 

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So, I guess I want to share that with you, because no matter where you are on your journey… If you’re in some southern town in America that doesn’t support Tarot whatsoever… In fact, you might be forced to leave your community if you talk anything about Tarot. Maybe you're there. Maybe you're just starting to come out a little bit more. Maybe you're fully out. 

I just want you to know that even for someone like me—this is my business, my life, my everything that I do is about Tarot—it still sometimes can be a little bit challenging. I still sometimes have that little bit of fear about being judged as a Tarot reader. 

So, I just want you to know that we’re all here for each other. Let us now connect into that place of “Why should we be proud as Tarot readers? And why am I proud?” 

I don’t even want to say 99% of the time, because it’s 100%, I’ve just got to really own it! Whenever I introduce myself, I’ve got to own it. All right, Brigit, stop this being about me! 

WHY I’M PROUD TO BE A TAROT READER 

Here’s why I’m proud to be a Tarot reader… 

TAROT IS AN ENTRYWAY INTO SOMETHING BIGGER. 

I just see Tarot as a wonderful entryway into something that is so much bigger. And think you’ll notice this as you start to really get into Tarot, as you start to allow your intuition to really come to the fore, something magical happens, and it goes way beyond just using the cards to give you a message and so on. 

It’s this entry point into the everythingness, the nothingness, the wholeness, the universal energy. 

When we step into this place, we have direct access to intuition and our inner wisdom. We start to reclaim our power, knowing that we can find all the answers that we need. They’re all inside of us. We start to see we have this huge inner reservoir of knowledge, and we don’t necessarily have to rely on other people to tell us what to do or how to get to where we want to go. It’s all available to us, and Tarot is this entry point into that place. 

TAROT CAN HELP PEOPLE MAKE MASSIVE TRANSITIONS. 

Now, this sort of expresses itself into things like in your career. Tarot can help people make massive transitions in their career to finally find their purpose and to finally find a calling in their career and do work that they feel passionate about. 

It might serve to help people in their relationships, to have better relationships with others, to have a better relationship with themselves and just generally be a better person. 

Tarot can help reclaim that power, to empower, to show you that you are not a victim in life anymore. You have this power to create exactly the life that you want, and Tarot helps you get there because it’s connecting you to your intuition, your inner power, your inner wisdom, and I think that’s incredibly powerful. 

And that’s why I’m so proud to be using Tarot and why I want to encourage you to feel really proud of what you're creating as well. 

WHY THE TAROT COMMUNITY IS PROUD 

Now, I actually asked our Community about what makes them feel proud as Tarot readers. Some of the themes that came through were things like helping others. There were so many responses about helping others! About giving spiritual guidance to others. Helping others to create purpose and alignment in their life. Being accurate and giving accurate readings, and giving insights that were surprising but helpful to others, offering hope. 

There are a couple of comments that I want to share with you because I really do want to celebrate what makes you proud to be a reader. 

Jennifer writes: 

“I recognized the need I had and the pull I felt to allow, embrace, and become a metaphysical practitioner, even though I was sure to be ridiculed by family and outsiders who don’t understand the beauty of the cards and the connection to the other side.” 

Being proud is that courage to step out, even if you are worried that you are going to be judged. Oftentimes, that worry is just inside of your head! Many people may be very supportive of what you do. 

Now, Kristen says: 

“Finding and accepting myself during my journey to understand my intuition, the Tarot helped me find me.” 

I love that! That’s so much of what I experienced when I was younger with the Tarot cards. It helps you find you. I remember one of our students, Darcy, said in our classes: 

“You know what? I signed up thinking this was going to teach me Tarot. And it did. And then it taught me all about myself and who I really am as a person and how I can access my true self, so it was pretty powerful.” 

Now, Sapner says: 

“With Tarot, I’m able to guide people in their spiritual journey, motivate them, and help them to align with their purpose and their life goals. Really powerful.” 

Alfredo says: 

“Self-knowledge and consciousness, using gifts to help all people possible to carry on with their lives.” 

Neat. 

And finally, Taresa… Taresa is part of our Community. I noticed in one of our Forum threads a little while ago, she posted in there (and I hope she doesn’t mind me sharing this a little bit), “I want to do the free readings, but I’m petrified! I don’t know if I’m ready at all. I’m not sure if I can do it.” 

Then, of course, all of our Community members jumped in and said, “You can do it! Go for it, Taresa!” 

And then she did. She said, “OK, I’ve taking my first reading.” 

Then she posted the next day, “I’ve got feedback, and it’s amazing, and I feel on top of the world!” 

Pretty awesome. 

Now, Taresa writes this about why she feels proud to be a Tarot reader. She says: 

“I’m still very new to the Tarot world, but I’m proud that I’m slowly coming out of the Tarot closet. I no longer need to read in secret for myself, hiding in the bedroom or waiting until my hubby leaves the house. I’ve read for a few friends several times and even two strangers. I love the feeling of giving them a different perspective and insight. It was magical!” 

That really encapsulates this feeling that happens when you start to read Tarot for other people, and you own it. You honour this. It is yours! This is such a special gift that you have that you can now share with others. 

So, I really want to invite you to step into this place and think about what makes you feel proud as a Tarot reader. 

Or maybe you don’t identify as a Tarot reader, but what makes you feel proud to read Tarot? 

And another invitation is, what’s one way that you can lead the way and start to re-educate others about what Tarot really is? 

BECOME A PROUD TAROT READER 

So, here are a couple of tips about what you can do, because here’s the thing… 

If we are all really valuing and believing in what we do, and when we feel proud of what we do, we start to shift the perception around Tarot. We start to shift it away from it being a scammy or fortune-telling tool or a devil-worshipping tool into something that is much more empowering, that is almost divine in nature, that is going to help people connect to that inner wisdom and the true sense of themselves. 

Some things that you can do, creating a new conversation around Tarot and intuition… 

TALK ABOUT TAROT HAS HELPED YOU AND OTHERS. 

Talk about Tarot and how it’s helped you. Talk about Tarot and how it’s helped your clients, the people that you read for, because the more that we share these positive examples, the more we shift perception. 

PUT IT INTO LAYMAN’S TERMS. 

Another recommendation I have for you is to put it into layman’s terms. Be ready to explain how Tarot actually works and what this thing called intuition is. Be ready to explain it so that just anybody can understand it. I think the more that we do put things into layman’s terms, the more that we can start to meet people where they’re at and bring them along on this journey. 

LEAD BY EXAMPLE. 

I also think it’s really important that we are leading by example. What I get really jazzed about is, for every new student that we’re attracting into our programs, I love that we are helping these students to read Tarot in a way that is authentic, that is genuine, that is intuitive, that is in alignment. And for every graduating student, we are putting one more person out into the world to have a really positive impact on the perception of Tarot. I really want to encourage you and invite you to lead by example by being an awesome Tarot reader. 

And a more practical way of doing that is offer a Tarot reading to someone. If you’re in a conversation with them, and you're talking about Tarot, if you’ve got a little sneaky deck in your handbag or bag, then pull it out and do a reading and say, “This is what a Tarot reading can be like. It doesn’t have to be those fortune-telling readings that you might get done by a computer online, but this actually a really beautiful and transformative experience.” Think about if you can offer a little quickie on the side with your Tarot cards so that someone else can experience that. 

By doing these things, we start to change and shift that perception of what Tarot really is, and I think we can also really just step out into the world and be proud of what we have created. 

Again, I want to invite you to connect in with what makes you proud to read Tarot. And secondly, what is one way that you can lead the way and re-educate others about Tarot so that, collectively, we really shift this perception, and we continue to create this idea of Tarot as an empowering tool to connect us to our inner wisdom. 

WRAP-UP 

All right, that is it for me for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. Of course, you can get the transcript and the show notes over at BiddyTarot.com/btp128. 

Discover your unique Tarot reading style with my FREE quiz!