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BTP48: What Every Tarot Reader Should Know About Certification

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If you're an aspiring Tarot reader and want to build your confidence, develop your Tarot reading skills, and stand out from the crowd, then listen up.

Becoming a certified Tarot reader has HUGE advantages from increasing your self-confidence, building your reputation as a credible Tarot reader and growing your Tarot reading business.

Today, I'm talking about what every Tarot reader should know about certification so you can avoid some of the pitfalls of certification and instead invest in a program that's right for you and your Tarot reading career.

In this Episode, you’ll learn…

  • What to look for in a high-quality certification program
  • The best way to find the perfect program for you
  • The pros & cons of getting certified
  • How to narrow down the options to find the right certifying organization

Additional Resources:

Podcast Transcript

Brigit:  You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 48: What Every Tarot Reader Should Know About Certification.

Voice-Over

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot podcast, where you will 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. And now, here is your host Brigit Esselmont.

Introduction

Brigit:  Hello and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast I am so excited to have you here as always.

If you're an aspiring Tarot reader and want to build your confidence, develop your Tarot reading skills, and stand out from the crowd as a Tarot reader, then listen up.

Becoming a certified Tarot reader has HUGE advantages, from increasing your self-confidence, building your reputation as a credible Tarot reader and growing your Tarot reading business.

But, not all certification is created equal. In fact, some Tarot certification programs aren't even worth the paper they're printed on.

So today, I'm going to be talking about what every Tarot reader should know about certification so that you can avoid some of the pitfalls of certification and instead invest in a program that's right for you and your Tarot reading career.

Let's get straight into it.

What is Tarot Certification?

It's a recognition that you have undertaken the necessary study to read the Tarot, and that you also meet a certain standard for being able to interpret and read the Tarot cards.

Some certification simply requires that you submit an exam or a practice reading and that's that. Whereas other certification is much more robust and requires you to complete a comprehensive training program and perhaps even gaining real life experience reading the Tarot cards. Maybe you need to pass a series of quizzes and also submit an application with sample readings, code of ethics and other elements that are essential to reading Tarot professionally.

Ultimately, Tarot certification is designed to give you more credibility as a Tarot reader, both professionally and also personally. It's a huge confidence boost especially when you need that little bit extra validation and confirmation that you ARE a great Tarot reader.

And if you want to go on to read Tarot for others, whether it's for fun or professionally, it's going to be the thing that helps you attract more clients and builds your reputation as an ethical and professional Tarot reader.

And at a really high level, certification – when it's done in the right way – has the potential to really raise the bar for Tarot readers and really positively influence the way Tarot is seen in the general public.

You think about other career paths, such as lawyers. Of course, you need to be certified to be a practising lawyer. To be a doctor, you need to be certified. Even as I think of hypnosis, you need to have certification in order to practice as a hypnotherapist.

I think that having a solid robust Tarot certification program can be really positive for the Tarot industry as a whole and, again, it can really just raise the bar and improve the perception of Tarot readers in general.

Wouldn't you love to be a part of that movement and really change the face of Tarot?

So let's dive into why you might want to become a certified Tarot reader.

Why should you get certified?

A very sort of base level, but very important, you may want to become a certified Tarot reader because you want the learning. You want that educational base to make sure that you've got everything that you need in order to read Tarot confidently.

A good certification program shouldn't just be about printing off a certificate, taking your money and then sending that certificate and boom away you go. In my opinion, I think a good certification program should include training and education alongside the certification.

It's not just a one-off Tarot topic, a master class and then suddenly, boom, you're certified, or even a basic beginner course and then say, “Yup, you're done.” This is about investing in a full training program that takes you from pretty much day one of when you get your first Tarot cards through to that point where you know how to interpret the individual Tarot cards, you know how to do a Tarot reading and you've had the opportunity to also practice with real life people and to start getting that feedback before you even get certified.

Being part of a certification program like that will really give you such a solid base, where you feel like, “Yes, I've really learnt the fundamentals of Tarot.” Now, of course, the learning journey never stops, and there's never a point at which you go, “Yup, I'm done. I know everything I need to know.” But at least with a really solid certification program, you'll have that base-level knowledge around Tarot and how to deliver really solid Tarot readings.

It's also your opportunity to learn from the best who have a really solid reputation in the market as well.

And often times, if you're choosing the right certification program, you're taking part in training that is fully accredited. I'm going to talk about this a bit later on, but that's what you really want to look out for.

You have a certification program, but it's another thing to have it accredited from a third party organisation. That just gives it that real extra credibility and reputation, particularly in a place like Tarot where things are a little bit more fluid. It just really is good to know that another body or another organisation has said, “Yes, this organisation is delivering high-quality training.” Really important.

Another reason why you might want to become a certified Tarot reader is because it offers you this personal validation. It's also a signal that you are really committed to your Tarot practice.

We go through and we learn Tarot, but there's always this sort of self-doubt and fear and worry that plays in the background of how do I know if I'm ready. How do I know if I've got everything I need so that I can start reading Tarot for others?

Something like a certification can often be that little green light that says, “You know what? You've done it. You're good. You're good to go. Go for it!”

Now, of course, certification alone, that doesn't have to be the only answer, but it certainly can give you that real confidence boost to say, “You know what, I’ve got the certification. I've passed the test. I can do it now.” That might just be the one thing that you need in order to take you career or your Tarot reading practice that next step and really blossom as a Tarot reader.

The other aspect of this is it's kind of this signal to yourself that you take Tarot seriously and it's not just some fun thing. Well, I shouldn't say it's not just this fun thing because I think Tarot is fun and it should be fun. Let me go back on that a little.

It's more this sign to yourself that you are committed to Tarot and that Tarot has a place in your life and that you also recognise the benefits that Tarot has for you and how fully integrated it is in your own life.

I just think of Tarot for my life and how integrated it is for me. I plan my business with my Tarot cards. I use Tarot cards to help me focus each day. I use Tarot cards to help me navigate relationships, big decisions, those kinds of things. It's just such a part of my life.

Something like a certification program may be that thing that tells you, “Yeah, this is for real. I'm doing this for real.” Again, it's your choice if you want to go on to read Tarot professionally, but even being a certified Tarot reader and then reading Tarot for yourself and your friends, that's an awesome thing as well.

Don't feel like you have to become a professional Tarot reader to benefit from something like certification because often it's just that sign to yourself that I can do this. I've got it. Also, you know that you're willing to invest in yourself and you're willing to take care of yourself and live an intuitively led life. Really important

The third reason why you might want to get certified is that sense of pride.

When I first started reading Tarot, I kind of found it tricky because I'd come from an academic background. When you focused at school and university, it's very much about you get a grade. You get marked on your essays. You get grades. You get your degree. You can get your honour’s degree, you're master's degree. All kinds of things. It’s all these very tangible things that say you've put in the time and effort to learn this thing and this is the acknowledgement of all of your work and personal investment.

But with Tarot, in some ways there's not a lot to show for it, apart from your readings of course. I mean, the readings, kind of like proof is in the pudding. But I know that for some people it can be really motivating to have a certificate that can go on your wall, that you can display proudly to yourself, your friends, your clients. You can say, “Look, I've put in the hard work to become the Tarot reader that I am today.” That certificate is one way of demonstrating that amount of hard work that you've put in.

Likewise, you might have a badge for your website or a logo to say that you are a certified reader. It might be something that you can include in your bio particularly when you're attracting new clients. Again, it's just that ability to be able to say, “I am proud of being a certified Tarot reader.” That's an awesome feeling.

The fourth reason is to build your credibility.

As I was talking about before, lawyers, doctors, hypnotherapists, psychologists, all sorts of different careers or occupations will have some form of certification. It's to ensure that the standard of that occupation is met. In Tarot, we just don't have it as a common thing. Not every single Tarot reader has to be certified.

But I think going that extra step and taking action to become a certified Tarot reader, that's what really gives legitimacy to your work as a Tarot reader. It shows that you're serious about your profession.

It also gives a really strong message that you are committed to being an ethical Tarot reader and a competent and skilful Tarot reader. You're not just setting up a little sandwich board sign on your front corner and going, “Hey, I'll read your cards for five dollars. Come on over!” It's more like I have invested in myself and I take Tarot seriously and I take you as my client seriously. It sends a really strong message in that way.

Then finally, if you are thinking about going on to become a professional Tarot reader or you already are a professional Tarot reader, then becoming a certified Tarot reader can help you get more clients.

If you've started a business, you know how hard it is to get your first few clients through the door and continue to grow your business. Certification adds to your credibility and your reputation. I think it can really add value to what you offer.

If you can say, “You know what, I'm a certified Tarot reader. I've done the work and I've shown I have the knowledge here,” then I think you've got more ability to charge a little bit more than perhaps the person next to you that hasn't got certification.

It just really builds up your brand and your reputation with potential clients. That might be sort of the distinguishing factor between a client choosing you or somebody else. Maybe the client needs that kind of validation. “How do I know if this person is actually legitimate and are they going to do what they say they're going to do?”

If you were evaluating one reader without certification, the other one with certification, I know which one I would probably choose. If there's nothing else really separating them, I would go for the certified Tarot reader because that would be an indication to me that this person is invested in themselves and they're going to offer me more value as a reader.

Case Studies

Now I wanted to share just a couple of case studies with you of Tarot readers who have gone on to become certified because obviously, with Biddy Tarot, we have a certification program. We've been running this for a little while now.

We have quite a few certified Biddy Tarot readers who have gone ahead, done the training, got the practice, applied and have been successful in their applications. I just wanted to share a couple of the stories from those certified Tarot readers.

One is Sharon Struga. Now if you've ever been to Biddy Tarot and you've gone ahead and requested a Tarot reading, you'll notice that Sharon's in our list of endorsed Tarot readers.

Now, of course, she wasn't always there. Sharon started with our program, Master the Tarot Card Meanings. Then she went on to take Read the Tarot with Confidence. These are two six-week programs with quite intensive training and with quizzes. You need to pass the quiz in order to complete the course.

Then she went on to practice her readings with different people. Then submitted her certification.

Now as part of the Biddy Tarot Certification, you do need to submit a log of your Tarot readings plus a number of sample readings. You also need to submit your code of ethics. You need to show that you've done the work in the training programs, so you submit a completed workbook. You also submit some things around how you see Tarot and how you see yourself as a Tarot reader. It's a really comprehensive certification, right?

Sharon did all of this and she was successful. She passed and she got her certificate as a Tarot reader, as a certified Tarot reader.

She went on to read Tarot on what was then the Biddy Tarot Network and is now the Free Tarot Readings platform. She's also started her on website.

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She contacted me probably it would have been about six months ago and said, “Hey, Brigit, I’d love to read on your endorsed reader’s page.”

Just the fact that she was a certified Tarot reader through us, through Biddy Tarot, that just gave her so much more credibility. I knew that she had trained with me and I knew that she had trained in an accredited program that was very comprehensive.

Of course, I said, “Yes, come and join us on the endorsed reader's list.” We literally have just four or five people. I hand-pick these people. I'm not just taking anyone that comes and says, “Hey, can I read for you?” Sorry.

Sharon's a wonderful success story about how she's taken her certification and she's now reading for Biddy Tarot and doing such a great job with her clients.

Another story I just wanted to share was from Rae. Rae also took our programs and went to become a successful certified Biddy Tarot reader.

Recently, Rae posted in Facebook and she talked a lot about the boost to her confidence that certification gave her. I'm going to read out exactly what she wrote.

She said, “By completing the tasks and tests to become certified I gained so much more confidence in my abilities then just continuing reading randomly hoping for some vague feedback. It proved to ME that I could do it and knowing that others recognised this too is empowering and satisfying on a personal level… and the certificate hangs proudly on my wall”

That just sums up so much of that persona pride that comes from becoming a certified Tarot reader. Often times, it's just that one thing that you need so that you can then go on and do amazing things with your Tarot practice.

Potential pitfalls of Getting Certified

As I said at the start of this podcast, not all certification is created equal. Unfortunately, there can be some downsides to certification. I wanted to make sure that you know about some of these potential pitfalls of becoming certified, but I also want to give you some advice about how you can avoid these pitfalls as well when you're becoming a certified Tarot reader.

Something that often comes up when we talk about certification, particularly within the existing Tarot community, is some resistance around how do you decide if something in Tarot is right or wrong, because Tarot is so subjective. It's very hard to sort of how do you pass someone, or not pass them because it's such a fluid process.

I completely take on that feedback, I so understand. When I was designing the Biddy Tarot Certification Program, I knew we had to really just nip that one in the bud straight away.

We need flexibility because I like to embrace people's different reading styles and ways of interpreting the cards, particularly since I teach people to read intuitively and not to always rely on the book meanings. But what's really important is once you allow for fluidity, there also needs to be some quite clear criteria for certification and you want to make sure those criteria are clearly stated when you are applying to become a certified reader and you know what's expected of you to pass.

For example, make sure that what are you being evaluated on when the certifying organisation, when they're reading a sample reading, what are they looking for and does that kind of resonate with you. The things that they're judging you on, is that quite right.

Now I remember a certification organisation a little while back and for one of their levels, they wanted you to write deck reviews, like five different Tarot deck reviews to certify you as I think it was maybe as an instructor or something like that.

When I looked at that because I was looking at getting certified at this point and I thought, “No, that's not—If I can write a deck review, is that the thing that's going to make me a good reader? No.” So for me, that was a no.

But other times I've looked at the certification and it's been things like can you construct a meaningful story in the Tarot reading. Well, yeah, I can and I think that's going to be important for my Tarot readings. Or able to go beyond just describing the card and instead, go to relating that card back to the client and the question asked. Well, again, that's something I resonate with as a Tarot reader.

That is certification that I want to get. But writing a deck review? Uh-uh. That's not for me. That's not testing the right skills.

So make sure you're looking at those criteria and you're also connecting with what's being measured and that that's going to be meaningful for you. Because if it's not meaningful for you, then it might not be the right certification program for you.

You also need to make sure that there's going to be some acknowledgement between book meanings and intuitive meanings. If your intuition is telling you three of cups means online dating and nobody can find that in the book, are you going to be penalised for that? Or are you actually going to be supported in that more intuitive meaning?

Things like that you've got to make sure is there some room for this creativity.

The other thing that you need to watch out for with certification programs, different Tarot readers will have different styles of reading and will the certification process favour some styles of reading and not others.

To sort of overcome this you really need to make sure that there's an acknowledgement of different styles of reading and that you're not going to be penalised for adopting one style over another.

For example, in the Biddy Tarot Certification when we're looking through the applications, we're so aware that some readers are going to be more coaching styles, some readers are going to be more predictive and their language is going to be different.

I acknowledge and respect all styles of reading. Sure, I've got personal preferences, but to be a good examiner or certifying body, then we need to be able to accept and embrace differences. So that's a really important part of the way that we review different certification applications.

Just make sure that different styles of reading is going to be acknowledged in the certification program.

Another big thing that comes up whenever we talk about certification in Tarot circles is this big resistance about well anybody can print a certificate and say that you're certified. Hey, why don't you give me 100 bucks and I’ll whiz up a little certificate for you and there you go. You're a certified Tarot reader. Good on you.

Well, unfortunately, that is true, you could just make up your own certificate. The sad thing is that really devalues a lot of other certification programs.

However, you need to be really mindful in your choice of certification programs. There are hundreds online, so you could go down a bit of a rabbit hole and find the cheapest certification program that all you have to do is write your name on a form and then you get a certificate. But that's not going to do what you want it to do. You want the training. You want to get the experience. You want to have the backing of a reputable organisation.

In order to avoid just getting a worthless certificate, choose a reputable organisation for certification. Choose an organisation that is accredited by a third-party. Choose an organisation that has a strong position in the market, that's well known, where you feel like you're actually getting a brand endorsement as well as certification. Because just having a backing of a well-known brand can be really important.

You can say like, Apple. If you're an IT technician and to be able to say, “Yeah, I'm certified by Apple.” That's pretty good. That makes you like this guy or girl knows what they're talking about.

It's the same in Tarot, make sure you get backing from a solid organisation.

Finally, choose an organisation that you respect and that you would be proud of if they were to certify you.

If it's certified by the Grand Poobah of the Purple Hat Fifth Order of blah, blahs then maybe that might not feel so good with you. But if you're getting certified by an organisation that you know, that you've studied with, then yeah. Spot on.

Finally, there have been some organisations in the past who have done Tarot certification and there's still organisations now that don't have the best reputation and maybe they've done a little bit of a disservice, I think, to the Tarot industry because they haven't been able to follow through with their commitments.

I really want to remind you that not all certification is created equal and just because there are some organisations that haven't followed through on their promises in the past, doesn't mean that every organisation is going to be like that. Again, you just got to evaluate each organisation as you see it.

Do your research. Make sure that you resonate with their teaching methods and their philosophy. Make sure that they're reputable and so on.

How to get certified

I think you've got the idea, right? Let's move on to how you can actually get certified.

There are a number of different certification programs available. So how do you decide which one is going to be right for you?

Find an organisation that is accredited, reputable and well known in the Tarot space.

Find a teacher who you resonate with, who nurtures different styles of reading and who will support your growth as a Tarot reader.

And look for a certification program that offers not just a certificate, but an end-to-end experience. Things like comprehensive training and development, opportunities to practice reading Tarot in a safe learning environment and a robust certification process.

Now, of course, I want to be able to bring all of these things together and I can and I have. I've created the Biddy Tarot Certification Program.

The good news is that you can now enroll at BiddyTarot.com/certification.

I've designed the Biddy Tarot Certification program for aspiring Tarot readers who want to build their confidence and reputation, become better readers and ultimately get more clients.

It's a six-month program and it's starting in November. It's going to have training, practice opportunities, and of course, certification.

As part of the Certification Program, you'll get access to really solid, comprehensive training which includes:

  • The Master the Tarot Card Meanings program and the Read Tarot with Confidence program. Our Biddy Tarot training programs they are fully accredited by the International Institute of Complementary Therapists. Over 1,000 students have taken part so far and this number continues to grow every single day.
  • We're going to have group coaching calls with me every month for 6 months so that you can jump on the call and ask me any questions that you want live and I'll be able to respond to you directly. You'll be able to get your questions answered and get real-time support and mentoring with me.
  • Now you also get access to the Biddy Tarot Community, which opens up a huge number of possibilities for you. You'll get to read on The Free Tarot Readings platform where you can gain valuable experience reading Tarot for free and in exchange for feedback and experience. It's pretty much you take the training and the courses and then you get to apply what you've learned.

We do a lot of learning in the training, in the webinars and so on, but it's when you come in to actually practising how to read Tarot and practising with real people who've got real questions and real problems and all sorts of things.

That is where the learning really starts to happen because you start to figure out, “Oh my goodness, somebody's asking me what's the first letter of my husband's name. Oh my gosh, what do I do.” So you start to really learn how to set your boundaries, how to respond.

You get such a good confidence boost, too. Often it's just a couple of readings and I've seen most readers confidence just go through the roof. It's so beautiful to watch.

  • You also get community support and mentoring inside the Biddy Tarot Community. Again, if you have a question you can usually get several answers in 24 hours. It's such a beautiful community. There are already over 500 people in there who are ready to support you.
  • You get the opportunity to apply for certification and become a Certified Biddy Tarot Reader.
  • You get a listing on our Certified Biddy Tarot Reader Directory for 12 months so that is on the BiddyTarot.com website. Even just from a search engine perspective, that sends so much good juju to your website. If you're trying to build a business, that can be so helpful.
  • Finally, we'll send you a beautiful certificate in the mail so you can proudly display it at home or in your Tarot reading office. I've seen some gorgeous photos of our certified Tarot readers proudly holding up their certificate. It's so, so lovely to watch.

Of course, there's so much more in this certification program that I can't possibly share everything with you right now. But if you want to find out more about it, head on over to BiddyTarot.com/certification and you can see everything that is included.

By the end of this internationally recognised Certification Program, you'll be ready to stand out from the crowd and establish yourself as a highly credible and professional Tarot reader.

This is not one of those fly-by-night certification programs that you might have found on Google. This is a highly reputable, internationally accredited program that will not only certify you but will also ensure that you have all the skills and experience to be successful as a Tarot reader.

I take this program so seriously and I want to make sure you have everything you need to be the Tarot reader you've always dreamed of becoming.

Again, if you want to learn more about the program go to BiddyTarot.com/certification

Wrap-Up

All right, well it has been an absolute joy as always to talk to you about certification and what every Tarot reader should know about certification.

I hope you have an awesome week and I can't wait to connect with you again next time. Bye for now.

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