BTP97: From Party Trick to Trusted Advisor – 3 Ways to Get Taken Seriously as a Tarot Reader

Tarot isn’t just a cheap party trick! While it might be fun to share with your friends over a glass of wine and a few laughs, the cards can be used for so much more. In Episode 97 of the Biddy Tarot Podcast, Brigit shares 3 ways to get taken seriously as a Tarot reader. Listen as Brigit explores how to evolve from sharing Tarot tricks with your friends to becoming a trusted Tarot advisor, helping to empower your clients to step into their inner wisdom and live in alignment with their highest selves. 

In this episode, Brigit answers: 

• What is a trusted Tarot advisor? 
• What happens when you become a trusted Tarot advisor? 
• 3 ways to get taken seriously as a Tarot reader 
• How Tarot certification might benefit your readings 

Additional Resources 

• Learn more about the Biddy Tarot Certification Program here 
• Free Tarot Readings from the Biddy Tarot Community members 

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

WELCOME 

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 97: From Party Trick to Trusted Tarot Advisor – 3 Ways to Get Taken Seriously as a Tarot Reader. 

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 

Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast. As always, I am super excited to be talking with you about Tarot. 

Today, we’re going to be talking about how to go from a party trick Tarot reader to a trusted Tarot advisor. Tarot is often seen, sadly, as just this fun party trick, but you and I know both know that there is so much more to Tarot than people really realize. In today’s podcast, I’m going to be sharing three ways to help you get taken seriously as a Tarot reader and really step into that trusted Tarot advisor role. 

And if you’re listening to this in real time—as in as soon as it goes live on iTunes—then I would love to let you know about our Biddy Tarot Certification Program. It’s open for enrollment between October 17th and October 31st. If you’re listening in between that period, make sure you check out the program at BiddyTarot.com/Certification. We only open up this program once per year, so the time is ripe, especially if you want to become a trusted Tarot advisor. 

Now, of course, if you're listening to this after October 31st, it will be closed, but I still recommend you head on over to BiddyTarot.com/Certification because you can learn more about the program and get on the wait list for when we reopen later in 2018. My goodness, doesn’t that sound crazy? 2018! It feels so much in the future. Anyway, I digress! 

THANK YOU! 

Before we get started with our episode today, I want to say a huge “Thank you!” to everyone who has been sending in their reviews for this podcast, sharing their feedback and comments and, of course, their star ratings. It helps us so much if you are leaving a review and a star rating on iTunes because it’s what really helps get the Biddy Tarot Podcast out there and in front of as many people as possible. It’s not really about the Biddy Tarot Podcast for me; it’s about getting Tarot out into the world in a really, really big way. If you’re loving this podcast, make sure you leave a review and a rating on iTunes. 

Here’s one from kcmuffin from Taiwan (That’s pretty cool that we’ve got listeners in Taiwan). She writes: 

“I feel so lucky I find Biddy Tarot. Although I tried to immerse myself in Tarot during high school, I always felt that the shallow meanings in the booklet didn’t resonate with me at all. But the more I read on Brigit’s website and blog, the more I was convinced that her practice is exactly what I wanted to learn. I purchased her Ultimate Guide to Tarot Card Meanings, followed her instructions, and I write in my Tarot journal daily. Tarot reading has become so much fun, and I’ve learned so much about myself through the process. Thank you, Brigit, for inspiring me to go on the Tarot journey. Also, thank you for creating this podcast as a free resource for everyone who is interested in Tarot.” 

Well, thank YOU, kcmuffin, for writing an awesome review. I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of your journey. 

Now, we also have another review here from indestructibleblue, who is from Canada. This person writes: 

“I have read Brigit’s site for a few years now and have enjoyed journeying into the Tarot with her. I like her spiritual-but-practical approach, bringing Tarot into the present day. I like her down-to-earth nature, like a kind friend who really wants the best for you. Her interviews are interesting, and I always learn something new. And her super-cute accent is a bonus! I recommend this podcast. Keep going!” 

That’s awesome! Again, big “Thank you” to indestructibleblue and everyone who has been leaving reviews on iTunes. We typically pick out our best, which is really, really all of them, to share on this podcast because I just want to celebrate these fabulous comments and say “Thank you” to you for being an active listener of this podcast. Again, remember, you can leave your review and your rating on iTunes. 

All right, enough about that! Let’s get into today’s podcast episode. 

FROM PARTY TRICK TO TRUSTED TAROT ADVISOR 

I want to talk a little bit about “party trick” Tarot readers. I don’t know about you, but unfortunately, there’s kind of this perception out there around Tarot and just being this cheap party trick. Maybe you can picture someone sitting at a party with a couple of girlfriends hanging around. They’ve been drinking a few wines, and someone says, “Hey, let me get my Tarot cards out! Let’s see what’s in our future.” 

Someone asks, “Oh, tell me about my future husband!” 

Then the reader might just draw a few cards, and everyone is just in fits and giggles about the Knight of Cups, or maybe you're getting the Devil, and you're like, “Woo! Everything is getting a bit raunchy!” 

But what happens in these readings is you might have a bit of a laugh and a giggle at the time, and it’s great entertainment, but really, does anybody walk away with any change in their lives? 

What often happens is it’s kind of a take-it-or-leave-it message. If it’s a good one, you might remember it. If it’s a bad one, you forget it and go, “Oh, I hate the Tarot now! It’s told me all of this bad news!” As a reader, you're just not having much of an impact, and everyone just walks away from that reading really not remembering much—and it wasn’t to do with the wine, of course! 

The problem with party trick Tarot readings is you just don’t have much of an impact as a Tarot reader, and there typically isn’t much change. You might give some advice in that reading, but it’s a take-it-or-leave-it, and oftentimes people don’t put that advice into action. 

Worse, your reading just isn’t taken seriously. Even if you're starting to try to put a bit of heart and soul into it, if you're reading like a party trick Tarot reader, unfortunately, your client is not necessarily going to take that reading seriously. 

Look, party trick Tarot readings are always a little bit of fun, and I’ll be honest—I’ve done party trick readings myself before, and it’s a laugh. But I know (as I’m sure that you know as well) there is so much more to Tarot than just this entertainment value. If you're feeling called to something more, let’s talk about what that really is. 

THE TRUSTED TAROT ADVISOR 

I see it as the trusted Tarot advisor. To me, that’s the ultimate. That’s where I want to really elevate my readings into that space of being seen as a trusted Tarot advisor. I mean, think about those words: trusted. As a client, I can put my trust into you that I can share what’s really going on for me, and I can trust the information that you're sharing with me and that I can put that into place in my life—Tarot advisor. 

“Advisor” is a really powerful word. It is about giving advice. Not telling you what to do but just giving you advice about how you can create a more powerful, inspired life. For me, “trusted Tarot advisor” is kind of the pinnacle of Tarot reading and what I and many, many others aspire to. I don’t what to blow my own trumpet; I’m saying that I aspire to it. I feel like that’s where I’m at. As a Tarot reader, that’s what I embody, this “trusted Tarot advisor.” 

So, think about that “trusted Tarot advisor.” When she’s doing a reading, it’s a whole different experience. It’s not just a quick five-minute reading while you’ve been sipping on your wine with a few girlfriends. It’s often a reading where you've really created the space for it. 

You're sitting there with the person you're reading for, and you’ve set an intention for the reading. You’ve dived into the question that they’re asking, and you’re not going in for those fun, entertaining questions, like “What’s my future husband going to look like?” You’re actually exploring things that can be actioned and that would create positive change for someone. 

It might be “How can I open myself up to receive love?” instead of “What is my future husband going to look like?” You're having this beautiful conversation around the cards, and it’s not just trying to think about what a card means and look it up on your iPhone; it’s actually really leaning in and reading those cards intuitively with the person that you're reading for. 

As a Tarot reader, you're not the one going, “OK, the card says this, and you must do this.” It’s having that conversation. It’s a two-way flow, and that’s what really creates this trusted Tarot advisor environment. 

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT HAPPEN WHEN YOU ARE A TRUSTED TAROT ADVISOR

#1 BIGGER IMPACT 

Number one, you're having a much bigger impact with your client. They’re actually listening to what you have to say. They’re tuning into the messages. And you’re also playing this beautiful role of helping your client tune into their inner wisdom. I am all about getting within ourselves for our answers. When we start to rely on external authorities for the answer, we are losing touch with our source of truth and who we really are. For me, it’s all about “How do we bring ourselves back into trusting our intuition, our inner wisdom, and our inner guidance and voice?” 

As a trusted Tarot advisor, what you're doing is you're helping your client connect with their inner wisdom, and that’s incredibly powerful because it means they’re not necessarily relying on you or the Tarot cards all the time; they’re learning how to trust their gut, and your Tarot cards are helping them in that process, but ultimately, they know how to trust their gut. 

#2 SHOWING POSSIBILITIES 

Now, what’s also great about being a trusted advisor is you're showing people possibilities. You're not saying, “This is going to happen next, and then this other thing will happen. Your relationship is going to break up, and then you’ll find someone else, but they won’t be very good either.” You’re actually showing possibilities. 

“If you choose to take this path, then this is what you might experience. But if you take this other path, you might experience this.” 

Now, this is important because what’s happening is you're honoring free will, and you’re not just saying that everything is just laid out for you and out of your control. You’re actually reinforcing that sense of empowerment and “You have choices, and ultimately, knowing what those possibilities are enables you to make better decisions in your life.” 

#3 MANIFESTING GOALS 

And the final reason it’s awesome to be a trusted Tarot advisor is that you're helping people manifest their goals and their dreams. Again, incredibly empowering and powerful because it’s not just saying that “This is what’s going to happen to you,” but it’s about connecting in with “What do you really want to have happen here? OK, awesome. If that’s your goal, what do you need to get to that goal? And if you take these different paths, how is that going to get you closer to your goal?” 

That kind of reading is a trusted Tarot advisor kind of reading! It’s not a party trick reading. That’s why I really want to encourage you to embrace this idea of becoming that trusted Tarot advisor. The impact is bigger, you have a better influence, you can create positive change—all of that good stuff. Hopefully, I have you on board with me in terms of becoming that trusted Tarot advisor. 

Now, here’s the thing… 

If you want to become a trusted Tarot advisor, you need to be taken seriously as a reader. You need your clients to take you seriously, and if you want your clients to take you seriously, then you have to take you seriously. It’s a big mindset shift, and I really want you to start stepping into this place where you're thinking about “How do I take Tarot seriously? If I want other people to take me seriously as a Tarot reader, how do I start taking Tarot seriously myself?” Incredibly important. 

3 WAYS TO GET TAKEN SERIOUSLY AS A TAROT READER 

I’m going to talk with you about three ways that you can start to really set yourself apart as a Tarot reader and start taking yourself seriously as well when it comes to Tarot. 

#1 INVEST IN LEARNING 

The first way to do this is to invest in learning the fundamentals of Tarot and the skills that are really going to set you apart. 

What do I mean by this? 

Well, at a very basic level, learn what the cards mean, and learn how to do a Tarot reading—some basic steps. Three-card readings, how to go from start to finish when you do a reading, and how to really investigate and inquire into what the cards mean in each of those readings. 

That’s the basics, but I also want you to be investing in understanding how to use your intuition in a Tarot reading. This is where you start getting a little bit more next level with Tarot readings. Really get into how to use your intuition.  

How do you bring intuition into a reading, so you're not just memorizing the Tarot card meanings and recalling what they all mean (because that’s kind of boring and dull)? It’s more about integrating your intuition into your reading and using that intuition to support a beautiful conversation. 

That leads me into the next thing. 

This is about how to have those meaningful conversations, so you need to get the skills to have those conversations. 

I’ve come across a number of readers who say to me, “I thought as a Tarot reader, I have to just be talking the whole session!” 

No! In fact, it’s a lot better if you're actually having a two-way conversation because you're engaging your client in the reading. Again, you're transferring that power not just from you, the all-knowing Tarot reader, but to the client as the person who can actually trust their own inner wisdom and their inner guidance. So, getting the skills to have those conversations is incredibly important. 

There are loads of different techniques that you can use throughout a reading to really engage your client, to get them to think on a deeper level, and to encourage that level of inner wisdom to come through. 

Another aspect of investing into those fundamental aspects of Tarot and the skills to really set yourself apart is how to get to the heart of the question. 

A lot of people just take the question on face value. 

“You want to know when you’ll get that new job. OK, let’s pull a card.” 

You pull a card and go, “Oh gosh, not quite the right card for the question.” Everything starts to feel a little bit off. 

It’s about learning about how to get to the heart of a question so that when you do draw the cards, it gives you the answers you need. 

For example, if you were asking “When will I get the new job?” and then you suddenly realize “Oh goodness me, I don’t really believe that there are set timing for things, and we actually have choices, and it all depends on the actions you take,” then you’re like, “Oh man, I need to restart this reading.” 

But if you get to the heart of the question before you start the reading, you're going to have a much better quality of reading. 

These kinds of things are all part of really good Tarot training programs. Of course, I think our programs are awesome. I am incredibly biased, but it’s also the feedback that we get from our students. All of these kinds of things are included in our Tarot trainings. It’s not just about that base level of understanding of what Tarot cards are and how to do a reading. 

• How do you create these meaningful conversations? 
• How do you get to the heart of the question with your clients? 
• How do you create sacred space and get into an intuitive flow with your clients? 

Again, that’s what we cover in these programs. 

I can’t remember the fancy title for it, but I’m a Master Practitioner of Neurolinguistic Programming. There’s this really interesting way of using language as a way of shifting people’s perceptions and their thoughts, and I’ve integrated a lot of what I’ve learned from my NLP training into how you could do a Tarot reading with someone so that, again, it’s not just about how you interpret the cards, but it’s how you navigate that conversation with somebody—really, really important stuff. These kinds of things are just what takes you to that next step as a reader. 

I could just keep going on about this stuff for a long, long time, so let me move into the second way for how you can get taken seriously as a Tarot reader. 

Now, this all comes down to practice. 

#2 PRACTICE 

Oh my goodness! When I was first starting to learn Tarot, sure, I sat in my bedroom doing a lot of readings for myself, but there came a point where I was just like, “You know what? I don’t really have any more questions, and I kind of already know what my situation is, so I’m not really getting any extra value in this practice.” 

I started reading for my friends, and it was great at the start, but then they also ran out of questions, and I kind of knew too much about them anyway to really know if it was my intuition or if it was more about what I knew of their lives. 

That was when I decided to start giving free Tarot readings to people I didn’t know. 

The experience, the change in the way that I started reading Tarot was huge, absolutely huge, because it forces you to really get your intuition to kick into gear. You end up reading for people all around the world, all different kinds of questions, all different cultures as well, different approaches to life. 

My ethical boundaries were challenged in a really good way. It got me very clear about what I will say yes to and what I won’t do as a Tarot reader. I got very clear about what my actual skills and talents were. It was amazing. 

I’m not alone in this. We have many people who are part of our Biddy Tarot Community, and they are offering Free Tarot Readings to the general public in exchange for feedback. 

One of our readers, Garrett—oh, bless him! He is amazing. Literally, just a few months ago, he knew hardly anything about Tarot. But he joined our Community, he got some of our books, and he started learning. 

He jumped onto the Free Tarot Readings in November of last year. He did the first few incredibly nervous, really scared, but he persevered, and he started getting feedback. 

This feedback was amazing! His clients were going, “Whoa! This reading is out of this world.” His confidence just went through the roof. 

And do you know what happens when your confidence is just booming? You become even more confident. When you're confident, you're doing a really awesome job. 

I think it was after about his tenth or eleventh reading, and after receiving very consistent positive feedback, he said, “You know what? I think I’m actually ready to start charging for my readings.” 

This guy is an amazing manifester. He created his website, and he’s already got a steady flow of clients coming through the door—and all because he just took that leap of faith and started practicing giving those readings with people he didn’t know. 

He’s not alone. There are so many of our other students who have had that nervousness of “Do I do this? Do I not do it? Am I ready? Am I not ready?” and they jump onto the Free Tarot Readings, they give the free readings, and within a few readings, their confidence has gone through the roof, and they realize, “I’m actually pretty good at this. I didn’t know it, but I am, and this is amazing.” Then they go on to do awesome things. 

Practicing with people that you don’t know is incredibly important. In terms of being taken seriously as a Tarot reader, you are presented with so many opportunities to establish your boundaries as a reader, to improve your Tarot reading skills, to find out and discover what your true Tarot talents really are.  

That’s thing #2: Practice with people you don’t know, especially those free Tarot readings—very, very important. 

Let’s move on to the third way to be taken seriously as a Tarot reader. This one is, of course, very dear to my heart, especially at this time of year. 

#3 CONSIDER GETTING CERTIFIED AS A TAROT READER 

Whenever you bring up Tarot certification in the Tarot community, there are always people who say, “You don’t need Tarot certification—what a joke. It’s just a really expensive piece of paper, thanks very much.” 

Well, I really challenge that idea because when it comes to something like the Biddy Tarot Certification Program, it definitely is not just a piece of paper.  

For Biddy Tarot Certification, getting certified means getting that training, what we just talked about in terms of not just the fundamentals of Tarot but the training in how you become a trusted Tarot advisor. 

Plus, it’s about getting the practice, that practice we just talked about, doing free Tarot readings and building up your experience, your confidence, and learning where your boundaries lie as a Tarot reader. 

And it’s also about getting the support. We have live monthly coaching calls together, and you're getting access to our Biddy Tarot Community, of which there are over 1,000 members. And these are people who love Tarot just as much as you do, so it’s pretty exciting. 

When you get certified, this is what it does for you… 

It shows that you actually take your Tarot practice seriously, and you’ve invested in yourself. It also confirms to yourself that you have the skills to be a trusted Tarot advisor. 

I had a chat with Jess Carlson a little while ago. Jess was saying to me she had been doing professional Tarot readings for quite a while, and then she saw the Biddy Tarot Certification Program come up, and she thought, “You know what? I’m ready for that. I would love to be certified.” 

For her, it wasn’t really about getting the extra skills (although she actually found that she learned quite a lot in the program that she didn’t already know). 

For her, it was about having that extra validation that she knew what she was talking about. It gave her that little extra boost of confidence that she had been part of this program and had that certification from a respected organization like Biddy Tarot. Certification can definitely confirm that you’ve got the skills. 

Finally, it really builds credibility with your clients, and it gives you the opportunity to raise your prices or perhaps even just start charging for your readings. 

When you have that certification, it shows your clients that you take Tarot seriously and that you’ve invest in yourself, and that actually adds value to you as a reader so that, instead of just going, “Oh, 20 bucks for a one-hour reading,” you can say, “You know what? I’m actually a certified reader,” and that boosts your credibility so that you can actually start charging more like $100 for a one-hour reading. 

So, do consider getting certified because there are a lot more benefits than just an awesome certificate that you can put up in your Tarot reading room, but there’s a lot more that goes on when you receive that certificate, and you know that you’ve done the training, you’ve had the practice, and now you have that extra validation of your skills and what you can offer to your clients and your community as well. 

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

Now, of course, if you are thinking about getting certified, the time is now because the Biddy Tarot Certification Program is open now. You’ll find out more at BiddyTarot.com/Certification.

As soon as you enroll, you can start straight away. You’ll do the Master the Tarot Card Meanings course first, followed by the Read Tarot with Confidence course. Master the Tarot Card Meanings is very much about intuitively interpreting the cards. Read Tarot with Confidence is about how you put it all together in a reading, so you can either read for yourself or read for others, and then how you really start to step into that trusted Tarot advisor role so that you're really integrating new skills and having meaningful conversations with your client. 

You're doing those two training programs, PLUS Become a Tarot Advisor. All the while, you’ve got access to the Biddy Tarot Community, which means that you can do Free Tarot Readings to practice your skills and really build up that experience and that confidence. You also get access to monthly Tarot Masterclasses in there in case you want to boost your skills even further. We’ve got the private discussion Forums. You can get study buddies inside of the Community. All sorts of things to support your journey. 

Speaking of support, we have those monthly group coaching calls, where you jump on a call with me, you ask me a question, I answer it personally live. That way, you're getting ongoing support throughout the program. 

Then in April or May of next year, you have the opportunity to then apply to become a Certified Biddy Tarot Reader. Really basic stuff. You just have to make sure that you’ve completed the two courses, then you send in three sample readings, which we review, and you also need to submit a log of your readings, plus your Code of Ethics and a couple of other smaller things as well. 

If you pass that, awesome! You get a certificate in the mail, which you can proudly put up in your Tarot reading space. 

If you want to learn more about this program, go to BiddyTarot.com/Certification. If you're listening to this after October 31, 2017, still go to that page, still check out the program, and then sign up for the wait list. The time is now! The time is ripe! If you are ready to become that trusted Tarot advisor, then I really invite you to seriously consider this program. It is a start-to-finish program that will take your readings to that next level. Check it out: BiddyTarot.com/Certification. 

All right, my dears. That is enough from me. I hope you have a really, really good week, and I really do hope I’ll see you in the certification program.  But until then, bye for now! 

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