What Do Readers Owe Their Clients?
Those of us who are called to use divinatory tools such as tarot and astrology have recently faced some special problems. With so much of what we do out there in cyberspace, for every legitimate reader who has spent time and money honing their craft, there are also people who have not done the work who swoop in and grab clients any way they can. The incidence of scamming clones who pester the online followers of legitimate readers with private messages offering readings is on the rise. (That’s a topic for another blog post, however.)
Recently a fellow tarot reader (Jenna Matlin) posted on social media about someone who literally came on the scene as a newbie one day and in a very short period of time was charging mega-bucks for her work. In her post she asked a number of really good questions, which sent me off to so some pondering. In reference to the ‘overnight wonder’ she asked, “And I wonder, does she love her querents? Does she want the best for them?”
Those are excellent questions. I think we all have to ask ourselves the same things. I never thought of it in terms of ‘loving’ my querents, but certainly my intention is always, ever to give them the best tool I can for navigating their lives. I want them to be the best “Navigators of the Mystic Sea” that they can, to quote one of my favorite tarot deck titles. That, even for a brief instant of time, is love, for isn’t love always an essential element for healing?
She also asks, “What do we owe to our querents? What do we owe ourselves?” There are so many things I could list here, but in order to keep this blog at a reasonable length I’ll keep it brief. I think one answer to both of those questions is that we owe ourselves and our querents the truth as they are best able to handle it. That is one of the strongest gifts of the tarot, and to me it’s a huge part of why people get readings. They want to know the truth about what’s happening or what’s going to happen, even though they probably already suspect the answer and they are just too uncertain to acknowledge it. We also owe them our best effort at presenting information that they can use to make their own decisions, untainted with our personal prejudice and opinion.
We owe it to ourselves to be willing to learn our craft to the very best of our ability and to keep up with the times. We also need to occasionally work outside our comfort zone in order to grow, yet at the same time learn how to set boundaries with people who try to take advantage of our gift. The inscription over the entrance to the famed Temple at the Oracle of Delphi said “Know Thyself”, and that is a key. Through the art of divination, we are always learning more about ourselves and helping our clients to do that same.
I couldn’t resist taking a quick peek at the tarot regarding this topic and I drew The Emperor. That’s perfect! Our job is to own our space, acknowledge our authority and that of others, and help people manifest their best lives. That’s totally an Emperor vibe. So, we owe it to ourselves and our clients to not only know our own selves, but be ready, willing, and able to help our clients discover their power and authority so they can progress on the soul path to healing and love. IMHO. What do you think?
