- Are you ready to read for others?
Personally, I didn’t have a choice, the Tarot claimed me & I knew that it was my destiny & I should just crack on! Reading Tarot professionally is a completely different animal to reading for yourself over a nice cup of tea.
People who are naturally drawn to Tarot reading are usually more sensitive and intuitive, & here lies the problem. To read for others you have to be prepared to step in to the role of friend, therapist, schoolteacher, whatever the reading demands. You also have to be able to be thick-skinned when you need to be when you get a client who is a handful or wants to challenge everything you say. Really amazing Tarot readers have a deep understanding of human nature and the spiritual world, they all have great empathy & highly developed people skills.
Tarot card reading for others can take several forms, fortune telling, empowering self-knowledge, aiding decision making or spiritual guidance. It is a really good idea to set your boundaries as to what readings you will offer based on your particular skill set.
2. Know the Tarot inside out
One of the very first people you will read professionally for is the ‘know it all’ client. I’m not being derogatory here, you know the type. They’ve read every single book & been on a deep dive Tarot retreat with a celebrity psychic. You have to be really confident around these guys, at the top of your game & most importantly able to break through their superior knowledge to deliver a really great reading that will leave them inspired & hopefully open to new experience. I stepped inside each card to learn the meanings & symbols by designing & creating my own deck the O’Mara Tarot Deck. It features many friends & influential people from my early journey. Later I stepped inside each archetype in a 3D World for my Tarot Rehab sequence which many people say is a great fast track to picking up many of the symbols & meanings of the Tarot.
3. Find your unique voice
When you embark on your Tarot reading career let your unique personality shine through. There are endless readers who have eaten the little white book & have done an online course. Don’t be that person, allow the Tarot to inhabit you, become the voice of the cards, take on the persona of the Court cards & Archetypes. Bring your readings to life fr the sitter, they will remember you & The reading & both of you will be nourished by the experience, a great Tarot reading is a dance between two souls, a meaningful connection of energies.
4. Find your ritual & stick to it
Many of my return clients love the ritual I use. The shuffling, the patter, the familiar choices & spread layouts. They set the ground rules for the reading & set the mood, signalling that a serious & powerful ritual is underway. Later on you can add as many spreads & personal flourishes as you like. When you are starting out I would recommend getting your routine down pat as you ‘set out your stall’ for a reading. This is especially important if you are doing several readings as it shows people the structure they can expect & allows you to stick within your time restraints without going off on too many tangents.
5. Learn some spreads
Tarot spreads are a simply a way to understand the lessons and messages from the cards. They can be used for various purposes, such as divination, personal insight or spiritual unfoldment.
Some of the most popular tarot spreads include:
The Celtic Cross Spread: This is one of the more common tarot spreads that is used by many people today. It is believed that this spread was created by a person named Dr. John Dee in an attempt to communicate with angels while in trance.
The Grand Tableau: This spread is also known as “the great picture” because it shows all of the cards laid out at once
You can find many different Tarot spreads that have been consulted many thousands of times on my free tarot readings pages. From relationship Tarot readings to my free talking video reading you will for sure find a spread to inspire & intrigue you.
6. Choose a card a day
My daily practice starts with a card a day. This has grown in to my daily instagram tarot card @omaratarot The lovely people I have met through this practice are incredible & the feedback I have had has been so humbling & inspiring. Alternate points of view & suggestions for undiscovered Tarot decks have reinvigorated my daily practice & though the platform is struggling as I type this I wouldn’t be without my daily insta Tarot fix. Relatively recently my digital human mini me has started a daily TikTok Tarot card I’ll be interested to see where that leads him.
7. Charge your Tarot Cards
Tarot cards should become an extension of you. I used to sleep with my decks when they were new. I have a mental connection between my Tarot decks & my crystal connection. I see it as my own spritiual Wi-Fi, I always charge them with a Full Moon ritual. I like to believe that Tarot cards have a connection with the moon and are influenced by lunar energy. For this reason special occasion Tarot readings can often done in moonlight or with candles lit on the table.
8. Caring for your deck
In order to care for your Tarot cards, historically it was believed you should keep them in a silk bag and store them away from any light source. You should also never use any chemicals on them or put them near water. If you want to clean your deck of tarot cards, you can use a damp cloth or a mild soap and water solution. I have great reverence for my decks & have a display cabinet & bookcase devoted to my collection. My dream is to one day own some decks that need to be kept in climate controlled glass cases protected by lasers, we are a little way off from that yet 🙂
9. Be a student
I have been reading cards for 40+ years, I learn something new every day. Realise that the cards are mirrors of your subconscious. It is fine to change your beliefs & interpretations as you develop as a human being in fact it will make you an incredibly powerful reader. Take up a Tarot journal write down your musings, it is so much fun to discover & revisit previous Tarot adventures further down the line. I have some special books that I use for the purpose but I don’t always stand on ceremony. Most of my random thoughts are captured by the notes app on my computer. Quite often I will use the voice memo app on my phone, that has been a lifesaver & has kickstarted many of my projects.
10. Never lose the magic
If Tarot took you prisoner you have a lifelong fascination with the most incredible oracle ahead of you. It is the catalyst to many different avenues of discovery from Astrology & Numerology to deeper esoteric study & uses in therapy & psychology. There is not enough time in one lifetime to scratch the surface of what the Tarot has to offer, I hope the magic continues to captivate you & your Tarot journey never ends.