What Makes a Tarot Card Reader Guest Post on Tarot Teachings

The Making of a
Good Tarot Card Reader
By Guest Contributor: Donna Faber

What makes a good tarot card reader?

Ask yourself this question: What do you look for in a tarot card reading? Do you seek answers to a specific problem? Do you want confirmation on something? Or is it a relationship? What will happen with your career? What will the future hold? Let’s explore this on an even deeper level, and ask — Do you seek objective guidance, or would you rather be told what to do? Your honest answer along with a discerning mind, good old fashioned communication, and common sense will lead you to a tarot card reader whose capabilities are in perfect sync with the reading you’re looking for.

All divination implies an exchange of personal power. It occurs quite naturally in the tightly woven fabric of the interactive energy inherent in the intuitive process. If a reader’s intentions are good and your mind is open and relaxed, the interaction is smooth, open and informative. It can be mind-blowing! If a reader’s intentions are selfish or ego-based, even unintentionally, you’ll note the interaction may feel controlling, frightening, or intimidating. A reader might express a strong desire to be agreed with, for example; or express their own fear within the context of your reading. It behooves us to remember that even gifted psychics are human, walking their own path, and making their own mistakes. It doesn’t mean that you have to share that journey, however.

Objectivity is the primary quality of a good tarot card reader. An experienced reader might also identify as a healer and compassionately assist with problems of the emotion or intellect insofar as you are willing to allow them to. They will never push their will on you. Within the context of your interaction, a reader’s goal might be to pave the way for the next step on your spiritual journey by offering spiritual tools without making you feel obligated in any way to use them. Essentially, a good tarot card reader, assuming the role of spiritual advisor, will guide you carefully and sensitively to self-empowerment by encouraging you to look for your answers within.

Tarot cards, psychic clairvoyance, and any other form of divination including astrology is rendered mutable by free will or our ability to make choices. Nothing is cast in stone against the time proven resilience and unpredictability of the human spirit. Excellence in tarot guidance by an advanced reader is best offered as an alternative to blind reliance on external forces or influence, even if it means that in doing so, your reader doesn’t promote or benefit his or her own practice. And if this is truly a tarot card reader ‘s intent, eventually, and out of spiritual necessity, your evolving spiritual advisor will exercise discernment in who they read for, consequently choosing where they invest their time and energy. It is part of what might be a natural progression for both of you on your personal spiritual journey and where your individual paths may intersect.

I stopped reading for others years ago because, at the time, I believed all intuitive messages were skewed by the reader’s limited perception. Having received some very bad readings by people I once trusted, I couldn’t believe that humans were capable of objectivity no matter how intense the effort. It made sense to me then that any interpretation offered would be colored by experience, or lack thereof, feelings, or worse, personal judgment. I was in spiritual crisis. My priorities (not to mention my ego) were being gregariously reshuffled (translation: dissolved) by the Divine Mother. I didn’t trust my intuition.

“There is no such thing as dark night of the spirit, there is only dark night of the ego.”
~Frances Vaughn~

I’m happy to say I got through it, and over time, gained clarity. I also achieved renewed faith in my intuition, which lately seems very on target. Yet for almost five years I didn’t have my cards read by another even once.

Emerging from this spiritual crisis, I cast my net on the web seeking kindred spirits, twittering around, and blogging to my heart’s content. Then, I came across Avia (the owner of this site), and learned about the awesome potential of enhanced objectivity in a gifted intuitive. I discovered, to my great personal delight, that Avia was completely non-judgmental, very open, honest, and entirely respectful. She is also an excellent communicator. I didn’t pay for the reading I received from her, yet she still gave it her all. It was quite refreshing, and it helped restore my faith in a tarot card or psychic reader’s ability to be non-judgmental. Since then we’ve become good friends. Subsequently and most recently, Avia no longer serves as a tarot card reader for the public, having climbed to a different rung on the ladder of her spiritual growth. While I’m sure her clients will miss her, I am thrilled to see the forward momentum of her experience as it plays out across her blogs and websites.

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When misused as a function of the ego, reading tarot cards can be a control ploy used for personal gratification or a scam for profit. A spiritually minded reader won’t simply tell you what you want to hear. He or she will approach every reading with an open heart, absolutely no judgment, and will be willing to walk you through a mutually satisfying journey of symbolism that doesn’t use fear or intimidation to control the flow of energy and conversation.

The best tarot card reader walks his/her own spiritual path. It’s wise to remember that the presence of psychic gifts doesn’t always imply the presence of spiritual integrity. Some readers may eventually straddle the fence between discernment and ego gratification in order to decide once and for all why they are reading cards. Their decision will have an impact on the quality of tarot card reading you receive from them. Take the time to engage your reader in conversation. Discover where they are on the spectrum of their spirituality and then make your own informed decision.

Written by: Donna L. Faber
September 3, 2009

Three Tarot card image (mid-page) is provided by:
Intuitive Tarot deck by Cillia Conway