you don't have a curse on you!

There are a lot of scammers out there - in every age, size, shape, and colour, and from every culture and profession under the sun. But some images of the con artist stand far above the rest. They’re the stereotypes we’ve come to know so well - used car dealers, telemarketers, street corner watch sellers, politicians and of course psychics and tarot card readers. Unfortunately, sometimes stereotypes hold true. Some tarot card readers are con artists.

What a disgrace. As a tarot card reader myself I find it shameful and clearly compromising to the genuine practice of the psychic arts. But it’s nothing new, and unfortunately quite widespread. Having said that, I’d like to stress that most psychics and tarot card readers are absolutely legitimate and seek only to help their clients with the gift/technique they’ve mastered - the same as any other professional.

Fortunately, it’s usually pretty easy to spot the frauds. Here’s a big tip - if you hear the magic words “You’ve got a curse on you”, you’ve found yourself a tarot con artist. Another phrase to watch for is “You’re a good person, but people are jealous of you and someone (or more than one person) has put a curse(s) on you”. Or sometimes it goes “You’ve got a great darkness over you, a battle between good and evil. But with my magic candle/crystal/chanting/whatever-it-might-be, I can solve your problem”. Don’t believe them!

Just last month, from my hometown of Toronto, a 76 year old tarot reader vanished (they say to Vancouver). She was just about to be extradited to the US for defrauding $220,000 USD out of rather innocent 26 year old store clerk with boyfriend trouble – and apparently a great darkness that was difficult to lift.

Really – if someone tells you there’s a curse on you or that they can make bad situations disappear or that they can fix your life in any way and it’s only going to cost you $20, $100, $2,000, $220,000 . . . watch out!! You’re being scammed. These con artists will milk you for whatever you can come up with. And it’s the same tired routine over and over again.

I’ve had it tried on me. The reader told me I was carrying a couple of curses from two jealous supposed friends. For $100, she could get me two crystals and a priest to pray over them. My life would soon be great. When I said I wasn’t interested, she told me she knew I’d be back – my life wouldn’t get better till I did. What idiotica!

And a friend of mine, also in Toronto, was told by another reader that it would cost $1,500 to remove his darkness. And another friend of mine, this time in LA, was told her life wouldn’t get better until she gave the reader her entire monthly disability cheque – in other words, what she lived on.

The behaviour of these con artists is disgusting. But it’s up to you not to give them your money. Just say no. They aren’t trying to help you. They’re trying to rob you.

Occasionally people do put curses on other people. But generally if they do, they don’t keep it secret, they let you know themselves. What’s the fun of cursing someone if you don’t make them squirm? But there’s a bigger reason for telling someone that you’ve cursed them – because it won’t work if you don’t.

It’s up to you and only you whether you’ll accept someone’s words of negativity. They have no supernatural power over you or anyone in your family. Even if they tell you God or the Devil or whomever it is you believe in is on their side – it’s not true! They cannot bring bad energy or demons into your life unless you let them. And even then, you’re the one bringing them in.

But I don’t even want to go too far down this discussion path. In almost every single case, there is no curse or cursers to be found. Don’t believe the tarot con artist when they tell you there is. I’m serious!

Tarot card reading is a legitimate, fun and often therapeutic tool for self-awareness, self-growth and at its best, a larger perspective on your life and life in general. Most of all it should be something that empowers rather than disempowers you. It need never be dark or scary or the secret domain of the select few.

To know what you might expect from a legitimate reading, take a look at my article – Getting A Reading. Or if you’re really curious, get yourself a deck of your own and play. You’ll learn pretty fast how the cards work. You’ll know then not to fall for the tricks of a con-artist reader.

to tape or not to tape

Many psychics and tarot card readers make tapes of their readings for their clients. I, however, do not. For a while now though, I’ve been mulling over whether or not I should.

Only one of the many readings I’ve had through the years was ever taped. I took that tape home, meaning to listen to it again some time, and threw it in a drawer. I kept it for years, moving it with me from one home to another, but eventually it got lost. I never did listen to it.

Why did I never listen to the tape again? I’m not sure, but conversely, why would I? Maybe to show a friend, or to remind myself of something the psychic said, or to try to prove whether or not her predictions actually came true. But is that what the reading was for?

This whole question of taping or not taping brings to the fore the very important question of why would one get a reading in the first place. Furthermore, what does a reading mean anyway? Is it supposed to be timeless? Is it meant to discover something that is definitively true? If so, I think we might be out of luck with or without the tape.

If the point of a reading is to see the future, taping the session might make sense for future confirmation. But my vision of the future is dynamic. It changes with each new input. For that reason, the future predicted by my psychic was only true (if ever), at the time that it was predicted – not necessarily in the future. Am I making any sense here?

But let’s go back for a second and talk about whether or not the future can even be predicted. For myself, when I read a future position in a spread, what I see is the likely culmination of a particular pattern – at least to that point and assuming all things continue exactly as they’re going right now.

But assuming I’m interpreting the future position correctly, I’m still making two giant assumptions. I’m suggesting both that the future is a particular moment in time – almost a conclusion of sorts, and that all things are going to continue as they’re going right now.

Such assumptions are fine for conversational structure (and perhaps even sanity), but they’re not actually 'true'. The future is infinite – there is no one point when it stops – it’s always what’s next, and there’s always something next.

Furthermore, there are infinite things that might happen in between now and this imaginary point in time. For instance, your decision that you don’t like what the future holds (according to a particular reading) is very likely enough to make it not happen. On the other hand, being sure it’s going to happen can bring it about.

That brings us back to why one would bother getting a reading in the first place. Personally, I do it for validation and possible direction. A thoughtful reading offers validation in that it presents a chance to see where you’re at in a particular situation. Almost always, it grounds you in your present so that you can see consciously what you’ve probably already been feeling.

Looking forward from that point, you can decide where you might want to direct your energies. This is where the future card can be helpful - as a possible outcome to a present pattern. Do you or don’t you want to go that way? After reviewing this question, you can pull more cards for advice on how you might get there or how you might avoid that particular direction.

I often tell clients that nothing I say is written in stone. As far as I’m concerned, anything can happen, despite what a particular future card might suggest. I suspect that taping a session and returning to it again and again would only lead one to feel that the reading was more definitive and stone-like than it actually is.

But maybe I’m wrong . . .

And I wonder as well, do people actually return to their tapes again and again? Afterall, I didn’t.

It might be a good idea to tape a session just as a recording ie. something that allows you simply to remember what was said. There can be a lot of information and it can be overwhelming. That’s fine, but in that case, writing down the highlights would be just as useful. Like taking notes in class, you can do it while you’re at the lecture, or you can tape it and listen later (probably in order to take notes). You might have guessed, I never taped my classes.

And one final point, I think there’s something to be said about letting things just percolate and sit with you the way they were originally presented. The things that are meant to stick with you do – the things that aren’t so important fall away. I think this is especially true with something like a psychic or tarot reading. Every single word isn’t important – it’s the bigger message or feeling that counts.

My advice would be to focus on those things that stick out for you in the reading and not worry about remembering every single point. Look for advice on how to get to where you think you want to go. And if the reader doesn’t offer that – ask them to.

And if anyone ever really wants to tape a session with me, go ahead, but you know how I feel and at least for now, you’ll have to bring your own equipment.

reading for yourself

A common perception among new, and even some experienced readers is that you can't read cards for yourself. This thinking has always seemed strange to me. If you don’t read for yourself, aren’t you missing out on a tremendous learning tool – your own experience.

I pull three cards each morning - one for body, one for mind and one for spirit. It gives me a chance to feel how each card plays out in my day-to-day life. Reading for others is wonderful and it can teach you new aspects of the cards each time you do it, but it can never give you the actual experience of a particular card. If you don’t live it and feel it yourself, how do you ever become confidant enough about what it means to describe it to someone else?

I think it’s very important for new readers to practice on themselves. I’m not talking about spending hours asking the same questions over and over again about your various trials and joys, but rather spending regular time asking the cards what they mean. Maybe three daily cards are too much for brand new readers, but certainly a card a day is doable. Or even a card a week. Just pull one and have it sit out all day or week. Look at it when it catches your eye and think about how it’s manifesting.

It’s also useful to keep a record of your cards of the day or week. I’ve been keeping records for a few years now. It’s fascinating to see how the patterns flow over time. It also gives you a chance to see which cards or elements are coming up in your life most often. How do they feel? What, for instance, actually happens when you pull the Empress 8 times in two months? And what cards aren’t you pulling? How does it feel not to have them in your life?

Reading cards for yourself is a powerful way to really get to know them. Don’t be scared off from doing so because of some old superstition or fear of facing your own patterns. You’re your best teacher. Don’t sell yourself short.