Want to be a Professional Tarot Reader?
So you’ve gotten the hang of reading tarot cards, you’re getting great feedback from friends and friends of friends, and now you’re asking yourself:
Can I take my tarot reading to the pro stage and become a professional tarot reader?
Everyone has a very individual path when it comes to going pro, but here are five questions to ask yourself if you want to transition from tarot enthusiast to career reader.
How familiar am I with my tarot deck?
You’re likely ready to start reading professionally if you’re able to riffle through a deck, pull out any card, and be confident about what it means—within the framework of tarot and also in any other possible context that a querent can bring up.
Do professional tarot readers get stumped? Of course they do. Sometimes, you can’t make sense of a card on its own, or you can’t figure out what it means in a larger context. But if you’re familiar enough with the tarot to be able to reference its traditional meanings, think on your feet, and deliver a thorough message without stumbling on your words (whether spoken or written), then chances are, you’ll fly as a pro reader.
2. Do I know how to establish energetic boundaries?
Tarot reading can be exhausting because it requires readers to dig deep into their minds, hearts, and souls in order to deliver guidance that is heartfelt and sincere. If you’re not good about protecting your energy, you can easily deplete your wares as a tarot reader. As space holders, tarot readers usually want to be of service and of help to people. If you’re a people pleaser who can’t say no to people asking for free advice (“Can you just pull one card for me, NBD right?”) then you might be kicking off a professional tarot career on rocky ground.
Before turning this into a Job (capital J!), make sure you have practices in place that allow you to ground yourself, that protect you from people who may take advantage of you (intentionally or unintentionally), and that give you a firm grip on reality.
3. Am I okay sharing my decks with other people?
This may seem like a little thing for a lot of people, but this was actually a hurdle I had to overcome! When I was doing in person readings, I actually felt a little weird about having other people touch my decks. This isn’t because I thought their energies would taint my cards… But I’m personally obsessive about keeping my hands clean (even pre-covid, I washed my hands and sprayed alcohol on them constantly)—so having other people’s potentially dirty digits touching my precious decks REALLY bothered me.
My fix for in person readings and events was to have a standard deck that’s dedicated for “other people”… which was a little hard on my wallet because I wanted to have doubles of my favorite decks.
TL:DR, if you’re wary about other people holding your decks, or if you’re woowoo in that you don’t want other people’s vibes to (even virtually) infiltrate your decks, then you may want to think twice about reading for people professionally.
4. Is this going to be my main source of income?
The thing about turning a hobby into your job is that you just might take all the fun of it—especially if you’re relying on this career to pay all the bills! If you’re coming from a corporate background, the huge leap into tarot reading as a career might leave you shell-shocked. It’s important to get real about expectations finance-wise before you abandon all your other income sources to turn this into the one thing that’s going to keep you financially thriving.
Can tarot reading earn you money? Of course it can! Would I recommend it to be your sole source of money? Probably not. Move into tarot as a professional career with realistic expectations, with a couple months’ worth of savings in the bank, and with some financial back-ups so that you don’t put so much pressure on yourself to nab clients. Money is a complicated thing and mixing it with something you clearly love and have fun with can taint it if you’re not careful.
5. Do I have a support group to turn to?
Tarot reading like writing, creating art, making crafts, etc. can be a very solitary path to embark on. I would definitely suggest that you move into the professional realm knowing that you have a mentor, friend, or co-worker to lean on or talk to. Tap people you know who are in the wellness industry too—yoga teachers, reiki healers, sound bath musicians, meditation teachers, etc. Having someone on your corner can make the tougher parts of tarot reading as a career a lot easier to deal with.
I hope these tips to becoming a professional tarot reader help you out!
If you have any other questions you think people should consider and get into, feel free to leave them below in the comments ⬇️