How To Not Piss Off Your Tarot Reader

When you decide to get a tarot reading, it’s not only important that you pick someone you trust but you also need to treat your reader in the same regard as you would treat any professional you choose to hire.

You know what that means, right? It means you want to establish a positive working relationship right from the get go and not come off like a boor. It takes two to tarot tango and a pissy tarot reader is probably not someone you want reading your cards.

Here’s how to keep that vibe mutually pleasant and avoid becoming “that client”:

Respect our time. If your session is in person, make sure you leave enough time to arrive for your appointment. On the phone? Get your time zones correct and set a reminder for yourself. Très simple, no? If you cannot make it to your session, have the common decency to give the same 24 hour notice as you would extend to any business professional. And don’t even think about pulling a no-show as that is often grounds for dismissal. (FYI: we do have other clients who would be more than happy to take that spot.) Once your reading is over, don’t keep emailing us “follow up” or “clarifying” questions to extend your session. The reading is over and we don’t have time to keep on chatting with you. Likewise, resist the urge to linger or try to keep us on the phone. Our time is every bit as valuable as yours.

Don’t believe in tarot? Don’t come. We don’t want someone here who is not open to the experience. Oh, and if you announce that you “don’t believe in this crap” as you walk in the door, congratulations – you just created a crappy and hostile working environment. Would you want to work under those circumstances? Doubt it. You can leave and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Don’t tell us that you “don’t want to tell us too much”. We know what that means. You want to “test” us to make sure we are “legit”. Most of us won’t ask you any questions nor will we require a detailed background anyways so you can drop the cloak and dagger act. Let me reframe this scenario: if you go to your doctor and say “I have something wrong but I’m not going to tell you my symptoms because I want you to prove to me that you’re a great doctor”, imagine how stupid you sound to them. (And yes, you sound equally dumb to us when you pull that sort of stunt with us.)

If you don’t want to know the answer, don’t ask. We can’t guarantee that you’ll hear what you want to hear. Also, please don’t keep asking the same question again and again. It’s annoying and tarot gets snarky when you do that. (Plus we get cranky and bored.)

Don’t tell us who we can and can’t work with. If you just broke up with your boyfriend they still have every right to come here and it’s none of your business. And no, we won’t tell you if they still come here. Client confidentiality, yo.

Don’t dicker with us about our prices. If you can’t afford it, we are more than happy to help you find someone who is within your price range.

Don’t expect us to drop everything and “just toss a couple of cards”. That is as rude as it gets. Oh, and requesting a “free sample” so you can “test our abilities” leads to no reply. We don’t have time for that nonsense. If you want a reader that works under either of those circumstances, get thee to an “on demand” service. (PS also please don’t pretend to be our friend so that you can get “freebies”. We know when you are pulling that. It’s way more obvious than you think.)

Calling us at 1AM to ask what to do about the man with a gun outside your door is not cool. You should be calling the cops, not us. Also, if you get us on the phone to book an appointment but instead start to dump/get histrionic/make demands, we may just hang up and refuse to work with you. We are running tarot businesses, not chat lines or emergency and rescue services.

Come in with the right frame of mind. That means SOBER. Calm. Rational. A drunk/hysterical/fuming attitude is not the right head space for tarot.

Don’t try to date us. That is just plain wrong. No ethical reader sleeps with their clients. It’s a huge no-no. Plus hitting on your reader is so….eeewwww……

Lastly, if we terminate our working relationship with you, accept it gracefully and walk away with dignity. Don’t show up unannounced demanding a reading, don’t keep calling and begging, don’t turn up at an event and try to force us to read for you, don’t purchase a reading online and assume we “have to” read you (we will refund your money) and above all, please don’t use a fake name and show up in a disguise (yes, that last one actually DID happen to me).

In a nutshell: we LOVE working with you but please don’t be rude. Just because we are in a “woo woo” industry, doesn’t mean that we don’t deserve to be treated with the same common business courtesies that you would extend to any other professional.

“Doesn’t matter what a person’s name is as long as he behaves himself.” ~ L. M. Montgomery

Blessings!

Theresa