Last week, I stumbled upon another Tarot Lady site. This one is located in India. There are a few of us tarot ladies all over the world. We coexist just fine. Each one of us is our own entity – true individuals with separate personalities but a shared love of tarot. It’s all good.
This Tarot Lady site though caught my eye and gave me a reason to pause.
For one, I noticed that she laid out her header like a ratched version of mine – with a zodiac wheel on the right. I have that wheel on mine because I combine tarot with astrology. I couldn’t find any mention of astrology anywhere on her site. Hmmm….
I went to her ethics page and lo and behold – she copied and pasted my ethics page. Irony much? She made sure to add this little beauty at the bottom: “Policies and ethics mentioned may be common with other sites. These are just for information I have no intention to copy anyones views or thoughts.”
Uh…no.
My ethics page is clearly worded in MY words – and so was hers. Zero attribution to the source.
It was obvious that she had “modeled” her site after mine, a common practice or so I’ve been told by another biter a few years back. Gross. This new “tarot lady” promptly got a DMCA takedown notice – and removed the offending web copy.
While there is nothing wrong with getting inspired by a peer, being a direct copy isn’t cool. Plus, no matter how much you may try to jock someone else’s fresh, the energy never transmits the same. You end up being a weak imitation at best.
Here’s a better idea: if you like someone else’s site, find inspiration but don’t copy their swagger. Instead, make your work about YOU. Be an individual. Which means: put up original web copy and design. It’s not that hard, people. (Too hard for you? Hire a pro to help you.)
More importantly, if you do on occasion feel that someone’s work is influencing yours, give credit where credit is due. For example, on my weekly Tarot Bytes podcast, I will often reference the work of Rachel Pollack. Why? It’s because I think she’s a true tarot genius and an authority on the subject. I like to include some of her gems (as well as the work of other people) in my podcast because it gives another tarot point of view. But I never take credit for Rachel’s work nor do I try to be her. I am just me.
People will either dig me…or not. Maybe they might even decide to take a peek at Rachel’s work after hearing about her on my podcast. It’s totally cool.
The next time you’re feeling influenced by your peer, why not give them a shout out instead of ripping them off? Attribution – it’s the right thing to do. Act like you know.
Blessings,
Theresa
© Theresa Reed | The Tarot Lady 2017
I’m Theresa Reed (aka, The Tarot Lady). I’ve been a full-time tarot reader for 30+ years — which, in my industry, makes me pretty badass.
I’m definitely not your average Tarot expert — I drop the F-bomb, I quote rappers, and I’m obsessed with pop culture + reality TV. Folks come to me for straight-talk + tough-love — without the woo-woo fluff. 
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