Once you start becoming more advanced with your tarot practice, you may start thinking about your options. Maybe your getting to a place with your readings and now you want to expand? Or maybe your wondering what else you could do? You love tarot, and you kow that, but what now?! What were you meant to do with this passion you have for tarot? Let me count the way (and give you some great examples):

Tarot historian- Do you love history? I definitely do. Learning the origins and roots of a tool you probably use everyday can help you better understand the symbolism and importance of the Tarot. Having people who do research of anything is what helps keep that practice and/or culture alive. Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin of the Tarot Association have done an amazing job of researching tarot!

Tarot artist or deck creator- Ever had an idea for your own deck? Maybe you have looked through many different decks but never seen anything that related to you and how you view the world? Then take the leap and create a deck! I'm not saying it's easy, but it is definitely something to look in to if that is what you are an artist or if you have some great ideas. The artist at Baba Studios, Ciro Marchetti, and Robert Place are just some of the examples of the many awesome deck creators.

Tarot Author- Do you have a different perspective on Tarot? Do you relate tarot to an area of your life that is uncommon? Would you like to share that with the public?! You could be an author! One thing that is wonderful about this age of technology is that many things are much more accessible then they used to be like self-publishing your own book! Benebell Wen, Kim Huggens, and Barbara Moore are excellent examples of tarot authors.

Tarot Blogger, Vlogger or Podcast- As I just said, technology has greatly improved our way of communicating our ideas. Having a blog online where you write about things that matter to you or making Tarot videos or having a podcast where you talk about different subjects in Tarot can be a great and unique way to share your point of view with the world. Donnaleigh De La Rose has a fabulous podcast and Angelo Nasios has a great YouTube channel where you can learn a lot about tarot!

Tarot Teacher- Would you like to teach others about reading Tarot? Do you have a knack for getting people to understand things in an easy way? Why not teach classes? Help others and spread the message of Tarot by educating! Rachel Pollack and Mary K. Greer are probably two of the best tarot writers and educators you will get to take a class with! 

Is there anything I forgot? What do you do that's different? Let me know!

I am a Jersey girl with a mouth like a 18th Century sailor. Of course, I know when to hold my tongue (around children and my elders mostly), but around friends I don't need to. But with my business this is a issue I can never really decide on. While I don't think it's very professional to just be spewing 4-letter words constantly for no reason, I do think that one here or there when called for won't hurt anyone. Some of my spiritual peeps would NEVER say any 4-letter words and that is fine. There are some people who you may talk to who say they only curse when they feel the situation calls for it, which is pretty much the path I take. And then there are those super judge-y spiritual people, who have soft wispy voices and at the metaphysical fair when they hear you say "DAMN IT", they look over in disgust. I spoke to a healer at a fair once and she told me, "If you were really someone who works with the spiritual realm, you would not need to use profanity". What does that even mean? I tend to disagree. You can be light worker, or healer, or reader or anything else spiritual without having a completely clean and clear mouth. Some of the reasons I find a curse word or two has a place in my spiritual practice.

People tend to calm down and believe you more.
According to psychological studies, cursing can be beneficial when trying to develop trusting relationships with someone. When I am giving someone a reading, it is important to me that they find me authentic. Now of course I can do this without cursing, but sometimes I just have the urge. People who curse are statistically considered more honest and trustworthy. When you curse to some people you seem instantly more "real" and they start to relax. Now, this isn't the case for everyone and that is perfectly alright. But sometimes it works and it works well.

Life can be messed up.
Let's be honest. Sometimes things are bad. Really bad.They just are. When doing readings, us tarot card readers have an obligation to tell our clients the truth about what is coming up. Sometimes, things aren't good. And sometimes we express things that aren't good with language that expresses that. But we can also use cursing to bring humor to a bad situation. Have you ever cursed to make a joke when someone is upset and they just look at you crazy but start laughing? In that moment, that 4-letter word brought them some comic relief that they definitely needed. I have many clients laugh through their tears and that always makes both of us feel better.

Enlightenment comes with knowing there is still a dark side to everything.
When you become more "enlightened" or "conscious", it does not mean everything is now fine and all the problems you have ever had have melted away. To be enlightened or conscious is to also be aware of what is happening around you, but being able to handle it and accept it. Of course there will still be times you are angry or sad, and expressing that does not make you a less professional or spiritual person. It makes you human. Which brings me to my last point.

You can't live "up there".     
In may cases, cursing can show you are human. No matter who we are, we are all the same people. We come to Earth with feelings and a slew of messy emotions. Walking around with our heads in the clouds talking about Spirit and Angels all the time makes one seem like they are ignoring the real issues people are dealing with. Your need to come back to earth and deal with what is going on here. 

So in conclusion, if your still worried about how you are speaking with your clients in regards to cursing, gauge the situation or better yet, just ask them. If they would prefer you not curse, they will tell you and they will appreciate your consideration for their comfort. Now go forth and be awesome, damn it!

So I was watching an episode of Christiana's Psychic Cafe and she was interviewing one of my favorite Tarot business gurus, Theresa Reed (you might know her as the Tarot Lady). She was talking about how she encourages other readers to get away from "metaphysical pimps" and be able to set out on their own. Now I hear you saying, "What is a metaphysical pimp?!" and imagining Jay Z reading your Tarot cards at the 40/40 club. That's not it (unfortunately). What she meant was occult/holistic/wellness shop or center owners who take advantage of readers and other practitioners who are trying to start their own professional practices with their own following. Now, when you are starting your own tarot business, not everyone is up for going at it alone. Many people enjoy working at a shop and that's just fine, but you need to be weary of where you going to work. But you may also think to yourself, "Wait, aren't these shops where I'm going to find my customers?! How could anything be bad about that?" Yes, but this isn't the whole and only truth. When you are a holistic or spiritual practitioner, it can be hard to find clients at first. Trying to get yourself out there is made a bit easier when you aline yourself with like minded people who are into the same things as you are. Also, obviously, people who shop in these kind of places are your customers so you might think "JACKPOT!" when you get hired to work at a shop.

But slow down just a minute.

Don't just work for a place, you need to have the place work for you too. If you do your research, you could be working a great place in which you will thrive. If you don't, you could be heading for a dead end and a lot of disappointment.  

Here are some key points you may want to consider and look out for. 

Money: I know this is a touchy subject and especially with spiritual peeps. But the true of the matter is just because you love Tarot/Reiki/Qigong, etc. and just want to help everyone doesn't mean you don't need to eat. You want to make sure that they are paying you a fair rate and getting the money that you deserve for the work your doing. From what I've experienced and heard from others, is that most places give a 70/30 split, with the practitioner taking home 70% of all their earnings. Now sometimes the owner will just charge a fee for you to read there for a day but rarely will they do both. Do what you feel comfortable and don't feel bad about negotiating. Depending on how comfortable you feel with the owner and how much you like the place, you might decide to take less than 70% or pay a higher fee, and that's ok. I know their have been times when I took less money because the opportunity was too good to pass up or just because I really liked the person I was working for that day. Like previously stated, it's all about what your comfortable with. Which leads me to my next point. 

The owner and the business itself:
So their are some really awesome owners out there who love what they do and are always looking forward to help other practitioners. They are interested in your success as well as the success of their own business so they try and foster a positive relationship with the people who work with them. They are people who understand that when running a business, the happier the employees, the better the business does. These are the kind of people you want to work for. They make reading at their places fun and make it easy to succeed. When people hear you are associated with "so and so" person who owns this shop, you are automatically thought of as probably being pretty good at what you do. That is an ideal situation. But their is always another side to things. Their are metaphysical business owners who have horrible business practices and bad gossip spreads faster than good news any day. Anyone who has ever worked anywhere knows that most companies and business have dress codes, a code of conduct, and things like that. Why? Because when you work somewhere, you are a representative of that business. The opposite applies. Beware of the company you keep. Once people see that you associate with someone who does bad business, they will assume you do bad business too, even if your the world's nicest, most honest person. Don't let these "pimps" sully your good reputation with customers and your community. 

Co-workers and drama: 
Quick story. Once I wanted to participate in this particular festival. I contacted the organizer and asked if I could be a tarot reader and so forth. She emails me back and says she needs to ask the other tarot reader who does the festival, because one time she hired a second tarot reader, and the regular tarot reader got very angry and became verbally abusive towards the second tarot reader. That was the last time she heard from me. You let people who are technically working for you verbally abuse each other? Wow. That's horrible and not a situation I would like to be in. Even though that was not a shop situation, you can see how things can quickly spiral out of control when you have more than one practitioner in place. When you read at a shop, you want to make sure everyone is being treated fairly. If a particular reader gets to read on the really busy days because he/she has been there the longest and you have to start on let's say, Tuesdays, that's something you have to decide whether you are comfortable with. If you find instead of trying to give the customers a great experience there is just back biting and bad mouthing going on, you might want to leave that place and never look back. Now, there is an upside to this (there is always a silver lining). Your co-workers and other practitioners could actually help you with customer relations. If someone gets a client who is hard for then to read, they might say, "You know what? You might like (insert your name here), she reads tarot and you might connect with her better! Her card is at the front desk" or a Reiki practitioner is asked if she/her knows any readers while at a party and they remember you! That's a win for everyone. So co-workers can also foster a sense of community that you may be looking for.  

The community: 
If you live somewhere where you feel isolated as a spiritual practitioner, working out of a shop or center might be refreshing for you. You might love being around people who think like you too. You may make friends and have an awesome time. But on the other hand, like any type of group, people can get clich-y. People who already have their own groups might be reluctant to welcome others in. Get a feel for the people and see if you will fit in there well.

Your still for someone else: 
If your goal is to be independent. remember that as long as you work at the shop, you are still someone's employee. One nice thing about spiritual work is that a lot of the time you can make your own schedule and most owners will work with you. But some owners will only want you to be there certain times and may have strict schedules. Make sure you discuss this before you agree to work for anyone. Also, some owners might not encourage you to promote yourself outside of reading at their shop. They might feel like if you get clients who come to you outside the shop, you are stealing them. Check with the owner about how they feel about you promoting yourself.  

Customers and Code of Ethics: 
Does the shop have a code of ethics? Does it jive with yours? Are you allowed to refuse customers if you do not feel comfortable reading for them? Find out what the owners do and how they operate and you can decide from there how you feel about working there and if you feel like you can uphold your style of spirituality.

So, you have some questions to ask and decisions to make! And remember, you are the only person who can decide what best for you! Align your self with people who will help your light shine brighter!

"Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan the flames". -Rumi