When you decide to launch your career as a professional Tarot card reader, one great resource you can turn to is the book Professional Tarot by Christine Jette. I have personally found this book to be a very valuable guide in ‘The Business of Reading, Consulting and Teaching’ (as the book’s title states) in the field of Tarot.
Christine Jette (pronounced ‘Jetty’) has authored several books about Tarot, but two of her books, namely, ‘Professional Tarot’ and ‘Tarot Shadow Work’ have their place of pride in my Tarot library. Christine is a registered nurse, and has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology.
The Professional Tarot book walks you through the different stages of becoming a professional Tarot card reader and Tarot teacher. Naturally, it is divided up into sections, that will take you through the various stages for getting into the profession, and staying in the profession.
Let’s look at the different sections of the Professional Tarot by Christine Jette, and see what each section talks about.
Introduction
The Professional Tarot book begins with a brief introduction that will tell you how you can go about getting the most from the book.
Taking The Leap
The title of this section reminds me so much of the energy of the Fool card! And yes, this section addresses the different aspects of being a professional Tarot card reader that often are a source of worry for many of us, especially as we start out.
For example, Christine touches upon topics like ‘Why do you want to be a professional Tarot card reader?’, ‘Discovering your personal style and voice’ and ‘Are you funny about money?’ – which will truly help you look deeper within yourself and understand what you would be getting into on several levels as you begin your professional Tarot card reading career.
Building Your Tarot Practice
This section talks about the very ‘business’ aspects of building and growing your practice. For example, there is a section that talks about setting up and (eventually) raising your rates. You can find valuable advice about advertising, and creating a ‘Tarot To Go’ bag for those times when you have to go visit your clients at their homes. Another question Christine looks at is whether to go for an office space, or to read from your home, and how to go about both these approaches.
Global Tarot
This section looks at the Internet as a valuable medium for building and growing your professional Tarot practice. And of course, handling the different situations that might arise while doing so.
The Business of Tarot
This section looks at some more of the ‘business’ aspects of your Tarot practice, such as maintaining your accounts, which are very important too.
Counseling Clients
Another very valuable section from this book, this section examines your interaction with your clients in great detail, and helps you, as a Tarot card reader, to figure out what boundaries you have to set in order to allow your clients to get the most from your reading.
Teaching and Learning Tarot
After spending a point of time as a professional reader, it is very natural that you might get asked to teach Tarot. How do you go about setting up that aspect of your practice? Don’t worry, because Christine talks about it in depth in this section. In fact, if you are looking to start teaching Tarot while you build your practice, then the guidance in this section will really be very helpful for you.
Epilogue: The Energy To Succeed
Once you get your Tarot reading and Tarot teaching practice up and running, there will be other issues that might crop up. For example, she advises you on how to go about handling the day-to-day stress and worry that being in this profession can cause.
The book Professional Tarot by Christine Jette also has 3 Appendices, where Christine gives you:
- A basic Code of Ethics template,
- Outlines for creating Basic and Advanced Tarot courses,
- Links to various resources such as books and business organizations.
My Thoughts
As I have said before, I found this book very useful in my professional Tarot card reading practice. I actually discovered this book after I had started reading professionally, but what I learnt from this book truly helped me to bring the business aspect of my practice into a very streamlined process. As it stood, being a professional Tarot card reader, I had a very big love/hate approach towards the business part of the scenario. But this book truly helped me to see things in a better perspective – and helped me chart a course for my practice that sits well with my inner self.
Buy This Book
In Conclusion…
If you are looking to start your professional Tarot reading practice, or if you are looking to boost your existing practice, then the book Professional Tarot by Christine Jette can prove to be a very valuable resource of information for you. Go ahead and read it, and confidently take your first step towards being a professional Tarot card reader and teacher!
