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One organization in particular, the Canadian Tarot Network, has
incorporated the idea of having individual readers developing their own
personal code of ethics into their certification program. All six
certification levels offered by the CTN have a requirement that focuses on
the reader developing, writing, and then expanding upon a personal code of
ethics. The purpose behind such an emphasis on the inculcation of ethics
is to instill into the certified reader a basic understanding of ethical
practices, as would be applied by a professional Tarot reader. This basic
foundation of ethical conduct is then built upon, as the reader becomes
more experienced in reading for the public, and starts taking on
ever-larger roles of responsibility in the Tarot reading community. This,
in turn, serves to improve the reader’s reputation, as well as the
reputation of the Tarot community, as a whole. As in any other profession,
the profession as a whole is judged in many cases, by the conduct of
individual members, for good or ill.
However, there are a large number of individuals who would protest the
development of “established certifications” and “mandatory ethical
standards,” as described by a professional organization. These nay-sayers,
most of whom claim to hail from the esoteric community, object to such
“rigidity,” claiming it would detract from the spiritual qualities of a
Tarot reading, as could only be experienced in a true “caveat emptor”
environment. Such claims may be very well true, in that ethical standards
may impose additional burdens on a reader’s conduct towards a client.
However, closer inspection of said claims usually proves that such burdens
have less to do with imposing any spiritual constraints by the
“establishment,” than with the hampering of a practitioner’s “less than
ethical” business practices.
An
example of a “less than ethical” business practice can be seen in my
recent visit to a local bookstore that periodically offered Tarot
readings. When I asked for a reading the lady at the desk declined to do a
Tarot reading for me, and suggested that I consider an aura reading
instead. The aura reading included a mini-counseling session, which
concluded with a suggestion of which aromatherapy item I might purchase.
After listening to her pitch on the aromatherapy items, I thanked her for
the aura reading and left.
While I am not opposed to the insight an allied discipline would have to
offer, I was taken aback by the suggestion that I needed to buy oils
and/or incense sticks. I only wanted a Tarot reading, and nothing more. I
admit I do like to shop and purchase such items from time to time, but
that would have been at my prerogative to do so when it would have suited
me. I made up my mind that day that if I were going to offer a service to
the public, I would do just that. “Baiting” potential customers to enter
an establishment by offering a service, and then switching to something
else is a tactic I would never care employ as a business professional.
Personal Code of
Ethics to Professional Code of Ethics
With the goal in mind of creating a
guideline of ethics-based conduct, as well as the above-mentioned
experience, I began outlining what I believed would constitute a set of
ethics I would want to uphold. I wanted a Code of Ethics that would serve
not only as a personal guideline of ethical conduct, but also serve as a
public notice of what I will, and will not, do for a client. After reading
several examples, and listening to the advice of both my Tarot and
astrology friends, I put together the following Code of Ethics:
I do not foretell the future with Tarot cards, nor will I
refer a client to anyone who claims they can.
I do not provide advice concerning healthcare, legal, or
financial issues. These are areas of concern, which need to be addressed
by healthcare, legal and financial professionals.
What I will do is use the Tarot to provide insight into
underlying issues concerning your question. It is up to the client to use
what we might find in our Tarot reading to bring about positive changes in
his/her life.
My Tarot readings will be conducted in a professional manner
that is private and relaxed. The insight provided during the reading will
be about the client only, never about other people in the client's life,
including family members.
All information, insights or revelations brought to light
during any Tarot reading will remain confidential. The only exception will
be if the client expressly agrees to allow me to consult with my mentor on
the outcome of a particular reading.
I will encourage my clients to ask questions, take notes, or
record the reading as it takes place; so as to further my client’s
understanding of the nature of the reading and any insights it may reveal.
I will teach my clients about the insights and limitations of
the Tarot. I will teach my clients that they have the responsibility to
conduct themselves according to their conscience, and that the insights
revealed by the Tarot are answers from their inner-self, and may be acted
upon according to the client’s free will and conscience.
I will always endeavor to express what insights I have been
given during a Tarot reading in such a manner as to empower my client. My
clients will never be asked to make any additional purchase of any kind,
or be exploited for personal or financial gain.
I will respect the moral, religious and social beliefs of my
clients, and will refrain from any judgment and criticism. I will adhere
to the standards set forth by the ATA and the CTN, including the Code of
Ethics of both of these organizations.
In
assembling this Code of Ethics, I strived to include a number of elements
which I believe are essential items in conveying the professional nature
of my services to the public. Among them are the commitment to the
delivery of consistent, high quality readings, confidentiality of the
reading, an agreed upon understanding of the limitations of a Tarot
reading, and a degree of sensitivity to my client and the problems they
discuss with me. Two additional items, which I deemed to be vital
components of a professional Code of Ethics, are the ideas of providing
the reading as the primary service that I extend to my client, and that my
Code of Ethics is compatible with the professional Tarot organizations of
which I am a member. These last two items are key elements in the
development of a “professional” Code of Ethics, from a personal code of
conduct.
To
begin with, the reading, whatever its outcome, is NOT to be used or
leveraged so as to induce the client to purchase any additional services,
products or items. While I do understand that many readers may work in
shops that sell other items, such as oils, incense, etc., there needs to
be some sort of ethical guideline in place that reduces or prevents the
issue of “conflicting interests.” The inclusion of such provisions in a
Code of Ethics helps to alleviate such issues by letting the client know
before a reading, that the choice to purchase any additional services or
items should be considered separately from the original contracted
reading.
Second, the ethical standards, which I make available to my clients BEFORE
they agree to a contract reading, are compatible with the professional
organizations with which I am a member. As a professional Tarot reader, I
support the Tarot community through my membership in professional
organizations, which support and advance the quality of the Tarot
profession. As one person out of many, I have the opportunity and
advantage of learning from the insight and experience of other members of
a professional organization. Such organizations provide not only a forum
that facilitates the exchange of ideas and methods, but also provides the
opportunity to contribute to the profession by striving to develop and
improve the qualities and ideals that are incumbent upon each member. My
Code of Ethics may be something I might claim for myself, but it really is
the combined influence of the professional Tarot community; examined,
reviewed, and questioned by my peers with whom I claim membership.
Ethics in Writing, Publishing, and Dealing with
Peers
The label “Tarot professional” carries with it much more than the notion
of simply being a responsible card reader. In today’s society, more so
than in any other time in history, the written word has become the
standard method of transmitting ideas and learning, as well as conveying
the thoughts and opinions of our peers and the general public. Today’s
Tarot professional must be an expert at locating and learning from the
written material available, as well as being able to assemble his/her
experiences and knowledge into written form, to be used by the next
generation of professional readers.
Now,
this is not to say that all readers must be accomplished authors, literary
critics or experts in library science. However, a professional reader,
like any other professional, should uphold the basic ethics incumbent upon
those who create, edit and promote written materials that are used in our
profession. In short, ethical readers should stand against the
plagiarization of any materials, whether esoteric or not, and should
endeavor to maintain the accuracy of any materials being published,
properly citing references as well as avoiding distorting information in
favor of any particular viewpoint or belief.
Much
of the same can, and should, be applied to how we, as professional Tarot
readers, deal with our peers. By giving credit to the appropriate
references in our written works, we support and encourage our peers to
freely contribute their thoughts, insight, and experiences to the overall
knowledge base of our profession. These contributions, most of which
become freely available to the public, serve to advance our profession and
help bring the benefits of our services to the general public. It is
interesting to note that many of the opinions of our profession stem from
what the curious have gleaned from the printed materials available at
local bookstores. Writing and publishing Tarot materials that reflect the
high standards of our profession promotes the external image we project to
the public, as well as to members of our profession. Creating these
materials, and presenting them to our students and peers in an ethical
manner, is of fundamental importance.
Ethics of the Student-Teacher Relationship
As a college instructor, I have learned that a good teacher is NOT the
chief dispenser of knowledge, but a facilitator of the learning
experience. Assuming the role as an instructor places upon the
professional reader an entirely different mantel of responsibility. As an
instructor, the Tarot professional is in a unique position to convey the
experiences and insights to new readers that have been gained over the
course of a career. Doing so requires that the instructor approach the
student neither as an equal nor as an authority; but requires that a
middle ground be defined that allows for the learning experience to take
place in a positive manner.
The
Student-Teacher relationship is a very special bond that is created when
two people interact to exchange ideas or information. In a very real
sense, we are all both students and teachers. This relationship is more
akin to the situation of a blacksmith. Just as a blacksmith bends and
shapes his ironwork, so too does the working itself bend and shape the
smith. There are no Tarot “gurus” located in far-away places that do not
need the insight or experiences of others. Likewise, there are no students
who do not in some fashion influence the perspective of their instructors.
For this relationship to work, the student must be honest about wanting to
learn the profession he/she is taking up, and the instructor must be
honest about wanting to really teach the student. When both of these
conditions occur, a student-teacher relationship is created.
To
maintain this relationship, the instructor must be honest about REALLY
wanting to teach the student. This can only be realized if the instructor
is careful about maintaining the proper learning environment. This is why
virtually all colleges and universities have guidelines in place that seek
to prevent behavior that may be interpreted as fraternization, including
rules prohibiting dating between the instructor and his/her students. Such
policies seek to maintain a “professional distance” between the student
and the instructor, which allows room for the learning process to operate,
free from “outside” distractions.
This
“professional distance” is not to be taken as license to treat a student
as a number, but rather to maintain a level of compassion that will still
allow the instructor the objectivity needed to function as a teacher. This
sense of perspective is needed to successfully impart the abilities,
attitude, skills and knowledge needed by the student to be successful in
the Tarot profession. If the instructor cannot impart these qualities, or
build the confidence of his/her students, then this relationship will fail
both the instructor and the student.
The
student too, has his/her responsibilities in this relationship. The
student must be serious about learning the skills of this profession.
There seems to be no limit to the number of “dubious” readers that are
constantly in the public eye. While some of these individuals are no doubt
products of poor training, many of these persons were perhaps never
serious about REALLY learning the craft they claim to practice. Lured by
the promise of easy money to be had at the expense of the general public,
such readers seriously impair the image of the professional card reader,
as well as the image of those readers who may consider joining the Tarot
community. Students should realize, or if necessary be told, that the
field of Tarot reading is a profession that will require a life-long
commitment to continual learning and practicing. The appetite for learning
must be present in the student, for the instructor to feed.
Ethics for Working with Groups and Communicating
with Peers
Working with large groups of people places an extra burden on the
professional reader, in that the larger the group, the more exposure the
reader has to the public, especially when filling the role as a group
speaker. As any one will tell you, who has a background in public
speaking, group dynamics provides a whole new set of challenges for the
professional to contend with. Groups of people increase the problem of
hidden agendas and goals, with which the reader/speaker must contend. I
have personally seen this while participating in large group lectures,
where the speaker is confronted with a wide variety of divergent views,
insights and goals. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to maintain
a professional discourse under such circumstances, especially if the
speaker is working with an adversarial group. These are the times when a
firmly established Code of Ethics will be of the greatest benefit.
The
speaker must take considerable care to treat each individual in a group
with respect and equity, as well as insist that group members also treat
each other in the same fashion. As any group of individuals is a
collection of diverse personalities, the speaker must take care to avoid
comments, actions or behaviors that might be considered to be offensive to
any particular individual. From my own personal experience, groups will
often contain several sub-groups, or special interest groups, with their
own ideas and agendas. Many times the agendas of such sub-groups will
differ significantly from the intended focus of the group. It is the
responsibility of the speaker to be able to address these special groups
as needed, without loosing the integrity of the group’s original focus by
diverging into unrelated topics.
In
many ways, speaking to a group of diverse individuals is not unlike trying
to develop and maintain a student-teacher relationship with several people
all at once. However, if everything works and the group participants are
not too rowdy, the speaker may begin to see a rise in the group’s
“synergy.” This is what the group participants will remember about the
group experience, and invariably, about the speaker him/herself, even more
so than what the original topic of discussion was about!
Similar to the challenges of working with large groups is communicating
and working with peers in one’s own field. Many readers find themselves
“at arm’s length” when dealing with their peers, or peers from other
disciplines. Many times this problem arises from the perception, either
right or wrong, on how a peer is perceived as being treated. Some readers
tend to treat others they interact with as potential students or clients.
This, in turn, may be misinterpreted as a personal slight.
From
the standpoint of professional ethics, it would speak well for all Tarot
readers to treat their peers as equals, rather than as amateur or junior
readers. This would go far to instill a more professional image within our
own ranks. There have been many instances where I have performed readings
for others, only to learn that my clients were seasoned readers, with many
years of experience. A professional bearing in these instances has earned
for me their respect, which has gone far in establishing my reputation as
a solid reader.
Likewise, as professionals, we need to show common respect and courtesy to
members of other Tarot organizations, as well as those practitioners of
the allied esoteric arts. While some practitioners of other esoteric
disciplines tend not to acknowledge Tarot readers as professional peers,
members of our profession should not respond in like manner. If we, as a
society of Tarot readers, extend professional courtesies to all other
disciplines in equal manner, then we, as a collective group, will benefit
from the reputation of being seen by our peers, as well as by the public
at large, as being a society of responsible professionals worthy of being
accepted as learned esotericists in our own right.
Conclusion
In the end, it is up to the individual card reader to adopt and advance
the idea of abiding by a code of ethics, when working with our clients. We
alone are responsible for changing the public perception of professional
Tarot reading, restoring it to a place of honor as an ancient esoteric
discipline. Letting society slowly reverse the antiquated laws against
“fortune telling” is not enough to accomplish the goal of restoring Tarot
reading as a mature, responsible profession. Individual readers must
consciously choose to adhere to standards of ethical conduct and
accountability, and demand that their peers do likewise. Only a total
commitment to excellence will see our craft established as a professional
endeavor, worthy of the respect and admiration that it so richly deserves. |
