SHERI HARSHBERGER

By Frances

I just returned from a birthday weekend getaway in New Orleans. I bought this great T- shirt that asks "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" and that, coupled with the readings I got while down there, got me thinking about what defines a good reader. I had four very different readings during our 4-day stay. One of them I can say with certainty was truly dreadful! The other 3 were good enough. Sadly, none of them were what I consider to be profound. 

What defines a good reader/reading? To some degree what makes a reader good is subjective but there are skills that all good readers do share. In my 30+ years of frequenting readers, there have been only a handful of readings that standout in my mind as exceptionally profound. These readers were no nonsense, straight forward, tuned in, and extremely gifted. They got to the point and tapped into a special energy. When I left the reading I had a better understanding of my course. They tuned into my energy and saw what was occurring now and predicted what would be or gave me tangible guidance. Readers that foretell the future with stunning accuracy fascinate me, but a good reader does not have to be able to predict, although I believe that the more they feed on the energy of the Universe the more their gifts will expand and evolve. They need to tap into the energies around the querent, see patterns, and they must be able to feel the person and guide them through whatever it is they are working on or explain the path they are on so that they can make adjustments if they wish. It's ultimately about connecting and hearing with all of your senses. Your average sitter is looking for a connection, they want guidance, reassurance, comfort, help. You aren't going to be a good reader if you fail to connect.

What made the one reader in NOLa so bad? She pulled 15 cards and told me what each card was, nothing more. She never connected to me or connected the card to me. She literally said "this is the Page of Wands, it represents a young energy." I asked her who or what the message was and she said "I don't know, you have to figure that out." Then what am I doing here? I thought. Apparently she defined reading to be actually reading the titles on the cards. Who knew? She continued to tell me what each card was and her keywords for each one which were nothing but predictable. The final nail came when she saw the Tower and actually gasped! She said "this is a bad card! A very bad card! Something cataclysmic is going to happen to you." I was shocked! She went on to talk about plane crashes and accidents. I was speechless. I didn't tell her I read and I didn't contradict her. I wasn't hiding it, she never asked me. She did comment about how well I shuffled the cards and cut them naturally but she never put two and two together. She didn't see me but how irresponsible of her to gasp about the Tower. Can you imagine what a querent who doesn't know the cards would have taken away from that?

When I am receiving a reading, I sit back and let the cards or Universe speak to the Reader. I watch carefully because I enjoy the process but I won't read over their shoulders - so to speak - it isn't about the cards it is all about what the reader channels. However, when this reader shuddered and told me what a bad card the Tower was, multiple times, and spoke of destruction and mayhem, I couldn't hold myself back. I said there are NO bad cards in tarot! She hemmed and hawed. I said, "well, what mayhem do you see?" She said again "I don't know, you have to figure that out!" So I said, "so let me reiterate, there is something very bad and quite fierce coming at me but you have no idea what it is or where in my life it may hit?" She nodded! OH MY!!! I shook my head. I said there is nothing wrong with the Tower, you read the card based on what cards are near. So she turned the reading on me and said, "well, then how would you see the Tower?" I laughed and said, "well, since it is next to the High Priestess and the Ace of Pentacles I would read it as something new psychically is going to come to me, probably something that has been buried deep inside of me, some new opportunity, some new gift or maybe a secret will be revealed. Whatever it is it will come in as an opportunity." She said, "OK, well maybe you will learn to read." Things that make you say hmmmmmmmm.

That was supposed to be my last reading of the weekend. I had saved this one place for my birthday and when I walked out with a cassette tape of my reading I was so mad! I handed the tape to my husband and told him to find a garbage can to throw it out in. I knew I had to have one more reading to right the weekend. My husband was about to call for an intervention! I went into the park area and picked one of the gypsies. Hell, nothing could have been worse than what I got. I surveyed the readers and picked a man I felt a connection with. Of the 4 readings I had over the weekend, 3 were from men. I didn't pick it that way, nor do I think one sex has the advantage over the other, it just was. I sat down before him and he connected with me. He was a gypsy, Romanian and had grown up in a carnival. He was charming as you would expect. He did not predict the future. He did pick up on the energies around me and within me. He saw me. This is the very least you need to do to read. He also entertained me and succeeded in helping me forget the bad reading, which was my reason for having the reading. 

I believe anyone can be a good reader which is probably why I was so angry when I got up from the reading with the woman. She didn't even try. She didn't care enough about what she was doing to feel me. I was insulted. It takes a minimal amount of energy to be a decent reader. However, I believe anyone can be a profound reader (one that can divine and breakthrough) all that is necessary is being able to connect, concentrate and believe. The more you trust yourself, tune into the energy of the person and of the Universe, the more you will be able to read. All that's left to ask is if you are willing?