Becoming a Professional Tarot Reader

Christine Jette (pronounced “Jetty”) is a registered nurse and holds a bachelor of arts in psychology. She is a Therapeutic Touch practitioner and professional tarot consultant. Christine has specialized in health readings combined with hands-on (energetic) healing. She teaches professional writing part-time at the University of Cincinnati and lives in Cincinnati with her husband and three spoiled cats.

In her previous books she shows how to use the tarot to discover the secrets of our subconscious and heal those parts of us that need it (Tarot Shadow Work), to bring emotional healing into our lives (Tarot for the Healing Heart), and to use the cards for magic and ritual (Tarot for All Seasons). These books have widened tarot readers’ approaches to the cards. And yet, Christine felt that there was one more thing she needed to teach.

Her new book, Professional Tarot, is based on her thirty years of experience working with the tarot. In it, she uses that experience to reveal how to share what you’ve learned from the tarot with others…and make money while you’re helping them. In the prologue to Professional Tarot, Christine explains why she decided to reveal this information now:

You've been studying the tarot for a long time but wouldn’t dream of charging money for a reading. Or, you have been reading for a while but feel inadequate when confronted with a client in crisis. If either of these statements rings true, you are not alone. Many people do occasional tarot readings for money, but are stuck on the threshold of developing a professional practice.

There are plenty of tarot books, classes, conferences and workshops, so a lack of tarot knowledge is not the problem. Over time, I have concluded two things hold most of us back from becoming professional readers: our ambivalence about charging money for reading the cards, and how to talk to people about the cards—the counseling dimension of a tarot practice.

I have a background in nursing, psychology, energetic healing, teaching and the tarot. The more I wanted to learn about establishing a professional tarot practice and how to counsel clients during a reading, the more I turned to business, psychology and astrology books. I began asking: Why do I have to use an astrology consultation book to learn about professional tarot practices?

As I lined my bookshelves with astrology, psychology and business references, it became clear that tarot literature lacked a “how-to-do-readings-formoney” book. Especially lacking were tarot books about setting fees, finding the space to read, marketing, advertising, networking, counseling clients in crisis, reading for teens, teaching a tarot class, legalities of untaxed income, business deductions, using the web to expand the client base and how to conduct readings that increased client self-awareness.

In Professional Tarot, I don’t draw hard and fast rules and I definitely don’t pretend to have all the answers. You won’t either. The best-trained readers, healers and psychics in the world don’t have all the answers. (And if they say they do, get out of there fast!) We all learn by doing, making mistakes and trying again. My intent is to give you some tools that guide you on your way, as you establish and maintain a professional tarot practice. Think of Professional Tarot as a guiding plan to open again and again as you stand on the threshold, build a thriving practice, and prosper. Enjoy the journey.

—From Professional Tarot