When to Get a Professional Tarot Reading


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In episode 9, I dive deep on four reasons why you might want to get a professional tarot reading. You will probably recognize yourself in some of these reasons and what I really wanted to do was normalize outsourcing when you’re feeling overwhelmed or too emotionally attached to an outcome.

  • I go deep into symptoms of needing an outside opinion on tarot readings.
  • I speak to you how stress and overwhelm can cloud your ability to get a clear tarot reading on your own.
  • I also talk about how to give yourself permission to spend your money and energy on self-care even if it’s something that you could, in theory, do for yourself.

Connect with Sheila:

Book a Tarot or Reiki session at starsagepspirit.com or find her on Instagram instagram.com/starsagespirit.

This episode really stressed the importance of knowing when is the right time to get a professional tarot reading. I also discuss issues of self-worth and the challenge that can come up around investing in yourself on something that might seem unnecessary or that you can do yourself. What’s really important to remember is that when we have too much buy-in to the outcome of a reading or too much emotion tied up in it it’s very difficult for even the best readers to find clarity. Outsourcing your tarot reading to a professional shows tremendous wisdom and courage and it can save you a lot of angst. And I also talk about the importance of doing your research before choosing a reader and making sure that you understand the service that you are purchasing so that you aren’t disappointed and you can get the maximum clarity through that tarot reading.

Check out this episode!

Transcript:

Sheila M  0:05  

Welcome to Living Tarot. I’m your host Sheila Masterson. I’m a tarot reader and teacher, an energy healer and medium, and creator of Practical Tarot for Everyday Intuitives. Each week on this podcast, I’ll share my own experience of embracing and growing intuition and interview guests about how they heard the call of intuition, embraced the adventure, and embodied the Tarot along the way. Join us and learn how you can stop second guessing, empower yourself through intuition, and live intentionally with the Tarot. 

Welcome back to Living Tarot. On today’s episode, I’m going to talk about a question that I get asked a lot which is when should I get a professional reading and when can I just do the reading for myself. And this is something I hear a lot. It’s also something that I think there is a little bit of shame about in the community. I think when it comes to specialty readings, or your ahead readings, or anything that’s kind of like fun and exciting, it’s very acceptable to go and participate in something fun. But if you’re struggling, it can sometimes be seen or internalized as weakness, or like you’re not a good enough reader. And so I really wanted to address that today, I wanted to talk about four different scenarios where you might find yourself feeling called to get a reading from somebody else. And also kind of take apart some of the shame that surrounds that. So let’s get started. So it’s simple I personally have experienced as a reader, it’s something I’ve heard reader friends talk about quite a bit. And I do think that there is some inherent shame as in not being able to do it yourself. If you’re a professional reader, especially, I think there is a lot of shame that surrounds that. And there’s a couple of things about this, that that bother me. So the first thing is that there’s really nothing wrong with reaching out when it’s something that you feel you can’t get clarity on. And in fact, I would say that it is more, more harmful and more frustrating to keep spinning your gears and to not accept that you kind of need somebody else’s help in the situation. Rather than just trying to force your way through or pretend it’s not happening. In my in my mind, it is a sign of an ethical And a grounded reader when you can accept that I’m not getting a clear read on the situation and I really need to outsource to to someone else. Or maybe I’m too emotional or whatever it is. So I really do encourage you. If you are a reader and you are feeling pressured to not seek out help from someone else, I really do encourage you to ask yourself, why that might be and what’s coming up for you that you feel that you need to be able to do everything yourself. The other thing is that not every reader has the same understanding or the same sweet spot in terms of their readings. So some people are extremely predictive readers, they find it very easy to predict. Some people are relationship readers, some people are career readers. And so you might be asking a question. That’s not really In your sweet spot, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with seeking out somebody who is really an expert in that. So, I did want to talk about that a little bit. And we’ll kind of get into it a little bit more as we talk about each of these four reasons why you might seek out a professional reading rather than doing it yourself. 

So Reason number one would be that you keep asking the same question over and over, and you’re not getting any clarity. So either you keep reading on the same situation and one day you’re getting, maybe you know, the four of cups and the next day you’re getting the 10 of cups. And then the next day you’re getting the five of swords and you’re just feeling very, very confused at feels like the energy of the readings are not in alignment with each other. Maybe you’re feeling a little bit of a frenzy, where you’re just kind of pulling card after card because you’re getting very confused. I love you, I have been you. I send you so much love and understanding. But for God’s sake, put down the tarot cards, give yourself a break, step away. Give yourself that opportunity to get a little bit of space between you and the question that you’re answering. Even if it feels super urgent, even if you can’t imagine putting it down right now, and really give yourself the opportunity to step away for a couple days. And I’m serious when I say this, give yourself that space. And then come back to the deck. Ask the question again, see if it feels different. If it feels like you’re getting a little more clarity, if you’re getting just that little bit of space has adjusted your ability to really connect with the question to connect with what your deck is trying to tell you, and to really approach things in a reflective and understand Way, rather than putting a ton of pressure on yourself to find the answer right now, because what I’ve found through several years of practice now is that when I find myself getting into this mode, I’m pulling card after card. And I’m confused and I can’t quite get clarity. And I feel that almost like desperation for clarity, that it’s really important that I give myself that little bit of space. Because sometimes even coming back later in the day, coming back a couple days later, could add a huge amount of perspective that was not there before. So I really do encourage you to try that first. Especially, especially given the way the world is today. And I know many of us are trying to be mindful about how we’re spending our money and our resources. And so I do really encourage you to see if you can figure it out yourself because Part of this whole Tarot journey is really being able to sit in the tough stuff with ourselves, to outsource when we really need it, but to try to give ourselves the space, and the time and the energetic and mental resources, to be able to come back to those same questions, or that same set of questions, and seek a new answer and seek greater clarity and greater understanding. And you can usually tell if you’re there if you’re feeling a little less urgency in the question asking and a little, a little more understanding and compassion for yourself, which is almost always where those answers come from. When we’re coming in with that desperation and that frenzy. It’s very hard to get a clear understanding, which isn’t to say that you shouldn’t ever pull if you feel that way. I am a very, very firm believer that you should come to your cards with whatever is In that moment, but I do think it’s really important that when we, when we approach something that is difficult that we don’t instantly outsource our power to someone else. My entire philosophy behind reading is really to come from a way that empowers myself and also empowers clients that I’m reading for. And so I am always looking for ways to bring the power back into my own hands, to make myself feel more comfortable more at ease, and to be able to sit with those messy emotions, or those complicated feelings that can come up and also to deal with that sense of urgency. And really notice what’s true about that urgency and what just feels true. And so I do really think that that is a good time. If you come back to your cards after And you still feel that you cannot get that clarity, you’re still feeling very confused. Or if it’s just not in your your area of expertise, and you just feel a little foggy about how to ask about it, or you just don’t feel like you’re getting the kind of answers that can provide you with actionable steps forward, then I would really encourage you to seek out somebody else. And just to get that, that outside perspective.

Just like you know, when we, when we struggle with mental health things we seek a therapist, or when we struggle with medical things, maybe we seek an herbalist or a doctor, that it’s just their expertise and they will maybe have an easier time answering that question for you. And it can really take the pressure off. I have also had this experience of as soon as I booked the appointment for the thing that I want to talk about that I’m suddenly a To read on it, it’s kind of that same sensation as you’re feeling really sick and then you go to the doctor’s office, and all of a sudden you feel better, it’s like, it’s like you the pressure is off a little bit and you’re able to see a little bit more clearly. So sometimes just taking that pressure off yourself by booking the appointment can also provide some clarity. So that’s reason number one. Reason number two, you’re too emotional about the situation. Now we touched on this a little bit in in reason one but I do want to talk about this because I am a huge proponent, and you’ll hear me time and time again talk about the fact that I have come to my cards when I am very emotional and very upset more often than I’ve come to them when I’m peaceful and calm. That’s just the type of person that I am. I am a highly emotional person. I’m a very sensitive person. I deal with a lot of energy on a daily basis. I have some passion trauma that I deal with. And so, I use my cards very specifically to help me with anxiety, with depression with other mental health struggles, and also with the struggles of daily life and feeling disappointed, frustrated, and 2020 especially so many of us dealing with this global pandemic, a huge amount of uncertainty that always existed but was never quite so directly in our faces. And so, I really do encourage you on a regular basis, to normalize coming to your cards when you are emotional, when you are in perfect, without ceremony or without need to make it a huge ritual or production but just to make it something that is a functional part of your daily life, which is one of the main tenants of my course practical, terrible for everyday intuitives. And one of the main things that I teach in our course How to really show up even when you are emotional. That said, we do have things that come up, you know, catastrophic breakups, job loss, highly stressful events that can be very wrapped up in emotion and self value and self worth and can really cloud our ability to see things clearly. And so I still encourage you to come to your deck to ask questions when things when things are going wrong, and you need that that pause and that clarity and that something to reflect on something to kind of interrupt that anxiety process. But I do think that if you’re finding that that is kind of a consistent state, first of all, I’m a huge proponent of therapy. So find yourself a good therapist talk it out, but I consider other Tarot readers And spiritual healers to be kind of the spiritual therapists and sometimes, that’s exactly what we need to find direction and clarity in our lives. It’s a huge a huge part of my business and what I do with career Tarot and giving people and empowering people to make the best decisions in different career moves. And so I really do encourage you if you feel like you have so much emotion wrapped up in something that you can’t quite see things clearly that you’re not, you’re not getting any kind of clear answer from your cards. Again, same philosophy as with situation one, where you can give yourself a little bit of time and see if you deregulate a little bit. If you start to calm down, if you start to feel more clarity, you can come back and see if it works out but especially when we are in some of the heavier emotions, grief, anxiety, maybe we’re recovering from trauma, it can be very helpful to have somebody else hold the space for us. Because I have had the experience of going in and having a reading done, and feeling so incredibly nurtured and taken care of that I can finally see, even as they’re pulling the cards, I can see what’s going on and I can get more clarity. And again, it’s similar to just like scheduling the appointment kind of takes the pressure off. But being in there with somebody else kind of holding that burden for you can offer a huge amount of comfort and a huge amount of clarity that it’s very hard to get when we’re under this fog of heavy duty emotion. And so I do really encourage you, if you are feeling that clouding of emotion or too much emotion, or too long, a prolonged period of emotion. I really do encourage you, that’s a great time to Seek out a reading to ask for a referral. 

Hey there, I want you to be the first to know that I am offering a free training Tarot for Real Life – Get your Shit together with the Tarot on Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 12pm eastern time, this workshop is extremely powerful. It talks about the top mistakes that new Tarot readers make. We’ll cover the neuroscience of Tarot and how it can stop the anxiety cycle, and the exact steps to follow to start reading effectively and efficiently for yourself. This is where the spirituality of the Tarot meets real life situations. And my goal is to have you leave that workshop, either with a reboot to your tarot reading or if you’re a brand new beginner with a good idea of how to get started. So you can sign up for that Free workshop in the shownotes today or if you already know that you are really interested in signing up for a tarot course, I will be opening the doors for my Tarot course for the last time for 2020 the course is called Practical Tarot for Everyday Intuitives. It is a seven week Tarot course that takes you from brand new beginner to tarot reading Pro, and helps you learn how to bring that practice into real life, how to use the Tarot to help you make complex decisions effortlessly. So if that sounds good to you, you can sign up for the waitlist in the show notes today. 

Situation three is extreme stress and overwhelm. So I speak from experience when I say that those of us who do readings who are healers who are caretakers, and this goes above and beyond just People who do this for a living, but also people who read for themselves for for their own spiritual practice and for their own information, if you are going through a prolonged period of extreme stress and anxiety, if you are taking care of a sick loved one, if you are living through a global pandemic, if you are dealing with environmental stress in an unsafe neighborhood, if you are a person of color and you are feeling intense anxiety right now, because of police brutality, and white supremacy, then I encourage you to give yourself a little bit of space and again to go to someone who can really offer you a safe space to process everything that’s going on. It can be really hard to come into even just reading for yourself if you are under that kind of intense stress and it can be hard to give it the kind of energy and attention it deserves when you’re already working from a depleted place. And when we do feel that kind of chronic stress, that overwhelming feeling of just intense, intense stress, we can really struggle to have the brain space even just for for our daily lives to be fully present in our daily lives, to show up for the people who need us to show up for ourselves. And so this is one of those times when we can find our practice just kind of slipping kind of falling by the wayside. And if you know, for example, that you have a really stressful time coming up, either with work with family stuff, if you know that you’re acting as a long term caretaker for someone and you really are feeling that stress. It can be very, very helpful and very therapeutic to schedule time for yourself. Schedule an appointment with When else, you know that you will hold it, you know that you won’t move it. And that is not always the case with our own personal practice. And so it can really offer you a fixed time something that you are committed to. It offers an ability to be accountable to taking care of yourself to getting that clarity. And so if you are entering a period like that, if you know that you have something coming up, or if you’ve just been that person who’s like, oh, I’ll go next month, I’ll go next month, and it’s been like, I don’t know, more than two months. Maybe just schedule something, even if it’s farther out. Even if you can’t imagine having time right now. Most of us especially now, with so many readers, working online through video chat, can take at least a half hour 20 minutes, 60 minutes, whatever it is out of our day to really kind of check in, have somebody else hold the space for us live Listen to what we have going on and provide us some sort of feedback and insight. So that is situation number three. 

And then our final situation is if you’re really feeling called to, and this might sound obvious, but it’s not always because one of the things I’ve found in my personal practice is that and part of it is also like my relationship with money. My relationship with investing in myself, is that I think why should I pay for something that I can do myself, but I have found myself at times, feeling really called to get work done by somebody else, whether it’s energy work, whether it is a reading, just because I want to or just because I found someone whose work I really resonate with, and I want that kind of connection and so I’ve really found that if you are finding that kind of persistent thought coming up, if you follow somebody on Instagram, and you really love their work, or you love the way they write about things, or their slightly different perspective, even if it’s very different than your own, it can be a really wonderful exercise to give yourself the opportunity to go and treat yourself to that. And it doesn’t have to be a full hour it can be, you know, a half hour reading some people do parties. You know, it doesn’t have to be a super long reading in order for you to really feel that connection. And I do want to say that also, I have had incredibly profound readings with people who were coming into a party and we’re getting like a 15 minute reading and and called me or emailed me months later and said, Oh, my gosh, you know, I thought, you know, I was not really into it and and, you know, I thought the reading was interesting, but I didn’t really know how it was gonna work and then months later This is and this happened. And it was exactly what you said. And I’ve also had my own experience of getting, you know, a shorter couple card reading that was extremely powerful, and just very, very potent. So I really do encourage you. Even if you don’t have a full hour, even if you don’t have the resources to pay for a full hour, there are a lot of really wonderful opportunities and a lot of really talented readers who offer smaller offerings, shorter offerings, more accessible offerings, and can really offer a different perspective when you’re just really feeling called to that. And then there is also the element of you know, just something that sounds kind of fun. I I’ve seen readers do all different stuff that I just think is so creative and so innovative, and I just have to have it when I see it. I’m like, Oh, that’s so fascinating. Liquid an interesting way of looking at things. And so I do think that that when you see that that can be really exciting. And a good example of that is I know a lot of readers do your ahead readings around the new year or the end of the year into the new year.

Birthday readings, business, right? You know, all different kinds of things that people come out with throughout the year. So if you are seeing something like that, like, give yourself the permission, give yourself treat yourself, as I say, in parks and rec. And really give yourself that opportunity to take care. Because it is important. And I think that it’s easy with this work in particular to put things off and to say, Oh, well, if it’s still bothering me, like I’ll do it in a month or I’ll do it in two months, or I’ll do it next time I get paid or whatever it is and I’m not telling you to go into debt to get a tarot reading but I am telling you that it’s okay. And you don’t always have to justify every single thing to yourself, especially if you are a person if you are a professional reader, and you’re spending a lot of time holding space for other people, and putting a lot of energy out there to other people, and especially right now, when so many of us are feeling overwhelmed and maybe a little more anxious than usual with everything that’s going on in the outside world. So those four reasons again, just to recap, are you keep asking the same questions repeatedly. You’re too emotional about the situation, extreme stress and overwhelm and you’re just playing feeling called to it. So those are the reasons I also want to say and give a little bit of a caveat here, that I can be very helpful. Do your research before getting your reading. One of the things I’ve experienced as a reader is because I do multiple things. So I am a medium and a Reiki healer and a tarot reader. Sometimes people don’t fully read the descriptions of my services and assume that if they get a tarot reading with me that I will be communicating with their loved ones in spirit. And I know that that is how it works for some readers. It’s not how it works for me. Every once in a while somebody will show up but generally, I consider my tarot readings to be reading kind of like the Earthbound human energy flow less than the spirit side energy flow, and there’s absolutely messages that I’m getting from spirit guides and ancestors and angels. But it is not a communication with your loved ones who have passed. And so make sure that you read people’s descriptions. I do encourage you listening to podcasts, finding people on Instagram that you really resonate with. If you’ve been loving somebody posts for months and and you just love everything that they do book a reading, I mean, I pay that person for their time, first of all, but also, you know, obviously that is someone who’s reading style and who’s writing style and whose channeling style really connects for you. And I do encourage you to either go through a referral, or go through somebody like that, that you really connect with the way that they see the cards and the way that they see the world because it can really offer you a deeper understanding with In the reading, because you’re already feeling more comfortable, you’re already feeling like you’re connected with that person a little bit. So I do really encourage that as well. I will at some point, do a full episode on choosing the right spiritual practitioner for you. But I did just want to kind of put that in here at the end of this episode just to give you some ideas about how to get started looking for that. And of course, you can book with me through my website, Starsagespirit.com. I do have openings and I do readings every week. So that’s also a great option, just a shameless plug for myself there. But that’s all that I have for you today. I will be back next week with a brand new episode. And if you have any questions, you can always send them over to livingTarotpod@gmail.com and I would love to hear them. 

Thank you so much for listening to Living Tarot. If you loved today’s episode, please leave us a review and subscribe so that you never miss an episode. This helps us reach even more budding intuitives. Feel free to share on Instagram and tag me @starsagespirit and let me know what you learned what surprised you and what you’d like to hear even more of. As always, if you want to hear more about my courses, or book a reading with me, or for full episodes show notes you can head over to starsagespirit.com