This is a copy from the guest spot I did for Occulta Luna, or better known as Rowan or @thxvvxtch on Instagram. I hope you enjoy!

Hello everyone!

My lovely friend Rowan has asked me to do a piece for y’all, all about being a tarot reader! 

So let me start by introducing myself! My name is Robyn. I am a witch, a professional tarot reader, a small business owner, and number one fan of French fries and coffee (both separately and together). I run Tired Witch and work full time for a psychic hotline as a tarot reader. I am a practicing witch and have been since well… longer than I care to admit, as to not date myself.

My job is complicated. I love it- passionately- but like any job, it has its pros and its cons.

I figure let’s start with the cons so that we can end on a high note. 

As a reader, I get a lot of questions thrown at me daily. First- some people think you can take some sort of certification course. Honestly, if you see those out there, run for the hills. They are scamming you. Not only is a certification total bullshit, but you never stop learning. I’ve been at this for over a decade, and I still learn new interpretations, and meanings regularly. No two readers are going to look at the same card and tell you the same thing. While yes we all have a basic understanding of the symbolism, and generalized energies, that are associated with a card. No two people have the same experience with those same energies, and so it sort of shifts the perspective. As we grow, so does our perspective, and therefore our interpretations.

I have had people I truly care about in my day to day life, who think my job is so easy, that they could do it. Not only is this completely insulting, but go for it. Do my job. And when the clients come at you with the in-depth hard questions, what will you tell them? It’s not a party trick. People also consider my job not a “real” job because I didn’t get a form of education for it. Which is again bullshit. I work roughly 60 hours a week, including both BCM, Tired Witch as well as my day job. Sure I get the pleasure and privileged to this from my home, but I also work my ass off. Something that for whatever reason, people seem to think, just doesn’t cross the line for divination. 

The clients sometimes leave and never come back. They will tell you they loved it, and they can’t wait to hear from you again, but its silence on the radio. Which is fine, but a struggle when you are self-employed.

You will face discrimination. Once the internet went out at my house. I was working on an important project, and also needed to work and so I went to my local Starbucks to work and finish my deadline. I sat there with my tarot deck out, making do with what I had available. I live in a relatively small town, and over the course of the 4 hours I sat at that Starbucks, I was harassed. I was given Jesus prayer cards, told I didn’t have a real job, called a con man. Meanwhile, your girl is just trying to enjoy a decaf almond milk latte and mind my own fucking business. Discrimination even comes from family. I have a grandmother who has no idea what I do for a living, she thinks I’m a housewife, and I let her live that truth. I can’t risk losing her when she is this old. And another who knows, and calls me a con artist. It’s a shame when you are so passionate about something, and it is mirrored with such negativity. I think Lularoe, was a scam, to take advantage of bored housewives, but I still bought from my friends, because that’s what you do for the people you care about.

Okay, enough of the saddies, let’s finish on a high note, shall we?

I also deal with the rawest state of people. People confess a lot to their tarot readers, and a heart is a heavy burden to carry. Now, this is not a complaint- if I didn’t love my job, frankly I would stop doing it. But I get people coming to me in the most hopeless moments of desperation, true depression, sadness, and feelings of being completely lost for direction. And it’s my job, to figuratively take their hand, and help guide them through these waters, we call life. Tarot is in a sense a form of counseling. Because we for whatever reason are more inclined to be open with our psychic than we are to be with our friends. Why is that? That’s why it’s so important to me to be as kind as possible to everyone I deal with. We are all facing SOMETHING even if it isn’t outwardly spoken. We live in a pretty dismissive society, where everyone needs to put on a tough face, while simultaneously look perfect for social media. It’s nice sometimes, to console the cards, and be raw for a minute. And part of what I love about my job, is I get to make this space for rawness.

I get to meet and make relationships with the most amazing humans, I would NEVER interact with on a day to day basis normally. I mean genuinely, I am a pretty outgoing person, but I also don’t socialize much… I sort of get social anxiety when I’m put around too many people I don’t know. I just start talking out of nervousness and typically terrify people. I’ve lived in this small town for almost 3 years and have made one friend… kind of? I’m just not social like that, so it limits me. However, as a tarot reader, I get to make these connections with people that are otherworldly incredible. I think out of the thousands of clients I’ve had there have been like 3 that I genuinely disliked. These are people I care about now. Not just because I need to make money like I spend my day wondering if ______ ever talked to that girl on the train, or if ______ got the job she was hoping for. And I remember everything. I remember your name, your partner’s name, the girl you have a crush-on’s name, what you do for a living, etc. I care. I care so much it consumes my free time, and I think about my clients as though we are friends. Which if I was a worse person, would be a real boundary issue, but luckily, I am stable and don’t cross that line.

I genuinely love my job, and couldn’t imagine being happier doing anything else. And this is coming from a woman who still talks to her old charges (nannying) like fortnightly. I loved that job so much I’ve never really let it go somehow, and this job I hold with more fire, more passion, and more care.

Being a tarot reader is great.