1) Things to consider before you decide to go pro with your tarot/divination/occult practice:

—Can you hold space for people while they cry?

—Have you spent time getting your own head on straight/working through your own past trauma?

—Are you reactive, or responsive?

2) —Are you able to give a reading with a useful throughline in 10, 20, 30, 45, 60 minute increments? If not, what’s your deliverable format?

—Will you work for yourself? Do you have the business skills you need?

—If you work for a shop what commission will you settle for?

3) —No really, how trauma informed are you and can you hold space for grieving, crying, emoting humans?

—Are you committed to creating safer spaces for marginalized are traumatized people?

—Where are you in your own practices?

—Why do you want to do this work?

4) —Are you able to accept that your clients may not share your belief systems?

—Are you comfortable enough in your own practices to answer questions about them, without defensiveness?

—Are you ready for clients whose mental health may be in question? How would you handle that?

5) —Do you expect clients to meet you in your context or are you willing to meet them in theirs? Or both?

—Where are your boundaries? Where do you end and others begin?

—What services will you NOT offer and why?

6) —Is your own self-care game on point?

—What other resources will you recommend to clients who may need more help than you are able to offer?

—How will you continue your own learning and growth as a practitioner?

7) —Will doing this work professionally support your own growth, or take more than it gives back?

—Are you in this to feed your own ego? To feel special? Or are you here for the client?

—Can you accept that you may not know what’s best for a client? That their path is theirs?

8) —Can you tolerate sharing space with other practitioners (whose practices may differ from yours) or would you be a better fit as a fully solo practitioner?

—Do you need a predictable work schedule? Or do walk-ins and surprises work fine for you?

9) —Do you need someone else to structure your time? No, really, do you?

—How will you react if a client *really* has an emotional crisis while you are working with them?

—Do you need a bookkeeper? Business bank account?

10) Notice that almost none of these questions are about reading tarot cards. That’s because reading tarot cards is only about 50% of what I do. I do my own marketing, social media, scheduling, I spend time on self care and practice, I do my own bookkeeping, and more.

11) I also started reading cards 30 years ago, on and off, until I finally dove deep. I’m not saying anyone needs to wait 30 years. But give yourself time to develop your craft. You’re going to need a solid handle on it so you have the bandwidth to manage the other aspects.

12) And I cannot...cannot emphasize strongly enough how critical it is to deal with your own trauma before engaging with clients. Start that process. I’ve seen nightmare scenarios where practitioners gaslit or had inappropriate boundaries with clients. Don’t be that reader.

13) This work is work. It’s amazing work but it’s work. It’s not just being special and psychic and fascinating and having a cool job. There are ethical, emotional, and business considerations that are as important as the reading. Do that work if you want to do this work.