Tarot Ethics
From Tarotpedia
Ethics of Tarot Reading
Participating in any communal or interpersonal engagement has ethical dimensions, reading tarot being no exception. Ethical issues that often face Tarot readers include such more broad considerations with regards to the person's age, reading about health, and issues surrounding confidentiality. These and others are addressed below.
A distinction that also needs to be made is the difference between local regulations and legislation and ethical considerations. Legislation and regulations that may impact on tarot readings are diverse and, in certain cases, quite specific. For these aspects, see the article on judicial considerations.
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[edit] Confidentiality
Confidentiality is often advocated for Tarot readings. Depending on the style of the reader, Tarot readers may be told intimate details that the querent regards as confidential and private. Few Tarot readers will break confidentiality in general, respecting the querent's privacy. At times, however, the reader may determine that the implied confidentiality is not warranted or even, in some cases, not legal. For example, there are a number of situations that many readers would not maintain querent confidentiality when:
1) the querent is indicating a desire to commit suicide. Though there may also be a legal requirement to divulge such in certain jurisdictions, it may also be considered, in many parts of the world, irresponsible to ignore this. In such a case, it may be appropriate to, for example, encourage them to inform their doctor or other professional, or a close family member or friend, or, in certain circumstances, for the reader to pass on the information directly;
2) the querent indicates an intent to kill or harm someone in an illegal manner. In such a case, it may even be appropriate, depending on the jurisdiction, to inform the police or similar body. In some jurisdiction, even if reporting is not mandatory, it may protect the reader from possibly be seen as accomplice or accessory to the crime;
3) the querent admits to a hideous crime, such as murder or rape. In most jurisdictions, it would be advisable to contact the police as soon as practicable. Conversely, a querent may be the victim of some crime. If the querent is a minor, there may be some legal requirement for mandatory reporting depending on the nature of the crime;
In general, confidentiality is normally assumed. Such assumption also means that there is an unstated undertaking and agreement that information shared between querent and reader will remain private. This does not prevent nor preclude that a querent may discuss their reading with others, nor that the reader will not discuss readings in general with others, or be able to properly 'debrief' when situations warrant it.
What would normally be expected, however, is that the querent's divulged information is not presented to others in any manner that he or she can possibly be identified.
[edit] Readings about health
People usually come to Tarot readers to gain insight into their life, whether with regards to situations in the past, present, or future. Some querents bring specific concerns about their mental or physical health, at times due to conflicting professional medical advice.
In some parts of the world, engaging in a reading that provides advice regarding health can be construed as providing medical advice, deemed illegal unless the reader is also a registered medical practitioner. Even in places where so such legal constraints exist, there may be ethical dilemnas that may impact on the provision of health-care advice. Some readers prefer to avoid providing any kind of advice that may be taken by a querent as relinquishing proper medical advice.
[edit] Taking payment for readings
Some people think that taking payment for readings is not ethical. This is often based on superstition, as they believe that "gifts" such as the ability to read cards should not be used for mercantile reasons, as the "gift" may then diminish or bad luck may occasion on the reader. But many Tarot readers read the cards as their profession, and they would starve to death and be unable to pay their bills if they did not charge for their readings. For a professional reader, the very idea of putting a category "Taking payment for readings" in a section called "Tarot Ethics" is almost laughable. It is very ethical to work honestly for one's living!
Another consideration to make is that for most Tarot readers, Tarot did not come as a 'gift' to them: they were not born with the ability to use the cards for divination. In fact, most professional readers had to work and study for many years in order to become proficient with the cards. Such readers often believe that in the same way that somebody who learns the skills of their trade (through apprenticeship, education, etc) should be paid for their services later on, so should a Tarot reader.
It is, however, unethical to coerce or scare a client into paying for nonsensical or bogus services such as when a reader charges a client to remove a curse that s/he pretends to discover in the course of a reading. Also, sometimes a client develops a dependence upon or addiction to getting Tarot readings. In that case, the ethics of feeding into that obsession by continuing to take the client's money for repetitive readings are, at best, dubious.
A good way to summarize the ethics of charging for a Tarot reading might be: "A fair price for an honest service."
[edit] Predicting Death
The cards are on the table, and the querent is eagerly waiting to see them turned over, one by one, and their future told to them. First card is turned... Death. "Oh, not to worry! The Death card doesn't actually mean death!" the Tarot reader assures the nervous querent, before beginning their speech about change and rebirth. But death is as much a part of life as birth, love, sex, relationships, money, and travel, so why not be open to the idea that sometimes the Death card can mean death? Or perhaps the Tarot reader is treading on shaky ground by predicting death: what if the querent gets scared? Does the Tarot reader want to end a reading on such a low note? Here, we explore the issues and implications of this tricky question: can we, or should we, predict physical death in a reading?
Many readers don't fool around with issues like physical death. What if you were interpreting the cards wrong? No-one is infallible. If you see death, it may be advisable to tell the client that you see a change in their lives instead of telling them they are going to die. Many readers feel it is better to tell a lie than risk making a mistake and having the client suffer from a heart attack because he's so shocked, in which case the prediction will have come true, not because of the reading - but because of their big mouth!
However, for other readers the fact remains that physical death in a querent's life is a distinct possibility, and some readers do not prefer to tell a lie to keep the querent entertained instead of telling the truth. But many professional readers will never see physical death in the cards, simply because it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Some readers who have been reading for 25 years never see it. But a few do, and often the Death card is accompanied by other cards that not only make sure the reader knows that this is physical death, but also have imagery that can make the querent get an idea of what they are saying. In cases like these, however, sometimes the querent already knows what is coming: they may be seriously ill, for instance.
If a Tarot reader chooses to tell a querent about a physical death in the cards, the key lies in how the querent is told, not what they are told. Dependng on surrounding cards, the reader may advise the querent to take life a bit slower from now on, drink less, change to a healthier diet, etc. Some people believe that 'surprise' deaths are not seen in the cards because of what they are - surprises that nobody saw coming - and thus it is rare that a reader will have to try and break such news to a querent. However, others believe that there are no surprises when it comes to the Tarot, because the Tarot is all-seeing.
[edit] Reading for a Third-party
The issue of reading for a third party (i.e., reading for someone not present, at the behest of a client) is not a settled issue in the Tarot community.
Nonetheless, if one assumes that by reading the cards one gains metaphysical access to personal knowledge not normally accessible, it follows that the issue of privacy must be addressed, as it is in more mundane situations.
Currently many ethical Tarot readers refuse to read for third parties on the grounds that it invades their privacy. In addition many readers feel that by focusing on a third party the client transfers responsibility for whatever issues are being explored, thereby diminishing the client’s own power to deal with them. Readers that seek to foster empowerment and self-esteem in their clients therefore try to rephrase such questions to more client-centered forms.
A question such as “Why is John behaving this way towards me?” might be rephrased as “What can I do about the way John is behaving?” The first question, even if it is answered accurately, does not necessarily tell the client what he or she can do about the situation. The second question does.
The ethics of reading for a third party, while clearly not among the most critical of ethical issues facing the Tarot community, is nevertheless part of a wider ethos of honesty and integrity that all those who read for others need to address.
[edit] Reading for Minors
Although some countries differ on what age constitutes a minor (most often-used ages are 16, 18, and 21), Tarot readers often disagree on reading for those they consider to be too young. For some the minimum age they will read for is 16 or 18, whilst others see no ethical difficulties with reading for those under this age, or even children. Some Tarot readers themselves are not 18 years old, and parents who have young children may wish to introduce them to Tarot from an early age. This section examines some of the arguments for both sides.
Some considerations when reading for minors are words words
Others, who have views against reading for minors in general wordswords
