Responsible Readings

One of the services I offer as a magician is that of "Fortune Telling." My typical method of choice is that of Tarot Cards, though I can perform a number of other styles.

However this does bring up a very definite question, that of being responsible for the readings that I give.

I have encountered a number of magicians who have a complete disregard for the person they are giving the reading to. They don't care what they say but instead ramble off a meaningless jumble of platitudes or card descriptions with no connection and expect that they are convincing the sitter of something more profound. Why should the magician care really? He or she is getting paid no matter what, right?

At the other end of the spectrum are those "fortune tellers" who are so overly concerned that they remove all the "bad" cards from a Tarot deck just to make sure that they don't come up, which strikes me as being just as dishonest.

But what honesty is there in "fortune telling" at all really? I know that there are many people out there who believe that "fortune telling" can be very real and I won't presume to make any statements here about what anyone else does, but I can say in all honesty that I know exactly what I am doing when I give a reading and it has nothing to do whatsoever with any kind of "supernatural" power or some "mystical" property of Tarot cards.

When I give a reading I do it with the express understanding that it is purely a form of entertainment and that what I do is something anyone could do. Of course I don't want them to know what I'm doing because that would destroy the nature of the performance they are getting, but I also want them to realize that this isn't anything beyond the normal.

For me that is the secret to doing a responsible reading. A firm explaination that what they are getting is not the result of something "supernatural" but rather the result of a skill I have learned and they to could learn.

Interestingly enough this does not reduce the level of admiration I recieve when I perform a reading. If anything, it seems to enhance it. People view me as having dedicated a part of my life to learning this skill so that others might benefit from it. In a way, they are exactly right because I do want them to benefit from it.

The benefit I want them to get is reminders to think about things they maybe haven't been thinking about, or to see something in their lives from a different perspective. That's all a Tarot card reading, or any form of "fortune telling", really is. A different perspective.

What most people don't realize is that the perspective they are getting is mine and not some other "supernatural" one.

So, as a magician who does responsible readings, should I give them advice? Only so long as that advice doesn't go beyond the bounds of what kind of advice I might give if the cards weren't involved.

For example I'm not going to suggest that someone stop taking their medication because the cards say so. I'm going to suggest that they see their doctor to have their medication reviewed in case it's warranted.

I'm not going to suggest that they invest their money in some kind of scheme they know about. I am going to suggest that they talk to a professional financial advisor about the scheme they know about to get the best possible advice.

You see? It's not that hard to be a magician who is also a responsible reader.

Santiago
Enter a World of Elegant Magic
Santiago's Magic