Are Tarot Readings Legit or a Scam?
The art of tarot reading is a practice with a rich history that has traveled to our modern world through centuries collecting wisdom and secrets about life. Tarot readings help people see the hidden truth about themselves and gain insights. More and more tarot masters start offering their services via the Internet making accurate tarot reading online accessible from the comfort of your home. But is it safe and legal to read tarot and to get readings? What is a scam and how to spot fake tarot readers? Let’s find out below.
Who is a tarot reader?
Tarot readers are professionals who have experience and a gift to interpret the meanings of tarot spreads. Each tarot card has its assigned meaning, but talented readers know there’s always more and always look up during sessions to glimpse beyond the unknown. Tarot readers use their conscious and subconscious minds, intuition, and practical knowledge to reach an accuracy of readings.
The goal of a professional tarot reader is to help people find answers to their questions with the ancient wisdom provided through the cards. Good readers establish and maintain an energetic connection with a tarot deck and have specific rituals that help them tune into the right mode. At the same time, real readers never promise 100% accuracy as it’s impossible.
Are tarot readings legit?
Doing and receiving tarot readings is legal in most US states. Depending on the location, they may apply different regulations. In some territories, tarot reading legally is considered a type of fortune-telling. Most states allow fortune-telling, but in some cases, one must have an official license. In some towns, fortune-telling is forbidden due to religious norms.
To ensure that you aren’t violating any regulations, always check local legislation. For example, in North Carolina, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Wisconsin fortune-telling and tarot reading are banned.
What is a scam?
Scam in the tarot is pretending to be a tarot reader, a psychic, a fortune teller, and so on without having any proper background. In other words, it’s lying about yourself and your profession to make people pay you money for fake services.
The main concern of scam is being unfair with clients who waste time and lose money. Another issue is reputational losses for legal and credible online tarot reading services who have a mission and work with professional tarot masters. While the tarot is already surrounded by skeptical perspectives, in the world of tarot, we take scamming seriously and try our best to reduce such situations.
One of the reasons why people trust scammers is stereotypes. A tarot master may have several specific distinctions in the eyes of those who never used legit tarot reading services. A person without experience is seeing a professional tarot reader as an old lady who wears black and paints pentacles on her table in the candlelight creating a mysterious atmosphere. Scammers use these stereotypes to attract people and earn their trust.
How to spot a fake tarot reader
What are the signs of a scammer who pretends to be an online tarot reader? We asked people who were unfortunate to meet a fake tarot reader and got disappointed with their experience. However, they learned a lot from those situations and can share with others to prevent repeating such mistakes.
Constant upselling
While professional tarot readings is a business and it means selling, not all upselling issues are 100% a scam. We are talking about fake readers who are too pushy and seem to pay more attention to your wallet than to your request.
The first rule for anyone who wants an effective and resultative tarot session is trusting your reader. If something makes you feel uncomfortable, it’s a red flag. For example, if your gut tells you that a person upsells and insists on a certain choice, it’s your right to reject an offer and go find another reader.
100% guarantee
Any professional tarot master strives to do their best to make clients happy. But when cards precisely describe the situation in a client’s life, readers don’t take it for granted. Experienced tarot masters know that some sessions may not bring an accurate answer. There are many factors influencing the outcome of a tarot reading. For example, the current mood of a client, the condition of a reader, planet positions, the phase of the Moon, and many more.
If a reader claims that each reading they do is 100% accurate, run! Most of the time, scammers use the life situation of a client and promise to tell everything about the outcomes of this situation. For example, if a client has health issues or problems with a partner, they might trust anything to get relief.
Claiming you have problems
This is not simply a sign of a scam, but a massive red flag. Some fake readers use psychological tricks and make clients believe that they have health issues or they’re ‘cursed’ and promise help. Of course, such scammers ask for obscene amounts of money and offer expensive sessions. Their goal is to frighten a client and make them pay an overprice for nothing. Yes, there’s a minimal chance that a reader thinks you need help, but it’s very rare. Most cases where you’ve been told about big problems are scams.
Pulling only a few cards
Of course, a lot depends on the type of request as one-card and three-card readings exist. However, an experienced tarot reader will use a more vast spread of at least seven cards or a Celtic Cross to see the whole picture of a client’s life. Once again, we’re talking about a full professional tarot reading, which is impossible to do with a few cards.
Trying to impress you
This sign of a scammer seems obvious, but inexperienced people may not admit it. The goal of a truly gifted professional tarot reader would be to reveal the unhidden. In other words, to give you guidelines and a roadmap. They will not intentionally promise you happiness and wealth to impress you and make you happy with reading.
Pretending to read the future
Even though tarot reading is characterized as fortune-telling in several states of the USA, its purpose goes far beyond divination. Moreover, professional tarot readers know that predicting the future with the help of tarot is impossible. Yes, in some exceptional cases, divinatory possibilities of tarot may spread beyond the week. But in most cases, tarot is an instrument for self-learning and gaining insights. Hence, if a tarot reader pretends to tell you all about your year ahead, it’s a scammer.
They pause and analyze your reaction
A real tarot reader will concentrate on their feelings and the signals from the cards instead of a client’s emotions. If you realize that a reader pauses after saying something and scans your reaction or moreover asks for feedback – it’s a red flag. Scammers often ask for feedback to tailor a reading according to your answers. It will make them look professional, but they’re just attentive to what you say. You should never answer questions during a reading.
Your intuition tells you it’s a scam
And last but not least. If everything seems fine and you don’t see any red flags, but your gut tells you something’s wrong, listen to it. A professional tarot reader will act genuinely and tell you real interpretations. If they seem strange or simply make you uncomfortable, it’s time to say goodbye.
Afterall
Finding a good and experienced tarot reader could be challenging as there are scammers who pretend to read cards for money. Follow the recommendations we provided to reduce risks and avoid disappointments. Professional tarot readers do all they can to reduce scam issues in the community. If you spot a fake tarot reader, share the information about them online to warn others and prevent reputational risks for reliable readers. We hope you found our article useful. Good luck!
