Suzy's blogs and FAQs
How did I start my business?
The cost of living is rising rapidly.
This is worrying for many of you, I know. It reminds me of the 1990s when I was a single parent struggling to pay the bills. I worked full time but wages were low and bills were high and I felt that I had nowhere to turn for help.
I worried about my son, who could not go on school trips or have the clothes and gadgets that his friends had. My sleep was disturbed and I was anxious with a constant feeling of rising panic. My health was beginning to suffer and I was afraid that I would be evicted and unable to put a roof over our heads. To top it all my flat was burgled and although I had nothing of great value some items of sentimental value were taken – my late mother’s wedding ring for example.
I hit rock bottom. My doctor diagnosed depression and I was unable to go to work – which made the financial situation even worse.
Gradually, with treatment, my mental health improved. The depression and anxiety lessened and I was able to think straight and I returned to work. I sat down at my kitchen table and reviewed my situation. What could I do to increase my income?
Suddenly I had a lightbulb moment! I can read the Tarot cards! I have been reading for friends and family for years! I need to start getting paid for my time!
So, I invested a small amount of money in an advertisement in a local newspaper. I gained a few clients. I could then invest a little more in advertising and gained more clients. My reputation started to grow and within a couple of months I made enough money to pay for a field trip for my son. Then a little holiday.
Now, thirty years later I can look back on that time and see that hitting rock bottom was a blessing in disguise because it led me to a breakthrough. It set me on a different path so that now I can work doing something I love – reading the Tarot and helping others to have those lightbulb moments.
So, those of you with similar problems – please don’t despair! You can get through it, I promise. The wheel of fortune needs a little push sometimes.
Love and blessings, Suzy
How do Tarot readings work?
There is no simple answer to this frequently asked question!
Let’s look at what happens from the Tarot reader’s point of view – from my point of view.
First I put my querent (client) at ease with a little bit of chat. “Have you had a reading before?” “Do you have any questions?” “Is there anything you would like me to focus on?”
Most querents want to begin with a general reading to see what comes up. This is a sensible approach, especially the first time.
I shuffle and deal the cards – usually nine to begin with. The top row represents the past, the middle cards represent the present and the bottom row covers the next 3 months or so.
The chances of two people getting the same nine cards are billions to one! So these nine cards are unique to the querent and no two readings will ever be alike!
The cards are showing me topics for discussion. The first three exploring the querent’s childhood and teenage years and showing me the querent’s character and what has shaped them.
The middle row looking at the current situation – what is happening, what are the querent’s feelings, what are their priorities. These three cards also show me where the querent’s focus should be. From this middle row – this set of topics for discussion – I can advise the querent the actions they might want to take. I can also advise them when it’s best to take no action at all!
The final row of three shows me the possible outcomes if the querent takes no action. I do not believe that I can “foretell the future” – but I can say how things are likely to turn out if no action is taken. Our future can be changed by taking some action. I can encourage my client to apply for that job, make that phone call, see the doctor or whatever action is advisable.
Of course, a good Tarot reader is not relying completely on the cards. The Tarot is an excellent tool to discuss topics and possible outcomes, but the Tarot reader will also be using common sense, intuition and of course applying excellent customer service.
So, from my point of view – that’s how Tarot reading works!
Love and blessings, Suzy
Can you read Tarot for yourself?
So many people ask me this question!
And the answer is yes! You certainly can read the cards to give yourself guidance and find a way forward.
Is it easy to do that? Well, on a personal level I would say no! I find it really difficult to read the cards for myself.
I find that there is a temptation to see what I want to see. I know my own circumstances, preferences and difficulties and I find that personal knowledge leaks into my interpretation. For the same reason reading for close friends and family is also challenging!
As a 21st Century Tarot reader I know that my future is not written in tablets of stone. I can change my future by taking action.
I like to think things through when I have a problem. I take one hour. I call it “super thinking time”. I make my house quiet and I find my favourite comfortable spot and I ponder the problem and write down the ideas that pop into my mind. Even stupid ideas! It’s surprising how often a stupid idea turns into something useful!
It was one of these super thinking hours that led me to reading the Tarot professionally. Another super thinking hour helped me to build my online presence at the start of lockdown.
So how do I tie that in with reading the cards for myself? Well, I shuffle and deal nine cards and use them as a checklist! For example if I draw the four of swords I might ask myself am I getting enough rest? Nine of pentacles – have I become too comfortable?
Can you see how that takes my mind down many different paths – and one of them will lead to a solution!
Love and blessings, Suzy
Is Tarot reading true?
That’s a great question!
This is the number one question asked on Google about Tarot reading. So, is it true? Is Tarot reading real? Does it have any value?
I am on a mission to bring Tarot reading into the 21st Century – no mumbo jumbo! I believe that anyone can read the Tarot, I don’t believe that you have to be psychic.
A Tarot deck is a set of 78 cards. That’s a lot of cards! They cover all aspects of life – from birth to death, through illness, family upbringing, squabbles, childbirth, love, revenge – the whole experience. They cover the universe from the “big bang” to the end of time.
A good Tarot reader will know the traditional meanings of the cards, but will also know that the meanings can change over time. For example a chariot may well be a car these days!
A good Tarot reader will focus on the querent. Did you know that the person having a reading is called a querent? It literally means the person asking the questions. There’s a clue there to an effective Tarot reading – the querent should be asking questions!
A Tarot reading is a conversation between two people. One asking questions, one giving answers and advice. A 21st Century Tarot reader will interpret the cards, will apply common sense, will use their intuition and will help the querent find a way forward.
A 21st Century Tarot reader knows that the future is not written in tablets of stone. You can change your future. You can take contraception, have a vaccination, apply for that job, make that phone call – all those things might change your future!
If you are looking for motivation, support and help in finding a way forward then yes – Tarot reading is true, yes - it is real and yes – it certainly has value!
Love and blessings, Suzy
Is Tarot reading accurate?
If you are just having a reading for fun at a festival or on Blackpool promenade then you aren’t too worried about accuracy. You want to have a laugh with your friends about the tall dark stranger that is coming into your life or giggle about the spooky death card that caused your reader to shake her head in gloom.
But if you want an accurate reading then that’s a different matter.
You need to choose your Tarot reader carefully. Ask your friends and family if they can recommend anyone. Do a little research – does your chosen reader have testimonials and good reviews? How long have they been reading the Tarot? How much do they charge?
Find a reader who can tell you how long the reading will take. Someone who makes you feel comfortable and at ease. Trust your intuition.
A good Tarot reading is a conversation. If you have chosen a reader you can trust then you can open up. Some people don’t tell their reader anything – they “test” the reader by waiting to see how accurate their statements are. That’s ok – I understand why you might do that. But you are wasting valuable time – time that you have bought!
Look at it this way – a doctor is trained to diagnose your illness and provide appropriate treatment. Medical professionals can do this even if the patient is unconscious or in a coma. They can do a quicker, better job though if the patient is sitting up and telling them where it hurts!
Your reading will be more accurate if you ask questions, tell your reader what is troubling you and provide feedback as you go along.
So – are Tarot readings accurate? That depends on your reader – and you!
Love and blessings, Suzy
What's the best way to learn Tarot?
It’s a daunting task isn’t it? Learning 78 different meanings – and you can double that if you include reversals! (A reversal is when the card is dealt upside down)
So, do I have an answer? Of course I do!
You need to understand how memory works. Your memory holds lots of information, names, places, things you learned at school, lessons you have learned by experience and an awful lot more.
You don’t recall all those things on a daily basis – the information is stored in your brain until you need it. Your brain just needs a trigger and the information is brought into your conscious thoughts. For example the smell of exotic flowers might trigger memories of a foreign holiday. A certain song can make you laugh, or cry, because of the memories associated with the music.
So when you want to learn something, like 78 Tarot cards you need to provide your brain with the triggers. The pictures on the cards can give you those triggers, those little reminders that unlock the information stored in your memory banks.
Here's three ways you can learn the cards (and two of them are free!);
- Most Tarot decks are sold with a book or leaflet giving you the meanings and you can learn from that – that’s how I did it, over 30 years ago!
- You can join my free Facebook group, Pathfinders, where you will find lots of free training material
- You can invest in my “Beginner’s Guide to the cards” learning program which provides a visual trigger for every single card!
Love and blessings, Suzy
What is Tarot used for?
That’s an interesting question isn’t it?
First of all they are designed to play a game. Imagine you are a soldier or a traveller in the fifteenth century. No mobile phone to pass the time away while you are waiting for the next battle or the next customer to turn up! Games like playing cards and dice are very popular because they can be carried around in your pocket. You can then set up a card game with your fellow travellers or pass the time playing patience or solitaire.
A new game comes along called Trionfi, or Tarocchi in Italian. In France it becomes known as Tarot. This new deck of cards has four suits, just like playing cards – but there is a knight in each suit as well as a page, queen and king. There are also 22 “trump” cards – such as the Fool, the High Priestess, the Hanged Man and Death!
So Tarot cards are designed for playing games and passing the time, and no doubt, gambling!
Moving up into the 16th and 17th centuries and Tarot cards are being used for fortune telling. In the Victorian era in Britain seances and fortune telling became hugely popular and remain so to this day.
Many decks are now designed and marketed for use as a tool for giving readings – sometimes just for fun at a party for example and sometimes with a more serious goal – to motivate, to inspire or to explore possibilities. I know many Tarot readers who have collections of hundreds of decks!
Many mediums and clairvoyants use them to help them connect with their spirit guides.
Maybe you would like to learn how to read the Tarot? You don’t have to be psychic or have a special gift. Anyone can learn to give accurate Tarot readings to support their clients and find a way forward.
It’s a useful skill to make some extra cash too!
Love and blessings Suzy
Confidence in reading the Tarot
More than half of the students in my study groups tell me that their biggest difficulty is having the confidence to give a reading.
If you feel like that too – you are definitely not alone!
So in this blog we are looking at confidence – having the nerve, the courage the self-belief to give a Tarot reading.
You might be fully confident in yourself and the cards, but have a fear of things going wrong, or being laughed at, or being accused of being a fraud or a scammer. Any of you had those difficulties?
So let’s have a look at building your confidence.
This is one of those things I wish I could say – just do this and you’ll have confidence – but we all know it’s not like that. You have to put the work in yourself.
Comparison is the thief of confidence. I play the piano – well I’m learning to play the piano. Some things I can play well because I have practised. Some things I play badly because I haven’t practiced enough. I will never be able to play like Elton John. If I start to compare myself with a genius like that I would have no confidence at all. But just because I can’t play like Elton John doesn’t mean I should stop playing. It doesn’t mean I should beat myself up about it. I can play like Suzy – and that’s good enough. And the more I do it the better I will be – and that’s what keeps me going.
So – don’t compare yourself to other people. You are you – and that’s good enough. And the more you read the cards the better you will get – and that’s exciting!
I did some research into occasions when people felt confident. And here are some of the answers;
One lady said this
“People say I'm confident but I'm not so sure. Since being a single mum I have to do things that would probably have made me feel physically sick before I was on my own. No one else will address situations that need addressing so it’s made me step up and try and be confident when needed”
So that’s true isn’t it! When you just have to do it because nobody else is going to. And you do it. And you don’t die – and that makes you do it again and you still don’t die! Confidence is growing isn’t it? – it has to grow. You have to feed it and water it and it grows!
Another time you feel confident is when you are knowledgeable – at your desk at work or when it’s something you know inside out – when you are well within your comfort zone.
I find focusing on the other person in a reading makes you forget yourself and so makes you more comfortable, more confident. A lack of confidence is a symptom of vanity in a way. You are thinking about yourself – your image, how you look to other people. Concentrate on your client, your customer – not on yourself.
Confidence comes from forgetting yourself and concentrating on what your client wants.
If you are struggling with a lack of confidence I can help.
My ICIC Level 2 Tarot training concentrates on building confidence and helping you to give Tarot readings like a professional.
Or maybe you would like to join my free Facebook group, Pathfinders. It’s a lovely vibrant group and we all support each other. See you in Pathfinders!
Love and blessings, Suzy
Does Tarot reading predict the future?
Short answer- No!
Your future is not mapped out in front of you. You can change your future by taking action. You could use contraception, have a vaccination, apply for that job, make that phone call – all these actions will have a bearing on what the future might hold for you.
A good Tarot reader helps you to explore the past and the present. They help you to see the journey you have travelled and how you have arrived at where you are today using the Tarot cards as a guide.
There are 78 cards in a Tarot deck, each with a different meaning. There are even more meanings if they appear upside down! The chances of two readings being the same are billions to one. Your reading will be unique – there are many topics to discuss arising from your personal set of cards.
A Tarot reading is a conversation. You should ask questions - yes you should talk to your reader!
Do you talk to your Doctor? Your Doctor is trained to work out what is wrong with you – even if you are in a coma. However, the Doctor will do a much more efficient job if you are awake and talking about your symptoms!
So talk to your Tarot reader – have that conversation. By exploring your past and present and with the guidance of the cards you can find the best way forward – and face your future!
Love and blessings, Suzy