It's All A Scam - Sharing the Wisdom of Fiona Benjamin

Ok, I'm gonna be honest with you - see this lovely lady here on the left? Her name is Fiona, and I'm afraid I have a little bit of a girl crush on her! She is one of the most insightful and brilliant readers I have come across. I dive into her posts regularly, because even though I have been reading for ages there is ALWAYS something I can learn from her!

This is nothing new. New York City, where I grew up, is a forefront for neon signed psychics who get busted on a monthly basis for fraud (do I even need to cite this? A google search of “NYC fraud psychics” would keep you busier than politics on your Facebook news feed). What bothers me is when Christiana Gaudet, an experienced tarot author who reads the cards as a full time occupation can say, “These are not the few where I live. In many places, they are the majority. They are well-funded and organized.” I am angry that this is the norm and I hate that we are taken so lightly to the point that one article like this in the news and all of us have our feathers ruffled. I won’t complain and whine about being denied insurance, rejected when trying to rent a house, or when I am told “no, you make me uncomfortable because I think your tarot nonsense is a scam!” I won’t point my fingers at these women, draw a line, and say “That’s them, I’m not like that!”

The fact is, that line should have already been drawn. The standards of what makes a professional psychic and tarot reader should have been in place for us to protect ourselves and each other as brothers and sisters in sacred arts. If we want to be taken seriously as educated, articulate, and ethical professionals, then we must be educated, articulate, and ethical in our practices. We cannot become upset and defensive every time a peer or a potential client asks us an array of questions about our background, training (if any), and upbringing. We should be proud to tell them those specifics. We should be shoving all the verifiable evidence down a person’s throat if they are taking the time to check out our credibility. If this is upsetting to a reader, then that reader needs to ask him or herself, “Is it because I don’t know? Am I falsely advertising myself under the guise of something else? Am I well versed enough in the foundations of my practices to be charging money and taking on the responsibility of a professional?”