Charlatans, Con-men and Scammers, Oh My!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

In my short time as a member of Aeclectic.net, I've seen scam artists mentioned occasionally, and always with distaste. The members of Aeclectic are, from what I've seen, incredibly honest, kind and generous people- but there are scammers in every lot, and "fortune tellers" are no exception.

I grew up in a family that had abilities. When my grandmother was alive, there were always odd things happening in her house; lights turning on and off, voices when no one was there, shadows, knocks and doorbell-rings when no one was at the door, occasionally even a full entity taking a stroll through the house. I know, because I lived with her, and I saw it all happen. I've had dreams where people who are no longer alive (including my grandmother, which was actually quite wonderful) come to speak to me; my mother has prophetic dreams, poor thing- she calls me occasionally to tell me what she dreamed about, so that later she can say, "Remember?!"

Even with all that, I still suspected for a long time that divination was a con. I always thought- before my strange and unexpected conversion- that the readers were conning themselves as well as their seekers. Actually, it may well be true; I certainly don't have all the "hows" and "whys", but I don't believe it nearly as much as I once did. What never crossed my mind was that people would use these things to take advantage of others.

Apparently, I think better of the human race than they warrant, which is terrifying, because I don't really think that highly of us as a collective to begin with.

After a conversation at Aeclectic, however, and reading the stories at this website, I felt like I needed to come here and talk about how some people use tarot and spirituality in general to take advantage of people who are in pain, afraid, and desperately need some hope.

I am not an expert in this area, but here's what I think: Anyone who reads for you and tells you that you have no control over your life and that you need someone to fix it is conning you. Even if they don't ask for money, you need to go see someone else, because we always have choices.

There is no shortage of ethical, caring people in the world who also happen to read tarot cards. A lot of them DO charge for genuine readings, and they should- it's work, and it's sometimes very draining. The fact that someone charges isn't an indication that they're scamming you.

If someone spouts stories about curses or dark entities, and tell you they need $xxx to fix it for you, run, don't walk, to someone with some ethics. I've seen speculation that those people don't even know how to read the cards. I suspect it's largely true. Learning the cards is hard work- these people aren't interested in hard work. They're interested in making a fast buck off of someone else's desperation; they create abusive relationships based on fear.

I cannot say for sure that when I read the cards, I'm not unintentionally cold reading. I can tell you that I honestly speak for what the cards say, regardless of whether it seems to be "hitting" with the querent or not. Sometimes it doesn't seem to, which is awkward- but that doesn't mean I change the message. I also usually remind the seeker, when getting to the outcome cards- "THIS isn't set in stone- it's up to you."

Anyone who tries to take away your power over your own life, and then wants you to pay them for it, is not only scamming you- they're also trying to injure you.