I have noticed several discussions of late on the topic of Tarot Certification and as we offer such Certification I feel somewhat compelled to offer my thoughts.

So why do I feel we are 'qualified' to offer Certification when it would seem that teaching for Certification is an exclusive privelidge of rights of Tarot guru passage based on popular consensus.

Personally, I have never been good at 'clicks' of any sort and tend to not seek any popularity status mainly because im pretty much a 'quiet' person.

However, Tarot and teaching is important to me and each has become a vocational path for me.

Let us not forget what Certification actually represents, it reflects the dedication and commitment of an individual to approximately 2 years of Tarot study.

It also reflects the desire and commitment of an individual to progress in their own development in their chosen field.

This is not merely a Certificate, it is 2 years of consistent study where a reader must self evaluate their own reading ability, assess their principles of practise whilst considering equal opportunity and the wider legal implications of Tarot as a business.

In all honestly Tarot reading professionally is a challenge especially in a society that still thinks sceptically about Tarot readers. But not for this reason alone, Tarot readers who are embarking upon their path to the professional circuit must also learn how to self promote and develop skills that will optimise their potential for success.

Prior to developing a course of study for Certification, I sought independent approval because I wanted our courses, our course formats and mentoring system to be open to any inspection and be transparent.

Of course we could have proceeded without any approval but I think it is somewhat indulgent and quite possibly arrogant to think that we should not be open to an external inspection of any kind.

More than this and importantly, this approval also offers public liability insurance which is invaluable in itself, It also offers a network with other 'holistic' practitioners.

To gain Certification, we expect at least 7 Tarot courses to be completed with 3 compulsory ones. Each course is mentored one to one with a final evaluation.

Students also evaluate their progress.

We expect 14 readings to be carried out, each must be mentor evaluated and self evaluated for consideration and to express the principles of good practice as defined by our Code of Ethics.

Once completed, everything is sent to a panel for review and no reader will 'qualify' unless they have reached the high expected standards.

If there is a shortfall, we will work with the student until they do achieve their goal.

I am confident that our Certified readers will be indentifiable by the standards they uphold within the community and this is something they will be proud of and the ITF will be equally proud of.

Of course, anyone who chooses to become a Tarot reader does not need a Certificate to say that they are a good, reputable or great reader.

No, this is about so much more that this, for us and the individual, this is about intrinsic based dedication to one's craft and the self satisfaction of achievement, a desire to access a mentoring program that supports learning and knowledge gaining opportunity.

Just as there are many great Tarot books available, many tutorials, videos, seminars, courses and conferences, there is a place for Tarot Certification.

Otherwise why bother to extend our knowledge in any way at all, shall we simply restrict ourselves to our limits and accept what we are told to be always true ?

Hell no, we can study in any shape of form we choose, it does not matter how or what you achieved at school, college or university, this is an exclusive course of study that is 100% INCLUSIVE- no matter what a student's ability is or isnt, everyone is given support to be able to access this learning and this is how it should be.

Tailored courses that are formatted on theory based learning and support, there is nothing incidental about this. It is 'scaffolded' learning at its best ( my opinion of course stemming from my own study of theoretic learning at college) from start to finish, from the foundation up.

Tarot is becoming more accessible, less feared and more current, finally it is progressing into a study of the future and a science in its own right.