BTP95: How Bianca Became a Confident (and Certified) Tarot Reader in Just 12 Months

Twelve months ago, Bianca could barely read the cards. She felt embarrassed when people noticed she was carrying them around and would ask for readings. 

Today, you’re going to meet the new Bianca, who is now a Certified Biddy Tarot Advisor. She’s been courageous, and now she’s confident in her skills and has many people asking her for readings! 

In this episode of the Biddy Tarot Podcast, Bianca shares her journey through the Biddy Tarot Certification Program, starting with very little knowledge of the cards and trying to memorize meanings to feeling self-assured in her intuition and reading from the heart. 

Additional Resources 

• You can visit Bianca's website at: BiancaTarot.com 
• You can join the Biddy Tarot Certification Program here!
• Learn the 5 Simple Steps to read Tarot with Confidence here.
• You can learn more and get on the waitlist for Grow Your Tarot Business Online here.

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

WELCOME 

You’re listening to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, and this is Episode 95: How Bianca Became a Confident (and Certified) Tarot Reader in Just 12 Months. 

Welcome to the Biddy Tarot Podcast, where you'll learn how to connect more deeply with your intuition and live an empowered and enlightened life with the Tarot cards as your guide. 

Listen as Brigit and her guests share their very best tips and strategies to help you read Tarot with confidence. Now, here is your host, Brigit Esselmont. 

INTRODUCTION 

BRIGIT: Hello, and welcome back to the Biddy Tarot Podcast. As always, I am thrilled to be talking with you about Tarot. Now, I’ve got a really special guest today. Her name is Bianca, and she is sharing her journey of how she became a confident and certified Tarot reader in just 12 months. 

But before we get into today’s story, I want to share and say “Thank you” for two wonderful podcast reviews that were left on iTunes recently. 

THANK YOU 

The first one is from Flonelfi from Australia. I’m guessing she’s a “she.” She writes: 

“These podcasts are a big discovery for me. Brigit is great to listen to. She’s clear and has a very reachable approach. As a teacher myself, I can understand why she’s so popular. My understanding of Tarot is increasing every time I learn more and more. I get more aware, and I get curious. I’m really connecting with what she says, and I’m not a professional Tarot reader. I barely know all of the cards. If you’re a beginner and don’t know where to start, then she is the one.” 

Well, thank you very, very much. I really appreciate that! 

Now, the second one—goodness me. It’s not a word, so this person’s username is “Bffjhcgfukbf” from the USA, and this person writes… Oh, it’s Kelly D. OK, great! Kelly writes: 

“I just love the Biddy Tarot Podcast. I find the interviews to be so inspiring and informative. Brigit has introduced me to so many other resources to help guide me on my journey into the world of Tarot. She always has such interesting guests, and her strategies for learning Tarot are incredibly useful and doable. Thank you, Brigit.” 

Thank you, Kelly D. I really appreciate your feedback. 

Remember: If you haven’t already, please leave a review and a star rating on iTunes. Again, it really helps get our message out into a much bigger audience. 

HOW BIANCA BECAME A CONFIDENT (AND CERTIFIED) TAROT READER IN JUST 12 MONTHS 

BRIGIT: Let’s get into our conversation for today with Bianca. Now, Bianca is from Cyprus, which is just near Greece. She always had an interest in Tarot. You’ll hear this in the interview today. She had an interest in Tarot for so many years, but it was really only about 12 months ago that it all clicked into place for her, and she knew at that point that it was her time to learn how to read Tarot. 

At that point, that’s when she found the Biddy Tarot Certification program. She undertook the training, did the free readings and went on to become a successful certified Biddy Tarot reader. 

She didn’t just stop there! She went ahead, and she created her own website, which is at BiancaTarot.com. You’ll find all of that in the show notes at BiddyTarot.com/95. 

She went from literally barely knowing what the cards meant to being able to confidently put herself out into the world and say, “I am a Tarot reader”—in less than 12 months. You’ll hear more about her journey today, and it is really exciting just to hear how everything clicked into place for Bianca. I think it’s absolutely fabulous. She also talks a little bit about the certification program and how that has supported her and helped her in this journey. 

So, without further ado, let me welcome Bianca. 

Welcome, Bianca. It is so good to have you here! How are you doing today? 

BIANCA: Hi, Brigit. It’s really exciting to be on your show today. I was really looking forward to this. I’m very well, thank you, and how are you? 

BRIGIT: Yes, good, thank you! And I believe it’s very early in the morning for you, so thank you very much. 

BIANCA: Yes, it is! It’s [4:30] in the morning. But actually, I couldn’t sleep, so I didn’t sleep at all. But right now, I’m drinking my coffee, and I feel really good. 

BRIGIT: Oh, wonderful. Excellent. I’d love to hear about your journey with Tarot. When did it really begin for you? When did you find the Tarot cards? 

BIANCA'S JOURNEY

BIANCA: The Tarot cards were in my life for many years now—maybe over 20 years—but as a client, I never felt that I could read them myself, or even thought about doing it. But I was really interested in learning what the cards meant, and the pictures were really drawing my attention and everything.  

Every time I was going through a challenging phase in my life, I noticed that I was seeking more advice from the cards. What I mean is that I was going more frequently to Tarot readers during challenging times. Also, astrology interested me very much, and I read a lot. Of course, I’m a beginner, but that’s my next goal, to become more professional in astrology to combine it with my Tarot readings, because I feel that they are very combined. 

Anyway, the Tarot cards came into my life, and the thought crossed through my mind to start learning how to read them. About three years ago, just by accident, I found an offer from a site I was following about a free Tarot deck, so I said, “Yeah, wow, that’s great!” I got one because I really wanted to… It was an opportunity to learn. 

But when the cards arrived, they weren’t the right size, so I didn’t really feel the connection. I just left them, and also, it was just a really hard time for me at the time, and I didn’t really have the time or the energy or the concentration to focus on learning. 

Three years later, about a year ago, around this time, the same offer came up into my email again, so I said, “OK, I’ll get them again,” because I had misplaced the original deck. 

It was about the right time because I was going on vacation and everything, and they arrived at the right time, so I had time to start learning. Just by accident, I came across your Five Simple Steps to Read Tarot with Confidence, and I watched the video. 

That really hit me, especially when you said that those who are really committed will make sure to watch the Masterclass, and I already [inaudible [00:07:43] around this time again to watch the video because I wanted to take it really seriously and learn it very well, although I still hadn’t thought about becoming professional. 

But as soon as I signed up for the program, from the first couple of modules, basically, I started trying to see if I had the intuition that I felt I had because I realized that the Tarot came into my life for a reason, not just because it interested me. They came because there is a [inaudible [00:08:18] for me. 

It was true, and I started reading for friends, trying them out, experimenting just with one card at the beginning, then more cards. But it was really fast, the learning process, but of course, that was due to the certification program because it’s very structured, and it goes every step, makes sure you're learning it very well and then moves on. I found it very, very helpful. It’s an excellent program, and I recommend it, without any hesitation. 

BRIGIT: Aw, thank you. 

BIANCA: And after that, I followed the instructions about reading on the Free Tarot Readings hub, and after I did my first reading, which I spent not that much time but maybe an hour and a half or so… I wanted to be really confident before I sent it over, and I got my first five-star rating. Then I started becoming more confident, and I said, “Yeah, I have it, I think! Maybe I do.” 

I’m sure you’ve heard this story several times before (maybe with a little bit of variation), but the bottom line is that you deliver what you say the program delivers because you have the way to make the students [inaudible [00:09:36] themselves. Those who want to take it seriously, and I’m sure those who sign up are serious enough. 

TAKING TAROT SERIOUSLY

BRIGIT: What was it that made you decide, “Yeah, this is it—I really want to take this seriously,” and you wanted to give yourself to the Tarot cards? What was it that made you decide that? 

BIANCA: Because, actually, I’m a very busy person, and I really don’t have that much extra time. One of the questions I asked one of the girls with the Tarot was how much time I would need per week for studying, and even though it was 4 to 8 hours (I think, if I remember correctly), which was a lot for me, for my schedule. In the end, I ended up spending way much more than those hours, but because I wanted to learn more and more. 

After I started giving a few readings, and I started getting very good, I only got five stars, actually, on the hub, I decided it was about time to start setting up my website. But OK, even though the website is set up, it’s up and running, and all the social media accounts are ready, I’m really not that active yet because I want to take it slow until I feel ready to put all the energy that is required, but I kind of play with them to build them up, and I will promote them more when I feel I have the time to devote. As I said, I will start doing the astrology studying a little bit more intensely at the end of this month, so I think it might be a little bit slower to set up the website, but I will still continue doing the readings. 

I do a lot of face-to-face readings with my daughter’s friends. Everybody says, “Oh, come on! Read us the cards!” Then they kind of say, “Shall we tell them?” “Oh, yes!” 

But the best thing is when people call me up and tell me that “You know, what you told us really helped us, and the advice you gave us to follow really what we were supposed to do, and that’s worked out. That makes me feel good that I am helping people because, really, that’s my purpose, my goal. 

BRIGIT: Yes. It’s an amazing feeling when you can use your intuition and the Tarot cards to help other people make really positive changes in their lives. Can you think of a specific example of where you might have helped someone that’s changed things for the better? 

BIANCA: Yeah. There was this lady who was asking for advice. She was a writer of e-books that was on the Free Tarot Readings hub. She wanted advice on how to get more audience and promote her books more. I remember I drew the Strength card and the Eight of Wands, and that was one of the first readings I did, but I still remember the cards by heart because it made an impression on me. What we were discussing in class or in the videos, usually those cards were turning up, so I could relate more easily to the meaning. 

I gave her some suggestions based on the Eight of Wands being related to technology, computers, the web, the internet to promote her books that way, and some other suggestions. 

She came back and said she was very happy with the advice because felt like it would work for her, and she also told me that the Strength card really represented her own body, herself. That’s what she felt. That made me feel really good. 

BRIGIT: Yeah, and it’s wonderful to hear of a very practical application of the cards in a reading. 

BIANCA: Exactly. 

BRIGIT: I think sometimes it can get a little bit esoteric, and it’s hard to really understand how it plays out in daily life, but it sounds like you did a great job at taking the cards and making them into real recommendations that she could put into place. 

BIANCA: I agree that it could get very esoteric or complicated the more cards you draw, so I really agree with you that how you ask the cards is what really matters because that’s the essence of everything. If you ask the wrong question, or if you don’t ask it the right way, you will not get the correct answer. The answer that you get will be right, but you will interpret it wrong because the question was wrong. 

Also, that lady told me that she was impressed with how much information I was able to draw from out of just two cards because I had only drawn two cards. It was at the beginning, and my typed reading was over a page. 

BRIGIT: Yep. It’s amazing, isn’t it, how much information you can get from just one or two cards? I love it. 

BIANCA: Yeah. I’m amazed every time—not just from that, from everything! Also, when people call up and say what you said at the beginning. They might say, “Hmm, about 50% right,” or this and that. Then after a couple of weeks, when you see them again after a few weeks pass by, “You know, that reading was actually 90% right.” 

BRIGIT: Yes! 

BIANCA: Those are the face-to-face readings, which I believe the certification program really helps even face-to-face readings, and through the internet, all kinds of readings. But I think for beginners, the readings by emails are the easiest by far because you have the luxury of researching and thinking about it and [inaudible [00:15:30] the cards and letting your intuition kick through. When at the face-to-face readings, you have to deliver on the spot. [inaudible [00:15:39], it’s a different energy. 

BRIGIT: Yes, that’s true. As a beginner, just having that time and space to be able to think about what the cards mean and how you're going to express it… I’m really glad to hear it create a safe learning environment, which is good. 

BIANCA: Definitely. 

BIANCA'S FIRST TAROT READING

BRIGIT: How did it feel that first time that you said, “OK, I’m going to take my first free reading”? How did that feel for you? 

BIANCA: Quite natural. I thought it was just the next step to take because I was listening to you, and then you were really talking to me. I was really concentrating on what you were saying, having full attention, and it was like the next natural step to do. I don’t know! The most significant factor that delayed me, I would say, was my laziness to filling in the profile information! Otherwise, I would have done it much faster. 

BRIGIT: Yep, wonderful. You’re now a successful Certified Biddy Tarot Reader. What has changed for you as a result of becoming certified as a reader? 

BIANCA: First of all, my own pride. I feel so proud of accomplishing that because it was really a lot of work. People might think that it’s easy. No, you need to study to get the certification, and this is what makes the program stand out, I think, and makes Tarot readers stand out. It’s like going to a university. It’s not like people who don’t go to university cannot work or do not excel in what they do, but it’s just an extra credential, an extra prestige, if I may say that. 

BRIGIT: Wonderful. Do you feel more confident as a result of having that certification? 

BIANCA: Definitely, yes, because I know that I worked for it. 

BRIGIT: Yes. 

BIANCA: And I applied what I learned. 

BRIGIT: If we were having this conversation, say, twelve months ago, and I said to you, “You're going to be a professional reader. You're going to have a website for your Tarot readings,” would you think I was bananas? Could you have ever foreseen this? 

BIANCA: Not in my wildest dreams. Last year, around this time, I went on a cruise with my daughter, her boyfriend and another friend of hers, and I had the cards with me. I was holding them through the whole trip, and I was trying to memorize what the cards meant to make a very basic reading, and I couldn’t remember anything or tell what they meant or what to do. People saw me on the cruise ship holding the cards, and they were asking me, and they wanted me to answer questions if I was able to, and I felt so angry and frustrated that I couldn’t. If you asked me at that time, I would have thought it impossible. 

But yet, here I am less than a year later, having the website, having done a lot of readings—about forty on the Free Tarot Readings hub—but I spend two hours on each, and as I said, I don’t really have that much time, which is a lot of time for me. Plus, I did over a hundred face-to-face readings, and I do it, basically, on an everyday basis. 

BRIGIT: Yeah, that’s fabulous. 

BIANCA: Because people ask me all the time! 

BIANCA'S ADVICE FOR AN ASPIRING TAROT READER

BRIGIT: Yep. There’s this thought that it takes years and years to become a really good reader and to start getting clients and so on. I love that you’ve done this in less than 12 months. I think it’s absolutely fabulous. What advice would you have for someone who might be, say, where you were 12 months ago? 

BIANCA: I would say if they’re thinking about learning the Tarot seriously (not necessarily for doing professional readings, but just for learning how to read the Tarot cards, and they’re serious about it) to not hesitate because it was worth every penny. The program delivers way than what it says it does and what is expected. 

BRIGIT: Yeah. 

BIANCA: It goes over and above, and everything that is mentioned is applicable to real-life situations whether you're a professional Tarot reader, or you just read for fun. 

BRIGIT: Fantastic. So glad! What’s coming up next for you? I know you mentioned earlier about doing astrology and maybe incorporating that into your readings. What do you see for the next 12 months? 

BIANCA: First of all, I would like to add that I haven’t regretted it one bit that I signed up for the program, and I wish that I had found it even earlier, but I guess the timing was when it was supposed to be. During the next 12 months, as I said, at the end of September, I’m starting private astrology classes with a known astrologer from Greece via Skype twice a week, and I will work hard on improving my astrology knowledge, which is a little bit more than basic but still far from what I would like to know to call myself knowledgeable and apply it to Tarot. Also, I will continue to build a website and try to… Not build a website because, basically, I can start promoting it for readings, but I think the next step should be to start charging for readings because I still haven’t charged. I do all free readings for everyone. 

BRIGIT: Well, I think it might be time. 

BIANCA: So, at some point, I can start charging for my readings. 

BRIGIT: Yeah, definitely. Oh, man! Just do it! That’s my advice for you: Just do it. 

BIANCA: Yeah, it’s not that I want my time; it’s just… I don’t know. I feel bad to charge the people. 

BRIGIT: Really? 

“Wow, people are actually paying me, and this is valuable stuff.” 

BIANCA: Because they’re all friends. I feel that I’m helping, and I feel bad to take money. 

BRIGIT: Yeah, I can understand that feeling with friends, definitely. Maybe it will be easier to start charging with people you don’t know, particularly through your website and so on. Even just a small amount changes your mindset, that little bit around “Wow, people are actually paying me, and this is valuable stuff.” 

BIANCA: Right. 

BRIGIT: It’s exciting. 

BIANCA: I think this was one of your suggestions during the certification program as well, and I just might follow it because I need to take the first step. 

BRIGIT: Yes, absolutely. Have you got prices on your website at BiancaTarot.com? 

BIANCA: Right. That’s it. I’m at BiancaTarot.com. 

BRIGIT: Excellent. We’ll put that into the show notes as well at BiddyTarot.com/95. That way, everyone can find you as well. Maybe you’ll get that first paying client as well. That would be fabulous! 

BIANCA: Yeah, maybe! That would be great. Thank you so much. 

BRIGIT: My pleasure. Is there anything that we might have missed today that you want to share about this journey and this experience of now being a Certified Biddy Tarot Reader? 

BIANCA: I just would like to say once more that I haven’t regretted my decision. It was the most amazing journey, and I’m just at the beginning. There’s much more ahead, and I’m really looking forward to it. I was really glad I came upon your site and finally met you in person as well. 

BRIGIT: Yes, well, [inaudible [00:23:21]. No, it’s lovely. I just want to say we are so proud of you not just for becoming a certified reader but for setting up your website and for being courageous. I think it takes a lot of courage to say yes to that gut feeling, like, “Hmm, maybe I could be a Tarot reader, and maybe I could start to read for people I don’t know. You’ve done a great job in terms of just saying yes to your intuition and that calling to do something more with Tarot. Good stuff! 

BIANCA: Thank you, Brigit. I couldn’t have done it without your help. 

BRIGIT: Oh, my pleasure. 

BIANCA: And who knows? Maybe I will take the next program as well. I kind of forgot the exact name now… The business online learning? 

BRIGIT: Yeah, Grow Your Tarot Business Online, which is great for building up your business, definitely. 

BIANCA: Yes, Grow Your Tarot Business Online. I kind of searched on that before as well, but I wasn’t ready at the time because I was still in the middle of the course, so I left it for a bit later. 

BRIGIT: Yeah, absolutely. It’s a great natural next step, really, from becoming a certified reader and then thinking about how you’ll grow your business as well. I’m glad that’s on your radar. Fabulous. Well, Bianca, I’ve so enjoyed hearing your story and really learning more about what has changed for you, particularly in the last year. Again, you’ve done an amazing job, and we’re really proud of you, and I can’t wait to see what comes out next in the world of Bianca Tarot. 

BIANCA: Thank you so much, Brigit. I will let you know. 

BRIGIT: Beautiful, thanks. There you have it. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Bianca and I. Perhaps you're at a place where Bianca was at 12 months ago, and you might be inspired too to start listening to that calling from within and start to really pay attention to it and take it seriously. Just like Bianca said at the start of the interview, she knew she had to take this seriously. It was time for her, so maybe it’s time for you as well. 

BIDDY TAROT CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

Well, it is perfect timing because if you're listening to this in the month of October 2017, the great news is that the certification program is open. We are opening the doors on October 17th, so if you're listening a little bit before that, no stress. Go to BiddyTarot.com/Certification, and you can jump on the wait list. 

The certification program is such a comprehensive program. It’s not just the piece of paper at the end. It’s getting access to our two signature training programs Master the Tarot Card Meanings and Read Tarot with Confidence. You’ll take these programs at the same time. You’ll be doing Free Tarot Readings for people around the world so that you can really put your new ideas about Tarot into practice and get that instant feedback from the people you're reading for. Not only that—you also get Community support inside of the Biddy Tarot Community, and you get to have a chat with me. You get to ask me questions every month throughout the program as well on live Q&A calls together. 

Then, at the end of the six months of the program, you’ll be invited to become a Certified Biddy Tarot Reader, which simply means submitting some sample readings, your Code of Ethics, how you see the Tarot working, and a few other little things along the way. If successful, then you receive a beautiful certificate, which you can put up proudly. 

And just as Bianca shared with her story, she feels such a sense of pride now that she is a Certified Biddy Tarot Reader. It’s really changed things for the better for her, and now she just has such an impact on the people she reads for. And her love for Tarot is not just contained within herself; it’s now being shared with so many people. 

If you’re feeling a call to do this work as well and to share your gifts and your intuition with others, then I would love for you to consider the Biddy Tarot Certification program. Go to BiddyTarot.com/Certification to learn more. If you do listen to this a little bit later on in the year, no stress. Still go to BiddyTarot.com/Certification, and you can always jump on the wait list for when we open up again next time 

All right, that is everything for today. I hope you have an absolutely fabulous week ahead, and awesome! Next week, we’ll be dipping into the podcast archives with a great podcast around what every Tarot reader should know about certification. Have a good week, and I’ll speak with you soon. Bye for now! 

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