In celebration of Jon Saint Germain's life, I want to share the last chapter from his Witch's Runes guidebook. In it, he reveals the most important secret to being a good reader. Here are his words:
I’ve been a psychic reader since I was a teenager and a spiritual consultant since my early twenties. I’ve made my living doing this for about forty years, and I’ve known and have learned from many great practitioners of my craft. I’m in my mid-sixties, and I’m still learning.
I’ve tried to pass along much of what I’ve learned through my books, workshops, and radio shows, and I’m always willing to help anyone who asks for advice.
A question I’m often asked is, “What is the one secret to being a good reader?”
I’m not sure there is a universal secret for success, but I’ll share a few of my observations, laying out my corny, homespun wisdom in ascending order.
First, it’s important to know your oracle. You should be an authority in your field. There are people out there who will come for a reading who know more about Tarot cards, Astrology, or Palmistry than you and will call you out if you think you can get away with just spouting off memorized lines. Don’t even try it. So, it’s important to know your business.
BUT even more important than that is possessing a warm, caring nature toward people, combined with an insatiable interest and curiosity about them. A working knowledge of human nature and what motivates people really helps. If you’re cynical and think people are a blight upon the skin of the Earth, and you’re just trying to cash in on the psychic craze, your clients will soon pick up on your inherent bitterness and avoid you. You’ll burn out and eventually hate yourself.
And EVEN MORE IMPORTANT than that is The Most Important Secret. I learned this from a friend at a psychic fair when I was 26. I was a popular reader because I was a rarity: a palm reader. Most people were reading Tarot or were clairvoyants. I wasn’t the most popular, but I stayed busy.
Mac, who presented himself as a Shaman, came over and said, in his slow Southern drawl, “You’re good. You’re real good. But ya have one problem. You need to shut your big mouth and listen for a change.”
I was taken aback. You mean people didn’t want to hear about the Mound of Venus, the Via Lasciva, the Line of Fate, and all the other esoteric knowledge it took me years to learn?
As it turned out, they didn’t. Most people want to be heard. They want you to listen—really listen—and provide empathetic feedback.
Years later, many other great psychic readers from whom I learned said the same thing: Shut up and LISTEN. This is The Most Important Secret.
Over the years, I’ve heard readers regale their clients with long explanations about the meaning of every rune, about each mythic legend behind the Arthurian Tarot, the sixteen types of Head Lines—and the clients didn’t care. I’ve listened and heard the impatience in the client’s voice as they tried to interrupt the psychic’s lecture to get a word in edgewise.
I’ll make a confession. I used to record my readings, and I listened to a few I recorded before Mac told me to shut my big bazoo. To my shame, I heard that same impatience in my clients’ voices as I rambled on about stuff they really didn’t care about.
Listening - This is the secret of the successful reader.
It may also be the secret of being a successful human being: true, empathetic listening. And we don’t listen with just our ears. Deep listening involves our entire being, heart, and soul, and becomes a true connection between living beings, timeless, limitless, bridging all barriers of Earthly concerns and prejudices.
As you can see, this little set of cards contains a world of potential, limited only by your imagination. I’ve tried to include a myriad of ideas in this book, but there’s always more. If you have any questions, I’ll be glad to answer them.
Until next time, I hope you have fun and enjoy The Witch’s Runes Divination Deck.
- Jon Saint Germain
Jon embodied those words throughout his life. He taught with joy, shared generously, and reminded us to have fun along the way.
You can learn more from Jon in his guidebook, which is included in The Witch's Runes Divination Deck.
With gratitude,
William Rader
