Jacqui Roberts believes in magic. Additionally, she believes that magic is a skill that can be successfully taught. Pupils flock from across the North East to her home in Inse Bay, Laytown, for lessons in the ancient art of tarot card reading. Evening Classes with a Difference started last week at the Irish Tarot Card Academy.
acquired Roberts believes in magic. Additionally, she believes that magic is a skill that can be successfully taught.
Pupils flock from across the North East to her home in Inse Bay, Laytown, for lessons in the ancient art of tarot card reading. Evening Classes with a Difference started last week at the Irish Tarot Card Academy.
The 42-year-old mother-of-two set up the Irish Tarot Card Academy in 2003, after spending 14 years as a card reader.
“Reading tarot cards is a huge responsibility. I don’t know how it works but it does. You have to be very careful about how you give people information and how well they handle it,” Jacqui said, who moved to Laytown four years ago with her two teenagers.
“I created the academy to bring tarot card reading out of the dark ages and into the 21st century. I want to dispel the cloak and dagger nonsense that people sometimes associate with cards. It is essentially a deck of cards that is just for fun. But it also raises questions about people’s lives and the paths they choose to follow. In the wrong hands, tarot can be as dangerous as a loaded gun.
Some 50 students have attended courses at the academy so far, coming from as far away as Cavan, Monaghan and Mountmellick, Co Laois. His students take an eight-week course and then have to give 100 practice readings to friends and family. Apprentices aren’t certified until she feels they’ve reached a high enough standard.
“Anyone can call themselves a tarot card reader and claim to predict the future,” Jacqui said. “One of the reasons I started the academy was to set standards for tarot card readers that the public will be able to recognize instantly. I train people not only to read the cards, but also to read people.
She also highlights the importance of protecting vulnerable people who may become addicted to tarot readings.
“It can be a big responsibility. You need to be sensitive in how you give people information. It is important to accentuate the positive aspects of a reading. The goal is to help people feel more empowered and happier in their lives after their consultation.
Jacqui is a former art teacher and master practitioner of neuro-linguistic programming. Her classes have proven to be very popular, especially with women.
“At Laytown, I have mostly female students. They are interested in tarot and want to read the cards for their friends and family. In Navan there are a few more men and students who want to use tarot for a living.
Curiously Jacqui will not read her own cards. “I don’t want to know what awaits me. And as for her clients, she said, “I always say a prayer before every reading.