Things I've learned about the "wealthy" as a Tarot reader.
And why I stopped judging them.
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One of my closest friends says that I tend to overgeneralize, which is true. I’ll do my best with specifics for this post but after reading thousands of clients for 20 years and respecting anonymity, I’ll probably….overgeneralize. Enjoy!
My judgment of wealthy people ended when I began to read them.
As a Christian, I used to judge wealthy people because of the camel and needle verses and the command from Jesus to give away your money. Once I left the church, that judgement morphed into envy as I hustled my broke ass around NYC. “Wealthy” at that time was anything above 50k, effortless clothes and stunning townhouses.
When I worked for a millionaire accountant, my first real glimpse arrived through a demanding trophy wife, an unhappy first wife and an opulent Central Park penthouse where a Mexican maid whispered in my ear, She treats me like a dog.
Oh, but the perks.
I’d run his checks over to the exclusive booth for Chase private clients and issues would resolve like magic. Obviously, there were no lines. I’d head to the liquor store and the minute I said his name, they’d snap to attention and hand over bottles of Dom Pérignon. He did my taxes and when he wasn’t screaming at his stockbroker (who died of a heart attack that year), he was a funny dude who tolerated my jeans and hiking boots. I’d receive gorgeous cashmere scarves and a beautiful set of knives that his wife advised me to keep because they were expensive. He put me on his umbrella list at his bank and I held onto that no fee account for years until one day it closed and I assumed he died.
Still, I saw myself as separate from “the wealthy” because in this world, it’s based on income, neighborhoods and caste of destitute/lower/middle/upper/unreal — which of course, is an illusion and ultimately meaningless.
It’s easy to hate the wealthy — but what is “wealthy”?
Wealth a malleable term, based on how we were raised to view money. What wealth is to you could be completely different for me. A kid living in the slums of Mumbai would look at any American as a millionaire, yet I used to scrape and believe I had nothing, though I went to private schools for most of my childhood and college.
As A Course in Miracles says, Only our thoughts can bring us pain, so it was easy to think me vs. THE WEALTHY.
My, has Tarot changed that.
Many of my clients are multi-millionaires and beyond. This is easy to assume because of their name/position in the world or combined salary with partners. I never look up clients online, nor see faces to retain as little bias as possible. Yet once they describe their line of work, it’s not difficult to figure out. When I was a younger reader, I had to fight to not let this dazzle me: fame, name and money. Like I scored a big fish (though most are players behind the scenes) and that they were more important than other clients and elevated my status, though no one knew because of confidentiality.
I admit this ego struggle because it was a lesson I had to learn.
Everyone is equal.
As a reader, I show up to honor that soul — because in the afterlife, no one will be valued on their assets, earthly name or success.
In the afterlife, we will see how well we loved ourselves.
The clients who show up at my virtual door reflect a point of growth in my life. We are emotional mirrors, so if I’m confused as to where I am on the path, my clients will reflect what is needed to see.
So in general, my present wealthy clients are balanced people. Happy? Depends on the day. My clients do not sit back on their laurels because there is always another bar to grasp. They have plenty of assets but all still work, even though they could have retired years ago. Some left corporate to began another project, business or consulting. The majority have stayed in their first marriages and raised healthy kids, for the most part (I read many of their adult children). One or two have had several marriages — which means many payments to many people. I once asked a very wealthy client in Florida what it was like to be that rich. They said, It’s a lot of responsibility.
Some work for the love to it. Others because they have scarcity issues from childhood. Others because they want to feel needed. And some have a natural gift to draw in money, just like your natural gifts. Who knows why? Maybe they were broke in a past life, reckless with money or love having dough — and wish to experience it anew. Whatever the reason, they know how to create money. Oodles of it.
What surprised me the most is that they still want to work! Wha?
Most did not grow up with money. If they did, they faced pain in other ways.
No one gets out of this place alive — and no one remains unscathed. Wealthy, broke or somewhere between — we are all forged. As I wrote in Home,
This world is one big f*ing ring and girl, you better know how to box and feint.
Some have cold parents, while others lost theirs through an early death, abandonment or divorce. Some have a sibling who was an enemy from the womb or a narcissistic parent who pitted children against each other. Others had a golden childhood and then dealt with a chronically ill or mentally unbalanced child of their own. Others struggle with substance abuse, loneliness or caring for elderly parents.
It’s easy to forget that people with enormous amounts of money are still people — wounded, marked and marred like the rest of us and will eventually die.
Money might help mitigate pain — but it doesn't take it away. Often it only amplifies the earlier wounds.
Many struggle with pleasure.
This is not exclusive to those with fat bank accounts but I was surprised to learn how hard it is for some clients to enjoy pleasure. That doesn’t mean bougie shopping sprees or trips to exclusive resorts. That’s easy.
Pleasure is loving who you truly are.
A running joke with one client is my continual urging to go and spend, go away for the weekend, take a break. They’ll laugh and say, Oh, I do but there is a difference with allowing yourself to simply bask in pleasure, rather than seek drama, sit at home or waste money on things you really don’t want. You’d think it would be easy with loads of money but it depends on the level of comfort they or their partner have on spending without a purpose, their own money fears and whether they allow in the joy of life.
This also goes back to #2 and the disparity this causes: one partner want to work; the other wants to play and it can create an impasse in a long marriage.
The single wealthy want to find love.
They’ve got the cash, cars, houses and status. They’ve got the momentum of a long career and respect of their peers. They meet with big players to hash out deals and new businesses.
They are powerful, funny and genuine people who make a difference in this world.
Yet my single wealthy really, really want to come home to love.
That doesn't mean marriage, per se. They would be happy in whatever arrangement suits them both. Yet as they grow more mature, the clash and play of the world’s games are less desirable. They struggle with the notion of how they can be so successful and not have everything they want.
Some clients are about to be single after a long marriage that held all of the success they thought they wanted: high-powered partner, children, beautiful homes, travel, loads of money, loving extended family unit. That part was fulfilled.
Yet somewhere along the way, their heart was forgotten because they didn’t believe they deserved pleasure — and it took the lightning bolt of a soulmate to remind them.
What their hearts want is the person they miss on business trips, who tells them how amazing they are and unconditionally accepts them beyond the glamorous persona and cushy bank account. They wonder if it’s possible to trust again in such a simple dream that seems beyond their grasp.
