Certification
What exactly is “tarot certification” and why should you bother anyway? What makes certification by the AoD any different (or better) than any diploma or certificate you might get from a blog, home study course, or school?
First and foremost, you do not need to be certified by anyone or anything to prove your worth to anyone. Skill proves itself, regardless of lineage. Pedigrees are great for establishing hereditary lineage, but as we know from history, the children of heroes and billionaires are seldom true champions of the people themselves. Similarly, being related to a famous psychic does not make one omniscient or prescient. While everyone has a (varying) base-level of “psychic ability” (for lack of a better term), real skill comes from consistent perfect practice of proper techniques. There is no surer or shorter path to greatness in any field than that.
But when you do practice properly, and under the guidance of expert instruction, supported by a community of friends and associates with whom you can try new things, explore, get feedback from, and witness their efforts, new worlds of awareness open to you. This is why we have universities all over the world instead of learning pods where individuals can isolate themselves in study. Mystery schools should be no different.
Certification comes at the end of a long study of specific topics, where the student has availed themselves of the opportunities to learn from qualified instructors, practice techniques, study with friendly faces who want the student to succeed, and the student has time to ruminate on their findings and failings. All of this crescendos into a wealth of real-world applicable knowledge that flows through the hands, just like a master violinist creates beautiful passages without stopping to think where to place their fingers on the fretboard.
Certification is simply the validation of what one has put so much effort into — and as such, we will not desecrate such a time-honored tradition of celebration of accomplishment with cheap stickers and badges. The Academy of Divination certification represents the gold standard of all testing of one’s metaphysical abilities. As surely as one does not simply walk into Mordor, no one is entitled to AoD certification, regardless of how long they have read cards, gone to school, or how much they have paid. When you have passed the AoD standards of certification, you have proven your skills are far above and beyond the run-of-the-mill psychics, astrologers, and tarot readers who ply their trade all over the world.
We do this because we care.
Our world (of metaphysics) and the “New” Age is a swamp filled with scams, egotistical wannabes, and fame-seeking amateurs. We are “supposed” to be kind, enlightened, inclusive, engaging, and helpful to all, yet the reality proves anything but. There are no standards of conduct or quality, and anyone with a pointy hat can hang a shingle proclaiming their expertise while politely exercising the worst traits of human behavior toward anyone they find “undesirable.” This is no secret, but this commonplace nonsense ends here.
AoD certification represents the culmination of decades of research, testing, practice, and professional experience of countless psychics, astrologers, tarot readers, and healers at the top of their game. Various communities spanning several decades have collaborated to bring this singularity into being. We all stand on the shoulders of giants, and in turn we seek to lift the next generation higher. We must test as harshly as we benevolently train. There is simply no room for excuses in the exam arena. You come in prepared or you come back when you are. And when you pass the standards of several of our professional readers — those who know how to spot quality from chaff, scams and tricks from genuine intuitive guidance — you will receive a document worthy of all of the hard work you have endured to develop your skills far beyond “average.”
The certificate itself is representative of successful passing of a test of competence and ethics; it is not a “diploma.” There are far too many diploma mills in the world and we will not add to their number. The document itself is modeled after a Harvard University diploma — eschewing fancy scrollwork and gothic lettering. The words are clear and concise, but unlike Harvard, we go even further and affix a wax seal using the finest and most rare sealing wax in the modern world. Your certificate is custom made for you. Two are always printed and signed, and finally sealed. Of the pair, only the certificate with the most appealing wax seal is preserved — the other is shredded and discarded, along with the rare wax used to create the seal. Your certificate is the “best of the pair” and the lesser is sacrificed.
This is how seriously we take certification. You are welcome to prove your worth and earn the highest standard of quality, and thus join the ranks of the best psychics in the world regardless of how much they charge. Charging a lot of money does not indicate quality: it indicates self-perceived market value (and too often, greed). But with this certificate you will easily prove yourself better than anyone around you, and thus worthy of greater pay.
We welcome you to become certified when you are ready. We will attest to your excellence and show the world that you stand far above the masses.