witches of tumblr, i need help.
so i volunteered to do tarot readings at a charity thing next month, and iâm a bit nervous. iâve read for friends and family before, but iâve never charged money. what are some things i could do to make sure iâm ready?
Oh, these can be so much fun!
First thing:Â Â make sure you and the charity organizers are cognizant of local laws about âfortune-tellersâ. Â Many communities in the USA have anti-fortunetelling legislation on the books (example). Â Itâs unlikely youâll get tossed into jail, but you could wind up with some pretty sizable fines for anything from operating without a fortunetelling license to violating a ban for reading for money. Â If necessary, have the charity event collect the money and give the querent a token for a âfree readingâ.
You donât make it clear in your question: is the charity event expecting you to set your prices for readings? Â If so, does all the money you get for those readings go to the charity?
If you set the price, then as a general rule, I charge the same fee for a reading at a charity event as the cost of a glass of beer purchased at that same event. Â Failing that, $5 - $10 per reading, depending on what the organizers feel comfortable with. Â You could also put out a large jar and say âPay me what you think the reading was worth.â Â Itâs a charity event, people will pay you something.
Now, for the event itself:
1) Keep it short and simple. Â Three to five card readings only. Â Donât spend more than five minutes on a reading for any individual person if itâs a large event, ten minutes tops for anybody. Â In smaller situations (less than twenty people), folks donât mind waiting a half-hour for a reading if the event has other things going for it (good food, good music, etc), but you have to be prepared in case it doesnât. Â Plus, sometimes you get a querent who wants to monopolize your time, and wants to go longer or keep coming back for additional readings. Â Maintain a strict one-reading-per-person stance. Â Bring a timer, stick to it, and give yourself a breather between readings!
2) Keep it positive.  This is a charity event, and therefore not the best time for the sort of contemplative soul-searching that goes on in a standard appointment.  Give every reading the most positive spin that you honestly can.  Compliment them where you sense their strengths. Emphasize their growth in areas they consider themselves weak. Like them, be their friend for that. Remember that at events like this, youâre less of a tarot reader, and more of a tarot entertainer.  Â
3) Put together a âTarot-To-Goâ Kit, consisting ofâŚ
your preferred deck for parties/charity events, etc.,
a back-up deck, in case you just. canât. connect.
a timer/stopwatch/wristwatch (or the very least, your cell phone) so you can pace yourself,
mints or throat lozenges (trust me on this)
If itâs a large event, a sign-up sheet on a clipboard  with a couple of good pens,
a note pad and pen for yourself,
a reading cloth for the table,
if the event is outside, some âhealing stonesâ to put on the cards so that they donât blow away,
some flyers or business cards if people want to get with you separately for readings. Â
If you have a business, have a separate sheet or guest book so you can get peopleâs names, addresses, and emails for follow-up.Â
any fun âfortune-tellerâ accouterments for your table, such as a crystal ball, a candle and candle holder, and so forth)
Clothing to put you and the querents âin the moodâ, and in layers so you can adjust to temperature changes.
Cushion for folding chairs. Â This extra bit of comfort helps!
If you continue to do charity events, fairs, or other such events, a professional-looking sign canât hurt.
4) See if you can have a semi-private space for doing the readings.  Some people, regardless of the eventâs atmosphere, arenât entirely comfortable getting a reading. They wonât want people standing around watching as you give them one.  Also, depending on the event, you may have the risk of drunks and noise.  Itâs nice to minimize the eventâs atmosphere so you can keep your head on straight. A separate room is ideal, or at the very least, a table with a privacy screen.  Ask BEFOREHAND to see if this sort of space can be provided to you.
5) For that matter, get to the event early, find out where the host wants you to set up, and make sure that will work for you. Â If not, youâll have time to work something out with the host.
6) If the eventâs so large (or the interest so high) that you need to use the sign-up sheet, find out if anyone needs to go do something else and schedule them first. You might suggest that the people who are comfortable waiting longer go later during the event. This will give you an idea of how many people you have to work with and how long you can expect to be at the event.
7) During the event, introduce yourself to querents and say a few things about the tarot, yourself as a reader, and what will happen during each session. Think of it like the patter that a waiter gives when he comes to your table, only instead of saying, âHi, Iâm Amy, Iâll be your server.  Tonightâs specials from Chef Castro are grilled lamb with mint sauce and spaghetti puttanescaâ, you sayâHi, Iâm Amy, and Iâll be reading tarot for you.  We only have five minutes since there are so many people here tonight. Tarotâs a great tool for self-exploration and discovering what you know.  Did you have a particular question, or were you looking for a general reading?â  At the end, you can say âOur timeâs up right now, and obviously there is more we could explore. I offer private readings by appointment. Hereâs my business card. Give me a call if you want to set up a longer session.  Thanks for getting a reading from me tonight, I hope you enjoyed it!â
9)  Speaking of the business card: when you construct your business card, donât fill it with info. Simple is better. You only need your name, what you do, preferred phone # and e-mail on it. Do not use your physical address or your personal phone where wackos can stalk you.
10) General Reading Tips:Â
If you do get a private room to do readingsâ-NEVER EVER EVER Â close the door when youâre in there with a querent, male OR female. Â You avoid a lot of trouble that way.
Shuffle the cards while the querent concentrates on their question. Â Then fan them out face-down and let them push three (or five, or however many) cards towards you. The great thing that Iâve found about letting the querent choose their own cards is this: when weâre discussing a situation in the querentâs life and the querent asks me how the tarot can be so eerily accurate, I tell them, âI donât know. YOU chose the cards. Iâm only interpreting them.â I feel it really does bring the querent into the reading, they feel that they are more of an active part, rather than just the cold subject.Â
As a rule, I donât ask for their question and ask that they not tell me. It makes it more difficult for me to interpret the cards if Iâm trying to interpret everything to a definite question, so I donât.
You donât need to read each individual card on its own. Imagine a general story for the reading as a whole before getting to the nitty gritty of any individual cards. Details flow out of a good story, and this lets you simply skip over cards which are more difficult to discern. If three out of five cards are court cards, you can say âI see so many court cards - Are there are a lot of people in your life? Youâre so popular! Has your life been very dramatic lately?â. You can then treat them as a group that is basically a single card with three people in it, and come back to them as you see fit.
By the same token, in a longer reading where you have time, you can make all the cards clear. In a timed situation, you deliver your interpretations without making your process totally transparent - You simply donât have the time.
I like to state interpretations as yes/no questions. Sometimes this can be dangerous if someones a talker, but sometimes letting someone talk gives what little you get to say much more weight - and people are impressed by good listening. I find interaction crucial in good readings, and helps you because it gives you a wealth of feedback in the texture of their response.
Move the cards around when it helps. I find placing them in relation to eachother based on how I understand them can help me quickly interpret, and it looks neat to the querent. This helps me read much fasterÂ
11) Keep a bottle of water handy at all timesâyouâll be talking quickly, and a lot. Â Avoid other beverages at the eventâsticking to water will help keep you clear and focused. Â
Itâs usually a good idea to have an emergency snack stowed away in your purse, in case you canât get away for food. Â
Schedule breaks for yourself, and have a hard limit as to when youâl stop reading. More than 4 or 5 hours and you really run the risk of burn-out if youâre not used to reading that much
12) Be prepared for skeptics. Â Some folks will get a beer in them and start in on you. Â Laugh them off.
13)Â I wouldnât read for anyone under 18 without their parent/legal guardian present, I wouldnât do questions on health, and I wouldnât do third-party readings.
14) If you get cornered on the under-18 thing, (High School Grad Nights are always looking for readers) there are just some questions you should not answer, and some information you do not want to get into. Use your common sense, remember that youâre reading for people for whom a lot of small things are very intense. Your goal with teens is to empower, not to depress.
15)Â When you think youâre done for the night, expect that youâll be doing at least three more readings for people who rush up when they see you packing to leave.
.Good luck! Â Have fun!
