First time reading Tarot in public

A while ago a friend wrote that the CLUB (that´s literally how the place is called) where he is doing drag shows is looking for a Tarot reader to do their thing. I jumped on the idea and contacted the place.

And yesterday I came, set up my little table with some candles, a small sign and a box for tips and waited for the curious night dwellers to read their fortune.
This was my first time reading Tarot to anyone except from me and Boris. Which meant I was about to confront people I see for the first time (possibly drunk) to try and make sense of their current situation with the help of the classic Rider Wait deck.

Here are some conclusions of that night:

1. People were taking me very seriously. Just when I thought to break the stereotype of a big ass mysterious "psychic" (as if...) picking out cards with her long fingernails to candlelight telling you prophesies you are afraid to hear (aka my Tumblr), and instead try to make my readings as mundane as possible so that people could make a somewhat rational sense of it - I was surprised to see that people were eager for the mystery and drama, and aside from showering me with the stories of their life (which I liked a lot) also expected me to show some kind of clairvoyance and "magic".

I would never want a spiritual person to tell me  that things are black and white, because the are not. Instead I tried describing both possible outcomes of a certain situation. Some accepted it, and some didn´t. People actually expected me to give relatively specific answers, which is understandable but also kind of... old fashioned? Exaggerated? Maybe I had a different approach to it than what people had in mind.
Generally though things worked out well, and I enjoyed reading the cards with them.

2. Not knowing the person is quite the challenge. If I was used to read cards for myself, taking the time to interpret each card and possibly read a bit on it later, here the dynamic was different- I had to interpret a situation on the spot, and the little info I got about the person the more difficult it was.

It also depended on how much the person was willing to tell me, how much was "going on in their life" etc. I wondered how much from the reading is to rely on the information that a person is telling me about themselves, and how much the cards decide to reveal to me. Basically it can all be interpreted very vaguely, and again I feared to be too specific.


3. Knowing the cards is key. I realized that I knew the cards to some degree, but there was so much more that I could draw out from them. And that deserves more reading and learning on my part. Reading Tarot is a practical craft, and I faced the appropriate challenges with the limited knowledge that I had. I am now more eager to learn the cards than ever, and I am excited for my next reading.

4. I had a ton of fun. Sitting at the table all gothy and mystical has really boost my confidence. Not only that, but I enjoyed talking about life experiences and lessons with different people. These kind of conversations are something that I miss often, I don´t really have them with friends and I realized this was something that encourages me and brings me life.
Even though I did only 4 readings in total and got somewhat undertipped, it was incredibly rewarding when a person put some coins in that box, and I could help them look at their current situation from a different perspective. It made me happy to see the excitement in their eyes, and attuning myself to a new person was very interesting as well.


Do you have any experience in reading Tarot to others? Would you have the cards read for you?

N. Finsternis