24 September 2015

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

12 comments:

  1. That whole experience sounded really cool!

    I totally agree with you, the cards do not tell specific black and white facts but more like possible outcomes and they show multiple ways to see the situation. I can understand why people would expect the mystics and drama and specific statements about the future: not many people are that familiar with tarot cards and all they might have as background information is a couple of tacky horror movies with stereotypical fortuneteller saying "oh, you will meet a strange man and he will be a werewolf" or something. :D

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    1. haha, straight to the point! Hope I will be able to connect with the people and keep a clear head at the same time next time I read :P

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  3. Very cool! Congrats on your first pro reading! I've done a number of readings for people, and like you said, they live drama and mystery. Sometimes I play up the suspense "well the last card mentioned a big change, so this next card will tell you why. (Insert a recap of the reading so far...to delay for the suspense) Everything will be revealed in the next card. Let's see what that is...it could be good, it could be bad...." Turns the card over sloooowly.

    Difficult people who are disagreeable generally have an interpretation in their heads that is opposite of what you're telling them.... For those I ask them "well OK... Then who is the king of cups?" Or "what is the traumatic event the cards are describing?" Once they tell me, I just steer the reading that way.

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    1. thank you so much for the tips! I desperately need some practical advice, reading from books is one thing, but it´s field reports what I really need!

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  4. I know how to read from the runes and been thinking to start reading from them in public too someday :) Congratulations of your first reading!

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    1. sounds cool! Runes are still a mystery to me, as there are so many different kinds! You should totally do it!

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  5. For me things like these are too intimate to do with a stranger buuut congrats to you on getting that chance :-D

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    1. I doubt if I would have someone read the cards for me, as I have a personal connection with anything esoteric, so I try to do it as lightheaded as possible with other people, but they seem to demand the drama!

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  6. Wow, well done! I don't think I'm good enough to do professional tarot readings like that, but it sounds like you got on really well. Tarot services on etsy are painfully undervalued IMO, so I'm unfortunately not surprised by your undertipping.

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    1. I thought people would jump on the idea when they see a living person reading cards, and not someone hidden behind the internet curtain. I do hope to live up to the statement of "professional card reader", doesn´t feel like that yet hehe.

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