Reading Out Loud – Part One: The Venues

Halloween is rapidly approaching, and after that the bulk of the seasonal holidays start rolling in. This is generally a busy time, as everyone seems to be hosting a party, charity event, psychic fair, or some sort of festive gathering, and they’re often looking for tarot readers. I’ve done my fair share of readings at various venues, and thought I’d share a few things that I’ve learned over the years.

A Guide to Tarot Reading in Public Venues

Tarot reading in public requires quite a bit of stamina, so it’s not for the faint-hearted. Since I’m long out of the “I need the practice, so I will read for free” days, I don’t read at events where there will be a crush of people unless I am being compensated for it. I’ve done quite a few of free Tarot readings over the years, and still do them, but I choose who I wish to read for, and read at my leisure, when I have the time and energy available. In my opinion, money is energy and a medium of exchange like any other, so I don’t have a problem with charging for a reading. If you do, and want to read for free, that’s fine, too. Just be aware that reading for 50+ people, one after another, within a limited time frame, is a whole different animal than doing one reading for a friend on a lazy Saturday afternoon! I’d advise starting out at events or locales with a smaller attendance at first so as not to be overwhelmed. I wouldn’t suggest that your first public job be a charity event with hundreds in attendance–that’s a bit daunting for a first-timer. A small party at a friend’s house with 5-6 people who want readings would be a better choice.

Restaurants

Restaurants are my favourite places to read Tarot. By “restaurant” I mean a nice, quiet, upscale-type place, not a McDonald’s or a noisy diner. I once read for a corporate event at a charming restaurant in Manhattan called Candela (it’s now defunct). It had an uber-gothic decor, walls in reds and crimsons with candles dripping wax into gigantic iron candleholders – very “Dark Shadows”, for those oldsters who remember that TV show! I was there with my cards, along with 2 friends, one a tarot reader and the other an astrologer, for a corporate party. Each of us had a relatively private area to read in, and the event was quite successful and relatively stress-free. My only complaint was that I was too busy to eat dinner there!

My favourite restaurant gig is at a lovely inn that is supposedly haunted by a ghost from the Revolutionary War era (I haven’t seen her yet, though). Several times a year they host special events, featuring gourmet food and wine, plus tarot and psychic readings. They feed the readers quite well before the event, set up tables for us in a quiet area, bring us water throughout the evening, and the manager leads people to us and even will point to his watch when I’m gabbing a bit too much with one person, letting me know it’s time to move on to the next.

As with other public Tarot readings, it’s always best to check in advance where you will be sitting (you really don’t want to be positioned next to the one-man-band dude with the accordion and cymbals sprouting from head). Also inquire as to how many people you will be expected to read for, how long the event will last, and whether there will be other readers if the event is expected to attract more than 25 attendees. One good thing about restaurants is that they often require people to confirm their reservations, so you generally have a decent idea of how many people will show up.

Charity and Corporate Events

These events often pose the most pitfalls for tarot readers. Usually the person in charge of hiring the “entertainment” has no idea what a tarot reader is, or does, or what your requirements might be. Often these wind up being huge events, with hundreds of attendees, many of whom want a reading, so your first question needs to be:

• “How many people do you expect at this event?”

…and your second should be:

• “How many readers are you hiring for this event, in addition to me?”

In my experience, event planners have been known to have no clue that you need more than one reader for 300 people. Also, they often want to pay you a flat fee for the event for a given number of hours. The good thing about this is that the amount is clearly defined–the bad thing is that if they have too many people and not enough readers, they’ll often want you to put in extra hours and keep reading (without expecting to pay you more for it), so you can wind up exhausted and underpaid. The best thing to do is to make it clear that if you’re hired for 5 hours for X amount, then after 5 hours you plan to pick up your cards and zip right out of there, unless they are willing to negotiate for more hours – and more compensation. I’ve learned the hard way on this one.

Another thing to discuss with the event planner is where you will be sitting. Again, most party planner types don’t understand that a tarot reader is a bit different from the guy who makes balloon animals, so you need to spell out your requirements. Ask if they have a quiet area or you’ll wind up in front of speakers blasting heavy metal music, or next to the bar, or on top of the buffet area. And make sure they understand you need a table and two chairs (this sounds really stupid, but you’d be surprised how many people seem to think you can flit like a tarot-tossing butterfly from table to table all night.)

Psychic Fairs

Many communities have psychic fairs where readers can set up a table. Sometimes you have to pay for a table, other times you’ve been invited and there’s no charge. I’ve worked at both and have had good experiences in general with fairs. If you’re paying for a table, especially at a fair you have never worked before, it can be a bit of a gamble as to whether you’ll take in enough to make it worth your while…a rainy or snowy day can keep attendance down and you may not wind up with enough people to justify your time, travel expenses, etc. for that day.

It helps if all the readers at the fair charge approximately the same amount, and sometimes the readers will get together and agree on a fair price in advance, which works out quite well. Most people at fairs don’t want to spend a great deal for a mini-reading so if you’re charging more than everyone else, you probably won’t have as many people at your table. An added bonus of psychic fairs is you often get to meet fellow tarot readers, psychics, astrologers, and healers and make a few new friends along the way.

One minus is that the potential for burnout can be high, especially if the fair is well attended and not well-organized, or if you find yourself in a situation where a large number of people attend and, even though there are a variety of readers available, you’re the only tarot reader–and everyone suddenly decides that they want a tarot reading! This is where a sign-up sheet comes in handy. If you have multitudes clamouring for a reading, you need a notebook and pen to start a list of names so you know who is next in line. I’ve had people practically get into fistfights in front of my table because #5 tried to cut in front of #3 for a reading!

Bars

Unless you know the owners personally and it’s an elegant, quiet and uncrowded little wine bar with no insanely huge television sets blaring football games, AND has a specific area set aside for you to do readings, I’d avoid reading at bars. Besides the general noise level, the main reason for this recommendation is obvious: DRUNKS! Drunks find themselves very amusing, but unfortunately very few other people feel the same way. They’re loud, obnoxious and tend to say idiotic things to you as they stagger by (that is, if you can understand them at all). If they do request a reading from you, they won’t listen to what you say anyway (hey, they’re drunk!) so what’s the point? Plus all that booze messes with their auras, making for a less than pleasant reading experience. Trust me on this one.

Private Parties/Home Parties

These parties can be great fun. Someone has a birthday or special occasion and invites friends over for readings. This works best when there’s a smaller number of people invited. If you’re reading by yourself, make sure the host understands that if you’re there for, say, 3 hours, there’s no way you can read for everyone at party attended by 60+ people. And establish how you’re going to be paid in advance:

• Is the host going to pay you, or will each guest pay a certain amount as they sit down for the reading?
• If you’re being paid for 3 hours and the party runs to 4 or 5, will you be paid extra?
• How far away is the party?
• If you have to travel a long way, will you charge for travel time/gasoline?

Often you will do a free reading for the host/birthday boy or girl as part of the deal.

I once read at a large party in Manhattan. There were hordes of people invited, so I was very busy, but they found a nice space for me in a bedroom with a door that could be closed, which really helped me focus (and maintain a bit of privacy for those I was reading). A day or two later, someone told me that Howard Stern was talking about the same party on his radio show and said they’d had a tarot reader, but he hadn’t gone for a reading. Now that might have been interesting!

Join me tomorrow for Part Two of Read Out Loud: A Guide to Tarot Reading in Public, where I will explore some of the pitfalls of public Tarot reading; and share some valuable insights into how you can have a better experience by learning how to deal with event organisers, timing readings under pressure, and even how to overcome RBS – Reader Burnout Syndrome, using my secret remedy!

Valerie Sylvester

Valerie Sylvester is a Professional Tarot Reader, keen astrologer, creative writer and lover of all things metaphysical. She’s also a warm, charming and delightful woman. If you would like to book a private or public venue Tarot reading with Valerie, she can be contacted via Tarot Elements.

Images courtesy of Scenes Along The Road, Cafe Vivian, Princeton University and Cinema Scope India.

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Tagged as: Contributors, Psychic Fair, Public Tarot Readings, Tarot Parties, Tarot Reader, Tarot Reading