Reading Professionally
This was my first big weekend as a professional tarot reader and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d read for the owners, sales and relations coordinators, and bartenders at my partnership locations, Weston Wine Company and Cinder Block Brewery, but this was real deal one on one time with multiple clients in a day. Curious strangers came to me with varying levels of skepticism, excitement, and trepidation. I was anxious. What if I sucked? What if I forgot everything I’d learned? What if I was totally off base in a reading and the client left frustrated and disappointed? It reminded me of the fears I had as a teacher, but what I wound up experiencing was exceptionally beautiful.
Intense
If you decide to take up the mantle of spiritual advisor and guide for the general public, get ready for some intense personal stories to come your way. Tarot is a fantastic medium for talking about a person’s life, but sometimes clients are exceedingly vulnerable. They come looking for answers and guidance in the cards, hoping that their potential outcomes will be positive. I felt immense pressure and a heavy weight of responsibility to walk them through each card of their story as openly and honestly as I could. Tarot is a mirror held to the subconscious, I merely lift the veil so you can see yourself better, and some clients saw their truth instantly. I didn’t soften the outcomes because there’s no point in softening the truth, but I listened and helped them explore their options gently. Some clients cried while I held their hands and my heart went out to them.
Brief
Some clients sat with me for an hour or more in the rain, laying their life story on the table as I listened intently, but many others spent only 15 or 20 minutes with me. I don’t set a time limit on my readings- yet. There were times this weekend where I realized boundaries definitely needed to be placed on my time, but most readings were brief. I thoroughly enjoyed being present in the moment with each client and only struggled a few times to remember their names. I have a feeling that the vast majority of my clients will be these brief moments in time, snapshots that fade into memory, but in a world of constant distraction these minutes of connection with other humans are to be treasured.
Meaningful
Every single reading was meaningful. Even people who didn’t get a reading were fun to talk to. Some passersby gave me the stink eye. Others were instantly convinced the cards would predict their death. I assured them that I was neither psychic, nor a medium. A tarot reading is just a different way of looking at your life, and some of them joined me at the table. I hope I helped. I hope some clients go out and get their own decks because they saw value in self examination through the card archetypes. My biggest takeaway was that I love this work. It’s incredible and the connections I’m making, even briefly, are meaningful to me. I’m hooked.