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Reading
for Others
Addressing the client
/ Doing the actual reading This section will address issues for reading for friends and family as well as reading on a professional (i.e. - money-making) level. I refer to the person you are reading for as the client. It is one thing to practice on friends and family but before you consider doing a reading for money, make sure you know your spreads if you use them by heart and that you are comfortable and confident enough in your abilities not to need to refer to a book. People won't want to pay you or trust your readings if you have to look up the meaning of cards or a position in a spread. If you are looking to do readings on a professional level for strangers, first and foremost, know your state/county/town laws. In some places, it can be considered illegal to do divination for money. As you may have seen on Bewitching Ways, we have a notice posted regarding "Charlatan laws." Many areas have old laws in place to protect citizens from being ripped off and defrauded. These laws may date back to the days of the traveling circus/carnival and the good-old snake doctors. The best way to get around this is to post a sign saying "for entertainment purposes only." But be sure to know the laws. Are Tarot readings for entertainment legal there? Can you promote readings? Where are they allowed to be done? Readers in my county have been shut down and fined over these laws. Doing your homework in advance can save you time, money and stress later. If you are operating in an area that has Charlatan laws, be sure that your client understands that this reading is "for entertainment purposes only" You may also want your client to sign a waiver saying they understand that the information involved in the reading is not set in stone and you are not held liable for any action taken or not taken as a result of the reading. This is what we affectionately call "covering our asses." Before I begin any reading, I go over with my client exactly what I intend to do. I also tell them that I am not a fortuneteller. I cannot tell them their future because their future is not set in stone. What I can offer them is the probable outcome based on their current path. And that with each decision we make, we alter our future. If they do not like the direction the cards take in the reading, they have the power to change the outcome by making different decisions along the way. I find it is very important to make that statement because some people take your word for law and can be very upset when the things we say do not come into pass. As sad as it is, we live in a sue-happy time. It is not unheard of for Tarot readers to be sued because of their readings (mental stress and anguish among other charges). That is why I suggest stressing that your client has free will over any situation's outcome and having them sign the waiver. Which brings us to another precaution. It is strongly suggested that you do not do a reading for anyone who is pregnant. Again, as outlandish as it may sound, it is not unheard of for a reader to get sued if, Goddess forbid, something were to happen to the pregnancy or the baby. (Along the same lines, it is not recommend that you do any magick or Reiki or any healing for a pregnant woman unless you get that waiver signed. Even then I personally wouldn't do it unless I knew that person extremely well and they understood exactly what I was doing.) The next important thing to address is assumptions. Do not make assumptions about your clients and never let your assumptions or impressions of your client interfere with your readings. They may or may not be there for help and advice. They may or may not be there just for fun or to trip you up. Do not assume that because someone comes in dress in ripped jeans and a Harley tank top that this man is not a highly paid VP of some company. Your job is to read the cards, not the person or their body language, which can be deceiving, especially if your client is trying to test you. And believe me, people will do this. Two other big assumptions to avoid: · Assuming you know your client's sexual orientation. Just because the cards are indicating a relationship and they are of the opposite sex, it does not mean it is a heterosexual relationship. Remember you are dealing with male and female ENERGY not people. And sometimes the male energy can represent an aggressive, driven, determined woman and vice versa. If you are unsure, do not say a man is coming into your life, but say someone with strong male energy. · Assuming the client will not lie to you. Clients will often not tell the truth or the whole truth because some of the information that may come up in the cards could be very personal and they might not feel like talking about it or they may flat out deny it (as happened to me when the cards repeatedly where showing me my client was in an abusive relationship.) You need to use your judgment here. If it is a situation where they might be embarrassed, continue with the reading, treating it with respect. Or if you feel they are lying to be difficult or to test you, you always have the option of ending the reading and returning their fee. Otherwise, you will end up frustrated and get no where, which will only give this type of people more credit to their argument against you and your abilities. Your client may come to you with assumptions of their own that you may have to overcome. They may believe you can see the future; that your word is law; that God or spirits are talking directly through you in the reading; that you are always right; that a reading can answer all their questions or solve their problem; that you have all the answers, etc. On the flip side, you may also stumble across difficult clients who assume you know nothing or that you are a fraud and are there simply to challenge and test you. And you may also find clients who view the cards as evil or dangerous but somehow end up on the other side of your table. These people may have preset notions regarding the card (especially the death card) that you will have to address. You might want to take a few minutes to chat with your client so you can get a feel as to what they expect from your reading. This will give you a chance to address any assumptions they might have. Remember, you do not have to read for everyone who asks and you can end a reading at any time for any reason. If your client isn't working with you and/or is trying your patience, end it. It is much better to give a refund than to have them bad mouth you and ruin your rep. Depending on who you are reading for, you may want to spend a few minutes chatting over a cup of tea. Not only will this help put the client at ease, it also gives some time for your energies to connect before a reading begins. When reading for others, you want to follow the same set up you do for yourself. If you use a cloth, spread it out. If you do a ritual or use incense, candles, gemstones, etc. follow the same pattern when reading for others. You can either do this before your client arrives or right before you begin. Use your best judgment; you don't want to freak out a client by smudging them if they are not used to it. Don't forget to turn off the TV, the phones (your client's cell phone) and shut the pets out. Make sure the atmosphere is at a comfortable temperature. When you are both ready, pull out your cards. It is up to you as to whether or not you allow the seeker to touch your cards. Some readers encourage their seekers to shuffle the deck so that they can infuse it with their energy. Some readers don't even touch the deck once they pass it on to the client. Others don't let seekers touch their deck for the same reason. They prefer to have no one else's energy on the deck but their own. The choice is yours. I suggest practicing on friends both ways and see which way gives you the best readings. Other things to consider: Will you have them cut the deck? Will you pull cards off the top of the deck or at random? Will you let them pull cards? Will you ask your client what they are looking for or just lay cards and see what comes up? Will you pick a spread or let them chose one? You may want to provide your client with paper and a pen to take notes. Some readers tape their sessions for their clients. Some do neither. Again, this is up to you. As you or your client
shuffle the cards, instruct your client to think of their question.
This is very important. If they don't focus, it will show in the
reading. It might come up completely blank or make no sense whatsoever.
If this happens, gather the cards and ask them to shuffle again,
reminding them that they really must concentrate while doing so. And just like in your own readings, whether you do an intuitive or by-the-book, be sure to pay attention to any Major Arcana and any multiples of number or face cards or of suits. Be sure to point out to your client why these are significant. If you are doing a timed reading, be sure to pace yourself. Do not spend the first 10 minutes on three cards and then rush through the remaining seven cards in 5 minutes. If your customer is paying, they will most likely feel cheated. I suggest avoiding set time-limits for readings until you are sure you can get it done in that set amount of time. Unless I am at a fair or somewhere where my readings are being done for entertainment purposes as opposed to spiritual, I never use a time limit. I do readings for as long as it takes and until all my client's questions are answered. I've had readings last 90 minutes. Never ever judge someone while doing a reading. Yes, sometimes, the cards may show you something that may turn your stomach but I highly recommend that you hold your tongue, finish the reading and quickly usher the person out of your space. You are not there render judgment upon your clients' actions or life. Leave that up to Karma. If you find your personal feelings are interfering with the reading. End it immediately. And along those lines, understand that you cannot get emotionally involved in a reading. Sometimes we uncover unpleasant things. It is not our job to make our clients better or be their therapist. Unless you have a psychology degree, leave the counseling alone. Your job is to present them with the information the God, Goddess and the spirits of the universe deem necessary for this person to have. Sometimes they will offer up a course of action to fix the situation, but make sure that is something you are getting from the cards and not your own opinion or suggestion your offering. I am not saying you need to have a heart of stone. By all means, be sensitive to your client's emotions, but do not get caught up in them yourselves. There have been several times when a client has burst into tears during a reading. I offer them tissues, a drink and some time, but I do not try to counsel them in areas I am not trained in. I am not qualified to solve the world's problems but I will point my client in the right direction if I can. I do keep a list of some emergency numbers: runaway hotlines, domestic abuse, child abuse, rape and sexual assault. Let the experts handle the actual counseling. Always end your reading with a summery. Not only does this offer a professional end to the reading, it also helps the important information to stick in the client's mind. It is also good if you can add a course of action in that summery as well. (An example: It looks like that although you might not get that contract this time around, if you put in the effort to polish your presentation, you most likely will have more success in the future.) Always, always, always remind your clients that the future is not set in stone, that each decision we make changes our future. If they don't like the way a reading comes out, it is within their power to change that outcome. A reading is simply based on all the circumstances at that particular point in space and time. Here is an example of why you want to stress this point: I've had a person come back to me after a reading and say "You said I wouldn't get the job and I did and you are a fraud." But once I talked to him and I reminded him that I said if he went into the interview in his normal loud, boisterous way, he wouldn't get the job. Then I asked him how he behaved at the interview. He said he remembered my comments and was reserved. I did not lie to the man. He simply internalized my suggestions without realizing it and changed his behavior accordingly. He made a decision that affected the outcome of the situation. Was I wrong? No. But because the outcome the cards gave wasn't what happened, he labeled me a fraud. Once your client leaves, you may want to smudge your space, especially if it was a very negative or intense reading. Also, you may want to consider cleansing your cards. As mentioned earlier, a quick way to cleanse them is to put them in numerical order. You may want to do that in between readings to try to keep the extra energy off the cards so it doesn't interfere with future readings. Reading for others can be very draining. Don't be surprised if you find yourself exhausted after doing some readings. Over time, you will build up your tolerance and learn how to shield yourself and not get emotional in your readings. But that takes practice. Eventually you will develop the right ritual and techniques for you to become an efficient, excellent reader. Also, be prepared to deal with some, ah-hem, jerks along the way. You will get people who will try to test you, challenge you and argue with you. They might call you names, rub you the wrong way and make you want to curse them. But don't lose your temper. Simply stop the reading and tell them you are sorry but you cannot continue and give them their money back. It is not worth the frustration and energy it would take to deal with these kinds of people. And if that weren't enough, if you are doing readings in public, you might also have to deal with people who come up to you and tell you Tarot readings are wrong, the work of the devil, dangerous, etc. etc. Be prepared to calmly ask them to leave because they are interfering with your business. If they don't, do not lower yourself to arguing with them. Ask security to remove them. Never fight in public with anyone over your readings for any reason. Your reputation is everything as a reader. Don't do anything to jeopardize it. You now have the tools you need to become a professional reader. All that is left is practice, practice, practice.
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