Your tarot table

Umbrae said:

Doo Dads, Knick-Knacks, Gizmo's and Whirley-Bobs do NOT create atmosphere, they detract.

Your job is to read Tarot. Interior design is not part of your job description.

Click to expand...

Oh dear, well-meaning Umbrae could you be more wrong? People do not just pay for a string of information, they pay for a reading from a tarot reader. The objects, or in your case lack of objects, convey your brand identity as a tarot reader to the client. They help the querent choose the reader most suited to their expectations/needs/beliefs/style from the sea of tarot readers out there. Your own choice not to have a heavily adorned reading space sends a few messages including "straight-forward" and "confident."

It's best that the objects and colors that make their way to your table come together in an organic way to strengthen your style as a reader. A few larger items will generally create a better, more relaxing setting than a collection of miniatures. Instead of having a large pile of small stones on the table bring along one or two pieces that will aid in a harmonious reading. If you want a statue on there, don't bring along the entire pantheon either (a mistake I made early on) pick one nice statue of a deity/angel/being you connect with strongly. You may get the approach from someone who just wants to say "Oh that's very lovely" giving you the chance to say "Yes I've always felt so inspired by Isis." If they go even further with this line of inquiry it won't be long before they sit down and having a reading.

If you are buying a soda, breakfast cereal, or pasta sauce do you turn over each container and read all of the nutritional information or do you pick one or two that look especially attractive to you that seem to merit closer inspection? You can't give every potential client a laundry list of your beliefs and background. You can effectively communicate that instead with just the right mystical tchotchke.

everything used is fitted into an aluminium camera case,black in colour and padded inside.IT contains.............. computer side speakers+power supply, (stereo) the speakers have a volume control.............,A portable CD player+power supply..............,A folding travel clock........,A collection of meditative CD's...........A small battery powered recorder,plus tapes plus batteries (not often used)..........,The tarot cards,.........A crystal (holds the $,+vibes,cleanses)..........a small coloured towel(to wipe sweaty hands and brows in summer).........a 4 socket plug and lead(may have to share a power socket or leads)..........3 mtr extension cord............4 large paper clamps(the ones with folding wings,they lay flat when used to hold the table cloth stretched).........a scarf of silk(large,as a table cover cloth,folds up small too)......................note book,pens,small pkts tissues...........
close the lid, grab the sign under arms and we're off........train ,plane,auto
it's all there in one small package,......it's using the K.I.S.S. principal(keep it simple silly!).....if you have to move,its easy.........
the table sometimes used is a folding card table,it's comfortable to use ,and small enough to fit into that confined space.......use one open chair for the clients and have for yourself the armed ,larger people or disabilitied clients find the armed ones easier to rise from, change them round when necessary.In that small space the armless one is less hassle to negotiate into/out of,

These are just suggestions and mind nibblies to chew over...

Well,...if I wanted to be an interior designer, I would have gone to school to be one.

No, I read the Tarot and I find that simplest is best. I like a simple table preferably wood if I can. If not, then a nice card table will do, with a tablecloth, nothing garish or terribly ornate. I want the sitter to concentrate on the reading not the pattern on the tablecloth. As far as putting things on the table, the only things I have are a deck and my watch. My water bottle, a box with tissue packets, (hint* women like them as they can stick them in their purse, wads of tissue doesn't cut it), pad and pen are on the floor in either a box or on top of a box. I don't use music, I find it distracting, but then that is me. Others may find it soothing and spiritual.

Last night I was at the Reader's Studio having a wonderful time, when I saw one of the girls sit down and take a customer in the lounge. All she had to work with was the noise of the lounge (we were being very rowdy ), a table, two chairs and her deck. She was with her client for about 45 min to an hour, and when they were done the client was thrilled with the reading, hugged her to death, wiped tears out of his eyes, and went away very enlightened. She did that with hardly anything except her ability as a reader, her deck, and the rowdy noise of a lounge.

The trappings are all about you. Reading should be all about the sitter, not you. Simplify!

Sitters want a reading, not atmosphere. They may not even notice all the "stuff". If you were to ask them later what the reading space was like, they couldn't tell you much. But if you ask them about what their reading said, they can tell you almost word-for-word. And ask them what their reader was like, they can describe your empathy, accuracy, and the connection you made with them, but probably won't be able to describe much about how you looked.

I understand the need for minimal clutter and I agree the table itself should be bare, but I if I were to have a reading room, it would certainly have more than a table and two chairs. It almost seems as if some of you are saying that you can't possibly be a legitimate reader if you don't strip down to bare bone. I disagree.

In MY reading room, I'd have a little more going on. No "bells and whistles" as you say, but enough to make MYSELF comfortable as well as the querant. I think it's up to each of us to decide what feels best, and as Shade basically said, your own individual style will attract the clientele that is right for you, and you for them.

I am growing more confident by the day in my reading ability, and I'd want a pretty, comfortable, uncluttered yet still warmly decorated room, and have no fear that it would detract from my reading ability, or the querant's experience.

Actually, since she's reading in a salon, I'd try to keep the decor pretty much like what's in the rest of the salon or at least really compatible.

Bare bones doesn't have to mean stark. It just means that the reader, the sitter and the cards should be the main focus. Readers often get so caught up in "image" and "atmosphere" that they forget it can detract from the real reason for being there which is, of course, the sitter and the reading.

Grizabella said:

Actually, since she's reading in a salon, I'd try to keep the decor pretty much like what's in the rest of the salon or at least really compatible.

Click to expand...

I absolutely agree with this. There's not really a whole lot you can, or should do in a situation as such.

Grizabella said:

Bare bones doesn't have to mean stark. It just means that the reader, the sitter and the cards should be the main focus. Readers often get so caught up in "image" and "atmosphere" that they forget it can detract from the real reason for being there which is, of course, the sitter and the reading.

Click to expand...

Yep, I see the point. My perfect room does not feature carnival gaudiness or overkill, but I like warm colors, texture, and a softly inviting atmosphere, and it does seem to enable my concentration when I feel "nestled" with the reading. Stark would be a drag for me. And I want my querant to be comfortable as well. I don't really know how to say what I'm thinking here, but in my head I see myself going for a reading and I think a room too stark would make me feel uncomfortable and rushed, while too much would be uncomfortable oversaturation.

I've been to the fairs where folks show up in costume, and lay out a huge assortment of gee-gaws; I've seen the reading rooms that look like a carnival Dark House Ride... And some folks wonder why the public has bad ideas about Tarot, when its US that keep Tarot in the dark ages.

Sure there are sitters who want a personal ghost story, I let them go to the pseudo-vampire reader who plays dress up.

But there are sitters out there with very real problems. And if the reader is more concerned about atmosphere, they are going to blow the reading.

If the sitter is suicidal (and if you read long enough you'll get them), and you blithely give them the number to the suicide hotline like it says to in the book, (but what you don't know is that they've been given that answer already- that is not an option for them. They want a reading, a real reading) they will take their own life. They may take their children with them.

Spending time on atmosphere is fine for some. And I understand that my views are extreme - it's okay to disagree with me (it really is). Divergent opinions are what makes good card games and horse races.

But you need to visit some of these folks. Some have great atmosphere - but cannot read the cards.

Plus I'm a guy - what the hell do I know about decorating?!?! Now where did I put my tutu?

My point for doing a such a provocative post back on the other page is that a new reader, just starting out, IMO, should concentrate on getting one deck they are comfortable with, that they can read day or night, and concentrate on the reading aspects.

The decor will happen, slowly over time - and it'll all be good. But the focus, should be on learning to relate to the sitter.

Communication (something I'm WAY better at in person than in text format, trust me), conveying what the cards (and the glorp) are telling us is of paramount importance.

as a tarot reader - you are dealing with very real problems, of very real people, face to face.

And nothing is more rewarding. It charges the spirit. It gives grace. Its an act of gratitude.

And if you don't like your table, you go buy a new one! But don't get hung up on the Gee-Gaws or the costume.

When I was a stock broker, all the other guys had bulls and bear prints on their walls. I had a Parish print (first run 1916 for Chase Chocolate co) and an original T. Wassmer on the other. It worked for me.

But as a broker I did the same thing I do as a reader - I concentrate on the relationship, on the process of reading, the unfolding of the event...

The table? I read at bar tables for years...what the hell do I know?

OK, I've read on everything from milk crates, bus benches to card tables, picnic tables, pool tables, restaurant tables & coffee tables. Nowadays I use a small 20" bar table I bought in a billiards shop & modified the base so the top will collapse. I paid $25 for it because it was scratched. I use various reading clothes. I offer sitters a tape of the sitting. I use an hourglass to time the session.

I keep it simple, basic -- no knick-knacks or gee-gaws -- like Umbrae says I leave that for the side shows. My dress is usually casual business.

Mac22