Reading tarot at mind, body, spirit festivals

starburst_au

Hey all,

I was just wondering if anyone has read tarot at a mind, body, spirit festival before and if so what was your experience?

I'm still a 'newbie' and haven't had a lot of experience reading face to face, mostly for friends and family.

I'm thinking it would be great experience for me as a 'tarot reader' in terms of potential people i'd be able to read for...

Because I value all your experience n' stuff do you think it's probably best to start small ie online readings then progress to a new age shop, then tackle a festival?

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Sb
 

lilac04

Hey all,

I was just wondering if anyone has read tarot at a mind, body, spirit festival before and if so what was your experience?

I'm still a 'newbie' and haven't had a lot of experience reading face to face, mostly for friends and family.

I'm thinking it would be great experience for me as a 'tarot reader' in terms of potential people i'd be able to read for...

Because I value all your experience n' stuff do you think it's probably best to start small ie online readings then progress to a new age shop, then tackle a festival?

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Sb
hi Star

I've heard that for some of the readers doing the festivals they feel like they're on a bit of a conveyer belt.

I don't know if you've ever been to those festivals before - but the last one i was at was open floor and there was a *long* line waiting - the energies can be very mixed and if you're not very focused you might get confused lol. Also because it's so open - (no booths etc.) it can develop a certain sort of atmosphere. It's a big open plan floor with lots of readers crammed into the one space, waiting for their next in line. I think if you're ready for it, that's okay but if you're not - i wouldn't do it!
 

starburst_au

hi Star

I've heard that for some of the readers doing the festivals they feel like they're on a bit of a conveyer belt.

I don't know if you've ever been to those festivals before - but the last one i was at was open floor and there was a *long* line waiting - the energies can be very mixed and if you're not very focused you might get confused lol. Also because it's so open - (no booths etc.) it can develop a certain sort of atmosphere. It's a big open plan floor with lots of readers crammed into the one space, waiting for their next in line. I think if you're ready for it, that's okay but if you're not - i wouldn't do it!

Thanks lilac04,

yeah, I don't know if i'm ready for it... I guess i'd see it as more 'experience' - read the cards and see if anything resonates for anyone.... I guess it would almost be like 'assessing' where my own skill set is at.... if that makes sense....

I'm not sure about the cost of having a 'table' but I've emailed the organisers. If it's overpriced to have a table, I won't be doing it.

Yeah I've been to heaps of 'spiritual' festivals.. stall with hippy git stuff and a bunch of readers... well like about 50 of them crammed into a space. The reading I got wasn't anything special... I've got way better readings from people on the forum lol.

Thanks for your insight :D

Cheers,
SB
 

annabel398

If you want to get experience, this sounds like the perfect venue--as long as you understand you're going to be cranking out readings at high speed. I've read at a fair and found it very energizing (exhausted afterward, of course). The best way to get experience reading f2f is to get out there and read f2f.

My facetious but kinda accurate little test: when you phone someone and unexpectedly get voice mail instead of the person, do you feel a little flustered or do you just rip out a message without a second thought? If the former, doing a high-volume venue might be taxing; if the latter, go for it.

Usual disclaimers about not charging people heaps of money, yadda yadda.
 

starburst_au

If you want to get experience, this sounds like the perfect venue--as long as you understand you're going to be cranking out readings at high speed. I've read at a fair and found it very energizing (exhausted afterward, of course). The best way to get experience reading f2f is to get out there and read f2f.

My facetious but kinda accurate little test: when you phone someone and unexpectedly get voice mail instead of the person, do you feel a little flustered or do you just rip out a message without a second thought? If the former, doing a high-volume venue might be taxing; if the latter, go for it.

Usual disclaimers about not charging people heaps of money, yadda yadda.

Hey annabel,

Thanks for that.

Exprience wise, it would be awesome! But the draining side of things, not so awesome... lol

Phone call stuff... Yeah I'll leave a message... not always.... kinda 50 :50 on that one..
I was thinking of just asking for a donation ... whatever the sitter thought the reading was worth.... I'm kinda already thinking a table at the event will be crap load anyways...

Cheers,
SB
 

AJ

look for posts by HOLMES
he shares each year about his annual readings
 

starburst_au

look for posts by HOLMES
he shares each year about his annual readings

Hey AJ,

Thanks for that. I'll check it out.

Cheers,
SB
 

Apollonia

Be Very, Very Sure of Your Skills Before Reading at a Festival

I was thinking of just asking for a donation ... whatever the sitter thought the reading was worth
I personally do not feel a festival is a good place to "try out" your skills, unless you have had really great feedback from family and friends (along with, preferably, unsolicited, spontaneous statements like, "You should do this for money," "That was as good as a paid reading," "I'd have totally paid XXX dollars for that!" etc.) If I were one of the festival organizers, I wouldn't want someone there who wasn't 100% professional and highly skilled, because I'd want attendees to give good word of mouth and to be eager to return the next time, not saying, "Meh, I went to one of the readers there and she didn't seem to know what she was doing."

Also, you may want to keep in mind that you do not want to undercut the professional readers there, at least some of whom probably make their living, or some part of it, doing readings. That could bring on some ill will and resentment that you don't need when you are starting out.

And as others here have mentioned, festivals are often fast paced and grueling. Seasoned professionals can come away from an event feeling spacey, headachey, and exhausted. If you are going to do this, you may want to practice ahead of time by doing 10-12 back to back readings for family and friends, just to see if you can handle the pace. You will need stamina and the ability to stay focused and energized--don't forget that the person in front of you may be the 30th one you have read for today, but for that person, you may be the first or only reader they have ever encountered, and you want to give them as good, accurate, and enthusiastic a reading as you did for the first 10 people.

And my final word: Hydrate continuously.
 

nisaba

If you're talking specifically the Darling Harbour event, I've friends who read there. The only way J. in particular has made money out of it is to do little five-minute mini-readings and charge the same as he would have for a full half-hour reading, the cost of a place there is so high. :(

I believe that short-changes the client, while doing "proper" readings short-changes the reader.
 

starburst_au

I personally do not feel a festival is a good place to "try out" your skills, unless you have had really great feedback from family and friends (along with, preferably, unsolicited, spontaneous statements like, "You should do this for money," "That was as good as a paid reading," "I'd have totally paid XXX dollars for that!" etc.) If I were one of the festival organizers, I wouldn't want someone there who wasn't 100% professional and highly skilled, because I'd want attendees to give good word of mouth and to be eager to return the next time, not saying, "Meh, I went to one of the readers there and she didn't seem to know what she was doing."

Hey Apollonia,

***Thanks for your advice. I guess at some stage, i'd like to gain experience some where and 'try out' my skills. Whether it be with friends or family or some one who is paying you. I've had some good feedback from friends and family.


***As for being 100% professional and highly skilled - I don't have any issues with being 'professional'. As for the highly skilled part, I guess that's up to the individual to decide. I'm sure the organisers of the festival are expecting people to be 100% professional and highly skilled. Due to the amount of tarot readers / psychics that do attend these types of events i'm quite certain that the event organisers don't have the time to individually check each tarot reader / psychic and grill them, make them jump through hoops to see if their readings resonate.

***The festival that i'm specifically discussing has an area where about 50 + readers / psychics sit and do readings. Sitters can read a blurb on a wall, and choose which person they would like to see. In the blurb, i'd be writing that i'm still learning tarot and I wouldn't make outlandish claims that I was a 'psychic' and that could predict anyone's future. I'd also probably include that i'm attending the festival to gain more insight into reading for others. It would be totally be up to the individual sitter to select me for a reading.

Also, you may want to keep in mind that you do not want to undercut the professional readers there, at least some of whom probably make their living, or some part of it, doing readings. That could bring on some ill will and resentment that you don't need when you are starting out.

***That's something to consider. However, I have no control over what other people think about me. Again, i'm considering attending, to learn and experience people whom i've never read for before. And to see where my own skills are....

And as others here have mentioned, festivals are often fast paced and grueling. Seasoned professionals can come away from an event feeling spacey, headachey, and exhausted. If you are going to do this, you may want to practice ahead of time by doing 10-12 back to back readings for family and friends, just to see if you can handle the pace. You will need stamina and the ability to stay focused and energized--don't forget that the person in front of you may be the 30th one you have read for today, but for that person, you may be the first or only reader they have ever encountered, and you want to give them as good, accurate, and enthusiastic a reading as you did for the first 10 people.

*** I understand what you're saying and thank you for pointing out that the festivals can be fast paced and gruelling. But is it honestly a realistic expectation of anyone to say to anyone, oh just do 10 - 12 hours of readings back to back to see I can handle the pace? I think not.
I'm assuming I'd pay for a space - a table and 2 chairs. Perhaps I'd only be paying for a space and I'd need to provide the table + chair. I'm assuming you'd be paying for a certain amount of hours to be sitting doing the readings. So therefore you wouldn't HAVE to do 10 - 12 hours back to back. I'm pretty sure you're allowed to take breaks whenever you need to and you'd organise your readings with a time sheet, so you could allow for breaks.

*** It sounds like you're preposing that I create a sweat shop environment and just churn out the readings, just to see if I can keep up with the pace. Again, I thank you for the advice, and am aware that the event would be fast paced, however - like in any situation, if I don't like it, I can leave. I'm not looking to make a career out of reading tarot. Sure i'd like to do it on the side, if that eventuates. However, I won't be heart broken if I never become a 'professional reader'.

And my final word: Hydrate continuously.

*** of course, the festivals that i've attended can get rather stuffy so water would be a necessity.

Cheers,
SB