Telling it Like It Is.

December 5, 2006 5:19 PM

What are good ways to make myself available and provide services [both online or in real life] as a Tarot professional?

I have been reading tarot cards at a professional level for years. I perform readings for friends and strangers-- sometimes for free and often for money. In the past I have also been a tutor.

For a while now I have wanted to devote more time to it, but I don't know what the best approach would be. I enjoy doing readings in person, but can also easily do them over email or the phone. I charge only a small honorarium, as I know people are wary of con-artists and crooks. I have gotten most of my business by word of mouth. I don't profess to have any psychic ability whatsoever; actually I study Hermetic philosophy and consider the cards to be a wonderful collection of archetypal symbols and stories that help people re-imagine their own lives and possibilities. Haters can suck it.

Advertising on Craigslist has had really spotty results; I'd probably get better results if I did the whole psychic fortuneteller charade and preyed on the easily duped. But I am not that person, and I'm not interested in helping the people who want that kind of service.

I'd like to find other ways to find people who need what I do, either as a reader or a tutor. I haven't explored many New Age type sites or publications, because I have a severe allergy to rank bullshit and have wanted to distance myself from that subculture. However I realize that some may be better than others, and I suppose I should begin to explore them. Where should I go, what should I try?

I live in NYC, and I can't help but think there are venues or opportunities that I'm missing to arrange more in-person readings. I have thought about approaching some of the funkier coffeeshops about allowing me to come and perform readings on certain days, but am not sure if this would be welcome. I have had offers from bars, but I consider the music and atmosphere (and booze) to be a level of interference that would thwart the whole point.

Can you suggest ideas, venues, sites, or publications that can help me find a new platform for what has become a main pasttime of mine? Help me find the right way to approach people and be approached.

I know this is a weird one, but thanks in advance, AskMe.

posted by hermitosis to religion & philosophy (24 comments total)

I've been to psychic fairs a few times in SW CT. Usually at upscale hotels, these fairs offer books and crystals and stuff for sale, and have tables of people giving readings for $10 - $50 each. Those readers have bios available, which to me results in a reputable vibe, because patrons can choose a practitioner based on philosophy or background. Though many of these bios are on rainbow stationery...

The NYC bar/restaurant Employees Onlyhas tarot readers in the front window.

The Learning Annex is the kind of place where you might find work as a teacher/tutor. Possibly the Open Center as well.
posted by xo at 5:41 PM on December 5, 2006

four panels, seriously wtf? This is not what AskMe is for, hence I flagged your bullshit comment kthxbye.

anyway to answer the question: hermitosis: I would think there are any number of funky little cafes or teahouses in NYC where you may be able to get a regular 'reading' schedule set up. Have you looked into this? I can think of at least 2 places in Boulder that have a reader and/or astrologist come in on a semi-regular basis. It's a way of publicising, and from there you can hand out business cards.

I read too, and I have the same allergy to rank bullshit / New-Age stuff. I view the cards as basically being keywords to meditative thinking, if that makes any sense.

Warning: when reading for random folks in the public, be prepared to answer lots and lots of relationship stuff, and you'll get some seriously loony querents. Some of these can turn out great. You just have to be prepared to deal with it. It's like knowing you'll probably have to shoot a shitload of weddings if you're going to make any serious bank as a pro photographer.

I bet you can find a local cafe / diner / joint very easily to do readings in - I mean heck it's NYC! Also, you may want to browse around the Aeclectic Tarot Forums - I find them to be the least BS-worthy of the public forums.
posted by lonefrontranger at 5:47 PM on December 5, 2006

Psychic fairs would probably be a good way to network, both in terms of meeting peers and seeing how they do it, and in terms of establishing a clientele.

If you do any print/web advertising, go professional. Avoid typos, shoddy clip art, or second rate graphic design.

Also, as a complete nonbeliever, a couple of the things you could do to impress me and gain my respect would be to be able to tell me about the history of the Tarot and various interpretations of it (have you seen the Salvador Dali Tarot set? Howabout Jung's ideas about the Tarot?).
posted by kimota at 5:51 PM on December 5, 2006

Kimota, do you mean that I should incorporate these elements into a reading to gain the respect of querents, or that you were actually interested in discussing them? If the latter, my email's in my profile. I like the Dali deck but I've found that many people are disappointed in how abstract and spare a lot of the paintings are, and find it hard to do readings with. I don't own it (it's 'spensive) but I'd like to. And certainly, no matter what we believe, we're all a little Jung at heart... *groan*

These are great suggestions so far, thanks kids! I'll check out those links.
posted by hermitosis at 6:05 PM on December 5, 2006

Have you been to the Tarot group on tribe.net? There's a fairly active community there who I bet could offer some discussion & advice -- heck, a recent thread covered essentially this topic. (Also swing by the hermeticism, magick, kabbalah, etc. tribes if you've idle internet time.. :P)
posted by Xelf at 6:16 PM on December 5, 2006 [1 favorite]

Well, what do the cards say? ;)

How about compiling a shortlist of indie-ish bookstores (you're in NYC, so you still have a handful, no?) to contact about hosting a weekly (or monthly or whatever) "reading hour"? Short of that, they may be kind enough to let you flyer in or near the occult/New Age section.

Coffeeshops are a great idea in my opinion, but I wouldn't dismiss bars/pubs out of hand. Some bars are more laid back than others, and I can't help but imagine that otherwise reticent potential customers would be tempted to try your services after a pint or three. From the bar owner's perspective, you're cheaper and quieter than, say, a band and you'd provide built-in entertainment for the patrons. Just about anything that gets folks to stick around for another pint is attractive to the owners I know.

How about smaller restaurants? If you have any contacts at colleges around town, they may be able to help you figure out how to secure space at a table in a busy location on campus, or maybe you can have a student group host a reading night, that sort of thing. Just brainstorming here. Good luck.

On preview: I think tarot cards are utter nonsense, too, cadastral, but so is most bought-and-paid-for entertainment. The OP's potential customers are big boys and girls and, presumably, get what they pay for. If people were suggesting that the OP set up shop in nursing homes or grade schools, then I'd see your point.
posted by joe lisboa at 6:35 PM on December 5, 2006

joe lisboa, the college idea is good, I hadn't thought of that before.

My main reservation about bars is the pint-or-three that you mentioned. It's an impediment to someone focusing on a deep conversation, and also I want to avoid the implication that I would profit off of people whose judgment may be impaired by alcohol.
posted by hermitosis at 6:42 PM on December 5, 2006

My residential college holds an annual Soiree (international food/beverage/entertainment festival) and a tarot reader is a regular occurance. She charges in "gold coins" (AUS$1 and $2) and is quite friendly.

Maybe that's a good place to start - school or college events.
posted by divabat at 6:46 PM on December 5, 2006

from firsthand experience I've discovered a couple minor drawbacks to reading in a bar. The purely practical one is that a lot of bars are just too damn dark to read well in. On a more human-relations related theme, people don't just get mildly lubricated under the influence, they can sometimes get belligerent. Insert drunked-up-fratboy-type-asking-lewd-questions-about-female-patrons stuff here. At which point, depending upon one's surroundings and chaos management skills, anything from mild hilarity to police intervention will ensue.
posted by lonefrontranger at 6:53 PM on December 5, 2006

Given your Tarot philosophy, I can't imagine that any psychic fairs (particularly if they spell them 'faires') would be worth investigating. Potential customers there will probably be people who want you to have psychic ability. Of course, maybe you could sell them on your more grounded style and do the world a favor.

Helping people reimagine their own lives and possibilities is something that life coaches market themselves for. Maybe you could check out events and publications where they find their customers?
posted by expialidocious at 6:55 PM on December 5, 2006

Have you considered Keen?

It's a company which provides a billing & phone platform to connect people with clients. The customers call or log on and select someone they want to talk to, either by clicking a link or entering the person's extension number. They pay with their credit cards and you can be paid via check or direct deposit into your account. You set your own rate and are paid a percentage of the total. If you're within the US, I believe the rate is a $0.20 connection fee and then 30% of the total take. You set your own rate.

Keen does a lot of advertising and is used extensively by tarot card readers and customers. I don't really have much experience with the "psychic" side of their business, although I have heard it is somewhat competitive. I have used them as a billing platform for other stuff on and off for a few years and they are fairly reliable.

I'm not sure this is really what you are after, but it might be an option worth exploring since you said you are comfortable providing services over the phone. You can write your own description of your services, so you can explain that you aren't pretending to have psychic abilities and lay out exactly what people can expect if they call you.
posted by diamondsky at 7:09 PM on December 5, 2006

I have a severe allergy to rank bullshit
Yet, you want people to pay you to read Tarot cards?

IMO Tarot reading is just a scam designed to separate superstitious lower income folk from their hard earned money. It's worse than the lottery, because at least the lottery affords a real, if unlikely, chance at riches.

If you want to read Tarot cards fine. Just please do not do it for money. These people need that money to put food on the table. Advertise free Tarot readings, you will have lots of business.

Aside from any moral issues, have you checked the law? Your profile says NYC and I thought that it was illegal to tell fortunes for money in New York. I could have that wrong. In any event, your advertising of an illegal business, if it is indeed illegal, could open you up to prosecution.
posted by caddis at 9:14 PM on December 5, 2006 [2 favorites]

A little Googling seems to indicate that it is indeed illegal to tell fortunes for money in New York. Stick to free readings or make it very clear that this is "entertainment" not "fortune telling" if you want to avoid prosecution. That alleviates the moral issues as well.
posted by caddis at 9:21 PM on December 5, 2006

Achoo.

Wow, caddis, that's a lot of presumptions in one response, not to mention a piping hot crapload of unsolicited ignorance.

I mentioned that I do many for free.

I mentioned that I do not strive to court the attention of the types of people that are generally preyed on by psychics and con artists.

If it's illegal to tell fortunes for money in NYC, then all of the storefront hustlers that plainly offer that exact service don't seem to be too worried about it.

But it doesn't matter anyway, because I do not tell fortunes, nor do I predict the future. I offer a reflection of a person's current situation and life story from a perceptive outsider's point of view, with a full arsenal of mythological symbolism to draw from.

If you can't tell enough about what I do from what I described in my question, then you either need to experience one of my readings firsthand, or you need to pipe down and let AskMe work the way it's intended. And since I respectfully decline to waste my time on such a reading, you can move right along, Donkey Kong.
posted by hermitosis at 9:32 PM on December 5, 2006 [2 favorites]

S 165.35 Fortune telling.

A person is guilty of fortune telling when, for a fee or compensation
which he directly or indirectly solicits or receives, he claims or
pretends to tell fortunes, or holds himself out as being able, by
claimed or pretended use of occult powers, to answer questions or give
advice on personal matters or to exorcise, influence or affect evil
spirits or curses; except that this section does not apply to a person
who engages in the aforedescribed conduct as part of a show or
exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement.
Fortune telling is a class B misdemeanor.

As long as you make it clear that you are not telling fortunes, but are instead providing entertainment you seem to be in the clear.
posted by caddis at 9:49 PM on December 5, 2006

[a few comments removed - please take any more derails about hucksterism to email or metatalk]
posted by jessamyn at 9:56 PM on December 5, 2006

Except that 'fortune telling' could easily be argued as religion, rendering NYC regulations unconstitutional.

I don't like psychic bullshit. New Agers bug me, deel down, and give a bad name to some ideas that are probably worth entertaining. But I like even less laws that interfere unreasonably with people doing what they wish.

For your purpose, it seems clear you need a well-lit environment where you can be seen, but still be relatively intimate with your asker. Daytime would be best, I'd say, to be less prone to problems with people having had too much to drink. Perhaps offering to share the proceeds of your tip jar with the wait staff would open doors/tables. Don't ask a fee for readings though, in this context. Instead, pass out business cards.
posted by Goofyy at 10:44 PM on December 5, 2006

I think you have a fine angle on what a productive and non-scammy tarot reading should be. I would play up your reasons for doing it

(I offer a reflection of a person's current situation and life story from a perceptive outsider's point of view, with a full arsenal of mythological symbolism to draw from.)

build up a neat little website that was low on mumbo-jumbo, high on discussion of the archetypes and particularly interesting images of the cards, making clear that you charge a small fee and never solicit additional funds from people you give readings to and then advertise it a little, stickers/postcards in bars (you can get cheap ones and if you use simple and clean design they won't look bad) and coffeeshops and then see where it takes you.

It's not something that interests me personally in the sense that it is something I would do, but it is something that I find interesting, if that makes sense. Good Luck.
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:18 AM on December 6, 2006

It sounds interesting, and I think it'd be neat to have one of your readings. I think fortune telling is 98 kinds of bullshit, but that someone can learn a lot about how others perceive them based on what they hear, and a lot about how they perceive themselves based on how they react, and it sounds like your readings would encourage that sort of introspection.

Here are a couple of angles you might not have considered:

Corporate parties. When I worked at my last job, we had events with magicians, palm readers, a handwriting analyst, etc. All for fun and without a lot of mystical claptrap wrapped around it because corporations aren't so big on new age / occult. I imagine these people were hired as a group from some agency that handled that sort of talent, so you might look for those agencies in your area and see if you can get on the roster.

Cruises and resorts. These don't, I think, pay you directly. But if you're the type who might vacation on a cruise or resort, I think they'll whack a bunch off your price in exchange for teach a couple of classes or doing a couple of cold reading sessions throughout the week. I'm not sure how you apply for it, but I've seen people actually teaching the classes and such (my favourite was a woman who did a class in dendrographology) on cruise ships, so it might be worth looking into.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:45 AM on December 6, 2006

I second the idea of going out and getting a web site to market yourself and your specific "brand" of reading. There are plenty of psychic readers online, and plenty of computerized tarot readers online, but not too many tout your specific philisophical view.

My experience has been, that if I pull out my tarot cards for whatever reason (reading for a friend, just looking through the cards, etc.) that if someone is interested in either knowledge or a reading they will say something. I don't know if that's an angle you want to work in terms of finding a place to read, but I'm just putting it out there.
posted by Jenesta at 8:21 AM on December 6, 2006

I agree with the college/uni/campus idea. We students are planning our lives and trying to figure out what we want and who we are, so your take on Tarot sounds like an excellent fit. At my school (in Toronto) there are booths in the student services area/food court that sell random things, and that might be a good place to look for...the students there will have time to kill.

Related: offer your services to charities (especially on-campus ones) that are holding street fairs, bazaars, or what have you. Good karma and free publicity. Also, I know among the 20-40 set in Toronto, planning jack-and-jills or co-ed bachelor/bachelorettes and other pre-wedding festivities is huge, and everyone is on the lookout for an innovative, memorable, but reasonably priced entertainment. You sound like you fit the bill.
posted by sarahkeebs at 9:01 AM on December 6, 2006

Here is your basic dilemma: you want people to give you money for Tarot readings, but only a small number of people are credulous enough to give you money for Tarot readings. You can't really increase the credulousness of the public, so I suggest you work it from the other angle: increase the credibility of what you do. Work on meeting your potential clients halfway. And of course, I have a suggestion on how to do it.

It sounds like the Tarot cards are more or less incidental to what you do. If what you are really offering is no more than an outsider's perspective and mythological symbolism on a person's current situation and life story, then maybe you should ditch the cards. They're random anyway, they have nothing to do with you or the person you're doing a reading for, so just pick cards in your head. Call it "archetype counseling" and go upscale. Do away with the occult trappings entirely and instead create an therapist-like environment that will make people comfortable. Learn some other things about people, psychology, etc. that will help you give good advice.

You should of course scrupulously avoid giving the impression that you are a doctor of any kind, as the law frowns sternly on that. However, lots of people who call themselves counselors or (the new term) "life coaches" aren't doctors, and you probably give as good advice as anyone, even with the Tarot stuff, so there's no reason you couldn't do the gig. You might even be able to help people.

The only real difficulty with this plan is that the way you make money in any business is through repeat customers. It always costs a lot more to get a new customer than it does to make another sale to an existing customer. So, unfortunately, if you really want to make money, you need to actually help people, but not so much that they don't need any more help from you. This might be difficult to do and still sleep at night, depending on your temperament. It is less ethically snarly to just tell people outright you're only doing it for entertainment or to give them a new perspective, but then you don't get the repeat customers, because really, how many times do people really need the perspective of a complete stranger?
posted by kindall at 5:28 PM on December 6, 2006

Kindall, that is pretty interesting. It's an idea that makes a lot of sense, though I have never been able to articulate it.

Part of what has discouraged me (and perhaps most people) from trying to help others in the way you described is either modesty or insecurity. I don't have all the answers, and I don't have special training, and I don't have the ego of someone who needs to appear to have either.

However what I do have is a tenaciously constructed neutrality, a vast amount of flat, even, open mental space that is uncorrupted and a welcome stage for other people's problems. And perhaps there is a way I could put this to use without the cards, as you suggested. The cards are for the benefit of both myself and the querent-- their presence takes the focus off of my presence, and allows the querent to feel that the ideas that are the product of our reading come from somewhere besides just s/he and I. But they also allow me to hide myself and keep a safe distance between myself and a stranger as we discuss intimacies that I would react to much differently outside of a reading.

People do the same thing as they answer questions on AskMe. How many times have you read or written advice that makes perfect sense that you know you'd never personally have the guts to take? We are casual and honest here, not in spite of the barriers of online communities, but because of them.

I'll have to think about your advice. I do gently disagree with this statement:

"if you really want to make money, you need to actually help people, but not so much that they don't need any more help from you. "

The point really is to help people improve. If they get better and no longer need you, they'll make sure people know how they did it. And THAT'S how you make money.

Making money is not my main concern at this time though.
posted by hermitosis at 7:04 PM on December 6, 2006 [2 favorites]

That just means you don't really want to make the most money possible, which is fine. I'm not joking about repeat customers being the maximum in lucrativity.
posted by kindall at 7:28 PM on December 6, 2006