How do you perform your readings?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 May 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

wavebreaker	03 May 2002
I was wondering: do you have special rituals when you do a reading? For example: do you play specific music, burn incense etc.? Just curious... ;) Personally, I prefer to sit on the floor, especially when I want to do a bigger spread like the Celtic Cross, because then I have enough space to lay out all the cards. And I like to play some relaxing music, so I won't be distracted by other sounds.

aeonx	03 May 2002
Greetings tarotlady_nl. I have no specific ritual. I can read anywhere at any time, almost. I wouldn't give a reading in the middle of a coffee shop, however, that would be far too distracting! I love music, consequently I prefer reading with music in the background. :) I have a few 'rules' though. No food on the table! *l* I would just h-a-t-e it if I got food all over my cards! *lol* The cloth has to be clean, no yucky stains. :P Finally, I prefer being alone with the querent, it's much easier to loosen up then (applies to the querent as well as me). ~aeonx~

truthsayer	03 May 2002
it depends on my mood. sometimes i just sit in bed and do a spread. others i light candles and use this little table while i sit on the floor. doing it in the dark w/ only candles can give it a very interesting effect. i rarely play music anymore--too stimulating. sometimes a cat lays on my cards--i consider this blocked energy! ;) the other day i was doing a reading w/ my very shiny neferteri deck when one of the cats pounced my cards. he likes to stalk light. i guess he thought this time he was going to catch that darn light! LOL the cards were unharmed. if i do a reading on the kitchen table i always wipe over the surface first and use a towel to lay the cards on. i don't take any chances!

Rhiannon	03 May 2002
I like incense but it's not neccessary. Music is actually very distracting to me, unless it's something without words like classical, again nice but not essential. I've read in restaurants, at work, over the phone, in bed, at my kitchen table with the kids going "Mommy, I want some milk!", heck I've even read for myself in my car at the gas station waiting in the inspection line! If I feel I've been too distracted I just look at the cards again later after written them down. I've found I can do the CC spread w/out actually laying them out. I just sit them on top of each other... I know what each one means, so it doesn't have to be in any particular configuration. One thing I always try to do is take a second or two to center myself and breathe out any negativity I have. It really helps me to get a clearer picture of what's going on. And I like to write my readings down. Sometimes it's not always possible, though. Hard to write a reading on a restaurant napkin! Rhiannon :)

Umbrae	03 May 2002
So I read this post…then said to myself…I want to think on this so that I can construct a good succinct reply. Then I came back…Rhiannon had posted…yeah! What she said!!! No music for this kid. When you start, have a space between your reading and the next nearest person (about a meter), not too necessary later on. Just a safety zone, enabling an easier shielding. Incense can bother others, so although I like it…others may not. I always make THEM write the reading down, it gets them involved with the reading and that’s important damnit! Most folks go through life thinking life is like TV! They come to us and wanna turn us on, turn us off, detached. So make them take notes, they then become an active participant in the reading AND their own lives! If possible, have you sitter face north.

Liliana	03 May 2002
I light lotus or some other kind of incense and a purpple candle, other than that I usually have the kids bugging me and stuff so I block most of that now :) :THP

Maan	03 May 2002
Every time is different but i always lay out a spread cloth! And have a cup of tea and a note book with me. When i have a difficult question i light some candles and put some jasmine oil in the insence burner. Music is optional.I even listen to rock etc during a reading. When i lay-out the cards when there are others around i put on my headphone to block out the voices.

Jewel	03 May 2002
Well I mainly read for myself anyway *LOL*. Most of what I do is personal and spiritual development. I work much like Truthsayer. I tend to be more of floor dweller or bed dweller *LOL*. My kitty also likes to help, but instead of considering it blockage ~giggles~ I tend to see it as an incredibly important message that I am not supposed to miss (hence the cat in the cards point it out to me *LOL*). I like incence, new age music with no vocals (mainly to drown out noise from the rest of the house), candles are cool but I usually just have on my little night-stand lamp. To sum it up, I really have no rituals at all *LOL*.

Geenius at Wrok	03 May 2002
None in particular, except that I always thank the cards when I'm done. Sometimes I wash my hands beforehand, but that's more to preserve the cards than to create any sort of mood.

jema	03 May 2002
i got friends who get real dissapointed when i don't put on a whole show for them. but i only do rituals - when i do rituals and then i hardly ever do tarot-readings. i've done readings on trains and busses and in cars. in parks and cafés and gardens. in my home and in theirs. i done on-line readings by the computer-screen where i lined up the cards leaning against the monitor. the only thing i need is some time to gather my thoughts and the clients to be relaxed. and a desire to do a reading. i can't be coaxed into doing on. i have to really want to do it. the only rules i have is that each card counts. if i or the client can't take a reading at face value and trust it - i might as well throw away my decks. i never do "test-readings" i am not a parlour-trick. i used to only do readings in connections with grand rituals, candles etc. but found that as time went by i almost stopped reading becuause it was such a bother to do all the side-stuff. it filled a purpose at the time - but i didn't need it any more. perhaps one day i'll go back to those rituals. they are beautiful and meaningful after all. just not for me at this time in my life.

Umbrae	03 May 2002
Some folks want a bit of a show. I carry my deck and a couple of votive candles in an old basket (it was my mother's sewing basket, and as a child I always loved it and wanted it...so...). Folks love the basket... There is a point there. I light the candles and do the reading (making them take notes as noted above). I use spruce scented candles. Reread the post about centering and grounding...very important. This is an unspoken thing here. What does the sitter want? What do they expect? Why do folks come to us to have us read the cards? The answer is important...because no matter how good you are, how much truth you reveal...the quality of your reading will be nil if it does not meet the sitters expectations. Yeah...some folks want (and need) a bit of a show.

Kiama	03 May 2002
Well, when I read for a querent in person, I like to put on a show. I make myself look nice. I turn on some music, usually Loreena McKennit, or some Celtic Bodhran music... I light a candle, I burn some opium incense... I set down a spread cloth, and get out all my decks... I set a special pen aside, and a special notepad, and wait... When I am doing a reading which is unexpeced, I sit down with the querent, and just do the readng! I can do a reading any time anywhere. Well, bar any really stupid places and times, such as bungee jumping... The show is only there for 'apointments', cuz I love to put on a show! Otherwise, I go au naturelle. Kiama

Lion-O	03 May 2002
Quote: Originally posted by tarotlady_nl I was wondering: do you have special rituals when you do a reading? None what so ever. The only special things I do with my deck(s) is leaving one under my pillow during the night and the other on my night stand. As to the readings themselves; nothing special what so ever. The only thing I need is some space (but this also depends on the spread I'm using) and I prefer to do the readings in a quiet environment. Whenever I do play some background music I'm always using 'The Call of Nature', this is a CD collection which (as far as I know) consists of 4 boxes (sounds of nature, sounds of seasons, sounds of the winds, sounds of the sea) with 3 CD's each which have music combined with sounds out of nature. I'm always using this genre during RPG sessions and its very relaxing IMO. Extremely well for background music too.

Geenius at Wrok	03 May 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Kiama Otherwise, I go au naturelle . Um, doesn't this belong in the "Nudity in Tarot" thread?

Sam	03 May 2002
Quote: Originally posted by tarotlady_nl I was wondering: do you have special rituals when you do a reading? I just like to shuffle the cards a few times and then lay them out on the floor. *sometimes, when i have a LOT of time on my hands, i turn the lights off, close the curtains, and light candles and then read. But that's only sometimes.

DeLani	05 May 2002
Not too many special rituals - I make the querent shuffle a certain way which might be considered a "ritual." I usually like to light a candle and face east, but that is not always possible. I also need to be 'in the mood,' so to speak. I can't force it. But I have given readings at psychic fairs and cafe's with tons of loud people all around and loads of distractions. I just tune it out. Like the other moms on this forum, it starts with doing readings in your home with your kids pestering you. You just "read around the kids," so to speak! :) And if there are any readers reading, who do readings at psychic fairs, I would like to make a request: please, please, turn off those annoying timers. It's hard enough tuning out people's voices, but when those things go off, it's SO jarring! I have to re-center myself and get back into the reading all over again. DeLani

Kiama	05 May 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Geenius at Wrok Um, doesn't this belong in the "Nudity in Tarot" thread? ROFLMAO! Incidentally, I'm now wondering if anyone reads in the nude? Kiama

catlin	07 May 2002
Usually am an all-purpose-no-matter-where-and-how-reader but when querents come to me they find candles burning on my goddess altar, eagle wood incense in the burner, cats closed up in the kitchen, several different decks to choose, a refreshment offered (if wanted) before the reading (I HATE crumps or drops on my spredcloth or cards!!!), en somme, everything to make them comfortable but to get them the difference between a "serious" reader and the mumbo-jumbo offered on fairs, etc.

kayne	07 May 2002
I don't have any particular rituals although I do like to sit side-by-side the quarent (rather than opposite them) so they can get a better view of the cards... I also like silence. Before a reading I shuffle my cards and clear my mind, to help me tune in... Kiama: I often read in the nude but not really on purpose... I keep a deck next to my bed and in the mornings after my shower and before getting dressed for work I often do a one or three card spread, cross legged and nude, sitting on my bed... (Pick the Cosmic Tribe fan :P)

VGimlet	07 May 2002
I've always been an anywhere, anytime kind of reader also. When I'm reading for myself I like to have music going, and although I do most of my readings on my dining room table (at least it gets used for something, LOL) I have been known to read on the bed, in the car, on the bus, or anywhere else when the mood hits. I do take a few moments to center myself before I do a reading. Also, I use the time while I shuffle the cards to focus my concentration. I don't stop until the question or purpose of the reading is clear in my mind. I am thinking about starting to read for others, outside of family. I agree with everyone who said people like a show, and I think it also will give an atmosphere; if I take it seriously, they may also. I am going to look for some kind of spread cloth, and candles with a natural scent. I am also thinking about getting one of those sound machines (they have unobtrusive background noises, like ocean, rain, etc.) with a timer.

Rhiannon	08 May 2002
OK, now Kayne is naked and Kiama is putting on a show! LOL }) I would love to be able to give a little more of a show when I read, just a bit more.... I just worry about going all out "Miss Cleo" and turning people off by that. Usually my readings are rather impromptu. I don't have very much warning... I just happen to be carrying my cards in my purse and someone will ask for a reading, and out they come! ( Did I just say that in the same post with the word naked?!?!?!) Rhiannon :)

The How do you perform your readings? thread was originally posted on 03 May 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.