doing tarot at parties

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 29 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

mota	29 Feb 2004
I would like to suggest a thread discussing performing tarot or palmistry at social events. One question might be how do you find these parties and what do you charge? For myself, most of my parties come from agents that also handle musicians. (I have been robbed by agents, too). I charge from $150 to $450 for four hours at parties, depending on who and when...in town on Monday night is cheaper than holiday season Friday night. Another possible area of discussion is what do you do differently? For myself, at the risk of not being tarot-pure, I must share. When I am doing 3-card readings at a party I remove the Devil, Death, The Tower, and the Three of Swords from the deck. Trust me, if you have something gloomy or depressing hit someone hard, the entire party will know about it...that's not the kind of mood most people are looking for their party. I am open to other areas of discussion, too. With fast party readings you can give many a very personal, magical experience they might not get in life.

HudsonGray	29 Feb 2004
There's been a number of threads on it in the Talking Tarot section, you can find them in the archives. They've covered doing readings at coffee shops (one actually was called Getting Tossed Out of a Coffe Shop I think), what to charge, how many people to line up for a time span, etc. Local spirit fairs, Christmas parties, a general tarot gathering at a science fiction convention, reading at Renaissance festivals, a lot of different places have been mentioned. Try perusing the number pages at the bottom of the screen to find them, there's been a lot of discussion on it. I'm not sure I'd pull the cards out of the deck, myself. I'd try to use a deck that doesn't have devestating pictures in it especially if the people aren't all that familiar with what the cards look like, & give them the pros and cons. Without a 'heavy' picture laying in front of them they're more open to listening to alternatives than dwelling on lost love, horrid things in the future, or supposed actual death--they'll not shut their mind down in fear & listen to the options. There's always a positive side to a dark card, as well as a downside to a sunny one.

Teranar	01 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by HudsonGray one actually was called Getting Tossed Out of a Coffe Shop I think Yes, its my thread that won't die :P Usually when I'm at a party with cards I'm with my friends, and they're usually pretty open about it. Except at the last one I was at, then my then girlfriend ran off with my deck and spread all the cards out across the entire floor because "They're pretty!" (It was the medieval Scrapini deck she gave me for christmas BTW) and she kept running off with them so I never got to read anyone. But usually I just explain what the cards really mean, and they're cool with it. Or they don't tell me. -Teranar

DeLani	01 Mar 2004
I've done a couple of parties - I have a hook-up at my local metaphysical shop. When people want anything in that type of genre, that's the place they call. I figure my prices like this: I charge $20 per reading normally. So I figure my readings run an average of 15-20 mins, so I could do 3 in an hour comfortably. So I charge $60 per hour, with a 2-hour minimum. And if there are travel expenses, those too. I don't remove bad cards. What's the point of getting your cards read if the deck is stacked? I just use a prettier deck, like the Nigel Jackson or the Osho Zen (if it's that kind of crowd). I think I need to promote myself more. I really need money right now!

Teranar	01 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by DeLani I think I need to promote myself more. I really need money right now! Don't we all. Bu8t ther Nashville area is dominated by Enita, a tarot reader who reads for celebs in this town, reads celebs, and is the gypsy godmother of one crazy yahoo by the name of Teranar. I can ask her how much she usually does for parties. -Teranar

Osher	02 Mar 2004
When reading at a party do you insist on a quiet area, or do you read before everyone? Personally, I read in a quiet area, and it is amazes me the number of people who claim to be skeptical, but then are very conciuous of the answer...

Mojo	02 Mar 2004
I enjoy doing parties, so although I charge, I usually don't profit. I give the host a list of 3 or 4 of my favorite charities and ask them to write a check to one of them for a minimum of $150 (or more if they're so inclined) and give the check to me to deliver to the charity. Unless they're going to be all serious about it and put me off in a separate room from the party to do private readings. Then it's usually $300 for 4 hours and the money is mine, because its more work than fun. I prefer to be in the open for the readings, although it's OK to be off to the side. I think people want to watch Tarot readings, and I leave it up the each querent to say yes or no to other people listening in. Most querents say yes. I never remove cards from the deck. Why would you do that? It makes for more drama and fun when others are watching the readings. I have a really fun "cartoonish" deck (Tarroco Bizzarro) which is great for parties, so I use that instead of my regular deck. I also play a great group game where I do multiple readings at the same time and I have to "guess" who the individual cards apply to. Of course, the key is to do really generic readings so they could apply to anyone, so you end up amazing everyone at how accurate you are!

Osher	02 Mar 2004
I have used some erotic tarot at a party. It certainly caused titilation! Helps break the ice a bit, but can lead to he tarot not being taken seriously

mota	02 Mar 2004
I remove some cards from the tarot for parties because I have been hired to entertain, not freak people out. Using another deck with gentler images than RWS certainly solves that problem. Actually, for me, palm reading is best for parties. You don't need table space, there is nothing to spill on, and you can control the length and direction of the reading. As you may have noticed, the longer the reading, the more serious it gets. I have also found, when doing parties, to try to make it so the person receiving the reading isn't sitting, or I am roaming. If a person sits down with you you are talking 7 minutes, minimum...with changeover and all you will only average six people an hour, twentyfour in a four hour party. Most parties are much larger than that, resulting in a long line (at least with palm reading) of people wanting readings. I have my own way to deal with long lines, but am curious if anyone else has thought about this...how do you handle one more forever?

The doing tarot at parties thread was originally posted on 29 Feb 2004 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.