"sanitizing" decks for public readings

Rev_Vesta said:

We have to remember when we choose to work for someone else,

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That's just it - choice. There's have to be a hell of a lot of money - say, a brand-new car or something - for me to strip out so many cards. As I said, I'd choose to walk.

(Or, depending on how ratty I felt like being, keep the cards in the decks anyway. Or sanitise a deck - a flagrantly erotic or dark one. then again - no.)

nisaba said:

That's just it - choice. There's have to be a hell of a lot of money - say, a brand-new car or something - for me to strip out so many cards. As I said, I'd choose to walk.

(Or, depending on how ratty I felt like being, keep the cards in the decks anyway. Or sanitise a deck - a flagrantly erotic or dark one. then again - no.)

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i agree its always choice, but i stubborn and like Nisaba i think there is always a way round rules (yes i do step on the grass too).

i think i am in a lucky position i can be stubborn and not compromise at the moment, if i had to take the job then it would be a different story...however i am more likely to take a job stacking shelves and keeping my deck intact

Rev Vesta is right if you take the job you have to compromise

I wouldn't take any cards out of the deck. "Bad things" can be seen with all sorts of combos of cards of course at a party you want to keep things as light and happy as you can.

That said ....I was at a halloween party on saturday as a guest and brought my boho goth.... just for the fun of it....my friends always ask me for readings and I figured if people wanted to pull a card - no worries. WRONG! I warned them that the images are creepy and I laughed and said that was part of the fun.... one of the women pulled the death card and got hysterical! She was crying and terribly upset! I tried to explain to her what the card meant but she was highly superstitious and said there were 2 deaths around her and she is waiting for the next and this just confirmed it! I tried my best to comfort her - I told her that when I have seen death it has never been in the form of the death card - but she was rattled.

At parties you do need to be fun - I had one woman recently tell me that at a tarot girls night out party I upset her terribly. That upset me! First of all I have no recollection of the reading! None at all! She said I was dead on accurate but it was upsetting anyway and she still hasn't done what I told her she should do to get herself out of whatever it was I saw. She said she cried! I do get criers a lot but it is usually because I said something that resonated with them not because I was brutal! UGH!!!


I still object to pulling cards out of the deck but you have to do what you have to do if you want to get gigs from them. Definitely bring a fun and light deck. Clients look at the cards. They love my VR, I've been using the legacy of divine lately and they like that one too, also the lo scarabeo - the international icon is good and so is the hanson roberts ..... some of the decks have brutal looking images that aren't really good for parties.... I figured the boho goth would be great around this time of year but hell what do I know! I should have brought the halloween....but dancing pumpkins and frolicking bats don't do it for me!

I'm another pro reader who lands on the side of substituting an Oracle deck for a Tarot deck.

As a Libra, I probably would have said something disgustingly diplomatic, like, "I understand your trepidation with these specific Tarot cards, they are not easy cards to have to face after all. Why don't we find a better solution by using an Oracle deck (insert oracle of choice here) so we can still offer readings for your event, but the Tarot cards you're concerned about will no longer be an issue for you and your guests."

I don't like the idea of removing cards from my Tarot, I've never been asked such a ridiculous thing by an event planner, but at the same time a gig is a gig, money is good, and so I'd be motivated to find a compromise for you (as the reader) and your client (who gets to set the tone of his/her event, because they're paying).

Here's my thought: I was once asked if a reading that I did was 'valid' because the deck I was using was missing 3 cards (unbeknownst to me, they fell out). Of course it's valid. You don't need any specific cards to read. You don't even really need cards to read - so don't sweat it. The message will come through either way.

If I remember correctly, the Connolly deck has the nasty cards taken out.

When reading this thread, it occurred to me that if we're talking about "tarot entertainment"... Well, every time I've seen tarot on the television, the reader inevitably pulls that death card, everyone gasps, the music swells, and we cut to commercial!

Do people booking a tarot reader at a party expect that kind of experience? Especially on Halloween -- which is what theora's party is presumably for?

This must be karma coming after me or something. I have a Halloween Party to do this Friday. Last night, I got a phone call and the host (Ye olde Fire Company of the town I live in) asked me if I would be giving scary readings. Now I paused, took a deep breath and asked the fellow what did he consider a scary reading? He replied like someone is going to die in two weeks, or their kids are going to be in an accident or something like that. Again, I took a deep breath and answered I will only give the message the person is supposed to get, good or bad,.....I then added I wouldn't hit them over the head with a sledge hammer with something bad, nor would I do a happy dance if it was something supremely good. I also told them I would be using two decks, one (All Hallows Deck, thanks Chronata ), and the Boho Gothic. He was satisfied with that. So all is well with that.

* side note: I was going to borrow a friends hooded cape and dress in all black with a skull mask and also borrow his Scythe. Going a little over the top maybe???? (Hears Vincent Price laughing in her head as she heads to the shower).

I agree with what sheri said about getting a good reading whether or not the deck was "sanitized", yet, I would still not remove cards from any deck I read with regularly. My relationship with my regular decks count on the full 78, and my perception is that I might be thrown off too much knowing some of the cards were missing. I mean, the client wants entertainment, yes...but still, I would imagine, with the expectation that readings will ring true with the sitters, or else why bring cards at all?

I would be more likely to do as Alissa mentioned--and that is to find a much gentler tarot deck or use an oracle deck.

i just dont like being told what to do....lol

Alissa said:

I understand your trepidation with these specific Tarot cards, they are not easy cards to have to face after all. Why don't we find a better solution by using an Oracle deck (insert oracle of choice here) so we can still offer readings for your event, but the Tarot cards you're concerned about will no longer be an issue for you and your guests.

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Baroli said:

This must be karma coming after me or something.

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You really gotta AT!!!