possible business opportunity

A friend and co-worker is part owner of a book store and she is making some big changes - switching it to mostly metaphysical. She told me that she would like me to come in once or twice a month and do tarot readings. It sounds like fun but I have been trying to work things out with myself and thought I would get some opinions.
1. How do you feel about other people touching your cards? I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of others touching my cards, mainly because I don't want negative energy from other people on my cards. That is something I need to work on.
2. What is a good way of cleansing my cards if other people DO touch them? I don't want residual energy on them so I need an effective way of cleansing them.
3. Would it be better to have the client shuffle the cards then I lay them out or should I shuffle them and lay them out?
4. What about fanning the cards out on the table and having the client choose the cards they feel drawn to?

My personal feeling is that the cards are meant to be touched by the people seeking advice and insight from them. Certainly if you have a "special" deck that you're sensitive about, don't use it for public readings. You could also just buy a "working" deck that you use only for public readings.

There are a number of previous threads about cleansing decks, if you choose to do it. I don't since I see the cards as tools to aid the imagination and intuition. They represent "ideas," not "entities" that are subject to corruption.

I always have querents shuffle and cut (or at least briefly hold the deck if they're uncomfortable with both of those). I like them to feel some ownership in the reading process and the outcome.

Fanning and picking is a perfectly valid way to choose the cards for a spread. I don't do it myself, believing that the "right" cards for the reading will rise to the top of the deck via the shuffle.

mysticangel_001 said:

A friend and co-worker is part owner of a book store and she is making some big changes - switching it to mostly metaphysical. She told me that she would like me to come in once or twice a month and do tarot readings. It sounds like fun but I have been trying to work things out with myself and thought I would get some opinions.
1. How do you feel about other people touching your cards? I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of others touching my cards, mainly because I don't want negative energy from other people on my cards. That is something I need to work on.
2. What is a good way of cleansing my cards if other people DO touch them? I don't want residual energy on them so I need an effective way of cleansing them.
3. Would it be better to have the client shuffle the cards then I lay them out or should I shuffle them and lay them out?
4. What about fanning the cards out on the table and having the client choose the cards they feel drawn to?

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I hope you take your friend up on this offer--I worked in a shop weekly for nearly ten years, and it was one of the most fun and rewarding Tarot-related things I ever did.

So here are some of my answers to your questions:
1-2. I never cared if anyone touched my cards as long as their hands were clean. If you are worried about cards holding on to negative energy, figure out a quick way to clear them, such as asking your guides, angels etc. to clear them, using a pendulum or using sound waves such as a singing bowl, bell, or just clapping your hands.
3. I always shuffled my own cards unless the querent grabbed them and started shuffling first. Shuffling your own cards has several advantages: it will prevent accidental damage to your deck from clumsy shuffling, it will allow you to be in control of the time element so a client who shuffles for an interminable amount of time won't put you behind if you have several appointments, it will allow you to be in charge of whether or not you want reversals, and it will eliminate the very real possibility that a newbie querent will become self conscious and nervous when handed this huge deck and asked to shuffle, which can start the reading out on an awkward note.
4. Again, fanning the cards out and having the client pick may take up valuable time that you would rather use for the reading itself. In a shop situation, if you become popular and have a line-up of clients waiting their turn, whatever you can do to streamline the more mundane elements of the reading so that you can focus on the reading itself will be helpful to you in the long run.

Good luck, and have fun!

If you're sensitive about people handling your cards, as Barleywine suggested, having a deck (or decks) that are designated for public readings is a good idea. Some people who have had readings will expect to handle the cards because they have done so in the past and may be disappointed if they are not allowed to touch them. Of course that's up to you as you're not going to change your style to fit every querent nor should you, but since it's pretty common for sitters to at least cut cards, it's worth considering. I have decks that are handled by me alone, and decks that are handled by querents as well.

I don't have a ritual for ridding a deck of energy as I find when I shuffle at my chakra and intently concentrate on a new question, the old is dispelled and the deck takes on the necessary energy to answer the question. But that's me. It may work differently for you.

I hope you have lots of fun reading at the bookstore. It's a great opportunity to pass out business cards and let people know you're available for private readings!

I'm excited for you

Thanks everyone. I am a bit nervous about it because the majority of readings I have done are online. I have only done a few in person and it makes me nervous if there are a lot of people watching while I do a reading. I suppose with practice I won't be as nervous and will probably get over my ickiness factor of having others touching my cards.

There is some research that indicates questioners touching the cards brings focus and accuracy to a reading.

If it were me, I'd do it exactly like this:

1. YOU shuffle the deck.
2. Spread the cards out across the table and let the sitter choose them for the spread you'll use.
3. Shuffle the cards between each person's reading to break up their residual energy and ask your Reiki guides to suck it up, clear it out and/or send it back to them as you do this (or some similar, simple thing).

Make it easy on yourself and have a deck exclusively for use at the shop; they can even supply it for you. In that way you are not using any of your personal or special decks. When a deck gets damaged through customer use & abuse - the shop should replace that deck for you.

Please stop thinking of the Querents as germ-laden, drooling, wide-eyed Village Idiots. If - however - that IS what they turn out to be - have a germ-laden, drooled on, wide-eyed deck for their use. NO laws say you have to use your signed, one-of-a-kind deck you purchased for $5,000 off eBay to read for the public.

Yes ~ I am a firm believer that the Querent is an active part of their reading and should always handle the cards ... but they DO NOT have to be MY cards.

LOL Tarotbear!

I was more concerned about negative energy from people who are angry or deeply depressed. The woman who owns the store gave me a deck of Rider Waite cards and I have used them a couple of times but I'm not feeling as connected to them as to my Gilded deck. I can still use them though.

mysticangel_001 said:

I was more concerned about negative energy from people who are angry or deeply depressed.

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Yes ~ that is true - but you can still 'cleanse' that public deck between readings or whenever, even if it is not something you might normally do with your own deck when you use it to read for a friend ... they clean the treatment rooms in the ER between every single case that used it.