Free Readings- Should You Give Them?
Free readings. Should you give them as a tarot reader? There is no right or wrong answer, and there is a place for everything both in business but also as a newer reader as well.
***This is the second article in our Back to School Series, a collection of 6 posts all designed to help you with your practical reading skills! It presumes you already know how to choose, buy and care for a deck (if not you can visit this post So you want to be a Tarot Reader); and that you have at least a basic working knowledge of each card, even if it's just recognizing the card and knowing a few keywords for each. This series is all about the readings!***
There are times when readers will give a free tarot reading, and there are times when it might be better not to give a free tarot reading. Let's explore these and see what's right for you!
Just to note, most readings are never truly "free". In almost every case, you are hopefully getting something out of it, even if it isn't money. A reading will take your time and energy and attention, so you want it to be for good reason, meaning you are being compensated in some way. Otherwise, you may end up feeling drained, burnt out, and even resentful.
Free Readings When You are a New Reader
Obviously in the beginning, most of the readings you do will be free readings. Meaning that you are not getting paid money to do them. And truthfully, until you feel confident enough that you are delivering a truly accurate and insightful reading, you may not want to take payment in the form of money.
But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be getting anything out of them. In the beginning when you are learning the cards, doing readings for friends and family is a great way to test your knowledge with someone's situation other than your own, and to also get comfortable reading for someone else. You might feel a bit nervous and believe me this is normal.
However, this is a good thing. Although the reading is technically a free reading, you are gaining valuable experience reading for others, sharpening your skills and your interpretations too. When I was new and first started reading for others, I found meanings for cards that were not in my own repertoire to begin with. Cards would show up for certain situations that I never would have thought of, but now, those things have added to the richness of my understanding of those cards. Nothing like real life scenarios to give a card meaning.
In this case, you are getting a value exchange. You are getting practice reading for others repeatedly, growing your confidence as you calm your jitters and learning more about the cards than you ever thought possible. You also want to get feedback though as well. Let your friends and family know that they aren't doing you any favors by being "nice" so constructive feedback would be the most helpful here.
Free Readings When You Have Been at it for a Bit
There will come a time when you have been reading for a while and feel like you can actually give a reading without holding a book in one hand or obsessively checking the card meanings online for every card you turn over. Sure, you still feel nervous and know that if you DID check that book or website, your interpretation might be fleshed out even further, but at the very least you can get through a reading on your own, even if you feel a bit sick in the stomach doing it!
The best free readings to give at this stage are to a large group where you can offer your services for free like a charity event. This tip actually came to me directly from Mary Greer when I was first starting out. It worked like a charm and I never forgot it. The best event to try is a charity event where you may not be getting paid (that first year anyway!). You are a bit of entertainment and provide something fun and useful, BUT if you aren't perfect, that's ok, no one paid you cold hard cash to deliver.
What You Are Getting out of the Free Readings at this Stage
Instead, you are helping the event have a better turnout (hello, tarot reader in the house!) and on your end, you are getting some crazy practice. You will go through that event reading for dozens of people back to back to back with little breaks. Of course you need to take care of yourself with regularly scheduled bathroom breaks, and adequate food and drink, but as a whole, you will get an experience reading for a large volume of people in succession
This will open you up to a whole world you never knew existed! You'll get alllll kinds of questions and all kinds of seekers as well! Some will actually have a real question they genuinely want your help with (bless their sweet souls), others will just want to test you. And everything you can possibly think of in between! But either way, you will come out of that event having earned some serious tarot reading chops and feeling heroic! The lack of pay will let you off the hook to perform and you can really take in the whole experience.
Additionally, this is a great time to get into some facebook groups ( or other social platforms as you feel so inclined) and exchange readings with other readers for practice. There are quite a number of tarot groups on facebook. In many of them, you don't even need to do a specific one-to-one exchange with someone. People will post readings that they did and you can try your hand at interpreting them. Although I would still do one-to-one exchanges with other readers with similar skills as you.
Free Readings at an Intermediate Level
Once you have been reading for friends and family for practice for a while and even for some strangers for free, it could be a good time to read for other readers, and not just online. Have you considered a local meet-up group? Do a real reading in person for another reader and let them do one for you. That will get your reading chops going!
If you have a newsletter or a blog site that you write on regularly, you could even do weekly or monthly readings for your followers. Yes, it's a free reading which will take your time and energy but only one a week or a month is probably a good investment of your time at this level to build a following if that's part of your plan. What you are gaining is additional practice and keeping your practice going (because when we stop doing something regularly we backslide).
But additionally, you are also helping others who will truly enjoy your interpretations, learn from them, and find resonance in their own life. I believe anyone who stumbles across one of my weekly messages did so because there is a message in there for them.
And in any situation where you find yourself reading for someone, ask for a testimonial that you will be able to use later as proof of how pleased your sitter was (with their permission of course), Later, when it comes time to start charging for your readings, those testimonials will not only help you make sales, but also boost your confidence as well.
I'm Liza, professional Tarot reader, writer and mentor, and this is Tarot Liza. Everyday we're working to bring our mission of delivering more value and Tarot education to the Modern Reader to life! Welcome! Read more...
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