To become a tarot card reader, you don’t have to believe that tarot cards are a forerunner of future events. If you want to make a living reading tarot cards, you’ll need to know the meanings of the cards inside and out. A flair for showmanship is a nice touch – people who want their fortunes read like incense, flowing robes, long hair, and a mystical ambiance – and honing your dramatic timing skills could make you very popular. To build a loyal clientele as a tarot card reader, you need to be able to read people even better than you can read the cards.
Tarot card decks come in a variety of styles and brands, but they all follow the same basic pattern. Each deck contains 78 cards that are divided into different categories.
Pentacles, swords, wands, and cups appear in the minor arcana of the deck. The major arcana, or the rest of the deck, depicts images such as the tower, the fool, death, and the hanged man. If a card is upright or reversed, it has a different meaning, and if it is laid out in a multi-card spread, it can have even more meaning.
You can become a tarot card reader once you’ve mastered the fundamentals of the cards and their meanings. It’s a good idea to get some practice reading cards for family and friends, as this will teach you how to establish rapport with your future clients and ask subtle but important questions. Surreptitiously persuading a client to give you information is known as a “cold reading” among psychics and clients. People enjoy talking about themselves, and if you prod them just a little, you’ll get a wealth of information.
For example, you could lay the cards out in one of the many possible figures, stare at them for a few moments, and then ask the client if someone close to them has died. You could inquire if they are having a love affair, if they are looking for a love affair, or if they have had a bad love affair. You could even inquire if they have back problems or if someone close to them has back problems. These are universal traits shared by almost everyone on the planet, and the client won’t mind if you ask a few questions until you find the right one. They want you to be right, and they want you to believe you know what’s going to happen next, so they’ll overlook the fact that you’re just dragging your hook through the water until you get a bite.
There are numerous paths to becoming a professional tarot card reader. You can set up a booth at carnivals or Renaissance fairs, apply for a job at one of the many telephone or Internet-based companies that offer readings, or start your own business and work with clients one-on-one. You should check your state and local laws before doing anything. Fortunetellers and tarot card readers are not permitted in some towns and cities, while others require a license. Failure to follow these laws will result in a hefty fine and the closure of your business.