Newsletter of The Tarot School
http://TarotSchool.com
ISSN: 1529-0565 
Vol. 6 #10 / November 1, 2014

                                                                  
 In this Issue:
- Welcome
- Tarot Tip: Cringe-Worthy Comments from Querents
- Tarot School Aphorism
- What's Gnu?
- Tarot Card Showcase: Page of Swords 
- Best Practices: Charging For Large Parties and Events
- Featured Tarot Blog: Rose Red Tarot
- Upcoming Events
 
 
Welcome to a new issue of Tarot Tips!
And a warm welcome to our new readers.
 
We are delighted to bring you this installment with
information we feel may resonate with new and seasoned
readers alike. In tarot, you'll deal with a lot of people,
so is it is important to know how to handle all sorts of
temperaments from all walks of life. This issue is dedicated
to those who read in public, for example, at faires or parties. 
 
It is also fitting to discuss pricing and charges for
events, and the "Best Practices" has some interesting
tips to help you.
 
The quick-witted Page of Swords is our featured card for
this issue, and check out the latest blog that we are
super-excited to add to our ever-growing roster. 
           

And one more thing...
 


Google has created a colorful new doodle to honor French
sculptor, painter and filmaker Niki de Saint Phalle,
whose 84th birthday would have been on October 29th. 
She is best known to the tarot community as the creator
of The Tarot Garden in Tuscany, which contains over-sized 
sculptures of the Major Arcana.

Read more...
 

Yours truly on the tarot path,
Ruth Ann, Wald & Gina


Tarot Tips is here to help you with the practical side
of your Tarot journey. In order to take the greatest
advantage of this newsletter, please send us your
questions regarding any aspect of your tarot study
or practice and we'll do our best to answer them
in an upcoming issue.

Spread the experience of tarot - share this newsletter
with other Tarot Enthusiasts!


 
Tarot Tip
CRINGE-WORTHY COMMENTS FROM QUERENTS
 
 
This can be a very busy time for many readers. We'd 
like to give a special nod to those of you just entering 
the practice and to those who have booked your first 
paid reading gig!
 
There's nothing like earning your "wings" in reading
for others. If you have not already, you are destined
(pardon the pun) to hear or come across another reader 
who has heard some of the following questions and 
comments from querents:
 
~ "But the other psychic (or two) said..." "Do you see that too?"
~ "Are you real?"
~ "Did you steal your cards?"
~ "I read tarot too, this card means..."
~ "I read tarot too, how did you come up with that?"
~ "Read her/him, but don't read me..."
~ "Oh ^@%#, you are real!"
~ "Could I have a glass of wine/beer/margarita before we start?"
~ "I'm scared!"
~ "How accurate are you?"
~ "That's not accurate, but that is..."
~ "I pulled these cards in my own reading, what does it mean to you?"
~ < blank stare >
~ "I'm doing genealogy, could you contact my dead__"
~ "If you are real, what's my third cousin's name?"
~ "What's my palm say?"
~ "Who's the sexy woman/man pictured on the cards?"
~ "Do you give discounts?"
~ "Can I pay you when I get paid?"
~ "Could you read all three of us at once to save money?"
~ "Wait, which guy/gal are you reading on...there's three I'm dating.."
~ "What's your specialty?" What are you really good at?"
~ "I don't want my time wasted, could you answer one free question for me?"
~ "I don't like those cards, could you pull two more?"
~ "Interesting. OK, thanks!"
~ "I think you're overanalyzing."
~ "Well, don't you believe in Jesus Christ?"
~ "How long have you been doing this?"
 
The list can go on and on. Alas, you may get even more
outrageous comments. Much of this just comes with the
territory. Someone once said that being a tarot reader is
not for the faint-hearted. Keep in mind that your querents
may not have the same enthusiasm, and will probably not 
be as knowledgeable about tarot as you.
 
Although the examples mentioned above are certainly cringe-
worthy, if you take some time to think about them now, you
can be better prepared to deal with them when they happen.
One of the things you can do is to have an FAQ page on your
blog or webpage to help querents understand your reading
style. Client education goes a long way in any industry.
 
      
   


 Tarot School Aphorism

 
           

                         
 
 

 
 
Are you interested in
Birth Cards?

As you may or may not know, Wald has been
busily working away on a correspondence
course devoted to the Tarot School's method
of understanding and using Birth Cards.

From time to time, we send out updates, 
previews and behind-the-scenes peeks to
a special list of interested people.

We're about to send out a sample of
several pages from the lesson on the
Devil-Lovers pair. Curious?

 



           

Tarot Card Showcase

In this section we will feature tidbits on a specific tarot card. 
While there are many systems and decks to choose from in 
the world of tarot, here we use the Universal Waite Tarot 
images and symbols.
Copyright 1992 U.S Games.
 
 
 
 
PAGE OF SWORDS
 
Attributions:  

Astrological Attribution: Season of Spring

Esoteric Title: Princess of the Rushing Winds,
Lotus of the Palace of Air, Empress of the Sylphs,
Throne of the Ace of Swords

Elemental Counterchange: Earth (Page) of Air (Swords)

Force (Suit): Air, Mind, Thought, Boundary
Form (Rank): Earth, Body, Sensation, Appetite
 
  
 
NOTE:
To get an immediate, instinctive feel for the nature and
importance of an Elemental Counterchange--of suit and rank,
of force and form--insert the word "of" or "for" between 
corresponding attributions of force and form. In the case of 
the Page of Swords, for example, these attributions can be 
read as "Earth of Air," "Body of Mind," "Sensation of Thought," 
and "Appetite for Boundary." 
 
(A fuller explanation of Elemental Counterchanges will come in a later lesson.) 
 
           
A Note on the Traditional Meanings:

Like the Karmic Interpretations of the Major Arcana,
the Traditional Meanings of the Minors combine the
implications of esoteric attributions with the practical
divinatory experience of many expert readers. They are
intimately linked, but you may not always see the connection.
This is due to the tendency of esotericists and readers to 
go their separate ways and interpret the cards from different
perspectives. In time and with increasing experience, if you
have not already done so, you will eventually integrate
these two perspectives into a single, rich understanding. 
           
 
Traditional Meanings:
 
Youthful idealism animated by confidence, strength and
health. Optimism born of inexperience. Enthusiasm
unrestrained by a history of failures. Aware of problems but
believing in solutions; sensitive to inequities but trusting
in justice.

Precocious intellect manifests as impatience and conceit; a
prodigy who successfully competes with successful elders;
the smartest child in the whole world.

Elated by praise, dejected at failure, sensitive and easily
hurt, yet shows little surface emotion. High tolerance for
physical pain but disposed to melancholy. Alone, socially
awkward and inept, has little tolerance for nominal
authority and knows when the Emperor has no clothes.
Too stiff to dance but knows how to march and how to
use a sword.

Original and imaginative; admires competence; attracted to
causes and charisma; a natural rescuer. 
           
           
Imagery:

Symbols of AirWind-blown trees, clouds and hair; flying birds; 
yellow and mauve of clothing and blue sky, all colors of Air  

Symbol of Earth: Grassy hillside

Red Boots and Hair: Tendency to passion and action   

Posture: Shows courage, readiness to act, and skill with
the sword (mental, verbal and action skills, all aspects of Air) 

Blue Mountains: Horizon of thought and imagination (Air)
and limit of the visible world (Earth)
 
          
           
Excerpted from The Tarot School Correspondence Course
http://tarotschool.com/Course.html
 
 



                            Get in on a 4-month payment plan!
                         Join us at the 2015 Readers Studio!  http://ReadersStudio.com

 
   

 
Best Practices for Professional Readers
CHARGING FOR LARGE PARTIES AND EVENTS
 
By Gina Thies
 
 
Charging and pricing for special events are daunting tasks
for most practitioners. There are numerous troublesome
aspects and questions that many new providers usually 
ask before venturing out to get clients for events or large
venues.
 
Here are a few things to know or questions to ask before
committing to any large event:
 
 
  • Number of people attending
  •  
  • Are you the only reader?
  •  
  • Length of time you'll be present for readings
  •  
  • Supplies, tables chairs, props
  •  
  • Parking accommodations
  •  
  • Will you need to sign or provide a contract?
  •  
  • Are the organizers knowledgeable and well known?
  •  
  • Is this event a public fundraiser or a private party?
  •  
  • Mileage
  •  
    Once you have all the details, you can begin to look at your
    costs in terms of the time you spend and the money you make.
     
    Let's say, you charge a single private client $100 for a
    one-hour reading. If you book an event at the same $100 an
    hour, and do 10-minute readings for 2.5 hours, you'll make
    $250 and read for approximately 12 people. 
     
    But then, there's also often a 30-45 minute (or longer)
    drive to and from the event, the time it takes you to pack
    up and break down props, etc, and get yourself ready. That
    could be 5-6 hours of your time, which would give you an
    actual income of only $40-50 per hour.
     
    The point here is to decide if it is worth the fuss, and if
    you need to incorporate mileage, gas or other things into
    your pricing. One thing to do is to check out the pricing of
    other readers in your market. If the industry standard is
    $125 an hour in your area, why would you charge less? Some
    vendors add gas or other incidentals as surcharges in
    addition to their hourly cost.
     
    If the event has more than 50 attendees, it may be better to
    charge individually for a set amount of time. At private,
    special occasions, hosts generally want you as
    "entertainment" for their guests, much like a deejay or
    photographer, and so charging individually may not be an
    option.
     
    These are all things to think about, but everything is
    negotiable.
     
               
                             


    Featured Tarot Blog
    ROSE RED TAROT
     
    As sweet as a rose and as smart as a whip, Rose Red Robinson
    is a regular at Readers Studio and SF BATS. She has been
    studying tarot for 15 years. You'll enjoy reading about
    the cards through Rose Red's adventures and experiences. 
              
                       

     
     Upcoming Events:
     

  • November 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2014
  • Tarot Salon
    Forest Hills, New York
     
    Our popular Monday night Salons are the
    hottest thing in tarot instruction!
     
     
      
     
  • November 23, 2014
  • Readers Studio Teleconference -- Free!
     
    Come hang out with us on the phone
    at our monthly informal get-together.
    It's a great chance to catch up with each
    other and brainstorm new ideas.
     
     
     
     
  • January 24 - 25, 2015
  • Tarot School Winter Intensive
    The Elemental Array: Special Knowledge & Applications
    (Sold Out!)
     
     
     
       
     
     

     

     
     
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    Contact tarot@tarotschool.com
     
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    Directors: Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone