“Beer & Pretzels” Tarot

AUTHOR’S NOTE: One of the reading venues that professional readers often mention is parties. While I haven’t done one since the early days of my practice almost 50 years ago, I honed my chops on 15-minute reading sessions during more recent psychic fairs, so I know the bare-bones drill. The kind of parties I usually attend are more the “beer-and-pretzels” variety than “champagne-and-foie-gras” affairs, so I would have to seek out slightly different gatherings upon which to bestow my mystical insights.

My own preference is to treat divination as a solemn (even spiritual) calling that is best used to help people overcome challenges and surmount obstacles in their personal lives, so I’m disinclined to cheapen it merely for entertainment purposes. Walk-ins at public reading sessions are bad enough, but inebriated idlers who are only looking for amusement don’t interest me in the least.

I’ve seen these offerings called “popcorn” readings. They are lightweight with very little substance; certainly no heavy chewing and no labored swallowing of a philosophical nature. Since most party-goers are curious rather than serious about the outcome of such readings, the predictions they yield could be considered the “throw-away” kind. But I would probably just use my normal methods tailored to the abbreviated time-frame and let the sitters make of it what they will. The main concession I would make would be to use a simple spread of my own design for the purpose.

I’ve had my fill of giving free readings to attendees at my presentations, and I have no desire to work cheaply at soirees. The party venue strikes me as an “entertainment only” proposition in which lighthearted tarot readings are sandwiched in between foraging the nibbles and frequenting the bar. I like to have my sitters shuffle the deck, but I might have to draw the line at fingers smeared with chicken grease and hot sauce.

I have no doubt that these events can be fun as long as there are no loudly opinionated skeptics and hecklers in the crowd. I don’t feel like defending myself, although I can hold my own in any form of mental combat. Perhaps someday, if I ever find my way into a large and diverse enough social circle, I may have the chance to try my hand at it. But I’m not holding my breath since my own path is that of the Hermit and not the Magician.

Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on August 10, 2023.