I spent most of last month not only being physically sick, but sick of myself. An excerpt from last month’s newsletter particularly irked me:
I also see a Wheel of Fortune year as trying new things and having new adventures… being open to experimentation and to some degree, risk. In that spirit, I have been working on creating a customized PDF report of a yearly overview. It’s currently in beta-testing at the moment, but I’ve created a sample reading based upon the Cards of the Month from each monthly newsletter from 2016. It’s a modification of the Clock Spread I did eons ago for one of the Tarot Apprentice challenges… then I realized that Kim Krans, creator of The Wild Unknown everything, included a near identical spread as a part of her wonderful Spirit Cloth! Click on the link and check it out: 13 Moons Sample. If this is something that interests you, please let me know by sending me an email, Subj. Line: Interested in Yearly Overview. Based on interest, I may make them available to a limited number of people, because boy, they are intense and time-consuming to do!
YAWN. Even I’M bored with what I wrote! Yes, really. I blasted out the newsletter January 1st, leading with a sample reading of a new yearly forecast.
Fair warning: I HATE forecasting via tarot. Predictive tarot readings just aren’t my style. Predictions DO happen within my readings, yes, but they are not the backbone of them: they are an added bonus, an extra shot of espresso, gratis, or a super-big dollop of whipped cream on top of your white chocolate mocha. The predictions are not why people seek me out for readings. In my opinion, people come to me for my no BS delivery, sans sugar-coating or babying. NOT for the rare moments of outright prediction.
So…. why the hell would I offer something that is solely predictive? Your guess is as good as mine.
A conversation with one of my Beta-Testers for the Yearly Overview reading:
Me: Yeah, that’s another thing. The info. “Predictive” stuff isn’t really my style. And you/I won’t know if it’s useful until a year from now.
Beta-Tester: Very true. Do you think you’ll offer more predictive readings in the future?
Me: Unsure. If it’s useful to people and they want/like it, sure. I sometimes make predictions during readings, but when the reading is all predictive-based I feel like I’m shooting into the dark. If you’ve ever seen Robin Hood: Men in Tights, where Blinkin the blind servant is serving as a lookout…
[Blinkin, the blind man, is up in a perch looking out for strangers]
Robin Hood: Blinkin! What are you doing?
Blinkin: Guessing. I guess no one’s coming.
—Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
That’s how I feel when I do completely predictive readings. I feel like I’m guessing. And that, my friends, ain’t real tarot reading.
Bottom line: If you’re not thrilled about what you’re offering, your clients won’t be, either.
Here’s the deal: It may sound simple, but offer up what people already like. In that spirit, I’ve just recently made one-card readings available via email. They’re quick. They’re specific to your question. And they only cost a little more than a fancy cup of coffee.
Don’t fret if you happen to be the few people interested in the yearly forecast: they’re not entirely off the table… but they won’t be available until December 2017/January 2018. I know, I know, that’s a super-long-ways-away. Why? Because I want to see how the beta-testers yearly forecast turn out before opening this service-based product to the public for purchase. 🙂
And ironing out the kinks before presenting something to the public? THAT’S something that I can really get behind.
Blessings,
~*~Hilary~*~
www.tarotbyhilary.com
hilary@tarotbyhilary.com
Comment below if you’ve ever done something just because everyone else was offering something similar. Let’s discuss!
P.S.—Speaking of being sick… I’m FINALLY feeling better and have reopened in-person and phone/skype readings! Click here if you’d like to schedule: https://tarotbyhilary.acuityscheduling.com/
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© Hilary Parry Haggerty | Tarot by Hilary
Thank you so much for this post, Hilary! I think there really is a lot of pressure as a tarot reader to offer what everyone else is offering, because it’s hard to explain to every potential client the types of readings you don’t do, and there’s the worry that if you have a long list of disclaimers about what you will and won’t read about people will think you’re a phony or just won’t bother ordering from you. That’s how I feel, anyway! I think in the end it’s always better to be true to yourself and attract clients that are on board with you and your style. But I’m of the same mind about predictive readings. They’re not as interesting to me and I don’t like doing them!
I do offer a 12-month forecast reading in my shop, but rather than being purely predictive, I frame it as giving a focus for each month. That way there’s some flexibility and I can interpret the cards however my intuition tells me instead of narrowing my focus to only predictions, but I can easily include predictions if they come up! Maybe you could change your offering in a way that gives you more flexibility, too? Thank you so much for sharing!
Dana! Thank you so much for commenting (and I absolutely love what you do on your blog!).
I will definitely think about revising the yearly forecast to be more “advice for the month” for each card pulled: that’s how I do my card of the month predictions in my newsletter on the first of the month, and that seems to be more in keeping with my style of reading tarot.
You definitely have it right when you say there’s a lot of pressure as a tarot reader to offer what everyone else is offering, but where does that pressure come from? My hypothesis: it’s US. We do it to ourselves WAAAAAY more than others (other tarot readers or our clients) do it to us. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!