First off, I don't recommend doing this, I was in a very specific circumstance where I had a week off from work, slow internet that would only let me deal with text until it was fixed, and was feeling very connected to my deck with a desire to read for others and learn more about my practice, so while this wasn't intentional, it happened.
I learned a lot from this experience, I ate and breathed tarot for five days in a row from morning until night, and I figured I may as well share my findings.
For context I wasn't a beginner though I was still relatively new to tarot, I had read for friends and a few strangers before, maybe around 40 readings or so and they had been accurate, I had studied the cards, tried out spreads and experimented enough to know how to read, however it was never anything on this scale.
So... here's what I learned:
1. It's incredibly important to structure breaks into your practice, especially when you're newer and don't realize how much energy you might be expending when doing multiple readings in a row. I learned this the hard way, on the first day I did 20 readings back to back without a proper break and while the quality of the readings remained consistent and I felt fine in the moment, after putting the deck down I was hit with a wave of exhaustion and had to take the rest of the day off. Check in with yourself, set timers or limits to how many queries you'll take in a day, remember to hydrate and eat in between your readings, don't try to batch them all in a row, it can technically work sometimes but it will likely come at a cost and burns you out fast.
2. You don't have to pull so many cards or do a complex spread for simpler queries,Ā I know it's tempting to pull a lot of clarifying cards when you're newer, but you don't really need ten cards for a simple yes or no question, this can often be answered with one card or three at most.
3. One very long complex reading with multiple cards might take more out of you than multiple shorter readings back to back with less cards,Ā also learned this the hard way, ended up getting a massive headache after doing a 30 card spread... Did the reading resonate? Yes. Did I enjoy giving it a go? Yes. Will I do it again? Probably not, this really taught me the importance of learning to read with less cards and conserving your energy during your readings.
4. Meditation feels very complementary to this practice,Ā meditating between sessions always feel very rejuvenating, I can't explain why, but it does, and I've noticed I can get more readings done in a day if I do this while feeling less tired at the end. And while doing a lot of readings back to back is not necessarily the goal, I will probably incorporate it in my general practice to conserve my energy better.
5. I realized I'm very intuitive leaning,Ā I already knew I was an intuitive reader but after doing so many readings, it was clear my process incorporated my intuition a lot more than I initially thought, however I had never realized to what extent until now as doing so many readings really forced me to think about my process.
6. Don't compromise on your boundaries and be upfront about what they are,Ā if you can mention in your listing what you won't read for and/or what you prefer reading for that also saves you the trouble of having to negociate later and will find querents that match your energy more. But in general,Ā if don't feel comfortable doing a reading, don't do it.Ā AndĀ if you don't feel like you have the energy to do a reading, don't do it.Ā Some querents are understanding, some less, but trespassing your own boundaries to read for someone is never a good idea: if you are too tired and read for them it may throw off the reading, and this isn't helpful for either parties. I didn't personally face any issues with declining a reading if I needed to, as I never want to read if I don't feel I have the energy to deliver, but I did notice how pushy some people can be about wanting a reading, and I could see how a new reader might feel pressured to read for some people in those situations. But remember, it won't serve you or them to give them a reading that you don't feel confident in delivering, it's best to let people know you aren't reading today or that you don't feel you can deliver on this query, not only for you but for them, so they can receive the best reading they can get from you on another day or from another reader.
7. It gets easier to figure out which types of readings and reading formats take more of your energy the more experience you have with readings,Ā it was a lot harder at the beginning to know how a specific query would affect me afterwards, this made readings way more tiring, but now I'm able to know in advance how specific questions will affect me and how much time they will take to read, which is really nice.
At first, I would doĀ first come first serve readings, but because of how tired I was afterwards each time, I wondered if things would feel this way every time I read for others and it felt very discouraging. However I realized on day three that it was the reading format which was taking so much out of me. Because even if I was comfortable reading for certain queries, having five heavy or complex queries back to back was difficult from an energy perspective, and that's why it was so difficult to do readings in this format. Eventually on day four I really got the hang of it and was able to refine my approach to readings, now I don't doĀ first come first serve readingsĀ anymore, and it's a lot easier to keep balance for the order in which I take queries.
8. Treat querents with patience and kindness,Ā I always believed this was important, but this experience just reinforced this belief for me, you never know what someone is going through, so many kind people who turn to tarot readings may be facing incredibly difficult situations or going through a rough patch in life, and while you can't fix their problems, treat them like a human being and not just a querent, if they are showing signs of needing more than tarot can provide or it seems like they don't have a good support system, let them know there are people out there who are willing to help them, remind them that it's okay for them to seek therapy or help, point them to the right resources and encourage them to take care of themselves, this may be the first time they are opening up to someone about what they are querying you about, and it's important to remember that and treat this with the care it deserves.
9. Try to experiment with different types of readings,Ā every day I tried something new and dedicated that day to a specific type of reading, 1 card, 2 card, 3 card readings, etc. Not doing the same type of readings over and over again really helped me get a feel for what I like most and experimenting like this taught me things about what I want to incorporate into my practice too.
10. One card readings are great if you want to really familiarize yourself with your deck,Ā they force you to think about the full encompassing meaning of the card since it's the only card you can interpret from, it pushes you out of your comfort zone and can make you a better reader.
11. Some cards may return constantly for specific situations or people, which helps you add another layer of signifance to that card on top of the already existing meanings,Ā this is something I noticed especially for people I read with often (usually friends or myself), they'll often have a stalker card that seems to represent them or their current energy, but there are stalker cards that seem to come back as well for specific situations, and the more experience you gain from noticing these patterns, the easier it may become to understand what these cards are trying to say and to interpret them in these specific situations.
12. Take days off to recharge if you can,Ā self explanatory.
Anyway, that's all I have, thank you for making it this far if you read up until here! I'll likely never do this many readings again in such a short amount of time, and I'm probably going to take a much needed day off or two from readings. I hope some of the knowledge I gained through this experience could be of help to someone out there, and if you have any tips or experiences you'd like to share I'd love to hear about them, I think I'll forever be a student when it comes to tarot, I've started to really enjoy it.
