I must say that on the short amount of time I have spent here on TM, Mark Lewis & Craig Browning have imparted more knowledge in their postings than all the books I slavishly purchase from Amazon. Truly inspiring.
To this end, after a 10 year absence from the reading tables, I have just returned from my first face-to-face tarot reading. The woman was delighted and paid me in cash - which is always a bonus. Thanks to Craig & Mark I have now realised that magic & magik (for want of better terms) can live quite happily together, sometimes even within the same act. By re-introducing the tarot readings, my bookings are now looking a lot healthier than when I relied on table-hopping (and the occassional kids party) alone.
I have also received my first booking for a new table-hopping format. I have dubbed this "gothic magic & psychic illussion". Rather than the normal table-hopping, these small performaces include a trick-or-two using the tarot rather than "normal" cards, followed by a real tarot reading. Yes, it's all a bit bizzare-esque, but the tarot reading is real rather than cold (or even hot) reading. The booking is with a specialist gothic nightclub called Batfink, and I'm hopeful it will be the springboard for great things in the future. Plus I get to live out my Addams Family fantasies!
On the subject of cold reading (and hot reading too) - I've found that trying to combine cold readings, hot readings, and straight tarot readings leads only to disappointment. The reading becomes fuzzy, blurred and unsatisfactory. How anyone can use cold & hot reading and expect impressive results is beyond me. Far better to go in blind and just let the cards speak.
Anyway, great posts everyone. Me like!
