Why I No Longer Price My Readings Based On Card Count
When I began charging for readings, I structured my offerings by basing the cost of the reading on the number of cards expected to be drawn. I rolled this way for many many months until I began to meet some resistance and frustration over the process. What if I wanted to draw more cards? What if it turns out, I had the answer in just a couple cards? What if half of the input came straight from spirit and the cards were more supplementary? For my style of reading, the whole process was just too restrictive and unnatural and that's not fair - not for my clients and not for me.
It occurred to me then that this structure was no longer working. My readings needed to be priced based on type and my experience with those types, which helped inform what the price point should be. Why does this structure work better for me and my clients? Let me provide you some rationale!
I can now pull as many cards as the inquiry requires, which gives me more flexibility when I'm reading.
It is my experience that some cards carry more weight than others and when I charge per card, I'm basically saying that all cards are of equal worth - and that's just not the case. Some cards require multiple paragraphs of explanation; some a few lines. Also, you could ask a question and I could pull 3 cards and have the answer with plenty of words to write and lots of juicy information to give with no pressure to throw in extra cards just to meet a quota.
It allows my readings to be more fluid and intuitive. There are many times when the messages are coming from beyond the cards and so to add filler out of obligation actually detracts from the message rather than adds to.
But rest assured, this changes nothing in terms of the quality or length of your report. When you order a reading, you'll see a predicted word count for that particular selection and btw, most readings exceed that estimation and some even exceed it greatly!
At the end of the day, I never know what spirit will want to convey until I sit down to perform the reading. Spirit may only need a few cards - or spirit may need a ton! I've come to understand that this isn't something I feel comfortable quantifying beforehand. For me, the emphasis is on the client and the question. And how I get to your particular answer will be a unique process where I work with the decks and the spreads that I feel drawn to utilize in that moment. This isn't a cookie cutter process and so my goal is to answer the question and provide empowered advice - not draw the required amount of cards.
Of course this is just me and my style and other readers will have their own thing and that's absolutely fine. The purpose of me sharing this is to explain a bit about how I work and why I work that way - especially if you've never had a reading with me! Feel free to chime in down in the comments and let me know your process if you're a reader or your preference if you're someone who loves getting a reading!
Lots of magick,
Julia