When I first joined the tarot community on Tumblr, I did free readings all the time. It was a fun way to get experience and to get my name out there as a reader. I used to get so excited about making graphics announcing a “free readings weekend” and thrilled every time a new message popped up in my inbox. But somewhere along the way, free readings lost their spark for me. I would spend those weekends feeling stressed out and guilty if I would do something as simple as going out to dinner while there were reading requests waiting for me. Eventually, I stopped doing them altogether.

I still get requests all the time to do free readings, and some people don’t understand why I don’t want to do them anymore. I’m sure these people don’t mean anything by it – if you don’t ask for something then you’re definitely not going to get it, right? The answer, though, is almost always no. I feel like sometimes this makes me come across as rude (even though I try to be polite – I don’t like having to tell people no!) But while to the requester it might not seem like a big deal for me to just draw a card for them, it actually kind of is. Here are a few reasons why I no longer do free readings.

1. Time is money.

Let’s start with the biggest reason – I am a busy gal. I work full-time, have a freelance job, run my tarot business, and also have this blog, which requires writing posts and being active on social media – it’s time consuming. In the hours I’m not at my full-time job, I need to juggle all of the extra work I do PLUS find time to run errands, do chores around the house, exercise, make dinner, have a social life, see my boyfriend, and occasionally take a minute for myself. I truly did not understand the full value of my time until I hardly had any, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that there is no “down time” in my life – everything I do has to be strategic to be sure I’m hitting all my deadlines and not neglecting any one area of my life. So when someone asks me for a free tarot reading, that means time taken away from these other things that either make me actual money or contribute to my overall well-being.

2. I take my readings seriously and I want my clients to, too.

Every time I have offered free readings, while I got to meet so many amazing and genuine people (and help them, I hope!) the requests I received were overwhelmingly from people who a) didn’t read my guidelines first, b) didn’t know anything about me as a reader, c) never spoke to me again or gave me any feedback after the reading, or d) all of the above. Sometimes people would even get rude or snippy with me when I didn’t turn around their reading immediately, and that sucked because hey, I’m trying to do a good thing over here! I think it’s disrespectful to the tarot reader and tarot in general if you just stop by for some quick guidance and then leave without so much as a thank you, and unfortunately these experiences were so common that it left me with a bad taste in my mouth and made me feel cheap.

When someone comes to my Etsy shop to buy a reading, I have given them ample information about who I am and the kinds of readings I do. I trust that they have read my guidelines, and by putting money on the table they have shown that they value me and my services and are signing on for me, Dana, to read tarot for them – not just snagging a reading on the fly from whoever happens to be giving free readings at the moment. I feel respected and I’m able to give a better reading when I can communicate with my client and be sure I’m getting them what they need. We have an obligation to and a contract with each other that doesn’t always happen with free readings.

3. It’s not fair for anyone.

That’s not to say that free readings aren’t fair – I mean that if I, personally, were to do them, it wouldn’t be fair. In my shop, I offer three-card readings as one of the options people can purchase. It’s an affordable option that I think is accessible for most people, even if someone is short on funds. Even if I just draw one card for free, that’s a third of the service that others are willing to pay for. It makes it seem like I’m short-changing my clients by making them pay extra for something others can get for free, and I don’t think that’s right. It’s also not fair for the person requesting the reading, because let’s be honest, I’m just not able to put the same amount of time and effort into a free reading as I would for a paid reading (see #1). When I was open for free readings I would be flooded with requests, which made me anxious and unable to devote more than a few minutes to each person. Pair that with the aforementioned lack of respect or gratitude and it just always felt like a very unspecial experience. I want every reading to be special, both for myself and for my client.

4. It’s exhausting.

Like I said, I would get tons of requests for free readings when I announced I was open for them. That takes a lot of energy, yo! I’m already so drained all the time from working all day erryday, so the added stress and exhaustion from something that didn’t contribute much to my goals in the long run just wasn’t worth it for me. That might sound selfish, but I have to put my self-care first in order to care for others, as so many others have said before me.

It feels kind of crappy even writing this post, because in an ideal world I would be able to help anyone who needs it, all the time. And of course if a friend asks me for some guidance, I’ll pull a card from them – they know me and they know what to expect, and they also know that they might have to wait a little while for me to get back to them. But overall, while free readings served me well when I was first getting a feel for the tarot community on Tumblr, they no longer work for me.

All that aside, I absolutely recommend giving free readings as a way to get experience and meet people in the tarot community if those are things you want and need. I gained so many new friends from the times I was open for them, and really did receive some valuable feedback from the kind souls who offered it. But if you’re at a point where you feel more exhausted than excited at the prospect, move on. You don’t have to feel guilty about making the rules for your own life, and you don’t owe anyone your skills just because you have them. No one would fault an accountant for not wanting to balance a complete strangers’ books for them for free, so you shouldn’t feel guilty, either! Do what makes your life better. Do what moves you towards your goals. And once something stops working for you, ditch it. It’s not worth feeling miserable for the sake of others, you know? Take care of yourself – anyone who hates on your decision probably wouldn’t be a very nice client, anyway.

And if you’re on the receiving end of a free reading, for goodness’ sake, say thank you!

How do you feel about free tarot readings? Do you offer them?