Tarot with Tasha: Tarot at the Carnival of TERROR!

Madmen, Killer Clowns, Murderers and "Tasha" Await YOU at the Carnival of TERROR!

Looking all mystical and magickal for a wild night of Tarot!

A few months ago I alluded that I would be reading fortunes at a community event called, Scare to Care. I have been so busy doing readings and of course, celebrating Halloween, that I never got a chance to talk about what an amazing adventure it was! To begin, you must understand that I live in a very small city, where literally nothing alternative happens, like ever. The concept of an "adult" haunted house is a new one to Saint John, where almost everything that happens is centred around families with small children. It is kind of like the town in Footloose, minus Kevin Bacon and his penis. When our local, Loyalist City Paranormal decided to create a legit scary haunted house, teenagers and adults alike were delighted. Not only did this group of totally wicked people offer something fun and new to the city they were doing it to raise proceeds for the Canadian Mental Health Association; with 100% of money raised going to the Saint John Chapter. This is huge and proves that spooky folks truly are the most giving people! By the end of the two week run they raised an incredible, $10,000!!!

I call her Brumhilda, killed by the sight of Kevin Bacon's penis. <3

I was reading Tarot there the first week of the Carnival because the second week, I was away on my trip to Salem. It was an incredible experience for me, even if it was only for a short time. I decided to do Tarot readings instead of palm readings because to be honest, reading palms bores me. I would likely have turned into my friend Brumhilda (pictured above). I also don't enjoy touching sweaty hands. I did readings by donation and ended up raising around $268.00, with 100% of the proceeds going to the cause. Instead of my typical ten card reading, I decided to skim it down to six, which I am glad I did!

I still feel pretty good about myself for being able to contribute to something that means so much to me. I think everyone can benefit from the services that the Canadian Mental Health Association has to offer, so to be able to help a group that has helped me, means a lot.

Being able to read cards and be the Fortune Teller at a carnival, was a pretty big deal to me, it kind of feels like, I have "made it" to the big times. I remember being a kid and going to the fair and there would always be this mystical lady (or sometimes a man) tucked away in a dark tent making people laugh or cry; couples would be going in together and coming out blushing; there is a certain allure to this and I have always aspired to be like these magickal people someday. I am so excited that I can finally say that I have a small part in that history.

Let me paint the setting for you: the Scare to Care group set up this awesome tent for me, that was draped in colourful scarves; inside, was full of pictures of magicians and Tarot cards. There were salt lamps and the mood was something right off the Midway. Haunting calliope music was booming out of the sound system and when the lights were turned off everything was bathed in a blood red glow. The volunteers who set this up, spent countless hours of their own time making all of this happen and they did an amazing job. Before I even started putting my own energy into the tent, I could feel magick in there.

I wish I took a picture at night, this lights on pic just doesn't do it justice.

Why, hello handsome!

When I arrived on the first night I had no idea what to expect. I sat down at my table, took a deep breath, checked my lipstick- which looked FIERCE by the way, and made sure my Tarot cards were well shuffled. I had no idea what type of people would be coming to see me or how they would react. I was so nervous on night one, my stomach was in knots with anticipation. They called 15 min until show time, then 10 and then 5... I was counting down getting ready and then my first client came in. Immediately my nervousness disappeared and I went into full stealth Tarot mode.

In the beginning people stopped by and peeked their heads in to see what was going on. Volunteers from the carnival stopped by to get readings, which was really fun. I have never read for skeletons, marionettes, clowns or monsters before. It is an interesting task to pick up on someone's energy as they are costumed in an awesomely horrifying way. The first 30 minutes did not prepare me for what was to come. Soon the crowds started to pile in and my line began to grow longer and longer. By night three I had a 45min wait to see me at some points in the line. Never would I have believed I would have this many people coming to get a reading!

It allowed me to read for people that I would typically not read for. Not to sound sexist because there are men who love Tarot and some of the dearest men to me, read cards, but as a norm most of my clientele is female. It was fun to read for the fellows and I think they enjoyed it. Men have a different energy than woman; which made it fun and unique for me. I also had the pleasure of reading for a lot of young people. I love to read for teens. Their energy is so vibrant and they know how to laugh at themselves and have fun. Even though I wish I could steal their youth like a vampire, I really love their energy. The awesome thing about young people is that they have an open mind and they always ask the best questions. I even had a young lady who decided to pick up her very own deck of Tarot cards after her reading. I wish her the best in her future Tarot adventures!

Another fun aspect of this was reading for young children. Typically, I don't really read for many children (I will be doing a future post on this) but at the carnival many kids stopped in to see me. It was fun telling them that they will grow up to be successful or in love. That they will meet the woman or man of their dreams and see them blush as their mothers watch with a close protective eye. I had two very memorable young boys stop over who wanted to be future NHL stars. I told them to keep working hard and not to give up not their dreams. I also advised them that when they make the NHL I expect a special "Tarot Reader shout-out" on either Twitter or whatever fanfangled thing kids will be using in the future. Several couples came to visit me, I could see them holding hands under the table and having little laughs to themselves about different things I told them. For some reason the sex card was very popular with the couples I read for, I guess its true that fear breeds arousal! I wonder if there will be any Scare to Care babies born in the next 8 months?!

If this doesn't get your gears going, I don't know what would!

All in all this was a very moving and memorable experience for me. I met some truly wonderful people reading there and am grateful to every single one of them. The volunteers and planners who made this happen and of course all the great people who waited in line to get a reading done. Having all these strangers share their stories, laugh and even shed a few tears with me was a very healing experience. My cards are now full of all of your energy and I am so lucky to have had the chance to take part in this. I can only hope that they made need a Tarot Reader next year and I can do it all again!

Here are some more pictures of the carnival for your viewing pleasure: