Gloomy Readings

Could people please share advice on how to close a rather gloomy reading so that the sitter does not feel too discouraged? I try to give people a balanced viewpoint of what the cards are saying, to stay even within myself so my emotional response to the cards does not play into it, but sometimes it is just clear that the picture is not a pretty one.

some things i have tried (though would not wholeheartedly recommend to anyone):
- summarized the advice the cards are giving (if there is any) so they are reminded there is a potential path forward and it is seen clearly (but sometimes there is no advice given)
- pointed out they have the power to change the direction things are going (but sometimes it is out of their hands)
- tried to give them comfort that "this too shall pass" (but maybe not, and pretty lame anyway)
- hardened myself a bit, closed the reading and just left it for them to deal with (chafes my libran sensibilities.)

pasara said:

Could people please share advice on how to close a rather gloomy reading so that the sitter does not feel too discouraged?

Click to expand...

I tell them everything I see. However, I also stress to the sitter that I have been wrong on numerous occasions and strongly advise them to seek a second opinion.

Try to point out the positives they can get from the bad reading...try to find the silver lining. Not sure if that works all the time, or if they'll think you're just being a jerk...

I have the added "advantage" (hah) of having been through a pretty tough life so I can sympathize and help them find how best to get through it or find the silver lining/lesson to be learned.

I had one reading in particular I did for someone, that seemed so harsh to me...I did do my best to find the silver lining, and show them how their personal growth can benefit...I do imagine that would be hard though, in the case of someone losing someone close to them to death, etc...

I've been accused of being "Pollyanna" before so I try to not be TOO positive in the face of adversity...that's just plain annoying, I imagine.

~Yira

One thing that learned from I Ching, except in very rare circumstances there is always a way forward. Draw another card for 'advice' and discuss for a few minutes.

In life bad periods can go on for a long time and since tarot doesn't go really far into the future (since the future seems to get more malleable to farther out you go) you might emphasize that the reading is for now and the immediate future.

What I have done is that this reading is not written in stone, that this is what can happen what could happen. That the sitter ultimately makes the choices to have the reading come true or not.

The cards are tools that help you the reader to offer to the sitter some alternatives to their lives. It's not the absolute blueprint of what will absolutely happen.

Perhaps you could use that type of approach?

Mileage may vary,...

It depends on how you read. Are you talking about a reading about the future? Or a reading about a relationship?

There is always something positive in every reading. If bad is happening, it is for a reason. There is a lesson to be learned in it. If you can get that, then you will now what the good to come is.

I agree with Alta, pull more cards for advice if you get stuck. I think readings should never be left on a negative note. Otherwise, we haven't done service to our reader.

There will always be challenges in all of our lives, that's life. We could not grow without it. What the cards are able to do, at least for me, is to prepare my sitter for such challenges and to show them the best way through. This does not take away the challenge itself but makes it more manageable with a plan in place. Also, the heads up takes away the element of surprise. If you are able to help your sitter with their plan, which shows a way out, then the bad reading suddenly turns into something helpful instead of bad.

I hope that makes sense.

I do what Alta does... If I get an outcome or a reading that looks bad I ask the cards what we can do to get the most out of this bad situation or I ask if there is anything that can be done to make the situation better.. Lay out three more cards and read them as advice.

I'm with Alta and Sulis - BUT - I also say stuff about how all these apparently bad things are also opportunities... That's what they kept telling us at work with every new bombshell - and if you could believe it, it did help....

I tell them we can make choices in our lives that can upright cards and actually change the course of things. This is what is likely to occur if you stay on the current path and do nothing. Then I look for advice that may be able to say change those things.

Almost all my reading are gloomy and the ones I often give are also gloomy, as I and the people I often read for are in difficult transition periods.

I and many of the people I read for are comforted by the stating of reality. Often others cannot handle watching our lives, so gloss over the heartbreaks and deny things are as bad as they are. Denial harms, not helps.

I'm really loving the Zerner-Farber and the books that go with it lately, because they label the bad accurately and then give advice for how to deal with it.