why do I get stuck sometimes???

I did a reading for my sister today and drew a total blank. Cards I thought I had a grasp on were like black voids...I couldn't see a thing. The Hangman for example came up in an important spot and was a total washout cause I couldn't put it into words. Im using Kat Black's Golden Tarot.

Why does this happen? Does this brain freeze happen to everyone? I dont wanna get too down on myself cause mostly I interpret fairly well and I am still very new at this. But I felt really bad cause I knew the cards were trying to tell her something important but my speaking skills were out the window

Sorry for the vent, but Im frustrated and feel like like I have no grasp on this

I think this happens from time to time to everyone even with experienced tarot card readers. Maybe you could write down the cards on your tarot journal and then come back to it later. Sometimes the mind can go blank like a computer and the best thing one can do about it is take a rest, or walk and then come back to it later.

HerzogIsGod said:

I did a reading for my sister today and drew a total blank.

Why does this happen? Does this brain freeze happen to everyone?

Click to expand...

It's extraordinarily difficult to read for people you know, and far worse if they are people you have feelings about. Your own thoughts stomp all over your intuition and prevent it from speaking up, which is why I prefer to read for strangers. In most people, that manifests as the reader thinking they're reading the cards, when in fact they're merely relating the cards to their prior thoughts and impressions about the person's life instead of seeing the often very different messages there. In others like you and me, we are a bit more aware of our intuition and can feel it being stomped on, so we just go into a brain-freeze. <starts craving ice cream>

Solution: refer your sister to someone else. Oh, and show her this thread, so she knows you're not just an idiot.

When this happens to me, I try to clear my mind and ask the card "What are you trying to tell me?" Don't worry about what the book says, just go with what message comes through. I also pay attention to where my focus is being drawn to on the card.

Another thing that's helped me is visualizing myself in the scene on the card.

I tend to be in agreement with Nisaba. It IS hard to read for those close to us especially when we are new to Tarot, for many reasons including those Nisaba stated. When I first started to read I felt terribly self conscious around those close to me & this stunted my interpretations as subconsciously I suppose I was scared of looking silly to those I cared about if the reading was wildy innacurate. I still prefer to read for strangers or those I only have limited knowledge of simply because I ONLY use my intuition then & the annoying brain interferes less. I do though now read sometimes for family & friends occasionally but in a different way, more of a conversational reading involving the other party a lot more & bringing their observations in more than I would during a "paid" reading. I do still however get wary of them possibly thinking "but you knew that" even now 20 odd years later

MM

I find it very difficult to read for family members. I feel that I know too much plus I don't want to step on any toes or make them cross with me. I think I freeze because it feels as if there is too much at stake, meaning in the relationships and sometimes difficult cross-currents that happen in families.

Though I never seem to have problems reading for even very close friends.

Alta

With me, it seems like the harder I'm trying, the blanker I get, until literally the cards turn into some Dead Language that just stares at me intimidatingly, taunting me. When the cards are speaking to me in some foreign, archaic language that I don't even BEGIN to understand, how on EARTH am I supposed to relay that to my sitter?

My solution is to step back. And I mean really, really step back, separate myself from the entire situation mentally. Do you have a favorite place, one that makes you feel calm and at complete peace? Imagine yourself there, immerse yourself fully in it. Feel the sun on your face, the water lapping at your feet, hear the crickets chirping, whatever it is. Once you're centered again and feel more balanced, try looking at the cards again.

What's changed now? What seems different? Does anything stand out as significant? Remember, you don't always have to read the cards in the order in which they fall; if something really jumps out at you as important, start there and then web your way out into other cards.

As nisaba said, it can be incredibly hard to read for people you know, especially those that you know well and have a special attachment to. You really have to be able to compartmentalize and put aside whatever prior knowledge you have of the sitter and their situation. This in and of itself is immensely difficult, and there's no shame in not being able to separate the two. Nisaba said it best; sometimes, your intuition and your knowledge of the situation just overload and short-circuit and you just go completely blank. If necessary, you can always refer your sister to another reader, or even have her join here and participate in exchanges! We do have the Newbie Exchanges, so that might be perfect.

Another thing you can try is simply starting with one card. This is another personal thing, but let's say I'm doing a 5 card reading. If I turn all 5 cards over at once, I easily get overwhelmed and can't see connections between cards. If I started with one card, then turn over the next, then the next, etc., I find I'm able to "tell a story" easier that way. Draw the Heirophant, describe what that means to your sitter, then turn over then next card, say, the 5 of Cups, and draw correlations between the two. Then pull turn over the next card, let's say...3 of Cups, and continue linking them together and you go along. Just something you can try and see how it work for you.

sometimes it is inexperience at literally reading 'aloud'. I wish I had my first aloud reading on tape. What an embarrassing experience.

So based on some good tips here I began practice reading to my coffee cup, dog, bamboo plant...There is a very real difference speaking what we are thinking because of course the mind is a mad monkey going 4 billion miles an hour and already knows what we mean.

Fantastic advice from AJ couldn't agree more it really does help. Give it a try I'm sure it will help you!

Try This

Something to try is,shut yourself in a room,have a tape recorder going,and just speak aloud whatever is going through your mind right then,and you'll be suprised at just what c**p clutters it up,and most of it is real unnecessary too. Im sure i saw that bit of advice in the osho-zen booklet...but...it works.