Readings about other people

Something that's always made me uncomfortable is when a seeker asks for a reading regarding somebody who's not present. Maybe it's my view of how the Tarot works (a combination of psychological insight and a reflection of the patterns surrounding the seeker). It seems to me that if the person featured in the reading is not present, the reading is likely to be a reflection of what the seeker thinks and already knows about that person, not a true picture of what may be going on with the person the seeker wants to know about.

In your view, does reading about non-present people work? If so, how?

cheers,
pyrogyne

This is part of an issue that comes up constantly here. And there are as many answers as there are members.

I think it doesn't work - I think if someone is asking about THEIR life and there are issues relating to someone else say "What is preventing my getting a promotion at work ?" and there is - say - deliberate deceit by a colleague that is sabotaging you - that kind of thing may well come up. But to ask what your colleagues are doing behind your back, or whether the boss is having an affair with his secretary - I think won't. Not for me anyway. I think you do need the energy and actually in MY view and NOT that of others here, their agreement, if not presence, to get that kind of input from the cards.

Others here will post exactly the opposite view now and I can say "told you so" !

gregory said:

This is part of an issue that comes up constantly here. And there are as many answers as there are members.

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I figured as much; I'm really interested in those varying views.

gregory said:

I think it doesn't work <i>(quote snipped)</i> But to ask what your colleagues are doing behind your back, or whether the boss is having an affair with his secretary - I think won't. Not for me anyway. I think you do need the energy and actually in MY view and NOT that of others here, their agreement, if not presence, to get that kind of input from the cards.

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(nodding) Thus far, that's my experience, too...I most often get "What does he think of me" kind of questions, and so far, I've said that I can't use Tarot to answer that.

Well, you can use tarot to answer that, and it will answer that. The question the reader has to face is "Am I comfortable asking that"?

I guess that I have, mostly when I was baffled at work, but not that often. Generally I don't when I read myself, but on the whole I try to not impose my views on those for whom I am reading.

Alta

Alta said:

Well, you can use tarot to answer that, and it will answer that. The question the reader has to face is "Am I comfortable asking that"?

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Maybe *you* can, but so far, *I* have not been able to. When I've tried, I mostly see a jumbled mess. It might have something to do with my discomfort, of course, a refusal of my mind to cooperate with something that niggles at my conscience.

Hence the reason for asking. I'm not looking to rationalize away my discomfort, but it seems to me that at least some discomfort is born of ignorance; I want to educate myself, and see if the discomfort remains.

cheers,
pyrogyne

Sorry, I see that came across wrong.

I think I have lost the thread here.... Alta - you are saying you could pick up - say - if I asked if my boss was having an affair ? (leaving aside the "comfortable reading on this issue" side of it ?)

I don't think I could.

Then again - could that in itself be because - as is well known - my monumental aversion to third party readings where the person asking the question has no direct involvement, as you might say ? Which would fit with what pyrogyne says.

I have wondered about this a lot, and there are two issues surrounding your question:

1) Does it work? Can you get an accurate reading about a third party?

2) Should you do it? Is it ethical?

I think that the SHOULD part is only really relevant if you think the answer to Question #1 is YES.

If you don't put too much stock in the outcome of a reading on a third party, then who cares if it's ethical? You're essentially doing it to waste time or appease someone. But, I think if you don't really believe in the accuracy of a third party reading, you owe it to a sitter to explain that viewpoint. You might even say, as Gregory pointed out, that unless the question is framed in a way that involves the sitter directly, it's probably not going to mean much. (For example: "What's the status of M's relationship with L?" Is not really the best question. A more accurate response might come from a sitter asking, "What role does M's relationship to L play in keeping M from reuniting with Z?" or something like that.)

If, on the other hand, you do believe the tarot accurately reads other people -- people who are not in the room and who did not ask for the reading -- then I think you need to decide if you would want a tarot reader poking his/her nose into your business without asking.

Ultimately, my feeling about third party stuff is that I can't tell if they're accurate or not because unless you see or talk to the person you're asking about, you'll never really know if you're getting the "correct" response from the cards. I think: take it with a grain of salt.

I also think that oftentimes the cards' answers to questions like, "What's the status of M's relationship with L?" are not really the ANSWER to the question asked, but more like, "I'm going to tell you why you're asking me this question."

If I know someone and I do a reading for them, then usually the Tarot will tell me what I'm asking. If I do a reading for someone asking about " how will a date with so-and-so go" I have to have some background info on the person theyre inquiring about, like I have to know about them, to make sure their essence is with the cards.

Although I find it somewhat peeking into another person's business when asked about someone I don't know about.

I don't think it's a big deal to ask about another person if it has to do with the person asking, but wouldn't do it if nothing to do with them. For example, I wouldn't ask about Mr X's relationship to Ms.Y just because Ms Z wants to know. But I would if Miss Z was actually Mrs X. I would also be comfortable asking what was going on with someone if their behavior changed significantly and it was affecting me or I was close to them and concerned.