Reading for yourself: Can the Tarot mirror back your fears?

I realized that there have been several occasions where I have tried to read for myself while feeling very anxious or worried about the situation I was asking about and it seems like the cards tend to just mirror my fears and show me EXACTLY what I am afraid of regarding the question asked or I get a reading that doesn't make sense.

But when I'm asking the same question on a calm and centered mind later on, the cards show me a different answer. Might not necessarily always be the positive answer I am hoping for, but at least an answer that shows me some insight to the situation.

Does this happen to anyone else that does read for themselves too? Do you find it hard to read on something that you are very affected by because it just seems as though the cards show you what you are most afraid of instead of answering your question accurately?

PS: I know the fault is on me not the cards! I'm just wondering if anyone else has gone through the same thing.

On a word, yes! I can't count the times that I've done readings on subjects that had me worried, only to have cards come back up that basically restated my question and those fears I most feared. Sometimes it felt like tarot was parroting me just to make me hear myself and see what I was doing to myself in the process.

Yes, they can. Which is why before reading for yourself when you're anxious (or just in general) you need to relax yourself.

And this is just me personally, but before I read for myself I always start with "Give me the truth and only the truth, do not let my thoughts and emotions interfere with this reading."

Kittysashimi said:

Does this happen to anyone else that does read for themselves too? Do you find it hard to read on something that you are very affected by because it just seems as though the cards show you what you are most afraid of instead of answering your question accurately?

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Reading for ourselves is actually one of the hardest things to do - specially if the situation matters and we are emotionally involved. I know very few people who can stay calm and objective when reading for something very important in their lives.

So, you are not alone. This has happened to me, and I have seen this happen to other readers. Nowadays I ask for another person to read for me, or only read after a certain time "cultivating my detachment" so to speak.

If you think you will not read very accurately about a personal subject, offer an exchange in the Reading Exchanges forum, so someone will read for you (and you will read for them, obviously). This way you get an answer from someone who is not involved, and it's usually much more insightful...

WalesWoman said:

On a word, yes! I can't count the times that I've done readings on subjects that had me worried, only to have cards come back up that basically restated my question and those fears I most feared. Sometimes it felt like tarot was parroting me just to make me hear myself and see what I was doing to myself in the process.

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Thank you for sharing with me! I'm so glad I'm not alone in this. I felt the same way earlier too! That my cards were just parroting my fears so that I'll realize how bad it was for me to be thinking so negatively.

MissJo said:

Yes, they can. Which is why before reading for yourself when you're anxious (or just in general) you need to relax yourself.

And this is just me personally, but before I read for myself I always start with "Give me the truth and only the truth, do not let my thoughts and emotions interfere with this reading."

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Thanks for the idea MissJo, I think it's great! I'll actually start trying this out from now on.

Marina said:

Reading for ourselves is actually one of the hardest things to do - specially if the situation matters and we are emotionally involved. I know very few people who can stay calm and objective when reading for something very important in their lives.

So, you are not alone. This has happened to me, and I have seen this happen to other readers. Nowadays I ask for another person to read for me, or only read after a certain time "cultivating my detachment" so to speak.

If you think you will not read very accurately about a personal subject, offer an exchange in the Reading Exchanges forum, so someone will read for you (and you will read for them, obviously). This way you get an answer from someone who is not involved, and it's usually much more insightful...

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Thank you! You are absolutely right. After how frustrated I got yesterday. I have decided that in the future if I have a question I'm dying to ask and I am emotionally involved in, I'll just make things easier for myself and get someone else to read for me.

I did try a couple of hours later to read on the same question after I have calmed down and detached myself from what I was worried about and true enough, I did get answers and clearly the problem was my own paranoia.

Not only does Tarot mirror back your fears, it also mirrors back your hopes.

I prefer not to read for myself. What with the reading circles here, I generally have far more readings per month than I need, anyway.

And I find that with Tarot, dream interpretation, or anyting like that, if you work a lot wwith other people, you need to do less work on yourself with that modality yourself.

(The exception would be chiropractic!)

nisaba said:

Not only does Tarot mirror back your fears, it also mirrors back your hopes.

I prefer not to read for myself. What with the reading circles here, I generally have far more readings per month than I need, anyway.

And I find that with Tarot, dream interpretation, or anyting like that, if you work a lot wwith other people, you need to do less work on yourself with that modality yourself.

(The exception would be chiropractic!)

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Oh yes definitely! I haven't seen much of my cards mirroring my hopes because I'm usually so negative about things that when I read in an unstable mood, it just shows me my biggest fears instead of what I'm hoping for but if I see an overly positive reading I'll most likely debunk it and let someone else read for me.

Kittysashimi said:

Thanks for the idea MissJo, I think it's great! I'll actually start trying this out from now on.

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I do hope it works for you

A few other things... if you are feeling unstable before doing a reading, either stabilize yourself or wait until you are feeling better. While reading, do not think about how it makes you feel... think about finding the solutions to your problems, and find that quiet, dark place deep inside your mind and stay there until you feel it is time to stop shuffling. I believe reading for yourself depends solely on the mindset you're in, you need to detach yourself and that's not always so easy.