"Weasel Words" du Jour

[Barleywine]

Weasel words!

Guilty! I see it as "inviting the querent into consideration of the possibilities, without rigidly scripting the scenario."

Seriously, though, the objective of the original post was to solicit some more creative weasel-words, not to discount their usefulness, but what I'm getting is mostly denial. I believe choosing the right delivery is important to giving the impression of flexibility ("not carved in stone," etc.) and therefore choice within the more-or-less fluid outlines of the situation. I see tarot as more qualitative than quantitative in most circumstances.

 

[CharlotteK]

Now see, this is a perfectly normal way to communicate and yet it is full of equivocation!



"get the sense...my very limited experience...sitters expect...even if..."

My point is, the use of qualifiers is normal and generally appropriate in everyday life, so why not in tarot readings?

If a reading is framed to be equivocal, or qualified, or even vague and it satisfies the sitter then the language is appropriate no matter how weasely. If a more assertive reading is required by the sitter, too many weasly words will undermine confidence in the reader and the interpretation.

But I agree! It's how we speak all the time, it's how we make ourselves sound reasonable to others. Avoiding all qualifiers or caveats completely and being unequivocally absolute would also undermine confidence because the reader would (probably) sound like a egomaniac nut job.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

 

[Barleywine]

If a reading is framed to be equivocal, or qualified, or even vague and it satisfies the sitter then the language is appropriate no matter how weasely. If a more assertive reading is required by the sitter, too many weasly words will undermine confidence in the reader and the interpretation.

But I agree! It's how we speak all the time, it's how we make ourselves sound reasonable to others. Avoiding all qualifiers or caveats completely and being unequivocally absolute would also undermine confidence because the reader would (probably) sound like a egomaniac nut job.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

I think the degree of vagueness is entirely dependent on how well the cards in the spread "jell" and also how skilled the reader is at unraveling complexities. My most recent public reading experience has been with very short sessions, so I haven't had the luxury of time to stretch out and look at a lot of different angles. I need to get it as "right" as I can the first time through. Using an artistic analogy, it can be a bit like using a palette knife instead of a set of brushes to paint a portrait. A certain lack of finesse can be inevitable, necessitating somewhat broader linguistic "strokes." But the opposite extreme to "egomaniac nut job" must certainly be avoided: "clueless waster-of-other-people's time."

 

[Alissa]

... I'm not sure I could read without falling into the category of weaselling because I see myself as, at best, a translator.

In a reading, I give both traditional meanings associated to a card, as well as any intuited impressions (if any) that happen in the moment.

This leads my verbiage to saying, "Traditonally this card indicates...," or "Heartbreak, sorrow and betrayal are associated with this card...." This is my attempt to boil down years of learning into an easily digestible information bit for a sitter who probably doesn't know or care about my fancy book learning. They just want me to 'splain it to them.

But I guess my way of translating in this way makes me a weasel.

(I was raised by wombats though, so....)

 

[Barleywine]

... I'm not sure I could read without falling into the category of weaselling because I see myself as, at best, a translator.

In a reading, I give both traditional meanings associated to a card, as well as any intuited impressions (if any) that happen in the moment.

This leads my verbiage to saying, "Traditonally this card indicates...," or "Heartbreak, sorrow and betrayal are associated with this card...." This is my attempt to boil down years of learning into an easily digestible information bit for a sitter who probably doesn't know or care about my fancy book learning. They just want me to 'splain it to them.

But I guess my way of translating in this way makes me a weasel.

(I was raised by wombats though, so....)

I also see myself as a translator and interpreter; the reading belongs to the sitter who arranged the cards through the shuffle and cut. I say whatever I think is needed to get that feeling of shared ownership across. When reading face-to-face, I have no problem being creative. It's when I have to write ten or twelve paragraphs of description (for example, a Celtic Cross analysis) that I run out of original ways to open each topic. I've gotten some useful ideas here; thanks all!

 

[nisaba]

Those of us who have been reading predictively for some time are understandably leery of making bold pronouncements like "Yes, he loves you!";

"This is what you need to do to be more attractive to the right kind of people, the kind who will actually make you happy."

"No, he won't return!";

"There was a reason you broke up. Do you want a repeat of all that unhappiness, yours and/or his? This is what you really need to work on in yourself to be more appealing to the right kind of people in the future, so that you have every chance to be happier."

and "You will definitely get the job!"

"This is how you need to prepare yourself to get the most out of this job opportunity, given that if it ends up being a terrible job you might do well to stay free to accept a better job".

 

[Barleywine]

"This is what you need to do to be more attractive to the right kind of people, the kind who will actually make you happy."


"There was a reason you broke up. Do you want a repeat of all that unhappiness, yours and/or his? This is what you really need to work on in yourself to be more appealing to the right kind of people in the future, so that you have every chance to be happier."


"This is how you need to prepare yourself to get the most out of this job opportunity, given that if it ends up being a terrible job you might do well to stay free to accept a better job".

Yes to everything here, but in fewer words. Because of the way I work (I don't ask for the question in advance and let the cards speak their piece), I don't know enough at first to be this specific unless the sitter opens up and elaborates in a particular area of interest. Then these ideas are fleshed out as you note, often in a dialogue setting, a little at a time.

 

[Zephyros]

I think the degree of vagueness is entirely dependent on how well the cards in the spread "jell" and also how skilled the reader is at unravelling complexities.

I agree, although I admit to being guilty of weaseling on more than one occasion, myself. But that's because of role I see Tarot as playing; it serves to give questions, not answers, possibilities and not absolutes. Innumerable factors on constantly changing whaterver outcome is being discussed. I could that the chances of a person landing a job are good, but then some secretary puts their CV at the bottom of pile absent-mindedly and they don't. Now, I'm not mathematician, but there is the idea of the butterfly effect, that the effect of small things accumulates the affect larger systems.

There's also the fallibility of Tarot. The fact that the cards speak well of the person landing the job doesn't mean that they will. The model is never as accurate as the real thing.

 

[Shade]

One of the most memorable readings I ever received was when I was asking (at the tender age of 19) if he and I would get back together with me - the reader said "That will never happen."

I spent years not believing and trying to prove her wrong but alas. Think of all the time I could have saved if I had taken no for an answer.

I think I leave a little room for possibility when I give a reading. "In this position the five of wands suggests that the promotion is going to be a real struggle" "The two of Cups indicates a real deep connection."

I will say, learning Lenormand Has made me a lot more comfortable with saying yes and no.

 

[Barleywine]

I think I leave a little room for possibility when I give a reading. "In this position the five of wands suggests that the promotion is going to be a real struggle" "The two of Cups indicates a real deep connection."

I will say, learning Lenormand Has made me a lot more comfortable with saying yes and no.

My approach exactly.

And its literalness is the greatest virtue of Lenormand, along with its disinclination for psychological profiling. Call the Snake a "snake-in-the-grass," not a "persecution complex."