Tarot-dependency ?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Sullanciri2002	02 Jul 2002
As most people definitely seem to have multiple aspects to their nature (me I'm half-air, half-water); it seems likely that we will at times have some discord between our own different aspects. Personally, I've wondered if one can become too dependent on the tarot ... but, at the same time, feel I've seen too many people who are "ripe" for that already. A lot of the people I've read for, don't seem able to lead their daily lives without consulting the tarot. This is, in a certain way, a question about myself as well. I've always considered myself an intelligent person, with enough introspective ability and an open mind to look at things from many ways ... and, thus, always relied on my own strengths to solve (or deal with) whatever came along in my life. Guess what I'm saying here is - once we start reading the tarot, don't we risk becoming (gradually, of course) dependent on it for every little decision in our lives. Once you start relying on the cards for insight and answers, is it a road that takes you deeper and deeper before you know it ?

Maan	02 Jul 2002
Maybe.. This is a question i asked myself a couple of times in the past. I don't know how it is for people who i read for but when reading for myself i don't think i got dependent on tarot because i believe that by consulting the tarot i consult my own subconcience. So i get depended on myself. :) So its in the way you view the working of the cards i think. And while contemplating this question i thought op on other thing its is also about what you aks the cards for! Do you ask for guidance, future, advice etc.

wavebreaker	02 Jul 2002
Personally, I don't use the cards for simple day-to-day decisions, I can make those decisions by myself. I only use the cards when I need some extra insight or when I'm completely at a loss about what to do in a certain situation, and these are usually situations pertaining to important decisions with lots of implications. I think if you start using the cards for every little decision, you might risk becoming too dependent on the cards. I also agree with Maan: what do you use the cards for? And what do you do with the answer? If the cards tell you, for example, that you will get a new job, are you going to sit back and wait for this new job, "because the cards told me it was going to happen", or do you see it as an advice to work towards a new job? To me, in the first case you're depending too much on the cards, because you're not taking any responsibility. Just my 2 cents...

Umbrae	02 Jul 2002
Doing a daily draw of one or two cards a day is fine for yourself. When you are new, folks have a tendency to ‘over read’. If you do not like the reading, you do a second ‘clarifying’ reading, and then perhaps another ‘clarify the clarification’… You want to learn how the cards work (speak) for you; not how your ego speaks for the cards. One full reading a week is just fine when you are new. Too many readings, and they get clouded by bias…and you learn nothing.

HOLMES	02 Jul 2002
as a reader i tell my clients to come back in three weeks at the earliest. that way they get time to process the reading, and any lessons that may of come up. i see nothing wrong with a simple one card draw to mediate on its meanings so you may 1. understand the tarot better 2. unerstand the lessons of your life better 3 and of course understand yourself better. for myself i find it extremly hard to read for myself trying to divine my future, or even my own life lessons as my learning them will be interfered with. a condiction to this is the shadowwork i been doing recently with the tarot to understand myself better. i see it as a medition to understand myself better, and as i am not trying to influence my book of life by divining what may happen. or the lesson i will go through. instead i am reading the book of my past to understand the shadows that i carry with me so in the future i can bring these shadows into the light. i remember one night when i first got into the tarot. the girl was asking the same question. and the cards came out basically the same way. and she wanted to try the karma cards, and the i ching coins, and i had no energy due to the question was asked already so i was using my own energy and not the universed and totally drained right out. that is when i realized once the answer was given accept it and do not seek to change it to your own way of intreprating things. about that time is when i guess i started to believe i cant' read for myself. it is with all things, have to be done in moderation. i can do about three readings, but not five currently so if i push myself forward i totally whiped myself out, .. the message get scrambled. and the purpose gets shrouded. we must be careful to not abuse the gift, especially for our own gratification. i remember this story i read in the comics when i a teenage about this book that told them everything that was going to happen. then one day it stopped working so they had to learn to think for themselves. it was very hard but they tried things in a new way, testing their limits and growing. and after that day they used the book sparingly preferingg to experience the life in new ways. i can see the old man holding the book but i can't recall what comic it was .. i think i was either strawberry shortcake, carebears, or casper the friendly ghost. HEY I WAS BIG COMIC FAN eheh.

Sullanciri2002	02 Jul 2002
Hold your horses people - it's great that you all care to react, but allow me to try and get this thread back along the lines I intended it to go. Primo - I don't overuse the cards myself as my rational side clearly stops me from doing that, and I certainly don't feel "dependant" om the cards myself ... so, no need for help in that regard. Secundo - I was more thinking along the lines of "did it occur to you too that people who believe in the magick of the cards, are inherently in danger of becoming addicted to them" Tertio (feels great to whip out the old Latin again, doesn't it) - the cards are meant to "help" ... which implies that people with a strong tendency to depend on something, are attracted to them.

truthsayer	02 Jul 2002
yes, i think getting tarot readings can become an addiction to some ppl like anything else. this brings to mind ppl who go to psychic hotlines constantly for the answers to their problems. doing something like this indicates a deep rooted fear of the future and need to get a heads up before this ominous future happens. if someone is never satisfied w/ a reading i'm giving and keeps asking for more then i know there is more behind the querent's desire for a reading. the querent is trying to use the cards to get a need fulfilled. i only read until i feel a completeness in the reading. usually a spread and a few clarifiers. i've done more than that but that was a rare exception b/c the situation was complex and the cards wanted to keep going. ppl who do a reading on one deck and b/c that deck doesn't answer the question goes to another and another--there's something else going on that this person is trying to divine. i call it divining by anxiety rather than dependency. if the root anxiety is addressed the need to overuse the cards goes away. does this answer your question better?

Phoenix	02 Jul 2002
I don't think that I will ever become dependant on the Tarot because I don't read for myself. Actually, I can't. For some reason, I can't read for myself, or people close to me. But, I can give very insightful readings for strangers.

Diana	02 Jul 2002
edited

MystiqueMoonlight	02 Jul 2002
I suppose ppl can become dependent on the cards, but for these ppl I liken it to seeing a therapist who may guide (not instruct) that person on their journey. Don't get me wrong here I'm not saying take advantage of these ppl or give them continuous readings just for the sake of it, but sometimes it may be necessary to act as a kind of leaning post for these types of ppl. Of course it may be important at some stage to tell them that they should not seek continuous readings just for everyday, mundane matters. I find it difficult to read for myself and therefore I consult my runes, but even then I realise whether I use Tarot or Runes I am consulting an oracle. Dependancy and faith are a fine line. When do we lose faith and just become dependent?

Diana	02 Jul 2002
edited

MeeWah	02 Jul 2002
I tend to agree with many of the comments. A dependency on Tarot or anything else--whether it be food, drink, gambling or sex is not due to the thing or the activity itself, but due to some quirk in the psyche to fulfill a need. Tarot does not take the place of "real life"--where much of the "real work" lies. Maintaining a detachment & an appropriate view are important or any potential benefits are voided. Instead of as a blessing/tool for enhancing the life experiences, it becomes a curse/distraction from self & the life. When I saw that a couple of clients agonized over the same aspects of their lives & repeatedly looked for readings on them, I had to tell them I could not help them unless they took the first steps to helping themselves. Aside from needing a therapist to help them to understand why their particular preoccupations/obsessions, they had to truly desire change & empowerment & act on them. There is a certain "security blanket" in avoiding change, but that attitude does not offer a healthy nor viable means of addressing issues. One client had the same concern for so long that although I would not let her tell me her question, I knew immediately it was the same-old, same-old upon seeing her cards because they were so repetitious. I incorporated interpretations of her Year Card in relation to her Lifetime Cards to help her to see what she was doing, what she was looking at, & what the potentials were. Since she is Christian, I adapted ritual spellwork to prayer, terms she could relate to for self-empowerment. She gradually learned to change her thinking pattern so that the changes she has power over could begin to occur. I also agree with most of Holmes' fine point commentary. I seldom do self-readings per se. I use a daily card draw for guidance, insight & inspiration but for the majority of my life, I prefer to rely on my intuition, for signposts along the way, & to try to live one day at a time. To an extent, the last can help with spontaneity. Being mindful of details can be beneficial, but getting mired in them can take away the simple joys of daily living. I reserve the readings for special occasions (such as to welcome a new season, prior to or on my birthday) for an over-view/forecast. Then I "forget" about it.

Original Destiny	03 Jul 2002
Mmmmmmm..the cards are there for when we need them...for me it is when all else fails...use them how you want...but remember..you are at your best when you make your own way in life...to make your own choices, is the thing that makes us Human...We are blessed with this option...:TMAGE

cyan	03 Jul 2002
i do three cards daily, what i am feeling, what i am thinking, and what i want to acheive. and i do a spread a week. i don't obsess about the answers but it seems to relax me and i believe i am finally in touch with my higher consiousness. subconsious? Authentic Self? whatever. in the three months i have been doing tarot i have lost 10lbs and started exercising regularly . And my work/art has improved. so is there danger of addiction? you bet, and in my own case i am delighted. if the house catches fire the first things i will grab, (after my guy and my dog...i hope) is my deck and my mk greer books. lol

The Tarot-dependency ? thread was originally posted on 02 Jul 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.