How to know you get the right cards?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Jenny-Li	25 Aug 2002
Hi! We've had discussions touching this subject, but as far as I could find none on this particular subject, so I thought why not bring it up, it's an interesting topic, and I'm pretty sure we will get some diverse answers... Some of us fan the cards, some of us deal from the top of the deck, I'm sure there are other methods of dealing cards for readings too, but regardless of what method you use - how can you be sure you get the right cards? For me this is a tricky question, cuz the more I think about it the more confused I get, by just overanalyzing the whole thing...! So, c'mon guys, let's hear your stories, perhaps they can ground me enough to find my own answer...! Light and love, Jenny :)

Keslynn	25 Aug 2002
That's a really great question, Jenny-Li, and it's something that's puzzled me as well. So I can't wait to read more responses on this. My personal theory is that your subconscious or inner guide or whatever you think works the cards knows your preferences. So if you always pull your cards from the top of the deck, the cards that you need will be on the top of the deck. My other possibility is that synchronicity will happen no matter how you draw the cards. *lol* So really I don't know either, but I do know that I do get the right cards. Unless I'm upset or otherwise messing with the flow, then my draws have always suited the situation. :) Kes

Helruna	25 Aug 2002
I'll agree - I think it is your Inner Guide or subconsciousness that let's you pick the "right" cards. I have tried more than one way of picking the cards: simply pulling them from the top of the deck, from somewhere in the deck, making a fan and pulling them... Somehow, no method really seems to be "better" than the other. Personally, I feel most comfortable with the fan-method though. I let my hands glide over the cards, eyes close, and simple "listen" which cards pull my attention (that is, my hand), and draw them. So, I think, it is a subsoncious thing, and very personal. I admit, when I started out, and during the times, I wondered too how we pull the "right" cards for us, or if it is just our imagination or just "chance" that let's us pick cards that have meaning to us - we could draw any card and relate it to our question, right? I am not positive about this part. I think we have guidance - no matter where you think it comes from - and this helps us in picking the cards. I think that is why so many tarot readers do meditiation or grounding/centering before they start reading - to be calm and centered enough to "hear" or "feel" those vibes from the "right" cards... Yet again, this is only my humble opinion. :) BB, Helruna

MeeWah	25 Aug 2002
The method of choosing the cards does not seem to matter as the resulting cards always produce a reading that offers pertinent information. Even if it does not appear to address the query, the results may still offer *what is needed*. I have used the fan method of choosing cards & it works well. Grounding & centering prior to doing a throw provides an optimum framework to guide the card selection, but I have done emergency readings on the spot with no preparations. The results have been appropriate to the occasion.

jade	25 Aug 2002
when i was 18 i had this amazing boyfriend who did all this 'weird' stuff. he astral projected, meditated and did stuff like affirmations etc. i had no idea what he was doing and trusted that he WAS doing this stuff.... he told me once: (regarding playing poker).........."trust that the cards are faceless, the actual card face does not exist until you see it and make it a reality. so you always know that what comes is meant to be, not just the luck of the draw!" wise words indeed. *jade thinks lovingly about greg and wishes his spirit love in the place he's in...............* (greg died of cancer) love and light, jade

Kiama	25 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by jade he told me once: (regarding playing poker).........."trust that the cards are faceless, the actual card face does not exist until you see it and make it a reality. so you always know that what comes is meant to be, not just the luck of the draw!" This is a bit like the Cat in a Box theory... You have a box In it is a cat. You do not know wether the cat is dead or alive until you actually look in the box. In the Hitch-hikers Guide To The Galaxy (Life the Universe and Everything) the Ruler of the Universe pointed out that we do not know for sure that the Universe is actualy out there if we are not looking at it. So, when we close our door, it may disappear, only to reappear when we open our door again. But Terry Pratchett made it quite clear that trying to explain this theory to Death was very difficult, and in fact mostly imposible. Kiama

Jenny-Li	25 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by jade ...."trust that the cards are faceless, the actual card face does not exist until you see it and make it a reality. so you always know that what comes is meant to be, not just the luck of the draw!" Those ARE wise words... I will definitely keep them around for a while... Thank you for sharing! Light and love, Jenny :)

jamesriouxctm	25 Aug 2002
Hello all, Regarding the theory that "all the cards are faceless until we draw them and look at them"... the quantum phenomenon being described here is the superposition of states. Schrodinger, the physicist who did a lot of development in quantum theory in the 1920's and 1930's, illustrated this with his famous Cat paradox, which Kiama mentioned. Specifically, the cat is placed in a sealed death-trap along with a vial of cyanide and a hammer linked to a Geiger counter. The key is the Geiger counter, which is measuring a radioactive sample. Quantum physics says that you can't know whether the sample will decay or not. If it does, the hammer drops, the vial shatters and the cat dies. If the sample doesn't decay, the cat lives. Until you perform a measurement, the cat is both living and dead. [if you believe that this whole experiment constitutes cruelty to animals, just mentally replace "cat" with "osama bin laden" and the point still holds.] Though this is one possible explanation for the operation of the Tarot, it's not actually the one I currently favor. I'm currently of the mind that some higher power (call it God if you wish) guides the reader to select the right cards to answer the question. In response to the _original_ question... how do I know that the cards I've selected are the right ones? I don't. I simply have to have faith in whatever power is selecting them for me, in the same way that I believe in the existence of that higher power. So far I have received nothing but positive proof on both counts.

Rhiannon	25 Aug 2002
Have faith that no matter WHAT the cards are... you can interpret them in such a way that they make sense. R :)

Strange2	25 Aug 2002
This is indeed a core question. So far, I only read the Tarot cards for myself. In order to ensure a more equal opportunity chance for any card to be selected, I also use the fan approach, and let the energies of the cards impress their selection upon me. The more I read and meditate on the cards, the more I find that the all the cards reveal aspects of myself and my relation to the world, and are the "right" cards at the time. I know that the cards are "just" pictures on cardboard, but I am continuingly impressed and uplifted with the synchronistic appropriateness of the cards that I select each day. Whether this is "magic" or chance, the real magic of Tarot is that the cards adapt to our needs and aspirations.

Mojo	25 Aug 2002
I gotta go with Rhiannon on this one. Not only do you not know if you got the right cards, but there's no such thing as the right cards. Just like with life, you're stuck with the cards you're dealt. A good Tarot reader can make sense out of whatever fate deals up. In order to do this, you need to stop focusing on the process and concentrate more on the cards, because that's what it's all about. (please feel free to replace "fate" with the belief system of your choice)

Laurel	26 Aug 2002
Exactly what Mojo just said. Laurel

lunalafey	26 Aug 2002
The cards are as they are and they are what they are ment to be...I know my cards are the right cards because out of 78, and a few cards being do-able, it's always the 'perfect' one is what comes up...no matter HOW I draw them, and even when they fall out.....

the hermit	26 Aug 2002
I too agree with Rhiannon and Mojo... as Mojo says "you need to stop focusing on the process and concentrate more on the cards, because that's what it's all about" as a reader you MUST interpret the cards that are drawn regardless of why or how YOU think they've arrived. thus, whatever is drawn ARE the right cards... otherwise, what's the point?

Alex	26 Aug 2002
a friend of mine's situation has always brought to my mind the image of The Devil card and_ not surprisingly_ he pulled that card in all the three readings I did for him, regardless of the Deck or question, as the "heart of the matter". As many times I have read for myself, I don't recall ever having pulled The Devil card. How come we tend to pull certain cards over and over again again, whereas we seem to skipp others, I don't really know. Regards Alex.

Umbrae	27 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Mojo ...stop focusing on the process and concentrate more on the cards And the cards are faceless. Sometimes I deal, sometimes I draw, and sometimes they draw. For me, being centered and grounded prior to the reading is the key. I then know, deal - draw - or allow them to draw. Knowing this, I also know the cards are right. But ultimately it is not the process that determines the reading. It is the interpretation of the Tarot or Soul cards, Runes or Bones that dictate reading. Toothpicks on a bar-top (oh yeah...)! Somewhere way back I mentioned what I refer to as "Plugging In". For me, that's the key - and I cannot get there if I am not grounded and centered...remember the old - "Be Here Now". Toothpicks... The cat is alive and dead. It is a wave and a particle.

Alex	27 Aug 2002
we must work with. I agree. Not knowing HOW something works, or not having a good explanation for that, does not invalidate the process. For many years homeopathy has been dismissed as "placebo" in spite of contrary evidence offered by doubled-blind studies: just because people cannot understand how infinitely dilluted quantities of common substances can act as medicine. The problem with the cards is that sometimes we make very generalized readings that have absolutely no prediction or explanation power. "You have some issues in your past" is a good interpretation for the 6 of Cups as any; but all of us have unresolved issues in our past. It is different than saying: you cannot find a lover right now because you haven't let it go on an old lover", to what the querent can answer "yes you're right" or "no you are wrong and I haven't been in love with anyone yet". What I am trying to say is that, much alike scientific theories that must be formulated such as to have some prediction power (compare "if I leave a pen in the air it will fall" with "only the best fit get selected for"), a good reading must explain or predict a certain number of events in the universe of possibilities; it should never try to explain "everything". Sometimes (most times with me for sure) we cannot narrow down "the only coherent story" that can be explained by a given universe of cards. Again the problem is not with the cards, but the reader. What is in question when we read is not the nature of the cards drawn, what has to be taken for granted as a basic assumption. What is in "test" or in "question" is our ability to interpret them and turn their information into an assertion that may be right or may be wrong_ or better saying, an assertion that has some informational content. Regards Alex. Quote: Originally posted by the hermit I too agree with Rhiannon and Mojo... as a reader you MUST interpret the cards that are drawn regardless of why or how YOU think they've arrived. thus, whatever is drawn ARE the right cards... otherwise, what's the point?

jacx57	06 Sep 2002
I'm still kinda new to the whole tarot reading thing, but I know I get the right cards when I can just sorta feel the cards working with me, y'know? If I concentrate on the question while shuffling eventually something...clicks...and it all works out. It's odd...I sorta think of my deck as if it has a personality of it's own...so to speak, and I use my mind to get it to work. There's still a lot of work to be done though (My deck refuses to preform for company! Grrrrrrr) so I've decided to make my own deck that will work with me from the start!! but that's another story....

The How to know you get the right cards? thread was originally posted on 25 Aug 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.