a bad time to read for yourself.

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Jul 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Jaykob	23 Jul 2003
Recently I've been going through some hard times. I won't bore you with details, but needless to say, life has seemed pretty gloomy the past couple months. Anyway, I found that during times of depression, it's not healthy/appropriate to do readings for myself. If one is dealing with grief in some way, they're obviously going to look to the cards for encouragement. It's natural to want the cards to show you a future that isn't so glum. My cards are usually brutally honest, which reflects my personality, which makes it a bit disheartening when I do a daily reading and it ends up looking negative just like the day before. What I've learned from this is that it's not appropriate to use Tarot for divination if you're not balanced. Any thoughts?

Elle	23 Jul 2003
Hmmm... Try to see the lesson, or the more positive side to change. When you bottom out - if you catch alll Swords - you have to know that one day when you learn to accept change in a positive way and they will be gone from your spread. Try to see the instruction in the cards, note the lessons they are trying to get you to understand. Change is tough and change of attitude is tougher. If you allow yorself a hard look, you will see the cards pointing you in a healthier and more positive direction. Hope this helps a little! Elle

full deck	23 Jul 2003
It's definitely not a good idea to do personal readings in the morning -- while sitting on the john. I know that some people like to read the paper there but it just sets the wrong tenor for the whole day. . . . but, my, I'm hoping you will laugh and not worry about doing readings too much. I have another suggestion: when you do personal readings, try imagining opposite you yourself and he is asking you to read for you. Try a simple three-card spread and imagine yourself, sitting opposite you, picking the three cards out from the entire deck, which you could spread out infront of you. You must really, really focus one watching "yourself" pick out or point to the cards, which you then pull out yourself. The idea is that you focus on your opposite self simply sitting there, calm and composed, helping you to pick out the cards for your spread, thus helping you to maintain the needed detatchment for doing readings. If done right, this is a form of meditation as well.

Jaykob	23 Jul 2003
Hmm...I think I'll try that. Thank you.

Little Baron	23 Jul 2003
Hi Jaykob I am not sure that I know how to help here but I have always found the cards very useful in times of trouble, worry or anxiety. If the results were glum then I would look for a detail that could offer hope. If I could see something that wasn't so good, then I would say 'Ok, I can see what is being drawn attention to and this little detail is the way out ... the way to work through it'. At that point in my life, I was so pleased to have the cards because they gave me a focus and something to draw on. I am doing the daily draw in the evening at the moment with the Phantasmagoric; I posted in the General section last night. I am not sure if posting here is much use as nobody has replied but it helps me by writing down what I feel and 'getting it out there'. I am having a bit of a testy time at the moment and I see the cards as more of a help than hinderance. I hope things get better for you and that you find a way through this. Best wishes Yaboot

Astra	23 Jul 2003
I've gotten some excellent readings in the middle of a slump (actually, I'm about to do one this afternoon for just that reason). One of the best questions you can ask is "what am I missing that might help me out of this?".

wavebreaker	24 Jul 2003
I think the most important thing is whether you can be honest to yourself about the reading and not let it be influenced too much by your feelings of the moment. As others have said, readings can be very helpful in difficult times, because they can help you with advice on how to deal with the situation. But you have to be able to step back and look at the reading as objectively as possible.

Page	24 Jul 2003
I agree with what's been said but I've stopped giving myself tarot readings for a long time now. I you can keep giving yourself a reading until good cards come up and then things don't change you feel even more negative. When does it stop? The main thing is to have faith in yourself and know that you create a change for your situation to change. Feel the fear and do it anyway esp. if you feel cr@p

Trogon	24 Jul 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Astra One of the best questions you can ask is "what am I missing that might help me out of this?". Excellent advice here. I have gotten some very helpful Tarot readings for myself during times of depression or other troubles. The way I have found to approach it, though, is from the angle Astra mentioned: "How do I work through this? What actions can I take to improve what I am feeling? What lessons do I need to learn from this in order to move on? What do I need to do to heal?" I think that the difficult thing in these circumstances is that we tend to want the cards to tell us "today is the day it will start getting better." I know that I have (once or twice :rolleyes: ) done a self reading during a difficult time, where I would ask "what will today be like?" The problem when I ask this question is that it doesn't actually address the issue in a positive and proactive way. I'm not asking how to make things better - so the readings turn out negative because I have done nothing to make things better. This has been especially true for me when dealing with emotional upsets, depression, and other such personal issues. In such times, I have found the Tarot to be a great tool for helping me to help myself. Sometimes, we just need to adjust our focus and point of view a little...

dolphinprincess	24 Jul 2003
I have often avoided Tarot readings for myself in times of trouble.. mainly bc I am not ready to face whatever I think they will tell me... However, I have found that using the cards for advice as opposed to divination works a lot better... (Janina Renee's book Tarot: Your Everyday Guide is really helpful)... That way even the negative cards can give a positive spin and offer some advice..

Diana	24 Jul 2003
dolphinprincess seems to have summed up very well all the great advice here. Searching the future can be very depressing when one is feeling down. In fact, it can be depressing even when one is feeling good, because the cards may tell you that the wheel is going to turn for the worse! Just use the cards for support in these cases, and not for divination. Ask "what can I do to make me stronger", or "what attitude will help me the best in my situation". Don't even bother about an "outcome" card. Just two cards could be enough: "Issue" and "Advice". The Outcome you will be able to figure out yourself by the end of the day. Jaykob, if we can help you in any way feel better during your hard times, please don't think you'd be boring us. Aeclectic is not only a place to learn about Tarot - it is a place where we support each other as human beings as well. Okay? If you want to post one of your readings in the Your Readings forum, for instance, and ask for input, you are most welcome....... It may just be that we will see light where you only see darkness.

Butterfly	24 Jul 2003
Don't you just love the wonderful advice you can get around here? I'd also add a few points. I've just finished Choice Centted Tarot by Gail Fairfield (it's called Everyday Tarot, now I think) a fabulous book that rephrases each definition in a much more proactive fashion - see it as advice rather than outcome. Second, ask as mentioned a different question. What can I do today to help me heal?- something along those lines. Thirdly, why not introduce a bias card (an idea from Designing Tarot Spreads by Theresa Michelsen- another great book) that shows you what you aren't seeing or what your bias is. This might help to clarify the original card.

Page	25 Jul 2003
I do not think that tarot cards, psychics, clairvoyants, even if I work as a clairvoyant should be used frequently esp. in time of need. Such aids are not therapists. I've had so may people call me who are more in need of professional therapy. I make myself crystal clear (even if I don't make my self clear when writing) about my works and recommend them to seek professional advice as I'm not a trained therapist. I even see aids where people say that they are spiritual advisers/ trained therapist but the two does not mix. Don't get me wrong I love tarot but more as art form and People that are hooked on readings are looking for answers. Each to there own with regards to what form of help works but I would recommend that you don't use them to seek answers. The cards can change from day to day depending on your mood. I would say also if you feel hooked stop now! Love & light Thinking of you Maud:*

Woof	25 Jul 2003
You know, I think a simple one card draw can be very helpful in tough times. Particularly with the major arcana alone. Less a divinatory tool, more a philosophical focusing devise I think it is a great help in putting things in simple perspective and giving you an alternate lens through which to view things. However, I would definitely not read for others when I'm out of sorts, nor would I do an extensive reading on myself. Woof

DarkElectric	25 Jul 2003
Hi Jaykob, Sorry things aren't going so great for you right now. :( Everybody has made such good suggestions, I hope what I can offer will be helpful to you. I went through a period where I wouldn't read for myself if things were really going down fast, and I was bummed out, because sometimes cards came up that looked to me like harbingers of doom. In times of... let's call it "interrupted" cash flow, things like the 5 of Pents, 8 of Cups, and The Tower coming up in a readingfor myself would scare and depress me even more. (This happened, I remember it well.) But, as I learned more, I realised that there are really no bad cards, it's all in the way you look at them. In reviewing that aforementioned reading after the dust had cleared, I realised that the cards were giving me confirmation and advice. The Tower? Yup. Everything crashed and burned. But, there were good reasons for that, like the 8 of Cups was telling me, on several levels. I had been attempting to make a go in the wrong direction, and putting forth a LOT of energy towards something that really had no possibility of panning out successfully at all. 8/Cups was trying to tell me "Let it go, all of it, and look at things differently." Because I was striving so fervently for something that was really wrong for me, all my efforts were leading to the eventual Tower situation, and were certainly going to exacerbate the 5 of Pents. The cards were telling me what was up, (no denial there!) and why. This is why I read for myself when things aren't peachy around here. However, I do try to remain as objective as I can, especially when shuffling/laying out, because sometimes any negative feelings one may have can actually influence the outcome of the reading, and you'll get the exact cards which mirror your feelings at the time. But even this can be very useful, because there may be insight into why you feel this way, and how to get out of that place.

The a bad time to read for yourself. thread was originally posted on 23 Jul 2003 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.