Questions that are difficult to do a reading on

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Jul 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Armande	27 Jul 2003
As you may know I have a tarotwebsite and people can send in a request for a reading through a form. I have dedicated an entire page to explaining how tarot works best and that it is important how you phrase your question. But not everyone reads that apparently. So what do you do with questions that are rather short and rather basic for a reading. Like this one I received last night: "my boyfriend is in prison, will he get out?" First of all it's a yes/no question, secondly it's about predicting the future and also it's a legal issue. I have had one request that looked like this one so far, but she didn't pay so that solved itself. I'd like to know what other people's approach is. Get back to the querent and ask him/her to rephrase it? Or just do a reading on the information given and work from there? That will work just fine but it will probably not provide the answer that querent was looking for.

lunalafey	27 Jul 2003
I really start to squirm when a question is phrased in a yes/no way. There are some questions I find myself asking that are yes/no types, so I don't read & I'm left still without some guidence. Resolution, find another way to ask or come at the situation from another direction. For the prison type Q, well, no matter how this can be asked, the cards may still give some definate future outcome, but it can be scary to say yes or no because it's in the future & to be wrong, ;( ick..... Q's like that could be put: what's the situation in regards to the issue. So basically your idea to work with the info given is all you can do if 'they' can't rephrase it. Also, the cards do tell what they want regardless of the Q presented. There have been times when I read for one Q and end up with a solution to a completely different problem.

Centaur	27 Jul 2003
I usually tell the querent that I work best with circumstances; therefore they should phrase their question in terms of 'what will happen in this circumstance?', or 'what will happen in this instance?'. If someone asks a yes/no question, I perform the reading on the circumstances in question, and state what the cards would appear to 'indicate'. If the Tower, and the Three of Swords were to arise I would state that the outcome was likely to be negative. Ofcourse this would be different if the outcome were the Sun and the Nine of Cups. C

Cerulean	27 Jul 2003
Didier Colin's book on predictive readings is helpful to me in a few ways. While I'd LOVE to do story readings, people want to have another take on their issues of concern. So I bought the book in hopes it would give me a way to deal with different questions that I've not personally worked with before. The format is simple: do a four-card layout with majors only. You read them like pairs. Current Situation: Probable Outcome: What I neglected to do in my first set of readings is draw a fifth card, which was the querent's summary or suggestion for further ideas. Instead, I offered a clarification by laying out three cards. I used it as suggestions for the querent in regards to past-present-future. What follows is a jumbled scenario of some past readings: Sometimes pairs such as Judgement and Justice bluntly pops out as current situations to a question similar to "when will XXXX, my brother stop abusing his health" and then you get Death and the Devil as outcome...which in question like this can mean: the brother will probably have received warnings or feelings of some ill-effects from overdoing abuse of his body. Ill-effects and problems necessitate a turnaround in his attitude toward health. There is a feeling of pain and overdoing things. While this is XXXX's responsibility, perhaps this three-card clarification can assist in suggestions help your brother..." My idea is the person who poses the question does want some response for next steps, if possible. Even if they know the answer or is talking to others about probable outcomes-even if they are feeling bad-they are turning to a reader for another take, not the final answer. I hope this helps or is somewhat useful.

MeeWah	27 Jul 2003
Armande: I have also found that people tend not to read closely or pay attention to the "fine print". There may be a lack of understanding of how to express a concern without the emotions intruding; or a lack of clear thinking in general. Sometimes when a person turns to a reader for help, 'tis because that person is at a loss or has exhausted the usual means for help. In any issue where the course of one's life may be affected, the concern has validity. Aside from a query inadvertently asking for a predictive "answer", the underlying concern is usually that of seeking reassurance, confirmation, guidance, direction or all of those things. There are a myriad of variables that can affect an outcome, not the least of which are the choices one makes in the course of the daily life & interactions. All of those factors have a cumulative affect even those of which one may not be aware. The variables include the things one can change & those one cannot. The former relate directly to the personal choices/decisions & actions. The latter to outside influences such as other people, events or "chance" factors. When a query asks for a predictive outcome or is ambiguous, 'tis best to explain that Tarot can offer a view or insight *based on the current trend*--which is the culmination of all past events to the present. Questions that permit more leeway are those that ask for a general overview of a situation; what one is looking at in regard to a specific situation; what one needs to know; so on. That is, *phrasing a question so that it offers possibilities* rather than a yes/no or a dead-end. In many instances of a yes/no question, the querent already has some inkling of what to expect albeit on an unconscious level & may be unwilling or unable to recognize same. A reader connects or attempts to connect with the querent's inner knowledge or whatever source available to offer insight. That in turn may be influenced by that reader's ken--range of understanding, experiences, so on as well as an impartial view. A question related to the length of a prison term suggests the offense was serious &/or the sentence was commiserate with whatever offense in the eyes of the law. The querent would be better served by contacting a representative of the legal system & gathering information pertinent to the situation. Perhaps the querent needs to resolve the ramifications of the separation in the relationship.

wavebreaker	27 Jul 2003
I would ask the querent to rephrase the question and point towards your page that explains how tarot works, in case they didn't read that (lots of people just don't read all the information, and even if they do, they can be so set on wanting their particular question answered that they simply ignore it). You could also suggest a different approach to their question, to give them an idea what you mean by rephrasing. For example, on the question you got, "my boyfriend is in prison, will he get out?", you might suggest to rephrase it as "what can I do to help my boyfriend through his prison term" or something like that, and ask the querent if that question has the correct focus for them etc. If the question would be purely legal, I'd refer them to a legal professional. I'd do the same for purely medical or financial questions.

Armande	28 Jul 2003
Thanks for the input. As soon as she pays, I will do a reading on this question as is and see if that is going to work. If not, I will contact her and ask her to rephrase the question. That means I may have to do 2 readings, but at least that way I will find out what works best.

The Questions that are difficult to do a reading on thread was originally posted on 27 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.