reactions from a tarot reading

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

ros	25 Feb 2004
Do you ever watch the person when you are reading?Do you think it is the words we use in our learning or do you think it is from their emotions? When people are open to this they sit with hardly no movement & enjoy the reading. I have noticed when I'm reading some people all of a sudden -cross their arms over their stomachs & lean back -start looking at their nails & picking at them -grab or itch their neck -start rubbing their eyes When things are serious -roll their eyes -rub their eyes When I explain how to change their habits -they get serious & like little children & listen When their bossy they want to tell me what the card means. All the body actions are amazing. Do you have any others?

Alissa	25 Feb 2004
I have one friend I regularly read for who chews her nails through every session, force of habit. She pays extreme attn. to the cards and nail biters, in general, are indicative of persons with an extremely self-critical nature (a mini palmistry lesson). The cross your arms can be a defensive posture, although not always. Accompanied by a kicking out of the legs, it has a guarded "I'm relaxing and listening" quality too. The roll of the eyes is more often serious, than comical. It is usually when I've hit a core issue on the head for them. It may be a "zinger," something that comes to me along with the card, and is more intuitively based and personal of nature. Has kinda a "how did you know that?" or "oh geez, she's right" quality to the movement. Oh yes, and the "good little children" type. They want to please the reader, and will sometimes exagerate your reading's accuracy, in order to make you "feel good." I used to read with my eyes *locked* on my cards, esp. when nervous. That's usually because I wanted to minimize the amount of input I was getting, and purposefully trying NOT to see my querent and their body language in order to follow the sacred thread of the reading. Most often, I try not to read body cues, but (esp. with my background in dance) find it extremely easy to do so, and somewhat second nature.

Kiama	25 Feb 2004
I find that when people read for me, I move little... I nod my head every now and then, but I try and keep quiet because I fear I will start telling them what I think that card means! (But I don't, because I'm nice, and know how I wouldn't like somebody to do that to me...) But I have had quite a few different body actions during readings from my querents. Most of the time, because I do readings at a table, the querents just place their elbows/hands on the table... I often give them a pad of paper and a pen/pencil to write down the reading whilst I talk, so they very rarely get the opportunity to be bored, rub their eyes, etc, and they are paying real close attention so that they can write it down. :D (Manipulative, aren't I? })) But sometimes it's a reading for a stranger in a pub where there is no pen and paper. I have had people nodding vigourously, smiling, frowning, and generally making alot of facial expressions in response to what I say. I often guage how I tell them things by the look in their eyes or their reaction. I have had people cry, laugh, or scream 'Oh my God!' alot. Bloody scares me, I'll tell ya! I've had people fidget and get nervous if it's their first time with a reading... They might tap their fingers, clutch their hands, hunch over, etc. Alissa hit it on the head with the eye-roller. When I say something that is quite humourous yet also quite a huge thing in their life, eg- 2 of Pentacles. ("At the moment you're desperately trying to juggle many different responsibilities at once...") They roll their eyes and say 'Oh God, and don't I know it!" or something like that... I very rarely get people who sit as stiff as stone, which is probably good for me because, as I said before, I tend to guage how I should tell them the reading based on their body language, eyes, etc. If somebody's nervous, I'll go gentle, but if somebody's laughing, open, etc, I'll be bolder with it and add a bit of humour in. But humour isn't right for anybody, and I find out if it is through their body language and reaction to what I say. I have noticed though, when my friend gives me readings, that he is also lost when I sit stiff as stone. He doesn't seem to trust his interpretation of the card unless his querent nods or agrees with it. If I just sit silent, he'll get flustered, start saying the interpretation, and then qualify it with 'Well, it might be that, but I dunno...' And then he doesn't know what to do. I used to be a bit like this too until I learned to trust what I was saying. :D Great thread ros! Kiama

TemperanceAngel	25 Feb 2004
What about the people who all at the same time, exhale out loud, cross their legs and arms and turn their whole body to the side! They are the: I do not have problems with emotional confrontation, oh actually, I do but I don't want to admit it or maybe don't want to deal with it... OR I didn't come here for you to tell me what I should be doing, I want you to say something about the person in question that I think is the problem, which leads back to: I don't have or need to deal with anything emotionally or otherwise... In fact, what was the reason I came here for anyway? Oh yes, my friend came and I want exactly the same reading they got or I want you to say what I think is right ;) Sometimes I ask people to sit and face me directly, uncross their arms, move closer, get themselves comfortable, do they need a cushion, glass of what perhaps or all of the above! ( That's all meant to be humourous, but in a serious way! Does that make sense? ) XTAX

The reactions from a tarot reading thread was originally posted on 25 Feb 2004 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.