Could online readings do any harm to me?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

yusia	05 Feb 2005
Dear all, Not a long time ago I decided to practice a little bit and did few tarot readings online, for the guys from one ruissian-speaking forum. And just today I got a letter with warning from one person, who visits the forum and is interested in divination. She wrote that these readings can seriously harm my energy balance, damage my health and so on. She said that it happened to herself some time ago and since that she never reads online. So my question is - can it really happen? Are online readings more dangerous than "live" ones? If this is true, how can one feel that something is wrong and to prevent possible harm? All the suggestions are appreciated!

FantasyWorld	05 Feb 2005
I think maybe your friend is somewhat misinformed!! Getting an online reading is really no different than just surfing the "Net", you are just reading something. How you interpret that is another story, I suppose. Reading something cannot harm you. If someone tells you to jump of a cliff and you do, well, that can harm you;) Peace

Alta	05 Feb 2005
Hi yusia, My short answer to that is 'no'. It is true that the internet conveys energies just as real life, but not moreso. When you read you should always maintain balance. Several members recommend drinking lots of water, especially for prolonged sessions. I have done many online readings without harm, as have many on Aeclectic. Best, Marion

Cerulean	05 Feb 2005
But all things you balance within your life is up to you. So if you balance online time with other outside activities, have other friends, etc., to talk with and such, this is probably a study activity that would be helpful. Your gauge of your personal sensibilities in terms of learning "reading" is one of the best. The person who cautioned you might also feel themselves too sensitive, impressionable or have physical ailments. If your eye prescription shows problems with eyesight or you have migraines/backaches which make you unable to spend much time sitting in the computer...well, that could be as sensible a reason to seek local classes if this an opportunity. I don't have local classes in such subjects and so e-forums work best for me. I also do this as an exchange--and aeclectic.net has a reading exchange after you have 25 posts. The people I've exchanged readings for feedback have been very helpful and I've learned quite a bit. I think some people are right to be cautious if they feel they are very sensitive, impressionable and have very limited or do not have access to their own private interconnection to e-forums. I don't do such things at work, etc., and so have to pose limits when I can do this. Regards, Cerulean

Michelle	05 Feb 2005
Hi Yusia ~ I would have to say in my opinion - No. I read for about 6 months on an MSN community and I never had any bad experiences. I got tendinitis from all of the typing - but that was about it. It was actually very good for me because I could do it at my own convenience.

ocho8s	05 Feb 2005
Hello Yusia I think that it is a personal way how you handle energies from other people, my day job is drug addiction counsellor and psychoterapist and also like giving massages and I do online readings on this forum, so I do a small ritual after everysession of whatever I am doing and say a small prayer, this is what has worked out for me and I like doing it, but seen others do nothing and have no problems, so as I say at the beginning this is a personal situation hope you continue to read online Bendiciones Anaoly

WolfSpirit	05 Feb 2005
Hi yusia, I think the woman who wrote to you probably feels this herself, maybe she is very sensitive to other people's energies and maybe she finds it difficult to protect herself against those energies when she is reading on-line, because she cannot see the person. For most people, however, on-line readings are no problem. If you don't feel weird or excessively drained, there is no reason to worry.

yusia	05 Feb 2005
Thank you for the replies and the advices! Now I can breath again! :) I was really scared by the story of all the energetic vampires just waiting on some distant edge of the web... I really feel a little bit tired after the readings but much less than I did after my only vis-a-vis session with a friend - this was really exausting! But i know these online readings are really a good practice for me so it was very sad to think that i should probably stop them. I don`t know how sensitive the woman is to other`s energies, but she says that she sees auras and can deal with the bad eye and so forth - sounds pretty impressive. So she said that she has very strong defence but one querent had destroyed it. May be, it`s not true, after all... Thanks to everybody again! :)

HudsonGray	06 Feb 2005
Belief in ourself is one of the strongest things we can have, it shouldn't take something small to push a person off balance. Hopefully she'll find a way to cope. One person shouldn't throw a person for a loop like that. Your foundation is what''s inside of you. I side with the 'no' people, doing readings online should not throw off your energies or balance. If you feel a bit spacey, just eat something, drink some water, breathe deep and slowly to refocus and you'll be ok. Many people ground and center before or after doing readings, as that helps them stay balanced, but it's totally up to the reader.

Cielo	06 Feb 2005
(((yusia!))) I would also have to agree with everyone here stating that it is not harmful to read on-line. I have only had very good, even excellent results from this, and it's all a matter of how you yourself percieve the readings in the end. Perserving your energy is a very personal matter that doesn't really have anything to do with the format in which you share it, in my opinion. Some people can be energy vampires for sure (have met a few of them in my life!:D) but fending them off is up to us, the choices we make and who we choose to deal with.

Phoenix Rising	06 Feb 2005
That was her experience, doesn't mean it will happen to you. Don't listen to someone elses nonsense. She may feel you're a threat to her. She was probably on the net all day and night, why she got tired.

Stregaverde	06 Feb 2005
I would tend to be more wary of the person who gives unsolicited dire warnings and talks about their own psychic skills. In my experience, the true teachers and helpers don't need to blow their own horn or tell other people what to do.

tarotbear	06 Feb 2005
Interestingly, once someone told me that they loved the internet becasue they felt they could directly communicate with that person because they both touched the keyboard and they were connected through the wires ... or something metaphysical-sounding like that. Tarot readings do not cast spells or carry intents of harm (other than a computer virus if they do) through your computer. The woman who said this obviously believes this can happen. Don't fall prey to superstition or you will believe anything has bad vibes, including postal letters, change from the grocery store, etc., and soon will believe that everyone out there is out to getyou - a paranoia reaction. There was a cartoon once where Lucy asked Linus if he thought watching televsion was harmful; he replied ' I don't know - I never had one fall on me."

WolfSpirit	06 Feb 2005
tarotbear wrote: Don't fall prey to superstition or you will believe anything has bad vibes, including postal letters, change from the grocery store, etc., and soon will believe that everyone out there is out to getyou - a paranoia reaction. Yes, I know what you mean about paranoia and superstition... Then a month or so ago I asked a woman I know if she wanted to see a movie playing in Scotland (since she loves Scotland and Scottish castles). It was a children's program about a wizzard living in a castle who had lost his magic book; she said she loved it. Then a week later she phoned me and told me I should not watch those movies about magic anymore nor read books about it because it would expose me to bad energies, and if I did not stop she did not want anything to do with me anymore... I've never been so surprised about someone. There was really no arguing with her, she just refused to listen to me. Probably frightened of my bad vibes :P

yusia	09 Feb 2005
Thanks to everybody for the replies! It was extremely useful and gave me some interesting thoughts. However, does anybody take any special protective measures - cleansing hands with cold water after each reading, or anything else?

HudsonGray	09 Feb 2005
Nope, I just mentally thank the deck and if I'm feeling a bit spacey take a few deep breaths with eyes closed to reconnect to the present here & now.

yusia	09 Feb 2005
I forgot to say that I found the Marion`s advise to drink a lot of water when I do my readings for others very helpful. It seems so simple, but it works wonderful. I added some honey and lemon and it was really an energetic drink! :)

The Could online readings do any harm to me? thread was originally posted on 05 Feb 2005 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.