tarot beliefs?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Free Flight	07 Feb 2005
Hi I know there was a recent thread regarding superstitions but I have some specific questions here. Firstly - I have heard you can read for someone once only every 6 months. Is this true Secondly - there is a spread I have heard made by Nostradamus which can only be read for each Querant once in his or her lifetime. Has anyone ever heard of this and is it true? Why? Thirdly - the issue of reading for oneself. I know this was covered in the other postings but everything i hear or read contradicts what was written there. I understand that there should be nothing wrong with learning as much as one can about yourself so I dont understand why this myth persists. Can it really be bad luck to know oneself? thanks to all answers in advance

Kit	07 Feb 2005
Hi Free Flight- Welcome to the forum! :) In regards to your 'once in a lifetime spread' question, I think the spread you're talking about is the Alchemist's Spread, said to have been created by Nostradamus. They say it should only be done once for each querant in each lifetime as it is an overview of one's life and the major forces acting upon it. Pretty full on, huh? When it comes to you 'how often can you read for someone' question, this question has been covered alot. It is a very popular question. I think it's up to how often the querant needs to be read for (as oppossed to how often they think they ought to be read for). Sometimes you need a couple of readings on a couple of different questions or further insight at a later dater. I definitely don't tell people "Oops- I read for you last week. Just sit on your problem and come back in six months or so." But if someone comes back day after day, wanting a reading about the same thing, I tell them to nick off. It becomes pointless. The cards generally end up saying a similar thing or supporting the original reading when you read too often, anyway. As to reading for yourself, I do. Often. And I'm not dead yet (at least I don't think I am...). :D Hope my two cents helped, Kit

HudsonGray	07 Feb 2005
#1 - No. Common sense says they'll get nothing benefitial out of asking the same question over & over every single day when they do nothing to change their actions about the situation, so it's useless to keep trying to read on something that hasn't shifted OR been given the time to shift. They're just hoping to hear something they want to hear. By giving it 6 months, that allows time for changes to come about. But it's perfectly ok to ask questions on how to alter the situation & get specific about certain parts of the first reading. That's proactive. #2 - Never heard of it. #3 - read for yourself all you want. Sometimes people get a block on that, as they're not ready to hear a few things, or they always subconscious expect the worst, and those readings don't go well. But if you stay back a bit and keep an open mind, you can read for yourself all you want. Just don't fall into the trap shown in #1 above. If you're ready to hear something, by all means do a spread. But if you'd dread hearing, then don't do it.

Free Flight	07 Feb 2005
thanks to Kitty Fisher and Hudson Gray for your responses. I guess I wanted to follow the thread of the alchemists spread a little further. Hope this is OK. As I am a beginner I dont want to use up my once in a lifetime allowance to do this spread on myself before I am more accomplished. I have heard about the mythical undertones relating to this spread and that it gives you an overview of your life at birth, now and at death so it is a very 'heavy' spread so to speak. But I wondered do you know more about it? Does anyone? Why is it only able to be done once in a life time? and what would happen if you did it twice in one lifetime or perhaps even three times? Sorry to be pedantic I like to fully understand things especially rules

SunChariot	07 Feb 2005
Well, I started Tarot in May '04. And I haven done many many readings since then. Whenever I have free time, I am off doing a reading, or reading a Tarot book. I can tell you is that for me, all of my readings have been for myself. I did only one, once for someone else, a friend. For me, Tarot is a not so much to predict the future as a tool for enlightenment and personal growth, to help your intuition and your sense of connection to the universe grow. All I can tell you is I have done many readings for myself and they have been amazing for me. And they have changed me in so many positive ways, and helped me grow. I am extremely grateful for all they have taught me, and I would hate to think of all the wonderful things I would have missed if I had not done my readings. I reread them often and even the older ones are still very useful, uplifting and full of joy. The reading I am doing now is coming out well. :-) It's on understading my connection to the universe, what my relationship is with the universe...It's coming up with some amazing things for me.:-) There are some people who only read for others, some who only read for themselves and some who fall in between. In my opinion, learning to understand yourself better can only help you in your life. Bar

Kit	07 Feb 2005
[quote=Free Flight]But I wondered do you know more about it? Does anyone? Why is it only able to be done once in a life time? and what would happen if you did it twice in one lifetime or perhaps even three times?/QUOTE] I'm 99.9% sure that I have this spread in scribbled down in a notebook of mine. I'd be more than happy to post it, but I've lent the book to a friend. I can get it back and post the thread tomorrow. I'm fairly sure it's in a pentagram shape or something. If I do the same spread about the same thing again, I usually get the same and similar cards appearing and the meaning of the first reading reinforced the second and usually third times. That's not to say that a reading using this spread show your concrete fate. Things change- but this spread shows the major influences in your life. Would it really be worth redoing? If you don't feel ready for this spread yet write a note in your journal about it and come back to it one day. ;) Off to ring friend about returning book, Kit

Kath	07 Feb 2005
# 1 - No. You can read for people as often as necessary. Like others have said, reading about the same thing constantly is pointless. You need to have some development in a situation before a new reading should be done. Also, when you're practising, if you can only read once every 6 months for your querent, it will take forever to learn tarot! Many people do monthly, weekly and even daily readings for themselves (and others). #2 Kitty Fisher has answered this one :) #3 I believe the people who started this myth were charlatan readers who didn't want their customers to start reading for themselves, because then they would be out of a job. The only caveat for reading for yourself is that it’s harder to stay impartial. Reading for yourself is a great way to learn the basics of tarot.

WalesWoman	08 Feb 2005
What is the difference between beliefs, superstitions and pure misconceptions? The eye of the beholder! If you believe something, then it's true to you and may not be to anyone else, so take it all with a grain of salt. Reading for yourself is harder, but is worth while to discover things within you, it's just harder to be objective if you are in denial about something. Reading for the same person is ok, rehashing the same question is not, because the readings might stop making any sense, there's lots of threads on this subject too. OR since readings are a snapshot of this moment, things can change, so the outcomes might be different...the querant will shout, "But you said it would be this way!" Well, maybe it changed because they didn't listen to the advice or something has changed. Who knows. And what if you do the same spread twice...will it change the world, change you, will a bolt of lightening strike? maybe it makes the reading more special to think it can only be done once...I dunno, I try not to make tarot rules or freak myself out by making it too mystical. I use it as a tool to help me figure out things and respect it.

HudsonGray	08 Feb 2005
Is this the spread? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TarotTips/message/31 It's about halfway down the page. They're calling it the Alchemist spread or some such, but the person posting didn't feel very good about the spread itself. I can't really see the benefit of doing it just once and expecting it to cover all the personal changes you'd be going through for the rest of your life. It seems to assume that everything is completely fated & you have no choice in your future.

Red Emma	08 Feb 2005
Free Flight wrote: Hi Can it really be bad luck to know oneself? Only to those who are afraid of the answers. Read for yourself, or any one else as often as it needs to be done. And leave fear out in the cold where it belongs. I can understand why the timid and wary are reluctant to engage the tarot very often. It's such a wondrous tool, and seems so mystical. But study it and learn it and make it your own. The good lord (for my feminist self, I'll add the Good Goddess) gave us all kinds of resources which early church fathers feared, and banned. (How can you control people who can approach the Most Holy all by themselves?) Have fun, Red Emma

Free Flight	08 Feb 2005
Hi All thanks for all the responses. I appreciate them all. In answer to HudsonGray this is the spread I was referring to. I agree with you as I believe the future is not set until the moment that we live it and the alchemist's spread does indicate that the future is set in stone and that there is nothing we can do about it. I laughed over the author's not liking the look of this spread but I guess I can understand this too. If you pulled extremely negative cards for all aspects of this spread you may wonder what it is all about. Still I plan on doing it for myself when I am a little more accomplished thanks again to all FF

The tarot beliefs? thread was originally posted on 07 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.