"Creating" readings

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

wavebreaker	01 Jun 2003
I'm currently studying Serge Kahili King's book Urban Shaman about Huna, a Hawaiian tradition of shamanism. One technique he uses to try and change things in your life is by "creating" readings, using any type of divination tool. So you can do it with tarot cards as well. For example: you do a tarot reading on whether you will get a new job. The reading says you won't and also tells you why. Then you "create" your own reading by putting in the cards that you would have liked to see in the reading, telling you how to get that new job. The "created" reading basically serves as a visualisation of what you want to achieve and you can then use it to meditate on or to send energy to, or whatever other method you normally use. I was wondering whether anyone had ever tried anything like this, either using tarot cards or other divination tools? And if so, what kind of technique did you use?

Major Tom	01 Jun 2003
Yes. This was the basic method of magick as explained in Denning & Phillips' book The Magick of Tarot. The way they put it was that if you didn't like the outcome of your reading you could change the outcome by substituting positive cards. These changes can then be energised via meditation and/or dramatisation. I would of course also recommend a reading regarding the outcome of working with your changed or created spread...

Maan	01 Jun 2003
Interresting way. Its like positive affirmations. When you read about magick there is often an exersice like creating a parking space. You will have to visualize an empty parking space and when you do that well you will find an empty parking space. This way of using the cards sounds like that. Using the cards as a focus for visualization! Creating your own future ;)

Diana	01 Jun 2003
I don't recall ever having used this kind of technique. Sounds very interesting. I wonder if I could use this method for my clients in the new business I am supposed to be setting up (Bach Flowers and Tarot-Therapy). It sounds like a great way to create one's own future. Know what? I'm myself having a bit of a problem right now with motivation and self-confidence (concerning my business). I am going to do a reading today and use your method. I'll keep you up-dated on the results. I paid a fortune for my last coaching sessions. Perhaps this could replace them quite nicely.

allibee	01 Jun 2003
Don't hate me,LOL,but as you may have all guessed I'm not at all magically/esoterically persuaded, but is not this 'Creative Visualisation'? Where you visualise yourself in the role/position/situation you want? The Art of Positive Thinking. Would laying cards make a difference, after all... just ink on card.... Isn't it just the positive focus that's important? Perhaps laying the 'positive' cards is the focus for some Just thinking aloud, :O) A.

jema	01 Jun 2003
Well, i must be a bit daft here, when other people work magick with the cards - how do you do it then? I thought this was the way everyone did it. So now I must ask - what other ways of tarot magick do you work with? Single cards? Spreads from a book?

Sulis	01 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by allibee but is not this 'Creative Visualisation'? Where you visualise yourself in the role/position/situation you want? The Art of Positive Thinking. Just thinking aloud, :O) A. Hi Alibee, I think that positive visualisation or positive thinking is the essence of a lot of magic, the magic that I do anyway. Just laying out the cards in a different spread wouldn`t make any difference, but concentrated visualisation with the cards as a focus, IMO would. I have used this method many times, with and without the use of tarot cards and it works. The mind is a very powerful tool. Love and light Crystalmynx xx

wavebreaker	01 Jun 2003
I don't really see this as magic or whatever you would call it, but as visualising the way you want something to be (and I suppose for some people that is magic). I guess that's the same as Maan's positive affirmations or Allibee's positive thinking, or crystalmynx's view on magic... ;) Of course you don't need cards for that, but I can imagine it could help with the visualisation. When trying to visualise an empty parking space, you won't really need any cards, that's a clear enough goal. But I if you want to imagine the way towards your goal, for example, what you need to do to get a new job, it may be easier to keep certain cards in mind, for example the card(s) that you would have put in the Advice position of your "created" reading. As for doing a reading on the outcome: I think you should approach this the same way as any other magic you do. If that's how you normally do spells, I would do that with this technique as well.

allibee	01 Jun 2003
Interesting stuff. It's funny, we all have the same ideas but different methods ... that's what I love about this place :O) A.

Alex	09 Jun 2003
But I see one problem with this approach: Sometimes, what we want and what is good for us on the long run are different things I am often caught saying to myself if I'd just been more careful with what I wished for Sometimes there's a little one inside us who whispers "that's not at all a good idea" and this little one does everything to sabottage that goal, while we're busily fooling ourselves we're trying to get it. We may feel sad we didn't get the candy, but may be happy latter because we preserved our healthy teeth. Obviously the other side of the coin is that sometimes there's someone little inside us sabottaging everything because it's a scared little one who's affraid to succeed. HOw to know the difference? I guess the ones who are more in touch with their intuition can honestly ask themselves "why do I want this and is it really worthy fighting for?". The others should just read the cards and when they get an unwanted outcome, just ask themselves "how would I benefit from this seemengly dull result?" Alex.

Diana	09 Jun 2003
Alex: You are right. When my mother was ill and dying, I would have given up everything I owned to make her well again, I would have sold my soul to the devil....... It was a living nightmare for me. But if she had lived, I would not be where I am today..... her death has allowed me to grow. When my son was having difficulties at school, I would have done all the magic spells in the world to make those difficulties vanish, if I had believed they would work. I spent many days crying and many nights without sleep. However, if my wish had been granted, he would not be offered the chance today by my husband and I to spend his last 6 years of school in the best private school in my town where he will not only be offered a chance to learn arithmetic and geography, but also spiritual values. Sometimes it is also good just to trust...................

wavebreaker	09 Jun 2003
It all depends on how you create that reading. If you create it to reflect just one goal, then, if it works, you might end up with something you don't like after all. If the basis is a reading where you ask what you need to do to achieve the goal you have in mind, and then focus on the advice instead of the outcome, you will be focusing on the path towards the goal you want. And then the outcome may be completely different from what you had in mind, but still achieving the same goal. This wasn't meant as a simple spell to get what you want, but as a technique to use in focusing on how you can achieve what you want.

Diana	09 Jun 2003
Okay, that sounds reasonable. :)

Jenny-Li	13 Jun 2003
I did something kind of similar once - only backwards, it wouldn't really be me otherwise, would it...? ;) I was feeling very lost, and confused, to the point where I couldn't really trust my own identity anymore, I found myself very fuzzy around the edges. I sat down with a deck of cards and went through the celtic cross with myself picking out one card for each position, mapping out my situation, where I came from, how I felt about my roots, where I wanted to go, how I saw myself, how I saw the world around etc. It took ages, and I ditched some cards that seemed right from the start, when my perspective on things deepened, and I could see that it wasn't adequat. And then - as we all know: no card is JUST bad or JUST good, after I had laid out the spread to show my problem I shifted focus as to see the possibilities in those cards that I'd picked out, the potential of the situation. I don't know if this is called magic or affirmation or path working or soul searching or what, but it seems to be the same principle. Using something that you can relate to - tarot cards are great, but I suspect there are other things for ppl who aren't as comfortable as we are with tarot-cards - you create a point of focus, from which you can make things happen for you. I don't think I was very focused, and probably didn't really follow through with this ritual. But it did help me find a way out of the darkest confusion, because it was my situation, just the way I experienced it - and it had light in it, even though I hadn't been able to see it before. Well. Just a reflection. Jenny :)

Hedera	13 Jun 2003
That's a wonderful idea! :) Would be interesting to do that regularly, like once a year, or several times. Kind of make a map of your life from tarot cards! I actually think the Celtic Cross would be better for that than it is for readings. In readings it always feels too descriptive to me. But for something like this, description is just what you need!

Ruby Red Slippers	13 Jun 2003
About 5 ears ago, I went through a similar exercise, only changing the FOCUS. This exercise brought about the most fabulous results of my life! I find this exercise great, in that the first part points out the “things” in your life that perhaps you have to release. Little time is ever given to the fact that we have to “empty out” to have “room” to receive. In this exercise sited here, an opportunity is presented to do that… The next part of the exercise is to concentrate on what you want in your life… When this exercise worked the Best for me I used this method: Instead of visualizing “what” I wanted I concentrated on the “feeling” I wanted. For example, think about taking a long, lovely bubble bath with lavender scented bubbles. Think about the warm water on you as you sink into the tub. The smell of the lavender, the relaxation you feel as you breathe it in…Getting the picture? Like chocolate cake on a good china plate with chocolate and ice cream, all of the pleasure and none of the calories… In other words concentrate on the “Feeling” you want instead of the “form” it will take. I guarantee you that the result will be better than you could have asked for. :D I also think that placing Tarot cards around in your visual field that remind you of that feeling can stimulate the feeling and draw it to you from the universe. I personally believe the universe can be a liberalist. Therefore, asking for the “feeling” you want allows for it to happen in the best possible way. I could not have imagined the “things” that have come to me this way, better that I ever could have asked for myself or expected. Ruby Red Slippers

The "Creating" readings thread was originally posted on 01 Jun 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.