Questions

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Bryher	11 Jun 2003
I am curious about something that I have noticed happening in my readings for myself - I find that the cards are more and more frequently answering a question that was not the question/topic I had in mind when I set about doing the reading. Should I accept this and learn from the question the cards answered instead, or should I focus on asking my questions more clearly?

Umbrae	11 Jun 2003
Questions that are too specific belie the fact that most folks think they know the problem…reality is that the problem, is only a symptom of a much deeper or completely different issue. So it is important when the cards come up to be open and receptive to what they are saying. I.e.: The person asks about love, the cards are about work. Do not read into this, something that is not there (“Your affair with your co-worker….”), usually work issues are overlaying issues of the home… If you pose a question for a reading, EVERYTHING is based on the way the question is worded. Some readings will not work, because the question is too broad – too scattered and frankly too silly. Try, “why is there air?” It does not work. If you are not serious, answers will be folly. Most readers tell the sitter to ‘concentrate’ . I prefer to ask them to ”think lightly upon your questions, I do not want you to think so hard that you get a brain hemorrhage, just think lightly upon your questions…I want you to shuffle the deck until it ‘feels’ right.” I get much better results. Ask a person to concentrate too hard on a specific issue, and you may as well ask them to think of anything except green giraffes. Edited to add: Also remember that folks who don’t trust others, have underlying issues that need to be addressed…things bubbling below the surface, that need to brought up and examined in the sunlight.

divinerguy	11 Jun 2003
A wise person listens to the counsel of all who have something to say. Seldom can you suffer injury from merely hearing what is said. Whether and how you act upon such information is another matter altogether. That is far more difficult to ascertain, and it is the true measure of a Tarot reader. I tend to take such things with a grain of salt, and here's why -- I am a believer in spirits and things that dwell in a metaphysical world. Unless you are truly gifted, you don't always know the source of the message. Just like people in the earthly plane, I believe that most spirits are, generally speaking, benevolent in nature. So, my advice? Its the same as unsolicited advice from the physical world - Listen, but use caution if you decide to act upon it.

HudsonGray	11 Jun 2003
Have you tried doing a reading where no specific question is asked, to let whatever it is come through in it's entirety? It may solve the 'bleed through' you're getting on the other readings.

Thirteen	11 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Bryher Should I accept this and learn from the question the cards answered instead, or should I focus on asking my questions more clearly? I think what everyone is trying to tell you is, if the cards are telling you something, it's probably far more important than whatever it is your asking about. And you absolutely should listen to what they have to tell you. I had this exact situation in one reading. The querent asked how to improve her relationship with her partner, indicating that she thought it needed some work. When I laid out the cards, there was NOTHING about the partner in them. But there was message after message telling the Querent that it was long past time she quit her job and go after the career she'd been dreaming about since her teens. As it turned out, the Querent's relationship with her partner was fine, great even. But she'd nit-picked and imagined problems in order to ignore and procrastinate over the real issue--that she couldn't get up the courage to take the plunge and be what she really wanted to be. The lesson: sometimes we make up or pretend we have problems in an area in our life in order to hide from the REAL problems in our life. Your cards are pointing out the real problems--or most important issues, and indicating, in doing so, that your questions aren't as in need of answers as you thought.

Bryher	12 Jun 2003
Thank you all for such sound advice - Hudsongray, I have folllowed your suggestion of doing an open reading - a lot of the same cards came up that have been coming up, some in the same positions, so there is obviously somthing that I should be listening to - the reading had some clear themes but I think I need to reflect on it - the overall message seems to be quite a complex one. I will post it, and see if anyone else has a more coherent insight into what the cards are trying to say. Thanks again - I've been left with a lot to think about.

The Questions thread was originally posted on 11 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.