What do you ask about?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Mar 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

maszat	23 Mar 2004
Hi All, I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this thread but I just wanted to ask you something. I'm fairly new to Tarot and have only been reading for myself. I was just wondering what sort of questions do you ask and what about? The main concern for me at the moment is my relationship and my "life purpose" and that's what I usually ask about. However I would like to use my decks more often but I'm not sure what to ask that's more for every day situations. I don't think there is any point asking the cards about my life purpose every day. Sorry if it sounds a bit stupid but what other things can I ask about? Thank you for any suggestions. Magdi

Thirteen	23 Mar 2004
Nothing stupid about it. We all have read for ourselves in order to learn, you just have to remember you're learning and the cards know this. So don't take such readings too seriously. Also, if you're still a student then you don't need to ask anything. Just lay out spreads and think of how you might read them in answer to different questions. Don't think of them as applying to you, but rather to an imaginary querent. Technically speaking any serious questions you have for the tarot should only be asked once or twice a week, tops. Ask the same question day after day, and the cards may end up telling you that they're tired of that question, and cut it out! (No joke. We've had many threads where people get cards like the hanged man over and over again, a sure sign that the deck is "hung up" and tired of repeatedly answering the same question). As for what you can ask the cards...well, just about anything you like. But most querents will be asking about the usual--love ("I'm interested in this person, should I....?" or "I'm having a problem with...what should I do?" or just "Will I find love?"), job ("Should I move and take a new job?" or "I'm having problems at my job...."), family ("I'm having trouble with my Mother/Father/sibling...."), career ("How can I further my career....?"), health, etc. Try laying out a spread and seeing how you'd answer such questions if you got such a spread as the response to them. Of course, if you really want to do daily readings for yourself without having to think up new questions--and without frustrating the cards--then get into the ritual of pulling a daily card. This is used frequently by learners and experts alike. Shuffle and flip up one card and one card only. This is your daily card. It answers no question so much as offering you a bit of advice for the day, a view of how the day might go and what you should do to deal with that day. Daily cards are excellent for learning as you can really delve into the card meaning and how it might apply to you and the day. When the day's over, you can review the card again and see where you went right or astray in your interpetation.

Darla	23 Mar 2004
This question is really not stupid at all. Once I asked a similar question and you can look at the responses I got. http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20953 Hope it helps!

Phoenyx*	23 Mar 2004
For my daily readings, I don't ask anything, just pull a card to see what that day's advice is.

Nevada	23 Mar 2004
Maszat, Welcome to Aeclectic! For myself, I mainly do "where I am now" sorts of readings, usually 3 cards or so. For my daily cards, when I use them, I just pull them to get the "flavor" of the day. When I ask a specific question it's usually related to whatever is on my mind at the moment, such as "what should I keep in mind for this job interview?" or "how will this decision affect my home life?" Things like that. I try not to ask yes or no questions, although I'm of the opinion that they can be answered using Tarot. I just usually want more of a general type of advice or things to pay attention to. Really, you can ask anything. Just don't expect to get EXACT answers most of the time (they do happen, but you can't count on them), and don't make Tarot the end-all and be-all of your decision making processes. It's just one source of insight, not THE source. :) Nevada

colusaskye	23 Mar 2004
I don't always ask questions because as soon as I pull my cards out to do a reading, my mind goes blank and I cannot remember, for the life of me, what I was so concerned with just seconds earlier. Or sometimes, I remember the question, but cannot figure out how to take it out of the yes/no format. Sometimes I'll write down a list of questions, just to remind myself. Most of those questions have to do with relationships and where I am at the moment. When I do my one card daily readings, I don't ask a question. I just focus on the day ahead and pick a card. I'll do one card for the day and one card for my relationship.

maszat	23 Mar 2004
Thank you all for your replies. I don't know why I thought you have to ask questions when using the cards. :) I am going to use the recommendations and I'm sure they will deepen my understanding of the cards. :) Thanks again.

Thea Lynx	23 Mar 2004
Hi Maszat, No stupid questions here. In time you will develop your own personal conversation style with the Tarot - in the mean time, enjoy the exploration. I started with pulling a single - touchstone - card. trying to see how it applied to my day, there are so many different things one card can mean in any given situation, you must relax and go wtih your intuition/feelings about the card. As it has developed, I am most confortable with a three card plus lesson card daily draw - when I divide the shuffled deck, I look at the bottommost card for my lesson, something to pull the other three together - this is the result of a professional reading I had several months ago. Then I pull, from the reassembled deck, once card for my basis (past if you will) one for my current situation, one for the trend I am on (future yet to come) I do this because it feels right for me. As you handle and work with your cards more and more, you will develop your own personal style. And on those days when I have a particular question, I will either ask it or look for a spread that addressed that question. Whichever way you go, listenting with an open soul, you can't go wrong. Thea Lynx

Strange2	24 Mar 2004
Greetings, Maszat! Very appropriate question, about what to ask the Tarot when reading for yourself. I also had (and sometimes still have) this challenge. I primarily use the Tarot as a personal meditation tool / portal, and not for explicit divination about the future. What I have found works well when reading for myself is to think of a phrase or keyword or energy that will guide my meditation and interaction with the cards and with the day. For example, recent keywords I have used are: Inspire, Ripples, Service, Behind the Mask, Steps on the Path, Organize, Vibrate, Can Do. These keywords come to me as I meditate quietly for a few minutes before shuffling and selecting the cards. I then normally pull 3 cards, and interpret them in terms of the keywords, as Receive, Integrate, Transmit. - Receive information/energy about that keyword - Integrate this info/energy in my being (mixing it with my current components and views) - Transmit a reflection/reaction of this info/energy back out into the world I find that using the flow of In-> Absorb-> Out-> with this keyword meditation is very natural, and allows the images and energies of the Tarot to connect with me both at the moment and in my daily interaction with the world.

tmgrl2	28 Mar 2004
Hi maszat...and welcome... I am new to AT and Tarot since 2/04....so most of my readings are for myself...I have braved some online since the feedback and kindness here is wonderful. For my own readings, I have done one card for the day, but not every day...usually one a week... Then I do a three card spread....jmd gave some suggestions for this in another thread...rather than search it out for you, since I print and keep spreads I find here at AT....I'll just quote what he gave: Quote: Past - Present - Future Reasons for problem - Problem - Resolution Decision - Implications - Ways to action Why - What - How Place (where) - By whom - Why Situation at hand - How others perceive it - Course of Action/resolution Problems - Benefits - Advice Physiological - Emotional - Ideas Personal - Social - Spiritual There are many more...but I like the above as a starter for me to choose different questions pertaining to my own life... Of course, if something becomes pressing...and I am preoccupied with it...I read on it... terri

Red Emma	28 Mar 2004
The doctor I've been seeing at my HMO, left and I've had to choose a new one. Since it's very hard to find out anything about those on the list of availables beyond what school they graduated from, I decided to ask the tarot. I requested the names of the top three on the list. I told the clerk who attends to such things that I had an outside source for information about their suitability for my needs. (I'd love to see her face, or the face of anyone at the HMO if they ever discovered my source was a deck of tarot cards. Here's the result: The question I asked was, "What do I need to know if I were to select (a), (b), or (c) for my primary care physician. I asked the question individually for each doctor. I used a three-card, 1) issue, 2) advice, 3) outcome spread. Dr. a: 1) Magician, 2) Empress, and 3) 10P. Dr. b: 1) 3 Rods, 2) QS Rx, 3) 2S. Dr. c: 1) Fool, 2) 7C, 3) 3R. I've made an "get acquainted" appointment with "The Magician." At that time I'll be able to tell how good my tarot reading skills are. Himself just told me that dinner's ready -- it's his turn to cook. I'll have to post my interpretations of these later.

Jenny-Li	29 Mar 2004
Back when I did daily readings, I used to do three carders every day. I used the Body-Mind-Spirit triad, but tried not to overfocus on the positions. Instead I practised on reading how the three cards I pulled each day related to each other, reinforced each other, hindered each other, interacted with one another etc etc. I started out doing it mostly for practising purposes, it wasn't long before I started to get really aware of the patterns of the cards connecting back to my life. Perhaps not on a day to day basis, but - the week I got the message that I got my current job (I was in a hell hole at the time and really REALLY needed to get out), I got Majors, Majors, Majors. The World, The Fool, Wheel of Change, Judgement... Some of them more then once. Last summer I did lots of soul searching, and worked a lot with releasing my creativity blocks. I spent all day lazying out on the beach thinking of my cards, and then they reemerged in my dreams at night before I drew new ones the next morning. It became one long process of spiritual development, and it was a very exciting time! So just drawing cards and seeing them relate to each other is a great way to read cards. Useful both if you're a beginner, and if you're an advanced reader! Good luck! Jenny :)

tmgrl2	29 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Red Emma [b] The doctor I've been seeing at my HMO, left and I've had to choose a new one. Since it's very hard to find out anything about those on the list of availables beyond what school they graduated from, I decided to ask the tarot. I requested the names of the top three on the list. I told the clerk who attends to such things that I had an outside source for information about their suitability for my needs. (I'd love to see her face, or the face of anyone at the HMO if they ever discovered my source was a deck of tarot cards. Here's the result: The question I asked was, "What do I need to know if I were to select (a), (b), or (c) for my primary care physician. I asked the question individually for each doctor. I used a three-card, 1) issue, 2) advice, 3) outcome spread. Dr. a: 1) Magician, 2) Empress, and 3) 10P. Dr. b: 1) 3 Rods, 2) QS Rx, 3) 2S. Dr. c: 1) Fool, 2) 7C, 3) 3R. I've made an "get acquainted" appointment with "The Magician." At that time I'll be able to tell how good my tarot reading skills are. I LOVE THIIS, Red Emma....see, creative spreads at work! terri ROFLOL and loving it, too!

mj07	30 Mar 2004
Sometimes I do just a daily 1 or 3 card spread and ask a general question "what do I need to learn today?" If I have something specific on my mind I might ask "what do I need to do to help me understand this?" or something like that. I don't usually ask "predictive" type questions b/c I'm not sure I believe Tarot works that way (maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, I'm undecided on that point) Plus, since I'm still fairly new at it, I'm not sure I'd be able to accurately "predict" based on a card reading, so I just don't do it.

HudsonGray	30 Mar 2004
Questions like "what's holding me back at this point in my life" and "what should I be focusing my attention on this week" are two that work pretty well to get things rolling. Others that can be eye opening: "Why were my buttons pushed in this situation?" "Is there something I'm not learning that I should be?" "Why am I having a problem with this ______?" "Is there more to the situation than I'm aware of?" "Where should my attention be focused on this problem?"

Jewel-ry	30 Mar 2004
Hi there, When I was new to the forum, I asked a similar question and got some really good advice. A lot of them quite novel. Look here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=199548#post199548 J :)

The What do you ask about? thread was originally posted on 23 Mar 2004 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.