Reading for others

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Jun 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Tarot Babe	08 Jun 2004
Hey ppl, I'm new here en i jus started learnin tarot recently. I finished learning from Learning The Tarot - Joan Bunning and I just wanted to know if anyone can help me. I wanna know how EXACTLY do u read for others? can sumbody plz give me a detailed answer? Thanx! And one thing, I llooooooove tarot! And loooove this place!!

Tarot Babe	08 Jun 2004
:)

mercenary30	08 Jun 2004
Welcome to Aeclectic Tarot!! The best way, I can think of at this moment to give you access to some good info is to place this link on a seach I did to find past threads that potentially discuss that subject. Talking Tarot Search I am sure you can find more than a few threads in this search, with a wide range of topics that will help answer this question. I also wanted to let you know that there is a new members forum. Go there and introduce yourself, so the members can get to know you a little better!! :)

Imagemaker	08 Jun 2004
You don't know how on-target your question is, Tarot Babe. All of us, no matter how experienced, are still trying to figure out the details of how to read for others. The longer we read, the more details we find! Just start.

Thirteen	08 Jun 2004
Check you the "Your Readings" section: http://www.tarotforum.net/forumdisplay.php?forumid=17 where we interpet each others spreads and readings. It's a good place to watch people do readings and see how they go about it. Thing is, there is this leap of sort that happens between (1) knowing what the cards mean (generally speaking) and (2) knowing what they mean in a spread and (3) knowing what they mean in a spread given the question and querent. To move from knowing what the cards mean to reading a spread is usually done by laying out spreads for yourself. Can we assume, Tarot Babe, that you've been doing this? If not, it really is the way to start. Just remember as you do this that the cards know you're just practicing. So don't worry too much about what they say (i.e., if the Tower shows up, don't hide under the bed in fear of a bad day. You just got that in a spread so you could practice reading it). Honestly, the cards really seem to know the difference between when you lay out a spread for yourself and when you're just trying to learn. After practicing on yourself for a while, you need to find a few willing victims. And you need to make them understand that you're new and still learning. Here is some good general advice: 1) Always start with simple spreads. That means NO CELTIC CROSS! Consider the CC a term paper. You don't start with it. Short essays first. Do 3 card spreads, 6 card spreads, relationship spreads, whatever. But save the CC--or any other big spread--till you're beginning to get the hang of readings. 2) Make sure your querent asks a question. Again, save general readings for later. A question helps you focus. It narrows down the possible meanings of the cards. So, if you get 5/swords and the question is about a "boyfriend"--you can say to the querent, "you've feel you're always losing fights with him." Whereas, if the question is health, you can say, "the therapy isn't working." See? The question helps you to understand the cards and the spread. 3) Look for patterns. When you lay out a spread, see what patterns show up--lots of cups? Lots of Majors? No swords? All the 2's? If you get confused, these patterns can help direct you. You can ask, "Why aren't there any swords? Is there no communication?" 4) Find YOUR spread. Frankly, I think the CC's way over-rated. There are a lot of great spreads out there. Major ones like the CC which can offer an indepth reading on a topic or in general. As you learn to read for others with the little spreads, start looking for a major spread, like the CC, to be your own. One you really like, and one which can serve as your catch-all spread. If that's the CC, fine. All I'm saying is, don't use the CC just because "everyone does it." Use it because it speaks to you. We each find spreads that do that for us--that have an elegance and seem to make sense. Find one that does that for you as your signature spread. Hope this gives you a start. And if you can't find any willing victims, you can always head down to "READING EXCHANGE"; http://www.tarotforum.net/forumdisplay.php?forumid=30 and offer to give people readings. We're more than happy to let you practice on us.

Mimers	08 Jun 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Imagemaker You don't know how on-target your question is, Tarot Babe. All of us, no matter how experienced, are still trying to figure out the details of how to read for others. The longer we read, the more details we find! Just start. I agree with Imagemaker. Another great resourse is this set of articles by Umbrae. Very good advise on reading for others http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/process_introduction.shtml Welcome! Mimi

Sillanza	09 Jun 2004
Tarot Babe, are you asking about the mechanics of reading for others, like: "do I let the querant shuffle?," etc.?

Tarot Babe	09 Jun 2004
Hey ppl, THANKYOU ssssooooooo much 4 ur help. yeah, i have started reading for myself which i can do. the prob i have with reading for others is that how exactly can i make sense of the reading? i mean, what if i dont noe much about the problems revolving around the question, how am i supposed to make sense of something? And yeah, i was also wondering about that : do you let the querent shuffle or u do it urself? en if ur doin a reading for sum1 over the net, so what question do u use when doing the reading? like, do i rite : Why is 'a' angry with 'b'? or do i rite : Why is 'a' angry with me (the querent)? i dunno if this is makin much sense, but if nebudy understands, can u plz reply? and again, thankyou everybudy for ur help, u've really helped me so much! en b4 dis i was usin the CEltic Cross spread en maybe dats why its hard for me to intepret the cards. duz ne1 noe a good beginner's spread?

Thirteen	10 Jun 2004
Hey, TB: Quote: Originally posted by Tarot Babe i mean, what if i dont noe much about the problems revolving around the question, how am i supposed to make sense of something? The beauty of a tarot reading is that it usually develops as you go. So, let's say you get a girl, you know nothing about her, and she says, "Will I find love?" You lay out the spread, and the first thing you see, in the "past" part of the spread is 5/Cups. Whadda ya think? You think she regrets letting some past love go? That maybe there was some upset, some loss or breakup? I think so, too. You say that, and guess what? Usually, the girl will respond, "Oh, my gosh, how did you know? There was this guy...." And suddenly you get the whole story. In short, USUALLY, with each card you learn more, and as you learn more, the answer, the story and the cards beome more and more clear. Quote: do you let the querent shuffle or u do it urself? en if ur doin a reading for sum1 over the net, so what question do u use when doing the reading? like, do i rite : Why is 'a' angry with 'b'? or do i rite : Why is 'a' angry with me (the querent)? The shuffling question is up to you. Some readers HATE to have anyone touch their cards. Which means you shuffle. Others, myself included, feel that the querent imparts an energy into the cards, and so you should let the querent shuffle and concentrate on the question as they do. (If you do this, you might want to think about cleansing the deck after each reading--just imagine it drenched in white light. This, in theory, cleanses if of the last querent's energy, leaving it clean and ready for the next querent). In the end, you're the only one to know whether you're comfortable with strangers or even friends handling your deck. It's your call who handles you deck and how they handle it. As for how YOU should ask the question if you're shuffling the deck for, say, an on-line reading--DO NOT ask "what should I do?" Ask, "What should ____ (Querent's name) do?" You are the reader--keep your focus, our energy, your power on the querent and their question. Quote: duz ne1 noe a good beginner's spread? It looks like you've already asked for spreads in the "Spread" section of this forum. The best place to find an answer to this question. Also you can get this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0914918648/ref=nosim/aeclectic/ Konraad's Classic Tarot Spreads. Start with a simple 3 card spread (Past, Present, Future) or variations there-of. Like "Mind, Body, Spirit"). Move up to 6-7 card spreads like this classic horseshoe spread: http://www.tarotspreads.com/ShowSpread.mdv?SpreadID=e7cc31dc6cf43b397927654f933b9793 Does that help?

Tarot Babe	10 Jun 2004
Hey Thirteen, thankyou sssssssooooo much 4 ur help, dat really helped. thats kinda like most of da stuff i wasnt sure about. :)

The Reading for others thread was originally posted on 08 Jun 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.