Clarifying cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Aug 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

skh	11 Aug 2004
Do you use clarifying cards, and do they help you? I always feel like cheating when I draw additional cards, and fear to water down the meaning of a throw. Sonja

Kiama	11 Aug 2004
I use them, but I don't see it as cheating... We all need a little clarification at times, and often a spread is confusing because we haven't asked something which would, had we asked it, given us the info we need to solve the puzzle before us. We neglect a little part of the question... So, I draw clarifying cards if I'm stuck, to address what I didn't think to consider. Also, sometimes a card can be very general... It may tell you that 'change' is coming up, but not what kind of change or how it will affect the querent, so I often pull one or two cards to focus on it. Blessings, Kiama

Eco74	11 Aug 2004
I rarely use them, and when I do it's for one particular card in the spread, not the entire spread itself which helps narrow the response from the card a bit. Also the clarifying cards for the particular card does not as a rule water down anything so long as you keep the clarifying card to the particular card or situation where clarification is needed, and lay out the entire spread before taking any clarifying cards. I can see how it could be seen as cheating but really it's only cheating when you know what the card you are "having problems with" means and pull a clarifying card just to proove yourself right or to get help wording it for yourself or the querent. Having a rusty vocabulary or slow mind (due to lack of sleep or coffee) is no excuse to manhandle the deck. By all means, finish the reading, but then take a break or switch to another deck until you can feel more receptive to what the cards are saying. :o)

Aun	11 Aug 2004
:smoker: I don't see a reason not to use clarifying cards when you feel stuck or wish to narrow the focus on a situation presented by an 'open' card.

Luminessence	11 Aug 2004
Sometimes I use clarifying cards, but I find that they generally don't do much clarifying :) If the cards don't want to give me the information, they just won't, and drawing extra cards doesn't help. For example, when I did a reading for myself a few weeks ago, the outcome card was related to a conflict with another person. I wanted to know the outcome of another aspect of the situation I was reading about, so I drew a clarification card... and got a card that made no sense when I tried to relate it to what I'd been looking for, but perfectly described more about that same interpersonal conflict. And last night I did a reading for myself (using my Tarot of Transformation) that indicated that I had some sort of inner resistance to becoming more grounded. So I drew another card, asking why I had this resistance, and the card I drew was the Teacher of Cups. I looked up the card meaning, and found that this card is about the need to look inside yourself for answers :) (My cards like to do that to me. When I was trying out the Quest Tarot Spread in my Quest Tarot book, I turned over the final card of the spread, which was supposed to be "The Mystery Revealed," and found that I had drawn the Moon. The Moon is, of course, all about mysteries that aren't revealed.)

dadsnook2000	11 Aug 2004
I do not use additional cards to clarify a situation -- as a rule. I try to make the question applicable and specific. Only if the querent participates and asks for more detail on a single aspect of the reading might I use an extra card. Otherwise, I formulate another question and do a three card spread to address just that added question. Dave

juju	11 Aug 2004
I use clarifying cards - they are sometimes necessary to understand a specific card for me. I try to not do it though because I believe whatever I pull is whatever I am meant to know.

contrascarpe	11 Aug 2004
For me it depends on where I am doing the reading: When I read in public, typically all I use ARE clarifying cards. I rarely use a set spread unless I am doing a Past Lives reading. More times than not, the Seeker comes in without a particular question (at first). I throw three cards to get an idea of what is going on and then, if confused, add a card or two to clarify and/or give advice. My online readings always use a set spread and I seem to never draw a clarifying card (although I should at times). Dan

Pook	11 Aug 2004
I have never used a clarifying card. Sometimes, though, after I have packed up the cards and am thinking on the reading afterwards , it occurs to me that I could have. I guess, in the heat of the moment it just doesn't occur to me. I am pretty new at tarot though, and have enough trouble with the cards I draw for the reading, let alone trying to decipher a clarifying card too.

WolfSpirit	11 Aug 2004
I use clarifying cards, but I will first consider why it is the card is not clear - for example, because it can refer to different areas in your life. Then I would draw an extra card "to what area in my life does this apply". So you could also call this "expanding the spread" instead of "clarifying one card". It would be cheating of you would draw a card to replace the previous card because that one was too difficult for one reason or other. The card you drew first should never be denied. P.S. Dave what a lovely colourful avatar you got !

dadsnook2000	11 Aug 2004
Thank you for commenting on my new Avatar. I wanted to show my joint obsessions -- Tarot and Astrology. When I hit 500 posts I just had to pop a more appropriate avatar in there. A QUESTION for everyone: When you pull one or more clarifying cards, do you take the next ones from the deck or do you shuffle, mix, and draw something that is not "next"? Dave

ros	11 Aug 2004
I use a clarifying card when the client feels they need more information. If I'm not reading reversals I'll draw extra cards for every reversed card. The reversed card will be blocked and the clarifying card will give information to unblock the reverse card. I spread the cards on the table when the spread is complete. Every time I need a clarifying card I ask the client to hand me a card. OR I will just put the cards in a pile and when I need the cards I just pick from the top in order. Just depends on how the reading is going. Sometimes I start with reversals and then switch to clarifying cards. Depends on the actions of the client. ~If the reading is over & I have many cards on the table I'll place them in their elements to show the client.

Nevada	11 Aug 2004
Sometimes, but I ask a new question, or rephrase the original one, and reshuffle first. To draw card after card for the same question/position seems futile, and can wind up even more confusing. A new way of looking at the question freshens things for me. Nevada

VGimlet	11 Aug 2004
I will sometimes use them. There have been times when I'll do my layout, and my reading, and I'll feel like I need just a little bit more - something has been left out, that extra bit of information, like the epilogue at the end of a book. You don't always need it, but sometimes you want it anyway.

Ace	12 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by WolfSpirit It would be cheating of you would draw a card to replace the previous card because that one was too difficult for one reason or other. The card you drew first should never be denied. I agree there! I have a bad habit of drawing other cards constantly. the cards on the table should tell you most of what you want to know. You have to REALLY LOOK sometimes. I think a clarifying card is for answering the question the original spread creates: why is this (then answer) the case? For example: If someone asks about dating and gets an answer of "she's too busy to date" the clarifying card is to answer: why is that? or more likely to get an answer: what should she do about this? To answer the other question: Sometimes I pull off the top, sometimes I ask them to pull one (especially if they are asking the question out loud) and sometimes I pick from the middle.

darwinia	12 Aug 2004
I don't pick clarifying cards to relate to a single card, or to clarify a card in one position or another, I pick one clarifying card to clarify the whole reading. It offers clarity for everything, either to sum up or to describe another angle. I do it that way because I sometimes notice that if you want to clarify a specific card, you have a preconceived answer chosen before you clarify! This way you can't escape reality, you get what you get. I always pick it from another deck too, not necessarily a tarot deck. Mix up those preconceptions, startle the nice little story all laid out and fixed in your mind. ;-0))

Diana	12 Aug 2004
My personal experience is that clarifying cards really mess up my readings. They do not clarify them at all. It's as if the Tarot was saying "I already told you what you asked. Sheesh!!!" So now if I still have some interrogations, I prefer to do a whole new spread with my new question. And then on reflection, I usually realise that if I had just been a little more patient, a little more intuitive and a little more trusting, the first spread had already given me all the answers. I just hadn't linked the cards together correctly.

Candra	16 Aug 2004
I've been told that I read in a very different way than most. First, I'll put down 3 rows of 3 cards, these of course stand for past, present and future(I read them horizontally, but it has just occured to me that sometimes reading them vertically helps as well), and that will give me the basis of the situation, and general outcome. I don't really use clarifing cards, but to any question that the client asks after the first, even if they didn't really want it answered and was just asking rhetorically, I'll put down 3 cards to answer it. But then, like I said, I read oddly, and have been known to go through almost 2 decks in a reading. Not always, but sometimes I can answer the question in 9 cards, and sometimes, I'll just put down cards to clarify for myself if not the client. I'm always being told I use too many cards to get a clear meaning, but I've never found that. By using all the cards, I find that I'm reading them the whole book, instead of just the first paragraph of a chapter. Any questionsor comments?

Bosorka	17 Aug 2004
I try to avoid clarification cards, but sometimes the cards give so general answer, that I pull another card asking "to what relate that trouble card". Than I read both cards together. Sometimes (I really did it about three times... hm...) I do a spread for card. I draw extra four cards for explaining cross with positions: it relates to this surely doesn´t mean this this should be considered outcome/advice Funny thing is, that most helpful was always "surely doesn´t mean this".....

Niomi	17 Aug 2004
Clarification cards are more fun if you use a completely different deck to clarify. Bosorka's clarification spread looks very useful too, I am going to have to try that sometime!

The Clarifying cards thread was originally posted on 11 Aug 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.