Asking the same question repeatedly!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 Oct 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Alice23	30 Oct 2004
Hi, a newbie here so bear with me! I read once somewhere that if you keep asking the same question to the tarot over and over again eventually it will answer you with cards you dont want/or give you the negatives....i know i shouldnt do it but there's been this one thing on my mind constantly lately and have been asking the same question over and over...initially the cards were upright but since ive been (constantly!) asking they've become reversed, and a lot of the time the same cards keep coming out.........guessing this is a major hint for me to listen to them and to stop asking!! What does anyone else think,/has anyone had any previous experience of this? Thanks, Alice

Grizabella	30 Oct 2004
I find that, even if I don't get the same cards, the meaning of the ones I do get is basically the same as the ones I got in the original spread. I take it to mean they're telling me I'm missing the point and to look a little harder at the cards. Have you tried asking the question of a whole different deck? Maybe that would give you another aspect that would help you to resolve or understand the issue.

HudsonGray	30 Oct 2004
Try changing the question or asking WHAT you can do to alter part of it, or see what suggestions the deck has on something specific that you can ask it about the situation. Just asking the same thing over & over will only get your deck to give you gibberish after you didn't listen the first or second time. Expanding the base of what you got from the first reason will get you a lot more to work with.

WalesWoman	31 Oct 2004
I agree with Lyric, I know from experience that if I keep asking the same question or a variation of the same question, no matter what kind of spread I use, no matter if I use reversals or all uprights, no matter how many times or ways I shuffle, cut or draw the cards... the same cards will come up or it's similar variation, but the message will essentially say the same thing, usually more forcefully. If I don't like the message, that's just too darn bad, so the Hanged Man is often in those readings as well. The best thing I can do is really, really start looking at the meanings of the cards, do some research if I need to and then the hardest part, look inside myself and gradually find the understanding I need, not rationalization to bend it to my will, but the understanding that whatever the Universe has in store for me is something I really do need, and most often I am blessed by it, even though at times it feels like a real butt kicking. Hudson Gray's advice to rephrase your question for suggestions on how to improve or what you can do are the best ones... you have free will and the power to shape your life and how you relate to it. It's empowering to shape your thoughts, your actions, your will and energy by focusing on the positive ways you can make an imact on your life and the world around you. I'm learning this all by "accident", from over reading situations and not listening to the advice in the cards, until the cards wouldn't tell me anything else but...Go inside and find your answers there.

Moonbow*	31 Oct 2004
I think that asking the same question over and over is saying that you don't like the first answer the cards gave you. Doing the same reading will not make any difference and may even confuse you. Maybe it is better to look deeper into the cards that you have pulled (like WalesWoman said) and trust in what they are saying to you. If the situation changes slightly, then you can do another reading, and you will find that the cards will be clearer, but I think you should have more trust in the cards and in your ability.

Alta	31 Oct 2004
I know this is not strictly a tarot answer, but I tend to keep this in mind. It comes from when I was studying I Ching. There is a hexagram in the I Ching, Number 4, which pretty well says, 'The master speaks but once. So grow up, settle down and study the original response'. I find if I ask a question several times, about the third try that hexagram shows up. I do agree that you can study the problem from different angles, but to keep asking the same question falls into the "are we there yet?" category. A throw of cards deserves some time, thought and even meditation.

prk001	31 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Alice23 if you keep asking the same question to the tarot over and over again eventually it will answer you with cards you dont want/or give you the negatives.... I don't believe asking the same question again & again is going to make the tarot give you negative cards or anything.... probably, by asking the same question again & again you may indicate that you are not liking/believing the answers given to you by the cards. You may influence the answers tarot cards give by probably asking the same question after some time after doing something(or taking some action) about the question/problem. If you do nothing about the problem/question and keep asking the same question, you may get the same answer from different set of cards. Quote: i know i shouldnt do it but there's been this one thing on my mind constantly lately and have been asking the same question over and over...initially the cards were upright but since ive been (constantly!) asking they've become reversed, and a lot of the time the same cards keep coming out.........guessing this is a major hint for me to listen to them and to stop asking!! What does anyone else think,/has anyone had any previous experience of this? My guess may be that the tarot cards are also reflecting your subconscious thoughts here. If you have a belief that asking the same question again & again may lead you to get negative cards, then you can materialize it to happen. But, If you look at even those supposedly negative cards, you may find the same answer from a different perspective. If I take a second guess, the cards may be showing the reality too by showing negative cards. If we are worried about something & do nothing about it then chances are that what we worry about will happen & the cards may indicate that after some time. These are just 2 cents worth of my thoughts. L&L, RK

WhiteRaven	31 Oct 2004
My experience is with the Tarot, there is only so much patience and then they get fed up. So you may ask your question several times and 5 out of 10 times you will basically get the same answers with various different cards that mean basically the same or even the same cards...however, once they (the Tarot) feel that it's been explained quite clearly several times, then they will start giving you stuff that just doesn't pertain to the said question and throw you right off course. It's quite evident when they are fed up. You will notice it right away. I do this all the time...call it an insecurity on my part. A lack of trust within myself in regards to my intuition and grasp of the cards. I've opted to use clarifiers sometimes instead to some spreads that leave me questioning.....but like I'm sure several members here in the forum, when it comes to our own readings we should seek opinions of others to get a true, clear picture of what the real message is that the Tarot are trying to tell us. Otherwise, no matter how many times you ask the same question, you will always be blind to something that you really don't want to see. This is only my opinion....hope this helps some.

divinerguy	31 Oct 2004
Reading a Tarot spread is only half the matter. Like any other belief system, it is based upon faith. A question that is asked repeatedly suggests to me that there is a lack of faith in what the cards are telling you, or perhaps, you may not be receptive to the message. Relax, center yourself, and really listen to what the cards are telling you. They will not lie and they will not deceive you.

Ace	31 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Alice23 Hi, a newbie here so bear with me! I read once somewhere that if you keep asking the same question to the tarot over and over again eventually it will answer you with cards you dont want/or give you the negatives....i know i shouldnt do it but there's been this one thing on my mind constantly lately and have been asking the same question over and over...initially the cards were upright but since ive been (constantly!) asking they've become reversed, and a lot of the time the same cards keep coming out.........guessing this is a major hint for me to listen to them and to stop asking!! What does anyone else think,/has anyone had any previous experience of this? Thanks, Alice I don't think the cards have that much sentience in them. If you ask the cards for an answer, and you get one. It isn't going to change just because you ask again. The Reversals are probably because you are saying "this isn't happening is it?" and the cards are saying "yes, this ISN"t happening!" or whatever is the opposite of the first answer, since the questino is now the opposite of the first question. Asking over and over is just a waste of energy. the answer is what IS. Asking again doesn't make it different. Maybe it is time to start dealing with the reality it shows-painful as it is.

WhiteRaven	01 Nov 2004
I've been thinking about this and maybe you ask the cards the same question because you know that we ALL can change the outcome of which the cards give us. They are a guidance and not an imprint in stone that can't be changed. Thus, asking the question over and over again. BUT, asking it too often won't give you anymore enlightment within the topic. If you were to ask the same question say....once a month, then possibly, considering possible changes or actions that you yourself have done or the other person has done...your reading "could" be different. The Tarot are a guidance...if we follow the advice they give it's to our benefit. If we don't like what we see then maybe asking the Tarot how you could change the outcome would be of benefit as opposed to just asking the question over and over again in hope of a different outcome. Again, I suggest, when it involves a serious emotional tie to you as the querant, I would have someone else read a spread for you. Just make sure that you are very clear when asking your question to someone else because if you aren't you might get an answer that you weren't looking for in the first place. Blessings to you and yours and I hope this helps. Been there, done that, still do it and sometimes regret it. I find it's a disrespect to the Tarot....yet I still do it ever so often.

SunChariot	01 Nov 2004
Hi Alice, Here is my advice for what it is worth. And I know how it feels to be so upset that you feel like asking the same question over and over. I agree with WhiteRaven, there is nothing to be gained from asking the same question again unless you think that something in your situation may have changed enough to merit a new reading on it. You need to work on trusting what the cards are telling you, trusting that it is accurate and that you have already recieved all the information that you need to deal with the issue. If you do not really trust that the reading has given you all the info you need, then asking again will not help you gain trust. In fact if you are asking again it is because you expect a differenet asnwer. Yet this will rarely happen, usually you will get the same message. Reread your last reading again if you need to, look for more depth, even take the cards out again and look for additional symbolism that you missed the first time. Usually we ask again because we do not like the asnwer we have gotten or hope it may change. But the asnwer you got was the truth of the situation at the time, asking again too soon serves no purpose. But there are things you can potentially do to change the outcome if you did not like it. Maybe it is time to focus on those instead. Tarot is more than a tool to predict the future. Ideally it is a tool for self-improvement. You don't just do readings, ideally you need to act om them, to become the best you that you can be. If something is bothering you and you have done a reading on it, that is not the ending it is just the beginning. Once you have the info, you need to work on truly understanding it. More than that once you have the info you need from a reading you need to make a plan to how to do something with that information you have received to take the situation in the direction you want it to go. You even do a new reading to help you develop this plan. When you feel the need to ask the same question and nothing has changed in the situation a more effective strategy might be to do readings to ask :"Why do I keep feeling the need to ask this same question again and again?" and/or "What can I do to learn to trust the results I am getting more?" or "What was I meant to get out of the last reading that I have not yet understood?" And/or if you did not like the asnwer you got in the first reading, ask either "What can I do to prevent so and so from happening?" or "What can I do to encourage so and so to happen?". Or even "How can I find peace from this issue?" or "What do I need to see to better accept this?" or "What do I need to know to handle my feelings about this more effectively?" Just some ideas, hope some of this helps. Bar

Fudugazi	02 Nov 2004
Sometimes the cards seem to make no sense, and we are tempted to ask the same question again. I usually find, however, that after a few hours (or days, or weeks!) they start making sense. However, there are a few things I do when I am upset and tempted to harass my poor tarot decks: - avoid reading for myself altogether - that's when I am VERY emotional, as the cards just reflect my emotions; - decide not to read reversals - in that case I say to myself: this one is without reversals; in fact, as I find reading reversals for myself difficult anyway, I rarely do; - pull just one card; and be disciplined about pulling no other (except see below) - if in a reading I receive one or more cards I do not understand, I might pull another "complementary" card, that often illuminates that card, or shows another dimension of it. - sometimes, if a card is negative, I ask what quality will help me - what's the way through? For example, if I pull the 8 swords, which shows I am stuck on something, I ask how I can unstick myself. This method helps me become an actor, and less a passive observer of my own fate, while still showing the underlying energies in my life and those around me. I used it a few days ago, regarding my new job: I received a 10 wands, asked for help, and received the Fool! Don't you love it? But by and large, if you find yourself shuffling and pulling over and over with the same question, put your deck away and go for a walk. ...and enjoy the fresh air!

Phaedra	06 Nov 2004
I'd stop and ask myself what am I really trying to do? Do I keep reading because I don't like or am not comfortable with the answer I got? Year ago, I spotted the pattern that if I'm reading obsessively on the same question, it means I don't like the answer. Somehow, if I just read enough times, the answer will change -- even if the situation has not! You'll see clients do this too, going to psychic after psychic until (if ever) they get the answer they want. It's not useful, though it's pretty human. Psychatrists call this "magical thinking" -- if I do the same thing over and over, next time the result will be different.

Alice23	08 Nov 2004
Hi everyone, thanks for all the replies. I do agree in that i think there is a definite of not wanting to know what the cards come up with, if its an answer i dont like or dont want to like! lol So i definetely think thats true. Think perhaps i need to sit down and really read into the answers the first time, (like them or not! lol) as that may be the problem. Expecting a different answer is interesting and probably true too!

SunChariot	08 Nov 2004
Hi again Alice, I was thinking tonight of what you said, and remembering when I was just starting... I remember how certain cards would really scare me when they came up, I just did not want them in my readings. In the beginning, when I got a reading with "so called" negative cards, I could not look at it. I would just want to throw the cards, LOL, but I am happy to say that I didn't. I just wrote down the cards and their meaning and came back to look at them a few days later when I had calmed down a bit. This is when I was just starting, and with cards I considered negative like the Tower, or Death...or I even felt intimidated when a positive card came up reversed. I did not want to look at what it was trying to tell me, it scared me. I know I was like that when starting to learn but I am way over that now. In case that is part of what is bothering you, I can only tell you for myself what I have learnt over time, and anyone else here can add in their feelings on it,:-) There truly are no negative cards. They are all there to help us as a friend would to help us get past our problems, and to teach us the lessons that we really need in order to live our best happiest lives. And if you learn the lessons they are trying to teach you, you will truly improve your life. And any prediction you get involving any cards you see as negative adn perhaps could wish for another reading to say something different....Remember, these predictions are not written in stone. Many, if not most times, you and your cards have the power to change things. And often if you pay attention, even the cards that seem negative can be positive...like someone I loved was not talking to me...and I asked if he would and I got the Tower...that in the end meant that what was keeping him from talking was destroyed and that he would come back and talk so we could work it out. Hope some of this helps, and I would imagine that almost everyone here would agree that all the cards are positive and there to help us. And you will see that more and more as you get more experience with it Bar Bar

Rhiannon	08 Nov 2004
WhiteRaven wrote: Again, I suggest, when it involves a serious emotional tie to you as the querant, I would have someone else read a spread for you. Great advice. I almost never read for myself and I've been doing this for a long time. :) You are usually too close to a situation when you are reading for yourself and therefore you lack objectivity. If you decide to do a reading for yourself and find that you either a) don't like the outcome or b) don't understand the reading, then you should feel free to post it in the Your Readings section and ask for help with the interpretation. If you have more than 25 posts you can respond to someone in the Reading Exchange who is offering a reading. Most of the time all this requires is that you give the reader excellent feedback and a hearty "thank you!". Hope this helps!

SunChariot	08 Nov 2004
just wanted to say I really loved the quote you had at the end of the letter. It really touched me. I will save it somewhere so I can remember it.:-) Bar

TemperanceAngel	08 Nov 2004
Hi bardia and welcome! You have great advice here and nearly 25 posts too :) I thought I would direct you to the Advertisements Forum to a thread by WolfyJames about Tarot Meetups near you :D Then you will have people to discuss this with in person! Enjoy

SunChariot	10 Nov 2004
Thanks TemperanceAngel, for all the compliments. I try and give the best advice I can and help whomever I can. :-) And I just love my Tarot and this bb. I will check it out, thanks again. If I am not being too nosey, how did you get your name? Does the Temperance card have a special meaning for you? Just curious.:-) If I am being too nosey, just feel free to ignore thatn question. :-) Best wishes, Bar

The Asking the same question repeatedly! thread was originally posted on 30 Oct 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.