General confusion

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

earthlady	11 Nov 2004
Before I read myself, I used to get readings from a lady where I used to go to school. She never asked me for a question, and I never came up with one. It wasn't until I started reading books about it myself that I learned about constructing a question. It was confusing, sometimes, because the reading was always so general. One time she told me I would meet a man on such a date, who would be a mentor and a lover and I would have a long time relationship with him. I did meet a man, but he was married, and additionally, he annoyed me horribly. Because of the reading, I was very upset and confused about how to proceed. I went back to my reader, and of course the cards had changed, there was nothing about a relationship. I remember being very frustrated with the readings. It definitely would have helped to focus on specifics. Just my experience...

Imagemaker	11 Nov 2004
It's those kind of readers that give tarot a bad name. Much better to read the cards yourself!

WhiteRaven	11 Nov 2004
General readings are just that..."General"...Sometimes I have had readers ask me to concentrate on the topic that I wish to ask about while I shuffle...but they never say the positions of the cards and they make you talk half the time and you end up answering your own friggin' questions. I will never forget going to one of these psyhic fair things and a woman tried to do a reading for me...but I refused to "talk" and she was absolutely stumped...didn't know what to say and when she did say something..didn't have relevence to anything that was going on in my life...if anything it was the total opposite. This is even with a question that I had posed. I don't know what deck she was using but I do remember one card that will stick in my mind for the rest of my life. It was called the "Cosmic Carrot" and it took me everything I had not to break up in laughter when she named her card that she had turned over. Now I suppose someone in this forum has a deck with a Cosmic Carrot and I'm going to get flamed in a few minutes...but I'm sorry...I found it hilarious...probably because she was so off with the reading to begin with that the Carrot was the icing on the cake...not carrot cake either... When I read for myself...I pose a question...sometimes it's rather general or what I think is general...like for instance...what can I expect in the next lunar cycle is general to me...but then the cards will come out pointing at something very direct and you have no choice but to read it as such. Defining the positions of the cards, in my opinion, is very important...otherwise who knows what they mean or what...definition is important...position is important...the cards themselves...you have to have a feeling with what YOU as the reader, is working with...give me a Voyageur deck right now and I would look at you and say "duh"....give me Medicine cards (non tarot) and I'll sit and tell you your totems and then some...connection and intuition is important. I'm rambling now...probably because of some anticipation that is within me and I tend to ramble when I'm on edge. But I must agree with you that it is best to focus on specifics if one is looking for specific and direct answers.

Catpaw	11 Nov 2004
General readings are useful to me at the beginning of a new phase (e.g., month, relationship, birthday, change of some sort that seems to be lasting). then as say the month proceeds my questions regarding specific activities seem to echo the overall feeling for the month, if I pay attention to the general reading and of course free will changes things too. Hope this helps.

Imagemaker	11 Nov 2004
The Cosmic Carrot sounds like it should come in a deck with the Happy Squirrel card. I searched Google for what deck it's from, popped up the Secret Dakini Oracle, a 65-card deck. I see a few sample cards at tarotgarden, but not the Cosmic Carrot card. Hilarious! I wonder what it means (besides food for the Divine Rabbit).

WhiteRaven	11 Nov 2004
Imagemaker wrote: The Cosmic Carrot sounds like it should come in a deck with the Happy Squirrel card. I searched Google for what deck it's from, popped up the Secret Dakini Oracle, a 65-card deck. I see a few sample cards at tarotgarden, but not the Cosmic Carrot card. Hilarious! I wonder what it means (besides food for the Divine Rabbit). Well I tell you...I didn't want to be disrespectful towards the woman but HOLY...and we had a tape of the reading so when I got in my van I played it for my partner at the time and we both laughed so much when the "cosmic carrot" came on the tape that I almost ran into the car in the front of me.

Imagemaker	11 Nov 2004
Here at AT there's always great info on any deck. I found this posted by Dark Inquisitor: Quote: I think the oddest deck I have is the Secret Dakini Oracle, which in modern times is called the Tantric Dakini Oracle. It has elements of tarot in it. There are cards called Blow Your Mind, Scarlet Woman, Magic Carpet, Totally Bananas, The Last Laugh, Cremation Ground, Pearls Before Swine, Like a Bubble, etc. Someone else mentioned (in my search) that it's related to Tantric Yoga. I have several books on Tantric and am a longtime yoga practitioner. I've never heard of any names like these related to Tantric. But I love crazy anti-mind decks! May have to add this one to my collection! The Cosmic Carrot may be just exactly what I need!

The General confusion thread was originally posted on 11 Nov 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.