Predicting a card before you turn it over

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

IDN	01 Mar 2005
Most nights I will just be sitting and shuffling my cards, thinking of an issue, cut the deck and pick the first card off the top. I then turn the card over and see how it relates to the issue. In the last week and a half, there have been 3-4 times when just before I turned the card over, I knew in my mind what (I would consider) to be the most approriate card for that situation- and when I turned over the card, it was actually the one I had in mind. This doesn't exactly "freak me", but I find it VERY fascinating. Especially since (as I say) it has happened 3-4 times in a short space of time. Would love to hear others' experiences. Does this happen more often as you get more into the Tarot? Regards, Ian

huredriel	01 Mar 2005
It's only happened to me a few times, but then I'm new to this. I hope it happens a lot more :).

jumptothemoonyea	01 Mar 2005
It happens with some cards. I can often feel Death card coming before I see it. Probably, than sharper we perceive the card, than easier to feel it's emotional imprint before the hard copy.

IDN	01 Mar 2005
I hope I explained myself OK. It's not that (when it happens) I am predicting the card..... It's that I've decided in my mind which card would be most appropriate for the question I have asked- and then when I turn it over, the deck agrees with me! Regards, Ian

Little Baron	01 Mar 2005
Recently, when doing readings, I have shuffled, cut and then waited. Before turning the cards, I have made notes of a few cards which would make sense if they came up in the spread. For example, I would say 'Two of Cups', a few tens and the 'Death' card ... surprisingly, on many occasions, the cards suggested by my gut instinct have appeared in the reading .. more often than not. It is nice to get confirmation from my deck. LB

bleuivy	01 Mar 2005
LittleBuddha wrote: Recently, when doing readings, I have shuffled, cut and then waited. Before turning the cards, I have made notes of a few cards which would make sense if they came up in the spread. For example, I would say 'Two of Cups', a few tens and the 'Death' card ... surprisingly, on many occasions, the cards suggested by my gut instinct have appeared in the reading .. more often than not. It is nice to get confirmation from my deck. LB Thanks, LittleBuddha. That sounds like an interesting excercise, and possibly a good one for improving intuition. I'm going to start using it the next few readings I do to see what sort of effect I get. It also sounds like a good way to review the card meanings (which I feel like I am still learning).

Ilex	01 Mar 2005
that's awesome experience,(for original poster). Sounds like perhaps you are beyond tarot. Perhaps become a psychic for the police. They are highly valued and much needed in the criminal justice system...I know what you mean regarding those *preminitions*.... :) You have the gift...

rainwolf	01 Mar 2005
After a reading, i have the person or me take all the cards in the reading and shuffle them to ask what the most important card is for the reading, what you should take if anything, and when i pick the card, im suprised to find out that quite a bit it is the one i thought of. They arent necessarily small spreads, usually around 10 cards if that doesnt sound pathetic for psychism...

Milamber	02 Mar 2005
I've done that but once. I was turning cards over one by one from the deck into a spread (can't recall 100% which spread or what the question was offhand), and all of a sudden I thought, "and then The Sun." And then I dealt that very card. It actually wasn't until after I saw the card that I realized what I had done. It was a surprising, but very meaningful divination.

WolfSpirit	03 Mar 2005
I never predict it deliberately, but sometimes I just know what the card is going to be. I don't know if it happens more with experience - maybe it is a certain state of mind I'm in. It always happens spontaneously.

temperlyne	03 Mar 2005
It has sometimes happend to me but what surprised me even more is that sometimes when I'm just shuffling the deck I can pick out the card that I want to study. I never really focus on it but just decide I want to see the emperor for instance, and out it comes... sort of freaky since I'm not at all psychic. Coincidence is a powerfull force!

closrapexa	03 Mar 2005
Yes, I've had it happen to me on a number of occasions. Some one I related this to told me that I was letting my misconceptions guide me while reading and that I should't "expect anything, only let it all flow. Needless to say, I totally disagree with that. What is mazing about Tarot is that it speaks to you in a way only you can understand. Maybe it is like a doctor that sees symptoms of something and knows what others to expect, so it is with readings. You say to yoursels "Yes, I've seen this before, and this combination of cards means this and that." Fascinating!

Katja	04 Mar 2005
Question. Would I become too partial, if I picked a card in my head and then it would came up in a spread? To me this is like I am sending a message to the cards, which they pick up. Doesn't that interfere with the reading, since we are supposed to be impartial with the querent's situation? :confused: (this is why I tend not to think about any card at all... just feel which is the right one)

Milamber	04 Mar 2005
That's something to consider while shuffling the cards, but once you're done shuffling and are turning over the cards, your thoughts can no longer affect the outcome of the spread. So it really depends on when. Also, having a card stuck in your mind could simply mean that your intuition is so strong on that point that it's a vital card -- after all, we're supposed to influence the cards to some extent. That's what the question is for. So you could say that it is indeed influencing the cards -- exactly how you're supposed to be. Just more strongly.

katie_here	04 Mar 2005
but on one particular occassion I was using Titania's fortune cards and I was doing a spread for a couple of people (in my local pub). One man came over and was very sceptical, saying that mostly its just pure guess work and tarot readers are just clever with words and use sentences that can apply to everyone. I asked him to have a reading and see what turned up, and if I knew him, (he was always winning the pot at cards) he would turn up the "fish" (money) and "Clover" (luck), proving he was lucky with money. I gave him the deck, and he laid me seven cards out... the first card turned over, The Fish! and the second.... The Clover!!!! I just said to him .. I rest my case!! I think it just proves that, if you have a question on your mind, but in your heart of hearts you know the answer, you can think of the most appropriate card, and it will turn up because the cards don't lie.

Fullmoonsinger	04 Mar 2005
Katja wrote: Question. Would I become too partial, if I picked a card in my head and then it would came up in a spread? To me this is like I am sending a message to the cards, which they pick up. Doesn't that interfere with the reading, since we are supposed to be impartial with the querent's situation? :confused: (this is why I tend not to think about any card at all... just feel which is the right one) Some people think that is the way that Tarot works. Your subconscious actually knows where all the cards are and picks the correct ones for you. See John Gilbert's explanation here: http://tarotinstitute.com/short/really/index.htm

Simone	05 Mar 2005
WolfSpirit wrote: I never predict it deliberately, but sometimes I just know what the card is going to be. This has happened to me too. And I have had another experience, namely also last night while doing a reading for a friend: Sometimes I get a glimpse of a card during shuffling and sure enough this same card turns up in the reading. Incidentally, yesterday, as the first card picked by my friend. Now I am asking myself if by thinking of a particular card or by seeing it, we are somehow "bookmarking" it psychically... Love Simone

WolfSpirit	05 Mar 2005
Simone wrote: Now I am asking myself if by thinking of a particular card or by seeing it, we are somehow "bookmarking" it psychically... If tarot is a tool to help our intuition...then maybe, if we know what card we need before we see it, our intuition is growing and we don't need the physical cards anymore. Or we wouldn't, if we could do it all the time.

M-Press	05 Mar 2005
Hi! I guess this happens to me as well! BUT, i don't always think the same of it... Sometimes, especially when a choice is involved, i ask the cards to show me a clear answer, and in my mind, i know which cards would be considered "clear" in this occasion. When i get on of them, i feel so grateful! but then, other times, i feel as i want to get certain cards SO badly, that I make them come up, (with some powerful way ????), but I don't think they intended to be there in the first place. It's as if someone is telling me: ok, you want them so badly, I feel it, here they are, and now cool down. i have thought about it many times, that this kind of incident, might be of the kind where "free will" calls the shots. Just like those times that the resuls are up to us. I'm still thinking about those times a lot, because they hold a special flavor regarding my relationship with the cards. The only card i never quastion, and can easily predict it's coming, is Death. I'm very connected to this card! (well, a scorpio...)

Stacie Doll	05 Mar 2005
Today I was shuffeling the cards while watching tv. Not for a reading but just for the heck of it. I had a strong feeling the 10 of earth was there. I turned over the first card and that was it...I think I should focus on this card today.

SunChariot	05 Mar 2005
IDN wrote: Most nights I will just be sitting and shuffling my cards, thinking of an issue, cut the deck and pick the first card off the top. I then turn the card over and see how it relates to the issue. In the last week and a half, there have been 3-4 times when just before I turned the card over, I knew in my mind what (I would consider) to be the most approriate card for that situation- and when I turned over the card, it was actually the one I had in mind. This doesn't exactly "freak me", but I find it VERY fascinating. Especially since (as I say) it has happened 3-4 times in a short space of time. Would love to hear others' experiences. Does this happen more often as you get more into the Tarot? Regards, Ian In my experience yes this kind of thing does happen more as a result of learning Tarot. Learning Tarot improves our intuition and deepens our connection with the unconscious. That can show up in other areas of your life as well. For me I find this kind of thing happens when I do a meditation a card. Sometimes at these times, life shows me a correrelation between the card and real life. Once, I was at work on break and I was sitting near a window. I had 10 minutes and decided to do a meditation on one of my cards. It was a rainy day it had been raining for a few days straight. In the card there was an image of a hazy looking sun. Anyway, I did the meditation and put the card away and like a second after, out came the sun for the first time in three days, looking all hazy and all exactly as the sun had in the card I had been meditation on. For me that was pure magic. There have been other instances of that, but that was the first for me and it remains the most memorable. I think studying Tarot can definitely do that, increase our intuition. I know it has in my case. I do not have these experiences every day, but I do sometimes and I can say I never ever had anything like that before Tarot. I guess Tarot makes you more aware of the connection you have with everthing around you :-) Bar

SunChariot	05 Mar 2005
Katja wrote: Question. Would I become too partial, if I picked a card in my head and then it would came up in a spread? To me this is like I am sending a message to the cards, which they pick up. Doesn't that interfere with the reading, since we are supposed to be impartial with the querent's situation? :confused: (this is why I tend not to think about any card at all... just feel which is the right one) It depends on why you are doing the "reading". If you just picked a card in your head to see if it would come up, as a kind of test that would be fine, but you can not expect to read the card it was just a test. If you really do want to know the real honest answer to a question from your reading, don't pick a card in your head first. Although even if you did, if your desire for an asnwer was deep enough, the cards would igore the card you picked and give you the real answer anyway. Well that's my take on it anyway. :-) Bar

Katja	06 Mar 2005
Thanks Milamber, Fullmoonsinger and SunChariot, I like your answers. And katie_here, I like what you say about cards not lying. I felt like M-Press posted: Quote: ...but then, other times, i feel as i want to get certain cards SO badly, that I make them come up, (with some powerful way ????), but I don't think they intended to be there in the first place. It's as if someone is telling me: ok, you want them so badly, I feel it, here they are, and now cool down. I guess I am just disregarding my intuition if something like this happens, because it feels like I'm bluffing, like I am making it up. But I won't suppress it anymore, after all, it is a gift. :)

paradoxx	07 Mar 2005
I was reading with my cards, and the 3 of pentacles (the meaning anyway) came up in my mind and then the base of the Celtic Cross and Staff spread ended up being the 3 of pentacles. I contemplated on the card, and observed the detail (Cosmic Tarot, Norbert Loshe) and then to the next card, the Princess of Wands.

IDN	07 Mar 2005
This happened again last yesterday afternoon. My partner was going to take a pregnancy test. We were going to do it together (ie wait for the results on the tester). But in the afternoon, before she cam round, I was shuffling my RWS and I thought to myself "What is this test about?". I cut the deck in two and turnded over the card on the top. Before I turned it over, the image of the Empress flashed into my mind. NOT because I wanted it to be the Empress, it was just that I thought the Empress was most associated with pregnancy. When I turned over the card, it was indeed the Empress. Can you imagine my thought in that split second?! Anyway, we did the test and it was negative. I don't know how to interpret it now?! I think the cards answered the question fair and square (as I asked it) "What is the test about" and the cards said "the issue of pregnancy". Regards, Ian

Simone	07 Mar 2005
IDN wrote: This happened again last yesterday afternoon. My partner was going to take a pregnancy test. We were going to do it together (ie wait for the results on the tester). But in the afternoon, before she cam round, I was shuffling my RWS and I thought to myself "What is this test about?". I cut the deck in two and turnded over the card on the top. Before I turned it over, the image of the Empress flashed into my mind. NOT because I wanted it to be the Empress, it was just that I thought the Empress was most associated with pregnancy. When I turned over the card, it was indeed the Empress. Can you imagine my thought in that split second?! Anyway, we did the test and it was negative. I don't know how to interpret it now?! I think the cards answered the question fair and square (as I asked it) "What is the test about" and the cards said "the issue of pregnancy". Regards, Ian Ian, Well, the test and the card were certainly about the "issue of pregnancy", but the thing is, your question was not "what will be the outcome of the test" but "what is the test about" ;) So the answer fitted the question well enough, and the card was the most appropriate to turn up :D Love Simone

The Predicting a card before you turn it over thread was originally posted on 01 Mar 2005 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.