Losing energy

If this question has been asked before, I do appologise, I've not looked for it.

At work, I did a tarot reading for a friend of mine, mostly for fun because at that point it had been over a year since I'd done anything with my cards except among family.
She was surprised by how much information I was able to give her about her situation, & she talked one of her friends into reading for them, & quickly word spread.
Now I have at least three people per day coming up to me asking me for a reading, mostly just to see how accurate I am. I don't mind, I find true enjoyment in it so long as I don't get hecklers. I refuse to even let people with negative attitudes toward me even touch my cards. However...
I have to limit myself to one reading per day, which people don't seem to understand. I don't know why, but for some reason, every time I do a reading for someone, irregardless of the deck I use, it takes a lot of energy from me. Several other people at work also do tarot (though none of them say so openly after seeing what I go through) & all of them have told me that they could do readings all day & it takes nothing from them but time.
I don't understand why this is.

How I do a reading is I will hand the questioner the deck & tell them to shuffle. Then I take the cards directly from the top of the deck into the selected pattern & amount. That done, I write position & card on a peice of paper which I then write the basic meaning of each individual card.
After all this is done, I will then take a new sheet of paper & write down in a paragragh my interpretation & what each card means in each position.
I do it this way because if I try to do an oral reading, I can't make sence of things & I need time to look them over. Once I start the interpretation, I just write down what comes to mind, whether or not it makes sence to me. To date, they always make sense to the questioner.

I don't think it's the writing itself that drains me, as I write all the time. Usually in spiral bound notebooks. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Something that I'm missing? I don't want to have to turn people away but I may start doing just that. I feel tired all the time lately & it's begining to affect me in & outside of work. Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

This is exactly how I read now. I call it translating.
Long ago, when I first started reading, I just read for everyone. Over time, others' emotional states, maybe their intense need to know things, exhausted me. Like I felt depleted.
So I can appreciate your experiences. Do what makes you feel comfortable. The deck is yours. The skill and interest in tarot is yours.
Good luck.

I do have some insights/suggestions about this, rabid wolfie. Be in touch with people's lifes is tiring. That is so simpleas it is... But if you read for them in company of a good cup of cooffe that THEY bring, if they also take notes by themselves about what you are telling them... a reading always comes from the mind, the heart and the spirit, thats why an exchange of energy is always recomended, no matter the form it takes (feedback, a cup/glass of something, etc) Its a part of your time and energy, and you are in the need of nourishing yourself back!

I also must say you are so brave of reading in your office

Thank you both for your feedback. I joke with people that once I read for them they owe me dinner, but I always feel so weird about taking anything in payment. But that's just me. I hate being paid for anything I do.

I used to try having the other person there when I was interpreting & writing, but they get so impaitent & want it done immediatly, or they keep interupting me & my concentration becomes shattered. Also, sometimes I like to set the paper aside for several hours & things just click as soon as I come back. And yet, my energy is only drained when I'm interpreting the cards. When I explain the finished product to whoever wanted the answer, I'm usually anxious & full of excited energy to find out how much I got right. Everyone is always anxious to talk about the results & I love it when they say something that makes one of the sentences or cards suddenly make sense.

Despite several years of off & on "practice" I still consider myself quite the amature. Maybe that's the problem. I haven't mastered holding back.

rabidwolfie said:

I used to try having the other person there when I was interpreting & writing, but they get so impaitent & want it done immediatly, or they keep interupting me & my concentration becomes shattered.

Click to expand...

It's the sitter who is the important one, not us. Right there is the source of your exhaustion. You're more worried about how you did with the reading than how much you've helped them so you're very tensed up. If your focus were to be all outside on being of service to your sitter, the flow of energy wouldn't be all bottled up inside you causing pressure.

Also, sometimes I like to set the paper aside for several hours & things just click as soon as I come back. And yet, my energy is only drained when I'm interpreting the cards. When I explain the finished product to whoever wanted the answer, I'm usually anxious & full of excited energy to find out how much I got right.

Click to expand...

You're so anxious and full of excited energy to find out how much you got right! Well, refer to what I just said. You're more interested in you, not in being of service to your sitter. We're all glad when we find we've hit something right, but as you explain it here, you're more excited for how good you're going to appear than in whether you've helped your sitter or not. That's probably why you want to write everything down and come back in a few hours, too. If you were to just conduct the reading in person, you're on the spot and can't do your second-guessing like you can with this several-hour process done in private.

Despite several years of off & on "practice" I still consider myself quite the amature. Maybe that's the problem. I haven't mastered holding back.

Click to expand...

The problem is that you haven't mastered putting the sitter's well-being before your own ego. It's a common problem that we've all experienced, so don't feel alone. Start making the sitter and being of service to them your focus. Sit right there with them and make it a dialogue. That's where the magic is. You'll feel energized then because the energy of the Universe will be flowing between the two of you.

Keep at it. You're going to be an amature forever if you're like me---I'll always feel like one, but it's probably best that way. It keeps me humble.

And by the way, you're not always going to get things right so don't let that stress you. You're not supposed to. Some of the messages the Universe has for our sitters aren't meant to come through us. We're not supposed to hog the whole show.

All helping work has the potential to deplete your energy if you let it - reading tarot is no exception. Three things you can do to help yourself:

- First of all, you need to make sure you work from empathy and universal love, rather than sympathy and personal love. Don't take on the troubles of others as your own. Compassion is not the same as feeling exactly what the other is feeling, with all the consequent exhaustion.

- Secondly, if you have trouble detaching, here's a short visualisation that you can do at the outset of every reading, while you are centering yourself and shuffling. Imagine a large figure of 8/infinity sign circling you and your querent with light seven times. I see it in gold, sometimes in purple. Put your querent in one part of the 8 and you in another, with the intent that you are now joined, entangled, but also separate enough that you don't take on your querent's troubles and feelings as your own, unconsciously. It will also help you feel calm and centred, and stay in control of the reading, while giving all your attention to your querent and the cards. At the end of the reading, mentally CUT the figure of 8, so that each of you are back in your own circles (even if the person is your nearest and dearest!), and mentally cut any remaining etheric cords. Wash your hands, and drink some water.

- Stay hydrated - with WATER - while you are reading tarot. No sweet drinks, alcohol or caffeine drinks - these all interfere with your own energy levels, artificially giving you highs and lows.


I hope this helps. I use it for all my helping work (not only tarot), and I've not had an energy crisis since. I used to get burnt out fairly easily before.

Those are good ideas. I like the infinity especially. I shall have to try to employ these ideas & see if they help.

I started writing because I often do these during breaks at work, but it worked because I've always been better at communicating my thoughts on paper than verbally. I'm easily distracted, & that makes talking difficult as I have to work to hold onto my thoughts AND speak them at the same time.
But I will try to start again with a verbal reading & see if it makes things any better for either myself or the people questioning me. And drinking water is never a bad idea.

Thank you for your comments & suggestions. They are all greatly appreciated.

rabidwolfie said:

I have to limit myself to one reading per day, which people don't seem to understand. I don't know why, but for some reason, every time I do a reading for someone, irregardless of the deck I use, it takes a lot of energy from me. Several other people at work also do tarot (though none of them say so openly after seeing what I go through) & all of them have told me that they could do readings all day & it takes nothing from them but time.
I don't understand why this is.

Click to expand...

It's possible that you're very empathic and a natural sponge . If your querents leave feeling better and you end up feeling worse after readings , you might be absorbing their negative energy . So first , some protection . You might try a glass barrier visualization between you , or the popular light bubble around yourself .

Additionally , you might be using your own energy for the readings rather than bringing in the higher energies which are unlimited . You might experiment with breathing in light , or seeing additional light entering your crown and filling you up from time to time as you read . (always make sure you are grounded too )

And as Fudugazi said , releasing the energies afterwards is very important .

Imagine a large figure of 8/infinity sign circling you and your querent with light seven times. I see it in gold, sometimes in purple. Put your querent in one part of the 8 and you in another, with the intent that you are now joined, entangled, but also separate enough that you don't take on your querent's troubles and feelings as your own, unconsciously. It will also help you feel calm and centred

Click to expand...

This is wonderful! Good for any conversation, any situation where you feel the drain starting as someone pulls you off your center. Thank you!