Background info or not?

[Metafizzypop]

Originally Posted by gregory

---unless they ask for a general reading - that could be like your annual physical

Haha, that's a funny analogy!

[GoldenWolf]

The ones who withhold any background information usually are testing you. Typically, if your answer isn't what they hoped to hear, they can dismiss you more easily as "no good". These days, I only read at psychic fairs which are fundraisers for the spiritual organization I belong to. The readings are only ten minutes long so I just ask them to tell me what their question is and get them to clarify it, explaining that we can use what little time we have to our best advantage that way. That seems to work well. Context is very helpful in giving a meaningful reading.

[JadoreHauteCouture]

during personal readings i dont need any provided info... if i stumble over some unusual information i just ask the sitter... its good cuz you get immediate feedback and can continue reading...
However, querents who are silent and dont say anything are their worst enemy.. you are not there to be their walking life chronicle but to help them... if they refuse to communicate, its their pity.

on the internet, yes... if they ask some weird question i pm them about what exactly they meant... if the question is badly formulated, you do the entire reading about someone for instance... and then they are like in feedback - oh, i dont really know him that much.. i just wondered.... and you are like -.-

[Grizabella]

I'm pro-background, too. Someone in another thread put it well when they said "it might be more fun and more psychic" to read without a question and I think that's true, but I don't have any desire to just hope what I've uncovered will apply to the sitter just so I can see what my psychic ability will bring out to amaze someone. I want to know just what it is they want to know so I can give them information that's really useful to them without just hoping that something I say will hit a nerve with them. True, that might be a fun pursuit for the reader and it might be a whiz,bang, boom when a psychic thing happens, but psychic things happen when you know the question, too, and it's a lot more helpful to the sitter if it addresses what they really want to know.

I think the idea in some circles is that if you take any background information you're cheating or something. That's certainly not true.

What I don't do and don't think is right is to say a few things and then ask, "Does this ring a bell with you?" That smacks of cold reading at worst and at the least it seems like requiring feedback from your sitter, which you shouldn't expect or require. Unless, of course, you're reading in a forum here where it's required to help others learn.

Now, all these things here are my own opinion in general, nothing anyone should take as being addressed to them personally, so I hope nobody takes offense.

[Sinduction]

I hate information. It bothers me so much. I've had sitters tell me the whole thing and then I'm like, "Well, you're doing my job for me right now. Stop talking."

Around where I live I'm a bit famous for not having to know anything in order to read. I find it rather amusing because when I read, it makes absolutely no sense to me, but my sitters totally get the message. But maybe I read differently?

I use my own spread, I think I posted it in the spreads section. I take a few minutes just to look, to see what I see, to wait for the cards to tell me the story. While I am describing what I see, I routinely ask my sitter yes or no questions. Like, "does this make sense to you" or "is this a romantic interest" or "does this fit your situation" things that are not clear to me from the cards but things that come up in my mind as I am describing. Or, just to make sure I am on the right track. I don't want to talk at them, but I also don't want a full on discussion. I'm not a therapist. From their response, I know what the cards are trying to tell me.

It is hard to explain. I'm always having people sitting down in front of me and shutting up and I love it! At the end, some people ask if I want to know what the reading is about. I always tell them no! I have too many things in my head, I don't need any more.

For online, I don't know. When I do chat readings I can do my readings this way. I've done reading exchanges and I don't think I've had too much trouble with vague questions. It does bother me that I can't ask my yes or no questions to know if I'm on the right track.

I think the problem for me is that I am a thinker. If I know too much about what I'm reading on, my brain starts it's logical thinking and I have trouble connecting to the cards once that happens. I think more info just confuses me and I have an easier time just reading the cards and not thinking about it. And I rarely remember a reading or the cards that showed up or what I said.

I am very thankful for my friend who started it all. She wanted a reading but wasn't comfortable with telling me anything about it. She asked if I could do a reading without knowing anything about what I was reading on. I told her we could try and bam. I found out how I read. To this day I have no idea what I was reading about. But she did so well only answering yes or no, so maybe it has a lot to do with your sitter as well. Not once did she feel closed off energy-wise to me.

I do agree that if your sitter is keeping things from you or trying to trick you, they really are doing themselves a disservice but I'm not sure those people really want a reading anyway. It's the same thing as heckling a comedian. What's the point? lol

[daphne]

Originally Posted by gypsylady

I've been sitting here thinking on this for awhile- probably since I first got into tarot and now more so since I have offered readings on AT and have had others read for me.

Sometimes I feel that questions are quite vague like "How will the meeting go with X?" (the only one I can think of off the top of my head).. oh, or maybe "How does x see me?"...

Some days I feel like the context is missing and X could be anyone in their life. I have noticed that I am trying to give more background now on here as I sit for others, because I feel like it makes the reading more accurate, and also because that is something that I would love to have when I'm reading for others. I don't want an essay or a big speech just enough of a context so I understand exactly what's going on. I have asked quite vague questions myself then realize than I should have given a bit of a background (for example: a romantic relationship with a coworker of mine could have been read in more than one way)

I remember when I first had a professional reading done- people advise you not to give any information at all, but that makes me feel as though it's so the person can't make things up and is more based upon distrust than anything...

What do you all think of this out there?

I am all for the background info! Sometimes I have sitters not telling anything and as I progress with the reading, they start to speak and give some info here and there. And suddenly I start seeing clearly everything coming into places.

Not giving background information for a reading, is like going to the doctor and keep quite, asking him to tell you what`s wrong just looking at you, without telling him a word about the symptoms. Doctors and tarot readers are (mostly) not psychics, so yes, please, give some background info to set up the stage for the cards. Then we can tell the story without hesitations.

[Rev_Vesta]

I find every reading is totally different, some like an overview- you give them what you get quickly then ask if they have any questions, then they start getting specific in the questions. Then I can answer specialifically about that question..... or they start being totally specific.. and the reading starts of specifically about that.... NO waffling.....
I think it is about asking for specifics and then explaining specifics help the answers to be more accurate about that question... Vague questions can create (not always but sometimes) vague answers.....sometimes specifics will come through but totally depends how the reader works with the cards......
I think there is no one way to work... we are all different and have to try what works for us..... Be Flexible if possible can help....

[Alta]

Originally Posted by Rev_Vesta

I find every reading is totally different, some like an overview- you give them what you get quickly then ask if they have any questions, then they start getting specific in the questions. Then I can answer specialifically about that question..... or they start being totally specific.. and the reading starts of specifically about that.... NO waffling.....
I think it is about asking for specifics and then explaining specifics help the answers to be more accurate about that question... Vague questions can create (not always but sometimes) vague answers.....sometimes specifics will come through but totally depends how the reader works with the cards......
I think there is no one way to work... we are all different and have to try what works for us..... Be Flexible if possible can help....

I agree with this entire post.

Besides, sometimes querents do have extremely specific worries, and sometimes they just vaguely want to know where their life is going and just about everything in between.

[gregory]

Originally Posted by Alta

I agree with this entire post.

Besides, sometimes querents do have extremely specific worries, and sometimes they just vaguely want to know where their life is going and just about everything in between.

I agree with Alta and with the post that she agrees with

I am one of those VERY ANNOYING SITTERS who never HAVE a question....

[Glass Owl]

In the past I've read online for a few old high school acquaintances (whom I haven't seen in 20+ years since I live so away) and their friends. In all cases I was given a bit of information but nothing too specific. Sometimes I did ask for more background information, especially if they were asking about a relationship so that I could put into context. I think it helped me to better understand what the cards were trying to tell me about the given situation that they asked about.