Well I basically am the Queen of Cups, the mental health issues and moods go with my intuitive insights. It's all part of the same thing for me probably. I think reading for others and myself has been very healing. I have discovered so much about myself and I can say I have a hobby! I can do something and have learnt a new skill, despite having a chronic disorder. When I first got into tarot, I couldn't sit down and read a book through. I have got into something, met new people I talk to everyday in a community and improved. I can genuinely see recorded improvement and also spiritual journey improvement
I know my limits though and what is tricky and what I find easy.
these are my tips...
- I try not to read on health or mental health questions (my own and others), I try not to take the decision making process out of my life or free will (at one point I was asking the tarot for every decision! not healthy). Watch excessive reading and the dark side of tarot addiction, we are much more likely to fall into it. It doesn't help us in the end!
- I struggle with confident and commitment. I still struggle at times to sign up to things on here because I worry my mental health will worsen and I will let my partner or circle down. This has never happened and I should go into things with more confident but it's a struggle everytime still. You can only make progress if you go out of your comfort zone but at your own speed and level. Gently push to advance your tarot
- before I joined AT I tried an anti depressant which fiddles with your dopamine (this is a very new type of drugs). In the information sheet it warned that it affects your appreciation of art and images. I was sceptical but true enough if I looked at images I felt nothing on it. There is no way I could have done tarot on it. The drugs had horrendous side effects and I came off them. We have to make our own decisions about medication or not but sometimes we may need it and we might need to take a break! we might need a short term course of them. Medication can affect your usage and your intuition but it's a balance and decision we have to work out for ourselves. I only use alternative therapies these days as my personal decision.
- I have had a terrible reading on here which was very upsetting to me and a mutual friend had to look over the reading and cheer me up. The reading was insensitive and plain mean (this is with hindsight). If we get a reading from someone else, here, on the internet or pay for a reading, the reader could tell us anything! not all readers are sensitive or ethical. Also we need to think about the topic or question, do you want to know that really? can we handle what we get? My bad reading was a long time ago and the only one in about 300 exchanges! But if you are a little sensitive and fragile, we need to make sure we can deal with the reading, especially watch out for people who give "harsh truth" type readings when feeling that way.
- Doing readings for other people really helps my anxiety of just thinking over and over about situations and about myself. Thinking about someone else's problems forces you to get outside your own head for a while! I like counselling other people because of this.
- final tip, if we are struggling or it is all getting too much, take a break! put the tarot down, sign out of AT, sign out of all divination related areas of the web. Be kind to yourself and go at your own speed! People take breaks for months, there is nothing to be ashamed of that! Use tarot when you feel up to it! Since I have been using my intuition in readings I get so exhausted. I only do one reading a day now, especially for other people. go at your own pace
I write those tips as problems areas for me and areas I need to watch but overall, tarot and divination has been so healing for me! It has made me find my spiritual path and psychicness. I think my psychicness / intuition / spirituality, is absolutely connected to my anxiety and moods. But I am getting more knowledge about myself and my subconscious
