"Weasel Words" du Jour

IndigoWaves

One of the most memorable readings I ever received was when I was asking (at the tender age of 19) if he and I would get back together with me - the reader said "That will never happen."

I spent years not believing and trying to prove her wrong but alas. Think of all the time I could have saved if I had taken no for an answer.
That's the thing: even though her insight was offered in a frank and very clear manner, you still went along as usual until the time seemed right to accept its correctness, just as most people would do (not counting disturbing cases of those who mindlessly enact a reader's every suggestion)... This is why overconcern with presentation seems rather unnecessary; a message that's valid will still sink in, if/whenever the querent is ready to hear it. I suppose that a more jarringly "definite" approach can echo in the head that much louder and longer -- but I'm not so sure, overall, that what we see and say matters very much in the end; the same conclusion may already have been reached by the querent in other ways, with old "accurate" readings by then serving as mere confirmation. (Granted, there's still a lot of enjoyment to be found in doing Tarot readings, even if its apparent practicality/usefulness isn't always applied or possible.)
 

Grizabella

I dunno. After years and years of reading, I just get on with it. I say, "this is what I see". Point finale. And I then proceed to say what I see, no cushions or exclusion clauses. I don't try to soften blows very much, beyond human gentleness and compassion, and I don't use catch-phrases to make myself safe.

I also no longer charge for readings, though! }) they get what they get. And I let them know that before I begin.

ETA I have also said: "This makes me think" or "this makes me feel". Those might be weasels according to your standards (but not mine). Because if it makes me feel or think that, it makes me feel or think that. I am not trying to get out of anything. I'm just explaining my process, as far as I am concerned.

Yes, same with me, but I've got to admit that sometimes I do use "weasel words" when reading. I don't mean it to try to squirm out of anything, though. I do it when I mean exactly that---I do just "feel" an impression that that's what the cards mean. I almost never just "boom, bang, pow" with my readings unless it's that starkly black and white. Tact, diplomacy, and empathy are big things with me. Unless I see something in the cards that I know means they're going to crash and burn big time and it's urgent that they know where they're heading is going to result in great bodily harm and injury, I try to make the reading as pleasant as possible, especially if there are things that aren't going to turn out the way the sitter hopes.

But sometimes. Sometimes, the cards are so succinct and so direct, they punch you in the gut. And if that is the case, then I go airtight, as Barleywine says. I don't think of that as arrogance. In fact, I don't think that I myself read, so to speak. I believe the information comes from elsewhere. I think of myself as a conduit. I believe that I have little to do with the reading, beyond acting as a portal or a messenger.

So the bragging rights, if there are any, are not mine to have. :p I don't think that way. I just say what I see...my words and hands and eyes, perhaps, but the darned message is coming from elsewhere, I can attest to that!

Exactly! :) If I had the answers myself, I wouldn't need the cards to find them.

This is a great topic, Brandywine. Thanks for posting it. It gives good food for thought and discussion.
 

magicjack

"The cards are telling me to tell you..." Is this being a weasel?
 

SunChariot

Those of us who have been reading predictively for some time are understandably leery of making bold pronouncements like "Yes, he loves you!"; "No, he won't return!"; and "You will definitely get the job!" If we're honest, we usually couch our observations in more open-ended ways that admit to being possible or maybe even probable, but seldom definite. When I'm in a face-to-face scenario and in "story-telling" mode, I have a number of tricks-of-the-trade that I use to talk my way around making iron-clad estimates of likelihood. But when writing, and especially when analyzing a long spread, I'm challenged to come up with fresh ways to say "maybe." I might say "This card suggests . . ." or "implies;" "looks like;" "makes me think;" "could mean;" "indicates;" "leads me to believe;" "shows the possibility of;" "encourages" and other rather squishy words and phrases.

In the language of prevarication, these are known as "weasel' words," imaginative ways for the speaker to squirm around the issue without being pinned down to an unequivocal position. They leave an escape route. I'm not suggesting that we're being less-than-truthful, but I suspect we all do it to some extent. I'm curious how others here avoid letting their noncommittal expressions of relative certainty or uncertainty become repetitive or redundant, beyond the all-purpose disclaimer "The future isn't carved in stone."

I think I tend to say what I see for the most part. BUT in predictive readings I am very careful to explain to the reader before started that the future predicted is just one possible future amonst many, the most likely, but it is not written in stone....and things could change and the ffuture that shows up could be a different one. I never try to do a predictive reading without the explanation. As that is my belief in how things work, related to the future.

I am not a big fan of predictive readings anyway. They feel too passive to me like our future is not in our own hands. And all we can do is wait for things to unfold, as if we have no control.

When someone asks me for a predictive reading I try to usually steer them more towards one designed to help them more actively create the future they want.

Eg if someone wants to know if they will get a job in the next month, I try to suggest asking instead on what steps they can take to increase their chances of it happening. Then there is something concrete they can do. They can take the steps and work on it, and bring themselves closer, instead of just sitting and waiting.

Sometimes that works sometimes in doesn't. If not I do the predictive reading with all the explanations first.

Not to say I don't have my weasel word moments at times. LOL

Instead of saying "Next month you will get a job", I might say "What I see in this card image is that next month you will get a job." Although it's perfectly honest and I do see it or I would not say it, but I suppose it makes it sound like less like something I am promising them (since the future is not set in stone, and could change) and reminds them that it's my interpretation.

Babs
 

Barleywine

I think I tend to say what I see for the most part. BUT in predictive readings I am very careful to explain to the reader before started that the future predicted is just one possible future amonst many, the most likely, but it is not written in stone....and things could change and the ffuture that shows up could be a different one. I never try to do a predictive reading without the explanation. As that is my belief in how things work, related to the future.

I am not a big fan of predictive readings anyway. They feel too passive to me like our future is not in our own hands. And all we can do is wait for things to unfold, as if we have no control.

When someone asks me for a predictive reading I try to usually steer them more towards one designed to help them more actively create the future they want.

Eg if someone wants to know if they will get a job in the next month, I try to suggest asking instead on what steps they can take to increase their chances of it happening. Then there is something concrete they can do. They can take the steps and work on it, and bring themselves closer, instead of just sitting and waiting.

Sometimes that works sometimes in doesn't. If not I do the predictive reading with all the explanations first.

Not to say I don't have my weasel word moments at times. LOL

Instead of saying "Next month you will get a job", I might say "What I see in this card image is that next month you will get a job." Although it's perfectly honest and I do see it or I would not say it, but I suppose it makes it sound like less like something I am promising them (since the future is not set in stone, and could change) and reminds them that it's my interpretation.

Babs

This is pretty much how I work, but with an added wrinkle. Because I only read face-to-face at present, and don't want to know the question in advance (I call it "letting the cards speak their piece"), I'm not immediately put on the spot for a hard-and-fast prediction. I tell sitters there are three ways to approach their inquiry: with a specific question in mind; with the focus on a particular area of life (romance, work, finances, family, etc.) or just as a general life-reading for the next few months. They sometimes ask what I think will be the most useful, and I tell them that the general reading will often bring in facets of many different issues (I use larger spreads when time permits), which broadens the predictive landscape. Then we fill in the details through our interactive dialogue. So it becomes more of a mutual exploration than a one-way pronouncement.