A common problem with interpretations

I keep having a problem with interpretations:

I see that very oftenly, Tarot shows at an spread the WHOLE issue. This includes the facts, and also your inner fears and hopes. I wonder how one can distinguish when Tarot is telling us about a real fact around us and when about an inner fear or hope.

This, for me, is where the value of using a spread with defined positions and sticking to them comes in. Otherwise, in order to get the "real" answer, you will have to be very intuitive and, if reading for yourself, totally objective (which is difficult when reading for oneself).

alexev said:

I see that very oftenly, Tarot shows at an spread the WHOLE issue... I wonder how one can distinguish when Tarot is telling us about a real fact ... and when about an inner fear or hope.

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Dear Alexev ~

Welcome to the world of Tarot Card Interpretation Frustration Anxiety! I don't know how deep your experience in Tarot runs - because you were smart enough to see this problem so quickly - but many experienced readers have exactly this same question: what is real and what is a projection?

Unfortunately, merely saying 'it will be easier when you have more experience' simply is not true. Many times those experienced among us will admit they spread out the cards and have no clue about what they are supposed to mean.

If you are reading only for yourself you are doubly-cursed: remaining completely objective about the circumstances concerning a question asked about yourself is extremely difficult or impossible. However, you should be able to judge that the cards are telling you what you want to hear and NOT what you need to know - I can tell this rather easily. I have been known to take the deck, slap it against the table several times and command it to 'give me the answer I NEED, not merely one that I wish to hear'! I don't recommend 'deck abuse' but sometimes you need to take drastic measures when dealing with yourself.

If you are doing a reading for another and feel as though this reality/illusion problem is facing you, the best thing to do is ask the Querent. You can say 'These particular cards are telling me X, but I feel that this is something you are hoping for, but it is not necessarily the truth of the matter' or something along those lines. Asking questions of the Querent is an important thing to do (although not all readers may agree.)

tarotbear said:

Many times those experienced among us will admit they spread out the cards and have no clue about what they are supposed to mean.

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That is a relief to hear. I have been doing this for quite a while and I thought that the reason I had no clue on occasion was that I was useless at it. Good to hear that those with a respected and longer interest have the same problem occasionally.

[wipes brow]

LB

tarotbear said:

Asking questions of the Querent is an important thing to do (although not all readers may agree.)

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This is so true...reading is a dialogue - not a monologue. It’s about conversation….

Reading for yourself? I have been known to take my head, and slam it against the table several times and command it to 'give me the answer I NEED, not merely one that I wish to hear…it doesn’t work but sure feels good when I quit.

Reading for self, family, and friends carries with it that personal bias. We think we know what the Tarot is talking about, project it where we want it, intellectualize the heck outta it…when all along the Tarot is discussing something different.

One of the reasons I preach on about journaling is that later, you can go back and read about your own reading – and if you are honest with yourself – you can say, “What an Idiot!!! It wasn’t about Amanda and me at all! It was about the mess I’m making of my life at work! Silly me!”

We all relate to the Tarot differently, and we need a medium to determine how we (me, myself, and I) are relating to Tarot.

And that laying the cards out and not having a clue – what a wonderful that is…to be overwhelmed by nothingness…and that’s something that should also bet journaled…

Perhaps to find a pattern within the patterns…

LOL
Sometimes when I can't decide what is real and what is imaginary;fears/hopes/delusions... I'll lay out two more cards for those very things... oh hey, then you could just lay out one more for What IS...

Then there are the times nothing makes any sense and I know I was blessed with a very thick skull... getting up, walking around and sometimes doing something else will be enough to trigger some new thoughts and inspiration as to what the heck it's supposed to mean.

Sometimes I have a dialog with the deck itself... layout the cards, jot some notes, scratch my head and start asking questions about the cards and why they are there... What did you mean by that? Ok, so what am I supposed to do about it?
Ok... how do I go about doing that? Etc. And this means.... what, exactly?

The value of using a specific spread

Alexev, the suggestion of Apollonia about using a spread is exactly the advice I would give you. A spread is chosen or created so that each card position will address a particular component of the question. In this way, there is a clarity in each cards range of meanings.

If you choose or create a good spread, there will be natural affiliations between some of the cards that will expand or refine their joint meanings. There are also processes for reading cards that can add depth to your reading -- an example might be Robert Place's method of "flow" between card figures as laid out in his book on Tarot History and Symbolism.

I personally have always considered the "intuitive" readings that many of my friends do as being often shallow and suspect due to the free ranging approach they take -- just laying out cards and talking about what they feel. While this approach seems to work in some cases, it never impressed me as working well in most cases. That's not to say that intuition doesn't have a place in Tarot; it most certainly does and I also take advantage of it also, just within a construct. I feel that in baseball, you have to get to first base before you can get home to score a run. In tarot, the spread and card positions get me to first base, often further -- then intuitition and dialog get the querent to the place they need to be -- a place of understanding and sense of direction. Dave

alexev said:

I keep having a problem with interpretations:

I see that very oftenly, Tarot shows at an spread the WHOLE issue. This includes the facts, and also your inner fears and hopes. I wonder how one can distinguish when Tarot is telling us about a real fact around us and when about an inner fear or hope.

Click to expand...

The phrasing of the question is very important. If you want to know just the facts/events and not the feelings involved OR just the feelings and not the events you can phrase your question to reflect that.

You could ask "What events will happen during the next month?" or "What facts will I learn about the situation within the next month?" This was will only give you the facts or event and will not give you your inner hopes and fears. OR you could ask "How will I feel about what is coming up in my life in the next month?" That way you are not asking what will happen but only how you can feel about it. So that is what your answer should be.

You can, and imho should, be clear on what info you really want before staring and construct the question to reflect that.

In the case where you want all of the situation, facts and feelings, the rest is instinct. You will just have to feel what means what. You get that AHA feeling when you know you've got the right meaning. You can feel when something is right inside. That just comes from experience.

Babs