Reading for yourself could be dangerous?

Leila_selda

Hi Tanga,

Thank you for your reply,

Yeah i havent spoke to her yet. When i do i well let you know :)

Thanx for sharing your wiccan experience with me, That you do and know other wiccans that read for them self to :)
Haven't read through the whole thread yet... but WHAT???

Says a Wiccan (BTW) who reads for herself (in a manner of speaking) and knows other Wiccans who do too.
What on earth was she going on about? It would have been good for her to specify. :joke:
 

Leila_selda

Hi Morwenna,

Thank you for your reply.

Yes she is. she also says that she is always right hahaha lol :p

That sounds interesting that you do analytical readings. How do you do a analytical reading?

Its nice to hear that reading for yourself is a good technique :) Because it is my way to practice.

I agree with you that when you keep reading on the same topic in the hope for an other answer could be dangerous and obssesive.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me.

Hi Leila,
So your friend is a Virgo? That explains a lot. :) They're Always Right, You Know. :D

Anyway, practicing on yourself is a good technique. I don't do predictive readings for myself and I haven't had one done for me in years, but I am very fond of analytical readings, such as what the state of my mind really is right now, what are my strengths, what are my weaknesses, what am I trying to avoid, etc. These are things that are less prone to personal bias, as long as you're willing to analyze the readings carefully. Where bias often comes in is if you are asking questions that you hope for a certain answer and get the opposite; it's the same when you're reading for someone else who doesn't want to believe that the reading means what it does. And when you get readings that confirm what you already know or suspect, you know how well your skills are progressing.

But dangerous? No, unless you are reading as often as you can in order to get the kind of answer you want and are thus deluding yourself.
 

Morwenna

That sounds interesting that you do analytical readings. How do you do a analytical reading?

Its nice to hear that reading for yourself is a good technique :) Because it is my way to practice.

Analyzing my state of mind, or my strengths and weaknesses, or my personality quirks; almost treating it like an astrological personality analysis, but also figuring in what the state of affairs is with me right at the moment, both internal and external. If I'm upset, for instance, of course I'll already know that, but the cards may give me insight as to just what in the upsetting situation is at the bottom of my reaction, and it may be something I was not consciously aware of but totally makes sense when I read it. You can analyze the roots of your bad habits that way too, or procrastination tendencies or whatever. And it can give you advice as to how to overcome it.

There are spreads that address situations like that, with positions that ask what is the problem, how are you hindering yourself, how are you helping yourself, what can you do for yourself, etc. Try the spreads sub-forum; there are a lot of interesting spreads there that are for personal analysis.
 

CharlotteK

I get a lot of value out of reading for myself. I don't ask predictive questions or questions about friends and family. I keep readings very open and focussed on things like "what do I need to know about x situation" or "what does the universe want me to know right now" or "how can I get the best out of today" - that kind of thing.

I don't see how this can be dangerous really, I read for myself mostly to stimulate a way of thinking differently, and to tap into parts of my unconscious that may have a more intelligent and inspired way of looking things than my conditioned, rational, ego-biased mind.
 

Cocobird55

I've always done readings for myself, and I am good about stepping back and being objective.

I once got a strange reading at a Psychic Fair. In general conversation, I told her that I also read for myself. She went into a very long explanation of why this was bad. I didn't argue with her -- just listened. Her reading didn't seem very on target to me. At the end of it, she gave me her card and told me to call her when I want a reading, and don't try to do it myself.
 

Morwenna

Talk about nerve! :D
 

headincloud

Reading for yourself will lead to self awareness and enlightenment, nothing dangerous there it's a natural process of life but cards speed up the spiritual process. If you can master reading for yourself you'll naturally be able to read for others because human nature is universal, on the other hand if we don't understand and can't crack the self then we'll spend a lifetime trying to learn the craft because we simply project our unclaimed selves through our readings for others.
 

jenster

I've heard it too, from old readers, way before tarot was as mainstream as it is now.

I think it is a "rule" that exists for a reason and you can easily avoid the dangers if you know what they are. I *think* that a reason why reading for yourself was discouraged (or even forbidden) is that it can end up becoming a problem if you aren't in a good place. You may start reading obsessively and get to a point where you trust the cards more than look at the reality around you. You might end up ignoring reality altogether.

That could be a reason. But we understand more about human nature now and we are more open about our problems (because fewer things are scandalous) so it is easier for us not to slip like that than it would have been for a woman locked in a room reading from dawn to dusk.

A lot of things that were "forbidden" had a reason for being so.
 

page of ghosts

Yeah I think the not being objective, only seeing what we wish was there, becoming obsessive and the like are the main dangers I've encountered and worried about in my practice. I'm mostly doing introspective, analytical readings where I seek knowledge about myself and trying to heal from some bad stuff, and I believe the tarot has been very helpful to me.