Newbie question: me+my deck=bad vibes?

Hey! I am completely and utterly new to the forums and tarot, literally just bought my first deck a few days ago and am posting for the first time, so possibly this is just a newbie fail situation. But with that in mind...

The deck gives me bad vibes somehow. I've done a few of the 'new deck' spreads that people recommend, and the answers all seemed kind of excessively dire. Tried to sleep with the deck under my pillow, and literally twitched and felt anxious and had muscle spasms until I moved it away, whereupon I fell asleep almost immediately. Something just feels off.

I'll be the first to say I don't know what I'm doing--could this just be beginner nerves? I'm not thoroughly comfortable or confident about spirituality yet, that might be affecting this somehow. I'm also completely inexperienced in the world of rituals, but if anybody could recommend any that might help me connect better in this situation, that would be wonderful. I'm not sure what I believe yet, but the psychological element would help a great deal while I figure it out, and I'm pretty openminded.

...yeah, basically, somebody give me advice, 'cause I don't know what I'm doing and I am very anxious and self-conscious about the whole thing!

I think you're a victim of all the worst Tarot myths. The power of the human mind is a very profound thing. The cards are just cards. There's no spirit attached to them, either good or bad. Anything you're feeling is probably just a misunderstanding of Tarot working on your psyche and that's causing some disturbance for you. If you slept with a book under your pillow, you might get a kink in your neck and the cards are no different. You've just kind of hyped yourself into a bad reaction because you don't understand about the cards yet.

My advice is just to relax and learn about the cards here on the forum. You'll see a lot of superstitious stuff out and about on the internet but here you're going to just find a safe place to learn and understand the tool that Tarot really is. It's just a deck of cards that you can use to discover things about yourself and, if you want to turn it into a spiritual program you can find out how to do that here, too.

Always feel free to ask someone here if you have questions because, as they say, the only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask.

Welcome to AT.

"Victim of mythology" seems quite probable. It probably doesn't help that my week has been the hell week to end all hell weeks and I'm already anxious about everything else right now. Thank you very much! I will try to chill, and hopefully I will be able to keep hanging out here and learn lots of stuff.

Sometimes when we are going through really tough times, reading is not the best idea. I went through a tragedy with a friend and had to give up reading for an extended time because all I saw in the cards was death and evil. Really they were just reflecting back my state of mind. Tarot, at least for me, is like a mirror that reflects the positives or negatives inside. Sometimes that deep introspection needs to be put off until we gain a bit of distance from the issue.

I have had one deck that I just couldn't connect with...the anna.k. It is beautiful but for me something felt off. Every reading I did for others was fine but the ones for myself felt so negative. I ended up giving her away to someone I knew would love and appreciate her...I'm sure she is much happier there. lol

My guess is you just have a lot going on and being new to tarot, you aren't prepared to look that deeply yet. I'd just give it some time and pull the cards back out when you are in a calmer time. If it really is the deck, good news...there are a million other deck you can try. lol Yes, I'm a deck buying enabler.

Good luck, dear!

Yes I agree with the above, it can also be the deck, when you look for a deck to use your every day mind can get in the way of your inner deeper mind. So when you come to try a reading you find yourself reacting in an way that makes you feel uncomfortable. There has to be a balance, so keep looking there are plenty of decks out there, Best of luck.

Hi Cthonic...just out of curiosity, which deck do you have?

I had a similar experience with my first deck. I bought a standard Rider Waite, but I found the coloring to be very harsh. It gave every reading I tried to do an unpleasant, jarring feel and I just couldn't connect with it. I ended up buying the Radiant Rider Waite and then the Universal - they are the same images but with different coloring, and now I use them with no issues.

Before you buy another deck, I'd definitely recommend browsing images on Aeclectic to find a deck that seems to jive with you. Good luck!

A couple of questions: which deck did you choose and why? Did you feel comfortable with the deck when you bought it?

Suggestions: don't try to see the future. Try to just look for information. Ask it questions about the PRESENT that you want answers to. And use the booklet, if it still comes out dire, then yes, take a break. It maybe too heavy for you now.

The cards are NOT evil, Reading cards is not evil, but you may be feeling a bit of conflict. The cards are just cardboard, they don't have spirits in them. So don't worry about putting them under your pillow but put them if they bother you too much.

Finally: read the forum and ask questions, we care. Watching us talk about tarot may make it easier for you.

Barb

Barb

If you've already tried deck interview spreads and that didn't go so well, then maybe you could get to know your deck by just playing with it. Put down a card and start a story about what you see in it, put down another and continue the story, then another and another…till the story feels finished. Just make up whatever comes into your head, feel free to make up something really silly and funny. And/or you could try looking at the pictures on the cards and figure out what they mean to *you*, as opposed to what the book says. Let your own ideas flow, try not to think too hard about it.

In other words, just try to have some fun with the cards. Get to know them in a way that isn't too serious. (Just until those bad vibes go away. You can always get serious again later.)

Also, as others have said, definitely stick around these forums! Read lots, it'll really help. It helped me lots!

And you could maybe look at some videos for beginners on youtube. The Four Queens has a Trainee Tarot course which I highly recommend. First episode's here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw24j5r2qoE

It might have to do with your expectations of tarot differing from the reality. At some level, they're supposed to be "mystical" and "magical," but like has been said... They're pictures on cards. If the vibe you were expecting isn't there, then maybe you're making it manifest with the anxiety. You expected there would be something; if it wasn't good, then it must be bad. But the cards really are neutral. Different ones will develop different reactions in you and yes, I believe you can have a relationship with them. Mine "behave" differently from each other. But it's the connection you make, not the cards themselves, that matter. So if you can let go of the idea that the cards inherently have something in them, maybe the bad vibes will disappear.

Or just try a new deck.

Chthonic said:

Hey! I am completely and utterly new to the forums and tarot, literally just bought my first deck a few days ago and am posting for the first time, so possibly this is just a newbie fail situation. But with that in mind...

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Welcome!

The deck gives me bad vibes somehow. I've done a few of the 'new deck' spreads that people recommend, and the answers all seemed kind of excessively dire.

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Have you just *played* with the deck?

Tried to sleep with the deck under my pillow, and literally twitched and felt anxious and had muscle spasms until I moved it away, whereupon I fell asleep almost immediately.

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Well, of course. It's a hard lump under your pillow. It does nothing for your learning or bonding process (actually looking at the images does that!) and will harm your neck, which is vital to the function of your entire body.

I'll be the first to say I don't know what I'm doing--could this just be beginner nerves?

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Absolutely. Also, you might have ingested the ignorant superstition that floats around the community, that Tarot cards somehow have some kind of negative power or attract negative spirits. Simply not true.

I'm not thoroughly comfortable or confident about spirituality yet, that might be affecting this somehow.

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I know some extremely good atheist readers. Spirituality is not required.

I'm also completely inexperienced in the world of rituals, but if anybody could recommend any that might help me connect better in this situation, that would be wonderful. I'm not sure what I believe yet, but the psychological element would help a great deal while I figure it out, and I'm pretty openminded.

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Carry your deck around in your pocket or bag. When you have a few free minutes - say, in a bus or a cafe or at work, pull it out and shuffle it. Then put it back. Soon it'll become just an extension of you.

...yeah, basically, somebody give me advice, 'cause I don't know what I'm doing and I am very anxious and self-conscious about the whole thing!

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And anxiety is not going to help <grin>. Ask yourself: what, exactly am I anxious about? What bad things do I imagine will happen?

Look at it as an art collection. Are you rich enough to own 78 canvasses hung on the walls of your house, or to live in a house that size? If not, A Tarot deck is a great way of keeping a large art collection handy for your enjoyment and relaxation. Look at the images often. Shuffle the cards often. Your negativity will go away.