When the cards only reflect the querent

Hi Aeclectics,

Do you sometimes experience this too? You want to find out about the state of a certain issue, and all you get is perhaps some Sword card, telling you: "Oh, you worry so much." There are many other examples when all that the cards seem to be doing is mirroring the current state of the querent.

Now, where do you go from here? What do you tell your puzzled sitter - "don't worry, be happy"? Under what circumstances is this phenomenon more likely to occur?

I am looking forward to hearing your insights.

Best,
Michael

Well I'm not the best person to answer this as I only read for myself, but till someone more useful chips in I'll add my 2c as this does happen to me.

After acknowledging that this most likely means I am the key controlling factor in the situation, if I still want answers, I find it helps to change tack completely for a few minutes. In my case this can be distracting myself completely from the cards and question by watching a few minutes of rubbish television... in a reader-querant situation this could take the form of chatting away with them about something completely different that won't evoke the same feelings.

The second option I use is to do a mini one or two card reading on something completely different... again, ideally something that doesn't illicit the same feelings in the querant.

After doing one or both of these things I find I can quickly take a left turn back into the original question with fresh eyes and sort of catch the cards/querant when they aren't looking

ETA: My instinct on the reasons would be: sometimes this may be someone blinded by their feelings or on occasion it could be a case of the 'splodger', who projects their feelings overwhelmingly to the room and everything/everyone in it. My mum's a classic for this.

I am also the wrong person to answer this because I read only for myself, except once, and I actually believe that the cards function as mirrors for both reader and querent, through which reader helps querent explore things already within them.

Keep looping around in your mind until you come to the clearer answer.
Isn't the card telling you, "You worry too much" also a reflection of the situation? As in, The situation is not that bad, because "you worry too much"?

Alternatively, the situation may be about as bad as one person can handle before they drive themselves crazy with worry. Perhaps therein lies the advice: more than one person should handle this situation.

There are times---but I try to keep them to a bare minimum----where I just scrap it and start over. Usually it will be a time when I'm very tired or quite stressed about something in my own life and I shouldn't have tried reading at all without doing some meditation to get myself calmed and refreshed. Even a few minutes of meditation usually does it for me.

Of course, you do want the cards to reflect the querent. Even if they want you to read on someone else who is involved in their lives, their attitude and previous actions do reflect on the issue.

Maybe if this happens again, you could do your reading in sections---three cards for the sitter and the rest for the issues in the question they've asked. That way you get the issues with the sitter themselves out of the way and the rest of the cards will reflect the issue in question.

In MY experience, this has happened when the querent is somehow "blocking" the reading. It may happen when reading for myself, if I'm afraid of getting a real, straight answer. And it has happened when reading for others that either have not given me permission to read for them or are actually very tense about the reading.

What I usually do is to change the spread or even the deck, and try again. And, when I don't have permission (like when a friend of mine who disapproves of me reading Tarot had cancer), I just put the cards away.

Michael Sternbach said:

Do you sometimes experience this too?

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<grin> I'm of the opinion that the cards *ought* to reflect only the querent. Questions are there to give structure to how the reader thinks.

You want to find out about the state of a certain issue,

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Finding out about yourself in terms of the issue is more important. It's about knowing yourself better so that you can make the best choices for yourself regarding that issue, not about what X, Y and Z are going to do around you.

There are many other examples when all that the cards seem to be doing is mirroring the current state of the querent.

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And yet I find that a more exciting and a more *useful* reading than one which makes event-predictions.

Now, where do you go from here? What do you tell your puzzled sitter - "don't worry, be happy"?

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A reading should be a dialogue, not a lecture. Talk with them, not at them. And listen. It is your job as a reader to find out where they are now, where they want to go, and the best and least risky road for them to take.

Perhaps your tarot is "moody" today.

In my experience,

when i pull out a card and it shows not direct meaning with the current issue , ill take that as a "reaction" or "humor" of my deck. when am reading for myself, i always start with... HEJJJJJJJJJJJJJ TAROT DECK.... hOW DO U FEEL TODAY? .... I pull a card and then it will let me know if im gonna have what a want....

and if i dont get a clear answer...

Method#2: i do 3 piles with teh whole the deck, take 1 pile and do 3 piles and so on... till i get just 1 card. i call this... "reseting" my deck.

Method#3: ask to ur tarot card if u can use another deck for that question.

Good luck!

Scarlet Woodland said:

Well I'm not the best person to answer this as I only read for myself, but till someone more useful chips in I'll add my 2c as this does happen to me.

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You doin fine, Scarlet! I occasionally also experience this phenomenon when I read for myself, and surely the same principles apply in a counselling setting.

After acknowledging that this most likely means I am the key controlling factor in the situation,

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Alright, there's a thought. That would be one of the things to look out for, anyway. Isn't it known that our thinking influences our experiences quite a lot?

if I still want answers, I find it helps to change tack completely for a few minutes. In my case this can be distracting myself completely from the cards and question by watching a few minutes of rubbish television... in a reader-querant situation this could take the form of chatting away with them about something completely different that won't evoke the same feelings.

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There's another thought. Make them focus on something else to momentarily break up their mental fixation. Yay!

The second option I use is to do a mini one or two card reading on something completely different... again, ideally something that doesn't illicit the same feelings in the querant.

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Same principle, different application. Gotcha.

After doing one or both of these things I find I can quickly take a left turn back into the original question with fresh eyes and sort of catch the cards/querant when they aren't looking

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Wow, Scarlet, you seem to be a real expert on the topic! Thank you, I will bear all your advice in mind next time I happen to be stuck with this.

ETA: My instinct on the reasons would be: sometimes this may be someone blinded by their feelings or on occasion it could be a case of the 'splodger', who projects their feelings overwhelmingly to the room and everything/everyone in it. My mum's a classic for this.

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That's an interesting observation too! Last time I repeatedly experienced this, it was on a party, with a rather forceful woman around (she really reminded me of the Thoth Queen of Swords) who was disclaiming Tarot for herself. I instinctively tried to screen my querents and myself off, but I suspect she could have acted as a "splodger" nonetheless.

The Happy Squirrel said:

I am also the wrong person to answer this because I read only for myself, except once, and I actually believe that the cards function as mirrors for both reader and querent, through which reader helps querent explore things already within them.

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Yes, that's one consideration - as far as it goes. Thanks.