The Process. Part 3 – The Blank Spot

Umbrae · 31-12-2002

Reading for Karen means I have to go some god forsaken fern bar where you sit on high chairs for adults, and they serve over-cooked noodles (excuse me, Pasta) with some canned crap on it, and they charge more for it than an evening with a professional escort in Copenhagen.

I used to do readings for Karen in my office. I remember posting once about a reading I did for her; she came into my office and asked for a reading on a relationship (she specified we didn’t have much time – so I did a simple three card spread). I have no idea what the cards were (I must admit, I did cease keeping a Tarot Journal a couple of years ago), although I remember there was a reversed center card…in addition, I immediately knew two things. There were two funerals in store for her, and I had to pass urine like a racehorse.

I said, “I will be right back” and hurried out to the men’s lavatory. I stood there wondering…what should I tell her? Should I ‘read’ the cards (this card means this and this card means this) and talk about her relationship? Or should I tell her about the funerals? Should I tell her about the first one or both?

I went back to my office and told her about the one funeral, and if memory serves me right, I implied or strongly hinted that there would be a second. Indeed, a client of Karen’s had passed away the previous day, and she had just received the phone call. The second funeral occurred two weeks later, it was the mother of her boyfriend.

When I lay out the cards, I don’t look at them…I am focused on a mote in space…

I’m getting ahead of myself…we were about to go to a fern bar.

I took the cards out of their bag and slid them across the table towards her. She picked them up and began to shuffle, “I need to know if I should take the job in Alaska…” she said as she slid the shuffled deck to the center of the table and cut them.

The Barman walked by and said, ”Uh oh, don’t know if I can allow that here…”

“Sure you can, you want a tip…right?” I replied.

He walked off…

As I began to turn the cards over into a seven position horseshoe* – two cards in each position – not looking at the cards, there came a void. A blank spot.

I focused on the cards themselves for a second. Two cards had turned up in ‘The Gate’ position. The five of wands and the five of swords…and at that moment in time…I had no idea of any meaning…there was a blank spot.

New readers often comment that they get nervous that they will 'forget'. After yeas of reading, I embrace these moments.

What does a moment like this mean? Think think think and we are in a stuck cycle. Stuck in search mode. The hard drive is working – but the hourglass does not go away.

In our mundane lives, our eyes focus on what we are looking at, and the brain then focuses on what we are looking at; and it gets busy categorizing and sorting.

If you look up, and look out your window right now, your eyes focus on – something – your brain follows suit. It’s what we do. So when a card is put down; bang, we see it, and our brain looks for its related meaning.

Further, especially here in the States, folks always have a radio on, or TV (how often do you walk into a house and there is a TV on that nobody’s watching?), or music (this is an important point). We live in a world where everybody is wired for sound and vision – spending their day awaiting input from…

I once heard a tale of Dr. Flanagan. Dr. Flanagan’s back yard was a wooded area. He liked to go for long walks in the woods. At night. He hated to carry a flashlight (battery/electric torch).

Think on this – how we have desensitized ourselves to the darkness – we need brighter and brighter lights – we need light – and sound – and…I digress…

Dr. Flanagan took a chopstick, and painted a little glow in the dark paint dot on one side of the chopstick. He then used Duct Tape to fix the chopstick to his baseball style hat, glow in the dark dot down.

Then he went for his walk in the woods, at night, in the dark. His eyes would then (automatically) focus on the glowing dot – but there was nothing there for his brain to ‘process’, so it freed up his brain to begin processing his peripheral vision. We spend so much time looking at what we are looking at, that we ignore our peripheral vision – which can see in the dark – perfectly well. However, you have to retrain your eyes.

After Dr. Flanagan retrained his eyes, the chopstick came off the hat, and he continued to walk in the woods, at night, in the dark, with no flashlight.

Think about how we are surrounded by folks who always have to ‘listen’ to something, yet they hear nothing…

Years back I knew an old guy, Mr. Townsend who talked of when he lived in Alaska and the Yukon many years ago. One day an Indian (Native American) came to visit him. His visitor sat down in the cabin and said nothing. Mr. Townsend got nervous, talked for a while, got up and puttered around for a while. After a few hours, his visitor got up and left. On his way out he said, “It has been a great pleasure talking with you.”

Mr. Townsend realized after a few incidents of this occurrence repeating, that our western civilization manner of communication is not the only kind of communication there is. The silence between the words often carries far more import.

But I’m beginning to ramble.

Sitters get nervous when I go silent and look off and focus on a mote in space.
Usually they start to talk, nervous chatter…I wave them off - this is my time - for their benefit.

Sometimes when I kick into extra-ocular vision mode (just like Dr. Flanagan and his chopstick), things become clearer. I'm not in the categorizing sorting mode. At times - glimpses of auras become visible - flashes may come unbidden - and then...the mouth begins to speak words. There is no thought behind them, I just begin speaking, not planning the words or concepts...just speaking.

Sometimes I end up talking about what the cards ‘mean’…usually I end up chatting about what the cards are saying.

When I lay the cards down I am focused on some mote of space between the cards and myself – I am aware of them, but I am not ‘processing’ them. I look for groupings and voids without registering what cards are showing.

With an existing client, I like to (but not always) lay the cards out face up – feeling the spread as a Whole Entity.

With new clients, this can be overwhelming, so I usually begin face down…working from individual cards – out – to a Whole Entity. Often, a card is flipped and…there is that blank spot…ahhh that feels good. So I stare off over their shoulder or out a window and…

Karen’s future looked grim for the short term, and with hard work a move to Alaska perhaps would be in order, I thought though that she was pulling a geographical and running from her own problems.

Dang, I should call her and see how it’s going…

Learning to alter your visual perception is huge. Turn off some lights, turn off the sound, go into the woods, and walk…in the dark…

*Seven Card Horseshoe
1. Recent Past
2. Present
3. Hopes and Fears
4. The Unexpected
5. The Gate
6. Near Future
7. Further Future

Hopes and fears = Internal influence.
Unexpected = hidden external influence.
The Gate = that which must be experienced - the lesson

With two cards placed at each position, the relationship between the cards becomes more important that each card by itself.
Highly recommended spread for the intermediate to advanced user.

All persons in this post are real, names have not been changed. Nothing is intended as a recommendation or a solicitation. Results may vary.

warabi · 31-12-2002

I'm not sure if this is the place I should bombard you with praise, but I would just like to say how much I enjoy your stories! I read several others you have posted before I became a member and I liked every one. I can't wait to read more!

lawguy51 · 31-12-2002

I've got to try that walk in the dark! Enjoyed the post, Umbrae. Also, the spread looks very intriguing. Question...do you deal both cards consecutively at one position or do you go around the horseshoe once then go around a second time? Thanks,

Lawguy51

DarkElectric · 31-12-2002

Thank you, Umbrae.

I have recently made the big jump, and have been reading publically, every weekend in a small shop. "The Process" has been invaluable as far as assisting me in those grey areas of human relations, as well as giving me a clearer understanding of how I relate to myself and my impressions as a reader.

It just happened this Saturday that I "blanked out" on a client.
It may have been psychic overload, as this girl was really unhappy and in a miserable frame of mind. Even though I was shielded, I was having a lot of trouble with what I percieved as weird atmospherics. I laid out the spread, and felt the chill of momentary panic as I looked at ever so familiar cards, and drew a complete blank.

"What the Hell are these cards trying to tell me? OMG. "

And she was sitting there, expectantly.

It took a little time, but I was able to give her an accurate reading. I just took a few deep breaths, and looked around at the stuff in the store to refocus myself. I fought down the panic, opened my mind up, and continued.

Imagine my surprise, to see the latest episode of "The Process" covering this very thing.

It's so good to know that the "Blank Frank" phenomenon
is something which is a relatively normal and common occurance, and that it isn't "me losing the ability to read" or something. I thought at first that was what was happening. It also makes it clear to me that there isn't just one way to look at anything, even panic can be turned to one's advantage.

I feel a lot more confident knowing that things like this are all part of "The Process".

Umbrae · 31-12-2002

Deal two cards simultaneously for each position.

The top card is the more open aspect of the situation, occluding the first. Often, the hidden aspect is more important…

Remember – it is the relationship between the two cards that provides the meaning for each space.

lawguy51 · 31-12-2002

Thanks Umbrae. At the risk at appearing anal and/or dumb...I assume that the second card of a pair is the 'top' card (not sure how it could be the other way around) and...do you actually place one card over the other...or part of the other...when you lay the cards out? Just want to get it right. Yes, I know, there is no 'right', but I want to just the same.

Lawguy51

Umbrae · 31-12-2002

I push two cards off the top of the deck, fan them slightly, and then turn them face up, placing them on the table.

The upper card covers the lower card (partially).

The lower card is the hidden influence - and the upper, the more obvious (visible or aware) influence.

This has been my #1 spread for many years.

Hope this helps.

lawguy51 · 31-12-2002

Got it. Thanks. I really like the idea of the two cards at each position. I'm going to try it real soon.

Lawguy51

MystiqueMoonlight · 31-12-2002

"Blank Spot" hhmmmmm.....

Well yeah I know those well

I have them all the time and I thank the Gods for it.

dangerdork · 31-12-2002

Umbrae, as always you are a wealth of knowledge and a fount of inspiration, and your delivery is immaculate.

Cheers!

Umbrae Citizen Join Date: 20 Mar 2002 Location: Upper Left-Coast, USA Posts: 8,847	The Process. Part 3 – The Blank Spot Reading for Karen means I have to go some god forsaken fern bar where you sit on high chairs for adults, and they serve over-cooked noodles (excuse me, Pasta) with some canned crap on it, and they charge more for it than an evening with a professional escort in Copenhagen. I used to do readings for Karen in my office. I remember posting once about a reading I did for her; she came into my office and asked for a reading on a relationship (she specified we didn’t have much time – so I did a simple three card spread). I have no idea what the cards were (I must admit, I did cease keeping a Tarot Journal a couple of years ago), although I remember there was a reversed center card…in addition, I immediately knew two things. There were two funerals in store for her, and I had to pass urine like a racehorse. I said, “I will be right back” and hurried out to the men’s lavatory. I stood there wondering…what should I tell her? Should I ‘read’ the cards (this card means this and this card means this) and talk about her relationship? Or should I tell her about the funerals? Should I tell her about the first one or both? I went back to my office and told her about the one funeral, and if memory serves me right, I implied or strongly hinted that there would be a second. Indeed, a client of Karen’s had passed away the previous day, and she had just received the phone call. The second funeral occurred two weeks later, it was the mother of her boyfriend. When I lay out the cards, I don’t look at them…I am focused on a mote in space… I’m getting ahead of myself…we were about to go to a fern bar. I took the cards out of their bag and slid them across the table towards her. She picked them up and began to shuffle, “I need to know if I should take the job in Alaska…” she said as she slid the shuffled deck to the center of the table and cut them. The Barman walked by and said, ”Uh oh, don’t know if I can allow that here…” “Sure you can, you want a tip…right?” I replied. He walked off… As I began to turn the cards over into a seven position horseshoe* – two cards in each position – not looking at the cards, there came a void. A blank spot. I focused on the cards themselves for a second. Two cards had turned up in ‘The Gate’ position. The five of wands and the five of swords…and at that moment in time…I had no idea of any meaning…there was a blank spot. New readers often comment that they get nervous that they will 'forget'. After yeas of reading, I embrace these moments. What does a moment like this mean? Think think think and we are in a stuck cycle. Stuck in search mode. The hard drive is working – but the hourglass does not go away. In our mundane lives, our eyes focus on what we are looking at, and the brain then focuses on what we are looking at; and it gets busy categorizing and sorting. If you look up, and look out your window right now, your eyes focus on – something – your brain follows suit. It’s what we do. So when a card is put down; bang, we see it, and our brain looks for its related meaning. Further, especially here in the States, folks always have a radio on, or TV (how often do you walk into a house and there is a TV on that nobody’s watching?), or music (this is an important point). We live in a world where everybody is wired for sound and vision – spending their day awaiting input from… I once heard a tale of Dr. Flanagan. Dr. Flanagan’s back yard was a wooded area. He liked to go for long walks in the woods. At night. He hated to carry a flashlight (battery/electric torch). Think on this – how we have desensitized ourselves to the darkness – we need brighter and brighter lights – we need light – and sound – and…I digress… Dr. Flanagan took a chopstick, and painted a little glow in the dark paint dot on one side of the chopstick. He then used Duct Tape to fix the chopstick to his baseball style hat, glow in the dark dot down. Then he went for his walk in the woods, at night, in the dark. His eyes would then (automatically) focus on the glowing dot – but there was nothing there for his brain to ‘process’, so it freed up his brain to begin processing his peripheral vision. We spend so much time looking at what we are looking at, that we ignore our peripheral vision – which can see in the dark – perfectly well. However, you have to retrain your eyes. After Dr. Flanagan retrained his eyes, the chopstick came off the hat, and he continued to walk in the woods, at night, in the dark, with no flashlight. Think about how we are surrounded by folks who always have to ‘listen’ to something, yet they hear nothing… Years back I knew an old guy, Mr. Townsend who talked of when he lived in Alaska and the Yukon many years ago. One day an Indian (Native American) came to visit him. His visitor sat down in the cabin and said nothing. Mr. Townsend got nervous, talked for a while, got up and puttered around for a while. After a few hours, his visitor got up and left. On his way out he said, “It has been a great pleasure talking with you.” Mr. Townsend realized after a few incidents of this occurrence repeating, that our western civilization manner of communication is not the only kind of communication there is. The silence between the words often carries far more import. But I’m beginning to ramble. Sitters get nervous when I go silent and look off and focus on a mote in space. Usually they start to talk, nervous chatter…I wave them off - this is my time - for their benefit. Sometimes when I kick into extra-ocular vision mode (just like Dr. Flanagan and his chopstick), things become clearer. I'm not in the categorizing sorting mode. At times - glimpses of auras become visible - flashes may come unbidden - and then...the mouth begins to speak words. There is no thought behind them, I just begin speaking, not planning the words or concepts...just speaking. Sometimes I end up talking about what the cards ‘mean’…usually I end up chatting about what the cards are saying. When I lay the cards down I am focused on some mote of space between the cards and myself – I am aware of them, but I am not ‘processing’ them. I look for groupings and voids without registering what cards are showing. With an existing client, I like to (but not always) lay the cards out face up – feeling the spread as a Whole Entity. With new clients, this can be overwhelming, so I usually begin face down…working from individual cards – out – to a Whole Entity. Often, a card is flipped and…there is that blank spot…ahhh that feels good. So I stare off over their shoulder or out a window and… Karen’s future looked grim for the short term, and with hard work a move to Alaska perhaps would be in order, I thought though that she was pulling a geographical and running from her own problems. Dang, I should call her and see how it’s going… Learning to alter your visual perception is huge. Turn off some lights, turn off the sound, go into the woods, and walk…in the dark… Seven Card Horseshoe 1. Recent Past 2. Present 3. Hopes and Fears 4. The Unexpected 5. The Gate 6. Near Future 7. Further Future Hopes and fears = Internal influence. Unexpected = hidden external influence. The Gate = that which must be experienced - the lesson With two cards placed at each position, the relationship between the cards becomes more important that each card by itself. Highly recommended spread for the intermediate to advanced user. All persons in this post are real, names have not been changed. Nothing is intended as a recommendation or a solicitation. Results may vary.* Last edited by Umbrae; 31-12-2002 at 04:41.

31-12-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #1

warabi Resident Join Date: 30 Dec 2002 Location: Washington, Seattle Posts: 46	I'm not sure if this is the place I should bombard you with praise, but I would just like to say how much I enjoy your stories! I read several others you have posted before I became a member and I liked every one. I can't wait to read more! __________________ Have a day! ^_^

31-12-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #2

lawguy51 Citizen Join Date: 16 Sep 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,208	I've got to try that walk in the dark! Enjoyed the post, Umbrae. Also, the spread looks very intriguing. Question...do you deal both cards consecutively at one position or do you go around the horseshoe once then go around a second time? Thanks, Lawguy51 __________________ Life is just a game You fly your paper plane There is no end.

31-12-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #3

DarkElectric Citizen Join Date: 14 Aug 2001 Location: Adrift Posts: 2,270	Thank you, Umbrae. I have recently made the big jump, and have been reading publically, every weekend in a small shop. "The Process" has been invaluable as far as assisting me in those grey areas of human relations, as well as giving me a clearer understanding of how I relate to myself and my impressions as a reader. It just happened this Saturday that I "blanked out" on a client. It may have been psychic overload, as this girl was really unhappy and in a miserable frame of mind. Even though I was shielded, I was having a lot of trouble with what I percieved as weird atmospherics. I laid out the spread, and felt the chill of momentary panic as I looked at ever so familiar cards, and drew a complete blank. "What the Hell are these cards trying to tell me? OMG. " And she was sitting there, expectantly. It took a little time, but I was able to give her an accurate reading. I just took a few deep breaths, and looked around at the stuff in the store to refocus myself. I fought down the panic, opened my mind up, and continued. Imagine my surprise, to see the latest episode of "The Process" covering this very thing. It's so good to know that the "Blank Frank" phenomenon is something which is a relatively normal and common occurance, and that it isn't "me losing the ability to read" or something. I thought at first that was what was happening. It also makes it clear to me that there isn't just one way to look at anything, even panic can be turned to one's advantage. I feel a lot more confident knowing that things like this are all part of "The Process". __________________ "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" Hunter S. Thompson

31-12-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #4

lawguy51 Citizen Join Date: 16 Sep 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,208	Thanks Umbrae. At the risk at appearing anal and/or dumb...I assume that the second card of a pair is the 'top' card (not sure how it could be the other way around) and...do you actually place one card over the other...or part of the other...when you lay the cards out? Just want to get it right. Yes, I know, there is no 'right', but I want to just the same. Lawguy51 __________________ Life is just a game You fly your paper plane There is no end.

31-12-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #6

MystiqueMoonlight Citizen Join Date: 10 Aug 2001 Location: Australia Posts: 960	"Blank Spot" hhmmmmm..... Well yeah I know those well I have them all the time and I thank the Gods for it. __________________ The journey of yesterday is the path of tomorrow

31-12-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #9

dangerdork Citizen Join Date: 22 Oct 2002 Location: Columbus OH USA Posts: 311	Umbrae, as always you are a wealth of knowledge and a fount of inspiration, and your delivery is immaculate. Cheers!

31-12-2002	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #10

Support the Forum via Google Adsense
	#ADS