Can tarot cards be annoyed when challenged?

[poopsie]

I know this may sound stupid and you will most likely tell me Tarot cards are just pieces of cardboard but I need some interesting opinions to explain this ...

A friend of a friend asked me to do a reading for her. I often do readings for friends and some workshop participants and I often notice that so far, the querents I have had really do seem to have a sincere desire to seek answers to their questions using the tarot. Sometimes, I just do general readings and often, I still get them to appreciate the insights they could derive from the interpretations. To put it plainly, so far, doing readings have been all right.

Recently, i encountered my friend's friend who wanted a reading. Since she did not have a question, I did the celtic cross. She was surprised that the cards she picked seemed to have surfaced some insights which caused her to think some things through. And then, she got into the mode of 'challenging the deck' to see if it can figure her issues about her relationship with her husband so she drew out cards and cards such as Tower, three of swords, Death, five of swords and so on came out, so i merely gave interpretations.

She did admit that the cards captured her 'thoughts' and then she continued... and as we continued, I started to notice that the cards were already coming out with strange combinations, sometimes, majority were even reversed. Then it occured to me that the cards seem to be 'reacting' to her. I know i am the one feeling it and therefore it may not be the cards, but somehow, I had the sense the cards were reacting because i can no longer make out their meanings particularly when i integrate them or try to see connections. In short, they no longer made sense.

So i told her we needed to stop because it was getting to be 'difficult'. She said - "I think your cards got irritated with me because it sensed I was challenging it. " asked her why she thought that way. She said she noticed that "everytime i draw them out, they were mostly reversed. Initially, we didn't start that way and you did mention that you don't read reversals. Now, they are almost all reversed.". I told her that we need to respect the "sacredness of the tarot" ... at least I do. The tarot is an intuitive tool and sensitive to one's imagination. I told her that intellectualizing it too much may not be the best way to use the tool.

i only realized she was challenging it after the drawn out cards started to be difficult.

I thought about it ... I am wondering if you encountered something similar... would love to hear your own thoughts.

 

[tarotbear]

Cards are not sentient things.

That said - I feel that the cards were reacting to her questions - I believe the cards are affected by the aura of the person handling them which is why the cards that answer the question appear - so, if she was 'challenging' them they were picking up on the hostility and brought out the challenging and hostle cards. I do believe cards that are difficult to read also relect the animousity of the Querent.

 

[Zephyros]

Since you already said we'd say the cards are only cardboard, I won't

However.

The cards cannot get annoyed, but there is something with "testing" them that seems to block any communication. I'm sure you've seen it; skeptics who come to you with a smirk and say to themselves that they will make a fool out of you and the cards (incidentally, I once foiled this plan, and turned a skeptic into a believer, but that's another story). A reading does not work independently, it is built on openness, communication, desire to know. "Challenging" cards is useless, the querent is merely challenging themselves in the wrong way, and the reading may and does pick up on that.

As to the reading you describe, she wasn't a skeptic, but seems to still have that feel of thinking the cards are independent entities that will "figure things out" without her doing anything. It's all interconnected, and usually the result of this, or any "bad" reading" is that the cards show what the person is thinking, or muddled and unpleasant answers.

To people like the person you are describing that show this tendency, I tell them that the most the reading will give them is a few questions, since even the best answers still leave you with your own life and your own decisions to make. Any "testing" is futile (and even makes them look a little sad, in my opinion).