Do you like to know the Querent's question or not?

[skipbosco]

i'm very new to this tarot thing, just over a month really, so this is an interesting question. i studied mediumship/giving psychic readings and there you basically never ask for a question, you just wing it. i assumed that tarot was the same idea, so for the handful of readings i've given so far i give the victim, er...querent, some tips on what kind of question to ask (like the "w" questions thing, yes/no questions are not so good, etc.)...and give them the option to cut the cards if they like, then i just, you know, wing it. i feel like i don't want to know the question is because it will color what i see too much. however, in 2 of the readings i've given after i gave my impressions for a while i then asked if they wanted me to know the question, or the basic topic of the question...in one of the cases they did, and i found that it was helpful at that point to know because i could throw down cards that helped to focus the reading. all that said, now i'm curious about what knowing the question is like, but part of me feels like it kinda spoils the experiment, ya know?

 

[Shade]

Having the question saves time and allows me to get specific.

If I don't know what they want to know then the 6 of Swords is "Feeling like you no longer belong, pursue new ideas, new ways of thinking." If they ask me about their career, it's more likely "Time to leave your current job."

Edit: Changed Wands to Swords.

 

[Thoughtful]

I tend to leave it the sitter, l will ask firstly do they want me to focus on a particular question,
or would they just like to see what comes up for them (as in a general reading). It makes no difference l feel, because in the general their questions are usually answered. Either way l don't mind.

 

[Grizabella]

I'm surprised to see people give, as the reason for not having a querent state a question, that it's easier not to have one because then you can just read about anything you see in the cards and get at least some areas that will touch on something the querent was concerned with. Interesting.

I do readings of both kinds but I find that the ones with a question are easier to read and that they give the querent the information they want and need more efficiently and quickly than meandering through a reading with no question and, if the reading misses the mark, telling them "well Tarot deemed this other area more important for right now". It may be true that the other area is more important but that will become evident if it's supposed to even with a specific question.

If the sitter doesn't want to give a question and/or is testing me, then we go with that. I don't mind. But I think a question is the better way. At least for me it is. And if the Universe does have a more important area for the sitter to have information on, it will still show up in the reading, as I said before.

We all have our own ways that work best for us. I'm not saying anyone else's way is wrong. Its just different and interesting.

 

[TarotFlow]

I prefer to have a question. It makes it easier to focus and to interpret the cards in the right way. Also I can come up with just the right spread for the question. I have been given readings here at AT. Without knowing much and they have been mostly right - but not all the time, so I think, you get a better more useful answer to your question, by giving a bit of information, - in my readings

 

[canid]

The more specific, the better. If you don't have something to focus on, you can get generalities, not always at the root. Would you go to the doc & ask him to guess at your symptoms, as a test? I know, I know, education-wise it's not comparable, but it still applies.

 

[Thoughtful]

It is all very, very interesting. As l said above it matters not a jot to me whether they ask a direct question or not. l just have this faith in my cards that the right answers come through for that particular sitter. I welcome questions of course, not just before a reading, but during a reading if something comes up that needs more explanation.

Mostly they do prefer to see what comes through without asking a question, the reading usually covers all aspects of their lives, work, love, children etc. and l know when l see a big grin on their face that everything is going well and they are happy.
I am never given anything that meanders round the house so to speak, it is all direct and relevant. I also do not read with special spreads and so it leaves me clear to read what l am given without reading what the spread says l should say.

After a reading l ask if they are happy with it and invariably get "l have everything l wanted to know, and answers to questions l did not want to ask directly"

This is the way l have always worked with my cards It comes down to the fact that there are as many ways to read, as there are readers and decks. Just find your own personal comfort zone, and if that is needing questions first, so be it.

 

[Luna-Ocean]

Usually i will ask what they want to know with their question / problem before doing a reading in that way i can see quickly what is happening in the querent's life, i find with blind readings when doing a general reading the querent can be abit vague on what they really want to know in their immediate future.

 

[Barleywine]

I prefer a blind reading. Since I only read face-to-face and can therefore have an ongoing dialogue as the "picture" comes into focus, it often becomes a mutual journey and process of discovery with the querent receiving a broader perspective and deeper, more complex insights than might otherwise result. I've seen that happen time and again; the consciously-formed question is turned sideways by the thrust of the reading and the querent walks away with more than he or she came looking for. (I've never been told I completely missed the mark since I keep digging until something clicks and I get a positive reaction.) It's also why my enthusiasm is stoked and I'm invariably energized rather than exhausted at the end of a challenging reading. Of course, this wouldn't work well in a public setting like a fair where time-per-reading is limited to a few minutes, or in a remote reading where the only communication is by text.

 

[ana luisa]

I´m going to go Libra here. I like to have the question IF it´s not a yes/no question and/or the querent REALLY knows what he/she needs me to read about! Often, people think they know their question but you end up making it for them Online, I would also like to know the genders of the querent and the person involved in the reading. I´ve been quite lost sometimes with figuring out if X or Z was a man, woman, female friend, male friend, date, etc,etc,etc