The Maiden said:
Hi all,
I'm brand new to Tarot, I got my deck from a big name bookstore that had a beginner's book and deck set on sale last year. Later I got a book on Tarot from a used book store. Anyway, both books said basically it's difficult to do an acurate reading for yourself because you are too knowledgeable for your own inner thoughts and that throws everything off. Can someone tell me how I might do more acurate readings for myself?
Peace all.
Reading for yourself is a funny thing. Some people find it easy, some people find it hard. I only read for myself for the first year and a half and I was fine with it, In fact I would have happily gone on like that forever if it had not been for some AT friends wanting readings.
Tarot books are certainly a necessary step in the beginning when you start as a newbie. I have over 30 by now, and the one thing I've found is that many of them contradict each other. There are many books devoted solely to those wishing to read for themselves. Two that come to mind are:
1)Tarot for Your Self-a Workbook for Personal Transformation, by Mary K. Greer
and
2) Tarot for Self-Discovery, by Nina Lee Braden
I loved them both.
Well, as for knowing your inner thoughts, that does not mean you know the answer to the question you are asking, or why would you ask. I may know the way I think, but I don't know if I will get that job next week, or why my sister was mean to be when I was 12... I don't know the answers to those questions (until I do a reading) any more than I would now the answers to these questions if they were for complete strangers.
IMHO, I think what people find hardest about reading for themselves is that they find it hard not to care which answer comes up, and not to want one answer over another. That objectivity is essential when reading for yourself or you could start to see things in the cards that are not there or refuse to see things that are there. Then what you have is an inaccurate reading.
I am able to get past that by telling myself that the future is not written in stone. Usually any future events given in a reading can be changed. So I don't care what comes up as long as it's the truth. The truth gives you freedom. Because only once you know it can you start to truly prepare,
If the cards tell you you are heading towards a specific future and it's one you want, then you can relax and be happy and even do readings to ask what you can do to strenghten it or improve parts.
If it's a future you don't want, that is when the cards have given you the ultimate gift. The chance to change and improve your life. Then you can do more readings and ask how you can change that future to one you want. You take the advice and if you ask again usually you have changed to a positiive future.
Think of how if you had not asked you would have been going along and BANG, this unpleasant thing comes along out of the blue and blindsides you. When you read for yourself you never have to have that. Bad news is the best because it lets you correct the path you're on. The good news would happen and make you happy even if you did not do the reading.
So that's attitude, I just want the truth of the matter, don't care if it's posiitive or negative. And as long as you don't care then you can read for yourself easily enough, in my experience...
Actually, I guess since I have so much more experience reading for myself, I feel much more comfortable reading for myself. But I do have an enormous respect for the cards and I truly believe that the right cards always come up. And that as long as you can remain objective you can read for anyone.
Babs