Stormdancer
(((Griz)))....I call it "Playing"....and the fun of it tickles me....and sometimes I giggle...and sometimes the cloud loses it's density...
How do you turn to your Tarot when mentally disturbed??
(((Griz)))....I call it "Playing"....and the fun of it tickles me....and sometimes I giggle...and sometimes the cloud loses it's density...
Stormdancer
crap...
Long story, but some get it...
Long story, but some get it...
Hedera
I do more readings for myself when I'm upset or worried or scared about something than at other times....
(apart from daily cards, of course)
Doing a reading helps me to calm down, ground and center, and gives me access to the part of me that is more level-headed and rational; the part that tends to get buried or ignored when I'm stressed.
I tend to do simple, 3 to 5 cards spreads with questions like:
'What is going on?'
'Why do I feel so upset about it?'
'What can I do about it?'
Even if the answer to the last question would be 'There's nothing you can do about it (right now)', that would give a sort of calmness: some storms just have to be weathered.
Almost always the answers are more constructive though, often very kind and funny.
I can use just about any deck I feel comfortable with I think.
I've had great results with the Prague, the Deviant Moon and the Silicon Dawn.
(apart from daily cards, of course)
Doing a reading helps me to calm down, ground and center, and gives me access to the part of me that is more level-headed and rational; the part that tends to get buried or ignored when I'm stressed.
I tend to do simple, 3 to 5 cards spreads with questions like:
'What is going on?'
'Why do I feel so upset about it?'
'What can I do about it?'
Even if the answer to the last question would be 'There's nothing you can do about it (right now)', that would give a sort of calmness: some storms just have to be weathered.
Almost always the answers are more constructive though, often very kind and funny.
I can use just about any deck I feel comfortable with I think.
I've had great results with the Prague, the Deviant Moon and the Silicon Dawn.
Disa
Hedera, I'm pretty much the same way.
I don't do daily cards, though. In fact, I rarely read for myself at all. The times I do are when I feel stressed, worried, just restless for lack of a better word and I ask similar questions to what Hedera has posted. I often also include:
What obstacles may I face in this situation?
What will help me through it?
It's a very calming process to do the reading, write it all in my journal, and work it out. It does help me to relieve anxiety, too.
nisaba
I'm not often mentally disturbed. My life is quite peaceful now (read boring, for those who think 4-cups energy is boring). No major dramas or hassles, drifting through the days contentedly.
When I was in an abusive relationship several years ago, I wrapped up all my decks, packed them in a box, and hid them in the bottom of my wardrobe, where they all stayed until several months after the situation came to an end. It was better for me, and better for the cards.
When I was in an abusive relationship several years ago, I wrapped up all my decks, packed them in a box, and hid them in the bottom of my wardrobe, where they all stayed until several months after the situation came to an end. It was better for me, and better for the cards.
Sakabu
With reference to your particular situation, (and I have not caught up with the rest of the thread, sorry...), it really helps and depends on having a long-term relationship with your card.
What I mean is, is as long as you have a healthy and productive relationship with your cards, they can't affect very much your reading style, and will provide clarity for you.
These are my observations of what has worked, so work them how you must... for starters, you should try to resolve the situation manually on your own first before referencing the cards. This helps for the cards to make reference to symbols in your life that can work as encouragement or guideposts to help you in your final/resolving interpretation. When you have committed to solving the problem without the help of the cards, I think the symbols and readings will read much better and have a better impact.
I think the problem becomes when you rely solely on Tarot to give you an interpretation and literally are trying to find the needle in the haystack. Some people are very keen, but I think a great deal of care needs to be taken when you yourself are impaired by multiple things... it helps to step back as far as possible, take the moment to observe the situation before turning to the cards
As far as going straight to intuition, that's fine if your intuition is very keen, but you can't rely completely on that energy to come through as clear and precise, much less spiritually inspired, if you are suffering from emotional issues that are already taxing your health overall. (Actually, I think it works backwards, where your intuition will actually be stronger if you don't go straight to it right away. I find mine tends to speak up more when I have taken the time diagnose the problem myself and then my intuition will 'fill in the blanks' and provide more insightful results).
I think this too as far as reading ethics, even in regards to the efficacy of reading yourself, you need to consider that this energy does draw upon resources in yourself has already become more limited due to the fact you are going through difficult emotion, even traumatizing issues that are forcing you to fight an issue on all fronts. My personal belief is that your intuition/instincts at the very base are there as a conduit to protect you and provide an equilibrium. Being able to read is more like a bonus or perk, but when that energy is dramatically drained through whatever means, parts of you will essentially 'turn off' and that 'bonus' becomes more a problem or may cause more problems than just relying on your subconscious to work through it on it's own, whereas conscious has more barriers to deal with to be effective in this case. That energy that would give you foresight through those conscious blocks then are diverted to other places you need... I think the mind works similar as well, in that if you have suffered trauma that affects you subconscious, that takes much more precedence because the conscious mind is more or less dependent on that part of you... my personal belief and observations. Your ability and intuition serve as an equilibrium between those things... I think.
When encorporating Tarot into situations where you need help mentally, a longterm working relationship in terms of solving your own mental/emotional puzzles really helps. If you have adapted Tarot into your life, I think it's not as much of a problem, or at least less. I honestly believe you use a lot less energy when Tarot is read this way, because this is more constructive, is balancing it out with other things that are going on. Instead of just, Oh, problem---intuition! *runs card reading*. The more longterm approach forces you to use gut more, and your head less.. you're not over-thinking every possible interpretation and it's a delicate balance between intuition and mind and will help prevent mistakes.. Your gut assists in your life when you take these symbols/interpretations into your working life, just like it does in real life, and that'll help guide you in the longterm... but short-term, as needed readings, come with short-falls because you have to consider you have not worked fully through emotions you are essentially trying to read. Having a constant relationship with your cards really helps when those reading situations are seriously 'must dos'. In other words, if you know there's a problem in your life and you have poor insight with it, it helps to read semi-regularly with the Tarot when you have come to different points in your journey... instead of waiting for that one inevitable downfall and then reading.
In short, your relationship with the cards is key. More importantly, do not rely on them solely, and try to encorporate it only after you've begun to try to solve the problem. Always have a healthy dose of skepticism until you solve the problem, you will learn a lot about your strengths and faults, patience too in developing your intuition, discovering your own gut. This way will help you later in life and have longer, lasting and a larger impact.
Don't forget also energy management. You need to allow the body and mind to replenish it's energy, and especially subconscious is very reliant on this energy to function. If you don't have the energy you need to allow problems to come to the surface and resolve themselves, then reading yourself constantly or fixating too much on producing results, will create a real problem with causing a partial block or at least make you want to pull your hair out.
What I mean is, is as long as you have a healthy and productive relationship with your cards, they can't affect very much your reading style, and will provide clarity for you.
These are my observations of what has worked, so work them how you must... for starters, you should try to resolve the situation manually on your own first before referencing the cards. This helps for the cards to make reference to symbols in your life that can work as encouragement or guideposts to help you in your final/resolving interpretation. When you have committed to solving the problem without the help of the cards, I think the symbols and readings will read much better and have a better impact.
I think the problem becomes when you rely solely on Tarot to give you an interpretation and literally are trying to find the needle in the haystack. Some people are very keen, but I think a great deal of care needs to be taken when you yourself are impaired by multiple things... it helps to step back as far as possible, take the moment to observe the situation before turning to the cards
As far as going straight to intuition, that's fine if your intuition is very keen, but you can't rely completely on that energy to come through as clear and precise, much less spiritually inspired, if you are suffering from emotional issues that are already taxing your health overall. (Actually, I think it works backwards, where your intuition will actually be stronger if you don't go straight to it right away. I find mine tends to speak up more when I have taken the time diagnose the problem myself and then my intuition will 'fill in the blanks' and provide more insightful results).
I think this too as far as reading ethics, even in regards to the efficacy of reading yourself, you need to consider that this energy does draw upon resources in yourself has already become more limited due to the fact you are going through difficult emotion, even traumatizing issues that are forcing you to fight an issue on all fronts. My personal belief is that your intuition/instincts at the very base are there as a conduit to protect you and provide an equilibrium. Being able to read is more like a bonus or perk, but when that energy is dramatically drained through whatever means, parts of you will essentially 'turn off' and that 'bonus' becomes more a problem or may cause more problems than just relying on your subconscious to work through it on it's own, whereas conscious has more barriers to deal with to be effective in this case. That energy that would give you foresight through those conscious blocks then are diverted to other places you need... I think the mind works similar as well, in that if you have suffered trauma that affects you subconscious, that takes much more precedence because the conscious mind is more or less dependent on that part of you... my personal belief and observations. Your ability and intuition serve as an equilibrium between those things... I think.
When encorporating Tarot into situations where you need help mentally, a longterm working relationship in terms of solving your own mental/emotional puzzles really helps. If you have adapted Tarot into your life, I think it's not as much of a problem, or at least less. I honestly believe you use a lot less energy when Tarot is read this way, because this is more constructive, is balancing it out with other things that are going on. Instead of just, Oh, problem---intuition! *runs card reading*. The more longterm approach forces you to use gut more, and your head less.. you're not over-thinking every possible interpretation and it's a delicate balance between intuition and mind and will help prevent mistakes.. Your gut assists in your life when you take these symbols/interpretations into your working life, just like it does in real life, and that'll help guide you in the longterm... but short-term, as needed readings, come with short-falls because you have to consider you have not worked fully through emotions you are essentially trying to read. Having a constant relationship with your cards really helps when those reading situations are seriously 'must dos'. In other words, if you know there's a problem in your life and you have poor insight with it, it helps to read semi-regularly with the Tarot when you have come to different points in your journey... instead of waiting for that one inevitable downfall and then reading.
In short, your relationship with the cards is key. More importantly, do not rely on them solely, and try to encorporate it only after you've begun to try to solve the problem. Always have a healthy dose of skepticism until you solve the problem, you will learn a lot about your strengths and faults, patience too in developing your intuition, discovering your own gut. This way will help you later in life and have longer, lasting and a larger impact.
Don't forget also energy management. You need to allow the body and mind to replenish it's energy, and especially subconscious is very reliant on this energy to function. If you don't have the energy you need to allow problems to come to the surface and resolve themselves, then reading yourself constantly or fixating too much on producing results, will create a real problem with causing a partial block or at least make you want to pull your hair out.
MissJo
I usually don't until I'm well again.
Well, there was this one time I was considering killing myself and I did try to do a spread, specifically about killing myself. I can't remember much about that day though, only that I didn't want to kill myself anymore after the reading...
Well, there was this one time I was considering killing myself and I did try to do a spread, specifically about killing myself. I can't remember much about that day though, only that I didn't want to kill myself anymore after the reading...
poopsie
In my case, I try to draw out around 5 cards first to see if the cards can tell me anything. SOmetimes, they do and sometimes, the cards do not seem to "fit". That's when I get the signal that my cards are telling me to lay off first, go ride a bike, watch TV, or relax ... I take it that it most likely assumes I am not ready to "listen".
However, i picked up a wonderful spread here from one of our members - lay out three cards for the questions "I should be asking" and draw out three cards which would respond to these questions. I observe that I do get more meaningful insights when I do this.
In many instances, I find the tarot quite comforting and it grounds me and gives me peace of mind ... there are instances it may also be the deck I am using. So when one deck doesn't seem to be communicating to me, I try another, and sometimes I do get good results.
Now, on whether I could trust the reading or not given my state of mind at that time, that's when I really need to use my gut-feel. Somehow, I do sense that even with drawn out cards and interpretations, I know I haven't gotten an "aha" or a wake-up call yet because something within me still bothers me. The moment I get my "aha", a positive turning point in some of the cards, I know I somehow hit it right. I know that my Tarot and I have shared good moments.
However, i picked up a wonderful spread here from one of our members - lay out three cards for the questions "I should be asking" and draw out three cards which would respond to these questions. I observe that I do get more meaningful insights when I do this.
In many instances, I find the tarot quite comforting and it grounds me and gives me peace of mind ... there are instances it may also be the deck I am using. So when one deck doesn't seem to be communicating to me, I try another, and sometimes I do get good results.
Now, on whether I could trust the reading or not given my state of mind at that time, that's when I really need to use my gut-feel. Somehow, I do sense that even with drawn out cards and interpretations, I know I haven't gotten an "aha" or a wake-up call yet because something within me still bothers me. The moment I get my "aha", a positive turning point in some of the cards, I know I somehow hit it right. I know that my Tarot and I have shared good moments.
