Hypothetical question. Same spread different query?

[pinkpurple]

Ok.... I've been wondering for a while, do you always ask the person having the reading ( in my case friends as I'm still a beginner / slow learner!) what question they would like to ask the cards? I do but when reading for family they often do not want to impart information on the question they want answering.
Obviously at times they may ask for a relationship related question or other, giving you a vague outline of thier query. What if someone does not want to part with information and just wants a reading done - say a celtic cross.

You draw the cards and lay them out. How do you read when you have no idea of the question?
Hypothetical scenario, neither questioner will give any info to the reader :
Lady one has a reading regarding an errant partner and wants to know if she should stay with them.
Lady two is looking to move to a new property soon and wonders if the house she has found is the right one for her to purchase.

How would the reader be able to give a clear and accurate reading if the same cards have been drawn? Surely you could only give a vague account of the situation as knowing the query would ensure your answers were much more specific?
I know some people are very reluctant to part with information and expect the reader to do everything! Others want to fill in all the gaps which can hinder the reading immensly as they leave you nothing to give or simply confirm what they are saying!
As a 'learner' I would really like some help on 'cold' readings when the questioner wants an answer without giving a question to you to work on .

Thanks

Pinkpurple xx

 

[lilangel09]

There's nothing wrong with being vague at first. You learn as you go along. Sometimes, you have to ask about something when you feel something more specific or something comes to you. You never know if you don't ask. You never know if you don't try. Sometimes you'll be wrong, but at least you tried.

If you want more specific readings, there's many ways to go about it. It depends on how you read. One way is to be aware of feelings, aromas, or flashes you get then speak them out loud. One way is you see it in the picture. One way is learning another system. Just keep reading, eventually you'll figure out what works for you, and you'll get more accurate as you go along.

If you read for strangers, it's going to be easier to keep personal bias out of a reading.

 

[megx]

I've had that happen. I think if you just ask for feedback "Does that sound right to you?" then you can develop a line of thought well enough that sometimes you'll get more information midway through...kind of like gaining their trust.

Otherwise, just read off the meanings and use your intuition. If a person doesn't get it they'll ask you to clarify it, and that's another good place to try and work out exactly what the issue is.

Remember, the cards themselves will tell you too. A lot of cups means its an emotional issue, a lot of pents means financial or work type problems, and by judging the mixture or whatever shows up you can judge what the issue is. (If you know them well, it isn't exactly hard.)

 

[starrystarrynight]

Obviously at times they may ask for a relationship related question or other, giving you a vague outline of thier query. What if someone does not want to part with information and just wants a reading done - say a celtic cross.

Hi Pinkpurple!

Here is what I think. Celtic Crosses are pretty intense when you are starting out. Yes, they give a lot of info (and I like that about them), but you are better off starting out smaller.

A PPF (Past-Present-Future) spread can give you everything you need for a reading about someone's relationship or any other type of question because it will tell you how the querent got to the point she is standing, what is going on in the situation now (both of which will let you know whether or not you are on the right track), and what will happen in the future if energies stay on course.

I agree with megx:

I think if you just ask for feedback "Does that sound right to you?" then you can develop a line of thought well enough that sometimes you'll get more information midway through...kind of like gaining their trust.

You draw the cards and lay them out. How do you read when you have no idea of the question?
Hypothetical scenario, neither questioner will give any info to the reader :
Lady one has a reading regarding an errant partner and wants to know if she should stay with them.

I usually tell seekers that tarot can't tell them what they should or should not do. Tarot brings forth information from which the seeker can then make her own considered choices. Tarot (or any other form of divination) can't possibly bear the brunt or responsibility of telling anyone how they should act...it can only give guidance and help a person think though how her actions have led to her situation and how they may influence them if she does nothing to change the way things are going.

So, in a case like you mentioned, if you were to do a PPF, you could let the person know how she got to the situation she is in (Past), what the determining factors are at present (Present), and what may happen if things continue in the same mode they are heading (Future.)

How would the reader be able to give a clear and accurate reading if the same cards have been drawn? Surely you could only give a vague account of the situation as knowing the query would ensure your answers were much more specific?

The cards' energies or "meanings" will change with every reading depending on question, situation, querent, position in the spread, etc. You can read a thousand books on tarot, but probably the only way you will be able to read cards is to just do it, and see how things change and flow reading by reading. That is not to say you shouldn't read whatever you can (including the Little White Books that come with decks, IMO) to see how others do it and what different "meaning suggestions" there are out there--because there are universal feelings to cards, and knowing these will go a long way to help you understand why certain cards may be read the way they are read. But you still will see, with practice, that those things are just jumping-off points to help you rev up your own thoughts on spreads and how to read them in any particular instances.

As a 'learner' I would really like some help on 'cold' readings when the questioner wants an answer without giving a question to you to work on .

What I do in this case is look at the Situation card and the Past card in a PPF. Together, they will tell you what the querent's concern is (at least where she stands at the moment.) Also, reread what megx said about a prominence of any particular suit in a spread.

For example, you draw the Nine of Pentacles as a Past card, and the Five of Pentacles as the Current Situation, and let's say the Ace of Pentacles as the Future.

These are Pentacles, so they have to do with physical security (money, health, education, welfare, etc.) So, for the example, in the Past, the seeker was an independent woman who could fend for herself in the financial/physical arena. But in the Present, something has happened to upset and change the situation of the past which has put her in worse straits and "left her out in the cold." Maybe she has become ill or lost her job. But in the Future, she will have the opportunity to get healthy again--a new job or physical well-being is indicated with the Ace.

If you are sitting in front of the seeker, you can, as megx suggests, ask her if this is along the right lines for her situation and make adjustments as you speak to her. (For instance, you can ascertain if the above example might have to do with her physical vs. financial health.)

But still, it all comes down to Practice, Practice, Practice!

 

[SunChariot]

Yes I always ask if they have a specific question they want me to answer in case they do, but if they don't that's fine too.

When the querent does not have a question I just ask the question, in my head. I ask: "What does "X"(person's name) most need to know right now?" And the cards will tell them.

As for spreads, I very rarely use them. Sometimes I do just because I'm bored and feel like doing something differently, but using spreads is definitelky not a part of my regular reading routine. I am sure it's been over two years since I used one.

As to how you get started when you don't have a specific topic in mind. I start with the suits. For me:

Cups: feelings, emotions, relationships
Swords: thoughts they are having, things they are thinking over, topics on their mind
Wands: something they want to or are working to create in their lives, or something they are passionate about
Pents: the best of what life has to offer and the work one has to do to achieve it (either physical work like a job, or psychological inner work)

That for me is the starting point. And also how the cards fit together.

If the cards are all Cups, then it really is about the querents feelings, but if you have a Cups card followed by a Pentacle card....it could be about how they feel about their job. Or a Cup followed by a Wands card could mean about how they feel about something they want to create. Like maybe they want to create something new but a fear of change is holding them back...

You know...once you have that part figured out that's the starting point. You just have to feel it inside, that give you your topic and you just go from there and add in the meanings of the cards as you see them into that framework.

As for how a reader could give an accurate reading on two very different questions if the exact same cards came up, well we all read differently so I don't suppose there is just one pat answer to that. But as I said, you have to feel the meaning.

Like in the example I mentioned before. A Cups card followed by a Pents. In a work related question it could mean to me someone's feelings about their job. In a questions someone asks about a love related question it could equally mean someone's feelings about the ideal relationship, what they personally feel consitutes the ideal relationship (and/or) how much effort they are willing to put in to create that with their current partner, or perhaps they don't find them worth the trouble and are ready to move on.

The meanings of the cards are also quite flexible, and if you read intuitively or by analysing the images on the cards (how I work) there is a lot of flexibility in how you can interpret something.

In the end, it works because the meanings of the cards are flexible and you need to just feel what they mean each time you read.

Babs

 

[Baroli]

Hi Pinkpurple,

I don't really use spreads and I don't necessarily need nor want a question. I give the deck to the querent, they shuffle, they cut, give the deck back to me, and we go from there. It can either be one card or 20 or the whole deck. We just go from the first card and I tell them stuff.

 

[SunChariot]

Here is what I think. Celtic Crosses are pretty intense when you are starting out. Yes, they give a lot of info (and I like that about them), but you are better off starting out smaller.

I agree with that too. When I was first learning I started with the Celtic Cross. I did it 2-3 times then stopped. They really are very complex. I rarely use that many cards to answer one question anymore, 1-4 usually. I prefer something simpler than the CC to this day. But then again I don't use spreads, the cards just tell you what you need to know and what aspect of topic they are talking about.

Babs