Emma313
Isnt so much of it all potentially wrong or subjective?
if it helps its ok if it doesnt then its not
How can you tell the difference?
if it helps its ok if it doesnt then its not
How can you tell the difference?
Is there any point giving readings or advice?
3ill.yazi
Helping people is kind of the only point IMO.
If it helps, it is right.
Why else bother?
If it helps, it is right.
Why else bother?
Padma
Welllll...if one is reading subjectively, it might somehow go wrong. Readings are meant to be objective in order to be truthful/helpful.
In regard to how can you tell the difference - one should be able to tell the difference between one's own opinion and judgments, and the objective, clear truth, untainted by opinion, and informed by wisdom and experience.
I always know when I am letting too much of my own opinion in to a reading...and my own wishful thinking for the person. I never read for those people I love, because I so WANT the outcome to be good. With strangers, although I wish them well and all good things, and hope the reading brings good results, I am not emotionally invested, and so I can be far more detached and objective - and therefore, give a useful/objective reading.
youareafool
I believe intent is everything. Attempting to truly help others is never pointless. If you feel your readings are too likely not to be "accurate" (I don't believe ANY readings can be accurate, but I'll address that in a bit) or subjective, then it is probably best not to read except for fun. If you intend to be helpful, subjectivity doesn't matter and you are more likely to succeed in helping. Intent and the placebo affect and the observer principle all provide a pretty good framework (at least to me [emoji28]) as to why the tarot can be an affective healing tool.
I find the idea of "accuracy" to be a bit of a moot point, as personally I see the tarot as a path to balance through 21 lessons. I don't see the tarot as predictive, but instead as a way to ask the right questions and help us better understand the lessons we are learning. Therefore, I don't believe accuracy is a quantifiable quality of tarot.
But these are my personal thoughts, as I seem to have a very different view of tarot from the majority of other readers here
Citrin
Well, you could say the same thing about medical advice given by a doctor, or going to a therapist, or a counselor etc...? Of course sometimes we don't give the "right" advice or we're "wrong". It happens. Sucks but what to do? That's life.
I sometimes feel like tarot readers almost take on too much responsibility, talking about ethics and "no I can't read on this and that subject because it might come off wrong" etc... But we're all reading for adults, right? Adults are responsible for their own actions. As long as we tell them that nothing we say is carved in stone, that it's no "absolute truth" coming from the reading, and that it's only advice - After that it's all up to the seeker to act however he/she wants!
It's always up to the seeker to decide whether they really want to follow a tarot reader's advice, or whether they want to throw the advice in the trash.
Sucks but what to do? That's life.I sometimes feel like tarot readers almost take on too much responsibility, talking about ethics and "no I can't read on this and that subject because it might come off wrong" etc... But we're all reading for adults, right? Adults are responsible for their own actions. As long as we tell them that nothing we say is carved in stone, that it's no "absolute truth" coming from the reading, and that it's only advice - After that it's all up to the seeker to act however he/she wants!
It's always up to the seeker to decide whether they really want to follow a tarot reader's advice, or whether they want to throw the advice in the trash.
itsmywand
A reading is not " advice " its factual suggestion. The cards deliver the prophetic insight and underlying issue but the reader must have common sense , reality , a sense of psychology , and even astrology to truly produce medical wording.
I read for clients , and my knowledge of medical wording and tapping into the TAROT has taken me YEARS and many educational courses to feel comfortable enough use these spiritual tools.
With all due respect , anyone can read TAROT but for the insight to be beneficial and for the greater good , the reader needs to present more than expertise in reading the laminated cards. Careful where you receive advice , there are false prophets everywhere! I'd say I could be one on of them but these facts are UNargumentative ( which is normally how you know if the advice your given is beneficial )
I read for clients , and my knowledge of medical wording and tapping into the TAROT has taken me YEARS and many educational courses to feel comfortable enough use these spiritual tools.
With all due respect , anyone can read TAROT but for the insight to be beneficial and for the greater good , the reader needs to present more than expertise in reading the laminated cards. Careful where you receive advice , there are false prophets everywhere! I'd say I could be one on of them but these facts are UNargumentative ( which is normally how you know if the advice your given is beneficial )
Annabelle
Well, I give tarot readings -- but I don't offer advice. I'm not an adviser or a counselor.
I read the cards. That's it. I just read the cards.
And I'm human. I'm fallible.
But yes, of course there's a point to reading tarot. One word -- answers.
I read the cards. That's it. I just read the cards.
And I'm human. I'm fallible.
But yes, of course there's a point to reading tarot. One word -- answers.
MissNine
A reader has to:
1) be confident their cards are able to give insight into situations that the sitter is seeking clarity on or control over; and
2) feel confident they can objectively and accurately interpret what the cards have reflected on the situation the sitrer inquired about.
At the core, there must be a connection between reader and cards.
If a reader doesn't feel confident that their cards are able to connect with questions asked, and/or the reader is not connecting with the messages the cards are showing, they are better off leaving the cards and flipping a coin (heads I do x, tails I do Y).
1) be confident their cards are able to give insight into situations that the sitter is seeking clarity on or control over; and
2) feel confident they can objectively and accurately interpret what the cards have reflected on the situation the sitrer inquired about.
At the core, there must be a connection between reader and cards.
If a reader doesn't feel confident that their cards are able to connect with questions asked, and/or the reader is not connecting with the messages the cards are showing, they are better off leaving the cards and flipping a coin (heads I do x, tails I do Y).
Saskia
Well, you could say the same thing about medical advice given by a doctor, or going to a therapist, or a counselor etc...? Of course sometimes we don't give the "right" advice or we're "wrong". It happens.
I sometimes feel like tarot readers almost take on too much responsibility, talking about ethics and "no I can't read on this and that subject because it might come off wrong" etc... But we're all reading for adults, right? Adults are responsible for their own actions. As long as we tell them that nothing we say is carved in stone, that it's no "absolute truth" coming from the reading, and that it's only advice - After that it's all up to the seeker to act however he/she wants!
It's always up to the seeker to decide whether they really want to follow a tarot reader's advice, or whether they want to throw the advice in the trash.
Seconded.
There was a thread earlier about "should we do predicitive readings, because it's like giving someone a fish instead of teaching them to fish" (i.e. taking away any responsibility and letting the querent slack off from their own life). I don't understand why any normal adult (not mentally impaired) would give his/her life in someone else's control by blindly believing what someone else tells, or blindly following someone else's advice.
For me, tarot cards offer insights and suggestions and it's up to the querent to decide which parts fit and how to move on from this spot. I do tarot readings to find suprising new angles that fuel my self-exploration or help me point areas for other people's self-exploration.
I think giving readings is like offering any other type of consultation or friend's advice. All of us do kitchen psychology every day anyway, with or without cards: analyse and predict other people's motifs, intentions, feelings, actions etc. It's all about being human.
Tarot to me is about giving support to a person in need, listening, offering my views, accepting querent's views... it's about being a caring for your fellow human beings. So why *not* do readings?
Barleywine
Many good observations here and a few complex ideas. I'll toss my own in. My sincere belief has always been that tarot taps into a deep current of truth that underlies all human experience (call it "spirit," "archetypes," whatever), and that a reading splits off a unique trickle of self-knowledge for that particular querent at that point in time. I've often felt like a "midwife" helping querents "birth" their own innate self-awareness of the true dimensions of the matter that concerns them, what they know in their "heart of hearts" (aka subconscious or unconscious mind) but can't see clearly or articulate. Tarot helps to explain "the Self to the Self" (notice how cleverly I'm dodging those gender-neutral pronouns ), with the reader along as translator and interpreter. What was that old bit that Irving Stone put in the mouth of Michaelangelo? Something like "If you're carving a statue of a lion, all you do is remove the parts that aren't 'Lion'." (I'm paraphrasing since I haven't read that book in decades.) To me, rather than stacking up a string of keywords in a "Frankenstein" montage, I prefer to whittle a spread down to a few key observations that are most telling and relevant (by his or her own acknowledgement) to a querent's situation. It's not a question of "accuracy" on the reader's part, it's one of "recognition" (or maybe "dawning awareness") on the part of the querent that captures the true value of tarot reading. It's then up to the querent to decide where to go with the information.
), with the reader along as translator and interpreter. What was that old bit that Irving Stone put in the mouth of Michaelangelo? Something like "If you're carving a statue of a lion, all you do is remove the parts that aren't 'Lion'." (I'm paraphrasing since I haven't read that book in decades.) To me, rather than stacking up a string of keywords in a "Frankenstein" montage, I prefer to whittle a spread down to a few key observations that are most telling and relevant (by his or her own acknowledgement) to a querent's situation. It's not a question of "accuracy" on the reader's part, it's one of "recognition" (or maybe "dawning awareness") on the part of the querent that captures the true value of tarot reading. It's then up to the querent to decide where to go with the information.