Reading Online for People You've Never Met

[Lycanthropos]

How do you do it... Read long distance for someone you've never spoken with or seen? I see the reading exchange forum and I'd like to participate, but I don't know how I would get the energy of the person for whom I'd be doing the reading. I do long distance reading for a friend, but I've known him since childhood and I can visualise him and his energy, and I talk to him almost daily. Do you think about the sitter's screen name?

 

[Nineveh]

I would simply ask the cards something like, "What is next for Nineveh and E?"
I've never been one to need a person's energy to read for them. I think that is actually something I would rather not have. Although I have actually sensed some people's personalities as a result of interacting with them or reading their comments on AT.

 

[Apollonia]

How do you do it... Read long distance for someone you've never spoken with or seen? I see the reading exchange forum and I'd like to participate, but I don't know how I would get the energy of the person for whom I'd be doing the reading. I do long distance reading for a friend, but I've known him since childhood and I can visualise him and his energy, and I talk to him almost daily. Do you think about the sitter's screen name?

I'm sure there are many ways to do this, but my way is this. As I am shuffling, I start out by saying aloud, "Reading for ladyjanegrey311 (or whatever the person's screen name is, or I use their real name if I have it) and then I just go on and ask their question and then I lay out the cards.

So if this ladyjanegrey311 had asked, "What can I do to improve my relationship with my boss?" I would start to shuffle and say out loud, "Reading for ladyjanegrey311. What can she do to improve her relationship with her boss?" and go from there.

Really, just jump in and try it. The reading exchange is a great place to practice your skills, and you will probably be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is.

 

[Lycanthropos]

Oh, OK. Thanks for the information! I thought there must be more to it than that, but I guess not. I've been incredibly nervous about trying the exchange, but I'll give it a go this week.
I appreciate your responses!

 

[Elven]

If its any help, you can imagine that the person your reading for is in the kitchen washing up and cant sit with you while you're doing the reading - but for all purposes, it gives a sense that they are there with you, they're just just visible.

The reading exchange is awesome - give it a try!

 

[Citrin]

I do it just like Apollonia. I was kind of skeptic at first, but I've done tons of online readings for people I've never met since around 2005, and it works so I keep doing it! Benebell Wen writes in her book Holistic Tarot that not everyone is able to do "long distance" readings like this and she believes that it requires the reader to tap into the collective unconscious (I'm paraphrasing here).

I've come across a lot of readers who exclusively read through e-mail and say they're not good at face-to-face readings. I think a lot of us read the cards better doing it whatever way we're more comfortable with. If eye contact freaks you out, then perhaps online readings are much easier, and vice versa. Right now I haven't done a face-to-face reading in ages, so I feel quite out of shape with that. But I've always loved writing, so online readings are great for me. It almost adds another dimension to my intuition, it's like typing freely sometimes gives me words intuitively.

You should give it a try, if it works that's great, if it doesn't then you know that.

 

[Lycanthropos]

I do it just like Apollonia. I was kind of skeptic at first, but I've done tons of online readings for people I've never met since around 2005, and it works so I keep doing it! Benebell Wen writes in her book Holistic Tarot that not everyone is able to do "long distance" readings like this and she believes that it requires the reader to tap into the collective unconscious (I'm paraphrasing here).

You should give it a try, if it works that's great, if it doesn't then you know that.

I'm pretty good at connecting with the Universal energy and I've done astral projection, though not in a while, so I'll try and put myself in that meditative state where I feel that connection and see what happens. I like that, as readers in the exchange, we can set ground rules for the sitting. Since it will be my first one and I want to be comfortable I've come up with a few. I hope it doesn't frighten away potential sitters. I want to use a certain spread that I created and am comfortable with. So I'll post that and see if anyone is interested!

 

[Madrigal]

I've come across a lot of readers who exclusively read through e-mail and say they're not good at face-to-face readings. I think a lot of us read the cards better doing it whatever way we're more comfortable with. If eye contact freaks you out, then perhaps online readings are much easier, and vice versa. Right now I haven't done a face-to-face reading in ages, so I feel quite out of shape with that. But I've always loved writing, so online readings are great for me. It almost adds another dimension to my intuition, it's like typing freely sometimes gives me words intuitively.

This really resonates with me as I'm a writer, too, and so often as I'm writing out my various interpretations of a spread a whole other dimension opens up for me with the cards that I'm not sure I could have accessed with simply talking. I appreciate your sharing your insight.

Lycanthropos, thanks for starting this thread. I was just asking this question of my dh the other day. And, like you, am thinking of starting to participate in the reading exchanges. The responses to your thread have helped clarify a few things.

 

[astrofeather]

All the readings I've done online so far have been for friends, so I guess it's been easier to tap into their vibes that way. But, the mechanics of it generally don't change too much for me. I just throw more energy into thinking of them as I'm shuffling. I tend to ask them when to stop shuffling, either time-wise, or because of how I shuffle I can ask how many times they want me to cut the deck, and how many times they want me to shuffle through it. When it comes to pulling the actual cards, I let them pick between asking me numbers from the top/bottom, or cutting, or what.

So, for your question about whether you think of their screenname or what, I'd say that's smart! If they provide any information about their situation, focus on the energy of that, as well.

 

[danieljuk]

I do readings on AT at least once a month and never had any problems with energy or anything being thousands of miles apart and doing it on the net. I have noticed no difference between online and in real life! I think the tricky part is to have confidence to go with what comes up but go for it!

I do always ask the question or general area for "this persons online name", 99% of the time it has come up with something that fits them for me

edited to add: get to 25 forum posts and have a go at the monthly circles around here, you get a partner and get to try spreads and exchange and then share feedback for each other. It's less pressure than the exchange forum. You can see how the energy works for yourself The Newbies circle is especially a good place to start when they have the next circle in future.