Readings interpreted with people

[tarot heart]

A friend of mine had a reading the other day that she told me about. She said the reader told her all about her family and what is up with them. For instance, she told my friend that her mother was ill but that everything would turn out ok, that her father's health was poor and that he needed to take care of himself, etc.

My question is how to you interpret cards like this? Is there a book available that simplifies this method?

I have no idea what spread she used, by the way.

 

[Rasa]

Not knowing what method the reader was using, it's not really possible for anyone here to say... there are a million different ways to read the cards!

When someone asks me about their family (or whatever people other than themselves), I have them shuffle the deck, thinking about those people, and then cut the pack into a pile for each person, and name them. I also have them make a pile of cards for themself.

Then, I just draw from each pile for the person whose pile it is. If the question involves this person's relationship to the querent, I'll draw cards from their pile, too, and read them together.
Usually, I try to tie the querent into it, since it's their reading. So for example, if I was to draw cards about someone's mother which suggested she was having a hard time, I'd then draw cards from the querent's pile for how they can support her (advice, sympathy, leaving alone, practical favours, etc.)

Most times, I will just draw one or two cards for each person, sicne I think that the reading should be focused mainly on the querent.

 

[MareSaturni]

Did the reader use tarot cards?

I don't know how to do this sort of reading with tarot decks, but with playing cards and Lenormand it's not so absurd. You have cards and combinations of cards that can indicate people close to you and what is happening to them...

With tarot, I have no idea. Tarot is too archetypical for this kind of clear-cut readings...

 

[autumn star]

I have had a reading by a professional tarot reader who was also a medium or clairvoyant. I think that she got things from the cards that were entirely intuitive - perhaps your friend went to see a similar kind of person.

The reader I went to did an interesting kind of spread (if you can call it that) using every single card in the deck.

 

[Sinduction]

From the court cards and the cards around them.

 

[JSNYC]

With tarot, I have no idea. Tarot is too archetypical for this kind of clear-cut readings...

Oh my goodness, and here I was ready to shower you with praise for yet another exquisite post in the "what is divination" thread... (I am teasing! I will still be the first one in line for your book! )

Making a statement like that is like saying that words are too concrete, rational, and defined to relate esoteric, abstract, spiritual or archetypical meaning. Of course that is not true. It is all in the interpretation. That is why I think I read better for myself and those I know, because I can apply these archetypical meanings to "clear-cut" events, especially since I am not "psychic". However, I will leave it to the master, A. E. Waite to explain. From his book, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (emphasis mine):

The true Tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs. Given the inward meaning of its emblems, they do become a kind of alphabet which is capable of indefinite combinations and makes true sense in all.

The archetypical meanings cannot be conclusively defined with clear-cut words, and the myriad tangible manifestation of events in a person's life certainly be conclusively enumerated, but that does not mean that they cannot be effectively related, and their manifestations divined. Of course how to effectively relate them... Well that was the genesis of my question when starting the fortune-telling thread, which probably addresses the OP's question better. The way to do it is to learn the meanings, not from a book, but really learn them. It isn't a "method" it is an understanding.

 

[SunChariot]

Since there are no cards that specifically denote specific family members (at least in most decks) the reader was most likely going
Beyond the traditional meanings using her intuition and/ or psychic ability. I can't tell you how she did it though, there is no one size fits all method to connect to that. We all seem to hade to learn the best ways to connect to that from inside ourselves.

Card meanings are just a place to start, bt intuition always plays a part in readings. Some people use it more than others.

She may not have used a spread at all. I read mainly intuitively and I almost never use spreads.

Babs

 

[MareSaturni]

Oh my goodness, and here I was ready to shower you with praise for yet another exquisite post in the "what is divination" thread... (I am teasing! I will still be the first one in line for your book! )

Making a statement like that is like saying that words are too concrete, rational, and defined to relate esoteric, abstract, spiritual or archetypical meaning. Of course that is not true. It is all in the interpretation. That is why I think I read better for myself and those I know, because I can apply these archetypical meanings to "clear-cut" events, especially since I am not "psychic".

Sorry for disappointing you!

Sadly my idea comes from my own experience with that tarot, which admittedly I have kind of abandoned over the last few months. I just cannot transform the vague, archetypical messages of the tarot into clear-cut words and that began driving me nuts because my readings felt like a string of babble.

I find it hard to put all the impressions tarot gives me into words. And I consider myself more or less good with words... but it is a personal difficulty. As I said in my post, I do not know how to do this with the tarot, but I'm not saying it can't be done!

Of course how to effectively relate them... Well that was the genesis of my question when starting the fortune-telling thread, which probably addresses the OP's question better. The way to do it is to learn the meanings, not from a book, but really learn them. It isn't a "method" it is an understanding.

I hadn't seen this thread before, thanks for pointing to it.

I think that "method" organizes the knowledge until it becomes full understanding. When you have a method, you can follow some guidelines that help you stay on track when you are giving your first, unsure steps. The more the method becomes part of you, paradoxically the more you free yourself from it because what was first "learnt steps" becomes deep understanding with real experience.

The knowledge comes from studying and learning the method, the understanding comes from experiencing it.

Systems with methods have been more helpful to me (and have become more intuitive in time) than methods that are "anything goes". But I suppose this is just how my mind works, and people can have different ways of learning, specially divination...



Oh well, here I go again, shut me up please!

 

[tarot heart]

Not knowing what method the reader was using, it's not really possible for anyone here to say... there are a million different ways to read the cards!

When someone asks me about their family (or whatever people other than themselves), I have them shuffle the deck, thinking about those people, and then cut the pack into a pile for each person, and name them. I also have them make a pile of cards for themself.

Then, I just draw from each pile for the person whose pile it is. If the question involves this person's relationship to the querent, I'll draw cards from their pile, too, and read them together.
Usually, I try to tie the querent into it, since it's their reading. So for example, if I was to draw cards about someone's mother which suggested she was having a hard time, I'd then draw cards from the querent's pile for how they can support her (advice, sympathy, leaving alone, practical favours, etc.)

Most times, I will just draw one or two cards for each person, sicne I think that the reading should be focused mainly on the querent.

This is a very interesting method, I'll have to try it sometime!

Thanks everyone for your input, very helpful. But I am pretty sure she used tarot cards, not lenormand.

 

[Nytebugg]

I'd say based on the court cards. some readers tap into "something" else out there when using cards. the cards are sort of the pathway but the info coming through is on a different level that goes beyond book or typical meanings.