Tarot and the "mood" of the question

[MareSaturni]

Here's a situation (using one card, for the simplicity's sake):

If I ask the cards "Am I pregnant?" and I get "The Empress", that would be a most likely "yes". Right?

If I want to get pregnant, that's an awesome card. But if I don't want to get pregnant, if a baby now would definitely disrupt my life... is "The Empress" still an appropriate card? Shouldn't I get something like "Death" or "Tower"?

My question is: do you think that tarot usually follows the 'mood' of you question? Like in the situation above, if you want the answer to be "yes" you get a positive card, but if the "yes" is a bad thing, you should get a more unsettling card.

Or does "The Empress" means 'yes' for pregnancy, be it wanted or unwanted?

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I ask this because a friend, who is a beginner tarot student, came with this situation to me. She asked me if "The Empress" was telling her that everything was fine, or if it was telling her that she was indeed pregnant, and then it'd be awful. (She has no wish for a baby right now).

Turns out she her period came just fine, so perhaps "The Empress" was just telling her she was healthy and fine...


But I'd like others views on it. How does it work in your practice?

 

[rwcarter]

Looking at the larger question of does tarot follow the "mood" of the question, which I take to mean does tarot answer the question you asked or tell you what you need to know, my answer is "Yup."

If someone is focused on a particular outcome, the tarot may give a card that appears to be related to the outcome, but that has a different focus on it. (Remember all of the cards have a range of meanings and just because there's an interpretation that a card usually has, it doesn't have that interpretation all of the time.)

But on the flip side, there are many times when the tarot will tell you what you need to know instead of answering the specific question.

Does that make sense?

Rodney

 

[Thirteen]

Ask the right question

First, let's start with the question itself--the "am I/aren't I" question posed is a "yes/no" question. And Tarot isn't the best tool for yes/no questions. In fact, I think most of us would say it's a very bad yes/no tool, and if you're going to ask a yes/no question, you might as well flip a coin. A coin has two sides--yes/no. Tarot gives you 78 cards. Clearly tarot cards want to discussing things with you, at length, in detail, and with no absolutes. So. First advice to all tarot card readers. Do your very best to avoid yes/no questions. If you must ask a yes/no question, simplify things by, say, taking out the Aces, assigning them answers (yes for Ace Wands, no for Ace Swords, etc.), then shuffle them and pick one.

And by the way, your friend should have just used a pregnancy test. They're cheap, reliable and give yes/no answers

But back to your essential question. It has always made sense to me that if we associate a card with something, then if the tarot wants to indicate that, it will give us that card. If we associate the Death card with "death" then we're not going to get it for pregnancy, no matter how bad for us being pregnant would be. Now there are agreed on messages among readers (Fool for beginnings, for example), and there are common associations we all share as human beings (Death as an ending), but we also have our personal prejudices as readers. Cards we like or don't like or have particular associations for that other readers don't. I think the Tarot takes all three of these into account when giving us answers. If you associate Temperance with cooking, say, as well as with it's usual meanings of synthesis and such, then if the cards want to give you a message about dinner, they'll give you Temperance.

On your side, however, you have to make sure you've asked the question in the best possible way. Because some times the Tarot give you the right card to communicate to you the right answer, but you don't understand it because you did a sloppy job with the question. Like, for example, an Empress who says, "You'll have a child when it's wanted and you're ready." Great answer, but no one could see it because you were looking for a yes/no answer.

Tarot cards are best if you're in a quandary and need to look at the whole situation, your various options, and what outcome is likely from taking a certain action. So, you don't ask, "Am I pregnant?" You ask, "What will life be like for me if I decide to have a child now?" And the tarot says, "Likely, it'll be like this." And then you decide if that's what you want. Tarot is, in its way, very adult, and expect you to be mature and adult in what we ask about, and what we do with the answer it gives. You make your own way, and make your own decisions. All the tarot does is give you insight into the consequences and, sometimes, unseen elements surrounding such decisions.

 

[MareSaturni]

Looking at the larger question of does tarot follow the "mood" of the question, which I take to mean does tarot answer the question you asked or tell you what you need to know, my answer is "Yup."

If someone is focused on a particular outcome, the tarot may give a card that appears to be related to the outcome, but that has a different focus on it. (Remember all of the cards have a range of meanings and just because there's an interpretation that a card usually has, it doesn't have that interpretation all of the time.)

But on the flip side, there are many times when the tarot will tell you what you need to know instead of answering the specific question.

Does that make sense?

Rodney

Yes, it makes perfect sense!

But I wonder - how do I know if the Empress means "yes you are pregnant" or "no, your are fine"? The first answer would indicate that the cards simply answered my question, and did not tell me what I needed to know. In the second case, the cards are following the mood of my question.

How do you know if you are working in one way or another? Perhaps you define that prior to the reading? Or do you have to guess?

If I had done this reading for my friend, I admit I'd be very inclined to say that she was pregnant. But turn out she wasn't.

Crazy, uh?

 

[Thirteen]

Crazy, uh?

All that's crazy is asking that question instead of using a pregnancy test. And maybe the card were saying just that

What if you'd asked the cards, "What will happen if my friend is pregnant?" or "When in life would be the best time for my friend to get pregnant?" How would you have read the Empress then?

 

[MareSaturni]

First, let's start with the question itself--the "am I/aren't I" question posed is a "yes/no" question. And Tarot isn't the best tool for yes/no questions. In fact, I think most of us would say it's a very bad yes/no tool, and if you're going to ask a yes/no question, you might as well flip a coin. A coin has two sides--yes/no. Tarot gives you 78 cards. Clearly tarot cards want to discussing things with you, at length, in detail, and with no absolutes. So. First advice to all tarot card readers. Do your very best to avoid yes/no questions. If you must ask a yes/no question, simplify things by, say, taking out the Aces, assigning them answers (yes for Ace Wands, no for Ace Swords, etc.), then shuffle them and pick one.

And by the way, your friend should have just used a pregnancy test. They're cheap, reliable and give yes/no answers

Thirteen, thank for your insight. I will come back to it and answer it in more detail. I just want to say that honestly I cannot believe in an oracle that doesn't answer yes/no questions. Why tarot can't do it - is it a handicapped oracle?

Of course she should have used a pregnancy test, but I think tarot should be able to answer this question. If an oracle answer some question, but refuses to answer others, it isn't a very good tool is it?

I don't want to get too out-of-topic, I just want to point that I don't see the harm with yes/no questions, and that is why I used it as an example.

 

[KMilliron]

Thirteen, thank for your insight. I will come back to it and answer it in more detail. I just want to say that honestly I cannot believe in an oracle that doesn't answer yes/no questions. Why tarot can't do it - is it a handicapped oracle?

Of course she should have used a pregnancy test, but I think tarot should be able to answer this question. If an oracle answer some question, but refuses to answer others, it isn't a very good tool is it?

I don't want to get too out-of-topic, I just want to point that I don't see the harm with yes/no questions, and that is why I used it as an example.

My friend asked why I avoid yes/no questions and this is the analogy I gave her.

If you were to ask my friend whether or not she liked... let's say the song "Face Down" by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus you would get "Yes"
Now ask me.
"While all four versions that are non-cover so to speak are absolutely amazing, you may have to narrow down which aspect you're talking about, or even which version. The original is very gritty, and the screaming, which is edited out in most versions, really gives an extra rise to the dynamics while..."

Tarot knows what it's talking about, and will answer your questions thusly. The more you know (especially if your job is to inform, which I would say is the tarot's case) the more you should share. Yes or no just can't cover as much.




Now back to the original question in question; I would say it's in the readers perspective, because tarot cards are something you make your own. The sitter's position on the question won't be as consequential. Just one more reason why, as a reader, you must try to remain objective.

 

[Thirteen]

Thirteen, thank for your insight. I will come back to it and answer it in more detail. I just want to say that honestly I cannot believe in an oracle that doesn't answer yes/no questions. Why tarot can't do it - is it a handicapped oracle?

I didn't say it wouldn't answer yes/no questions. What I'm trying to tell you that any one trying to use an oracle, should use the right one for the right questions. You'd douse for water with a dousing stick, not a deck of tarot cards. You can better talk to spirits with an Ouija board rather than a dousing stick. WHY use tarot cards for a yes/no answer.

Is it "handicapped?" I don't know. If an Olympic swimmer can swim a mile in a minute but not run a mile in a minute, is he handicapped? He may still run fast or well, but why not put him in a swimming pool where he can really win you medals?

Tarot has 78 cards. WHY are you using it for an answer that only requires TWO? This isn't about tarot being handicapped, its' about you limiting it. WHY would you do that to the deck? And what makes you think it's going to allow itself to be limited to that? It's not a "slave." It is an advisor, and it give you what you need. And if that's not a yes/no answer then you're not going to get that--but if yes/no is all you're expecting, if you've blinded yourself to anything else, then you won't understand the answer--and that won't be the fault of the tarot.

Of course she should have used a pregnancy test, but I think tarot should be able to answer this question.

Should doesn't mean "will" and I think I'm beginning to see why it gave the Empress. A tarot deck will yell at you. It will scold you. And it will stick it's tongue out at you if you misuse it and try to treat it as your slave, saying, "Slave! Answer my question now! Exactly as I want it answered!" What would you do if someone regarded you that way?

I don't want to get too out-of-topic, I just want to point that I don't see the harm with yes/no questions, and that is why I used it as an example.

There is no harm. There is just limitations you're putting on a very good tool that could give you so much more if you gave it room. You don't take a racehorse and use it for a kids pony ride in the park. Can the horse give little kids rides in the park? Sure. Will it be harmed by letting little kids walk it around in a circle? No. But all the racing folk will shake their heads and say, "Damn shame."

 

[Rovay]

Can I recommend using pregnancy tests?

 

[MareSaturni]

Can I recommend using pregnancy tests?

I don't see how this answer helps me. It seems some people enjoy sounding clever instead of answering the question asked. I didn't ask if tarot decks were better than pregnancy tests - read my question.

On your side, however, you have to make sure you've asked the question in the best possible way. Because some times the Tarot give you the right card to communicate to you the right answer, but you don't understand it because you did a sloppy job with the question. Like, for example, an Empress who says, "You'll have a child when it's wanted and you're ready." Great answer, but no one could see it because you were looking for a yes/no answer.

I honestly didn't think it was a sloppy question, although personally I think that a pregnancy test is much more reliable than a tarot deck, since the latter depends on the interpretation of a person, and people can be wrong many times.

And the answer "You'll have a child when it's wanted and you're ready." is really beautiful, but not an answer to the question asked. My friend didn't ask "will I have children when I am ready?".

So, you don't ask, "Am I pregnant?" You ask, "What will life be like for me if I decide to have a child now?" And the tarot says, "Likely, it'll be like this." A

Because that's not what my friend wanted to know. She doesn't want to have children, she doesn't need the tarot to know that, she just wanted to know what were the changes of her being pregnant.
I do not know when it became okay to completely change the querent's question because the reader doesn't like it. You may suggest a different approach, but completely change the question?

I didn't say it wouldn't answer yes/no questions. What I'm trying to tell you that any one trying to use an oracle, should use the right one for the right questions. You'd douse for water with a dousing stick, not a deck of tarot cards. You can better talk to spirits with an Ouija board rather than a dousing stick. WHY use tarot cards for a yes/no answer.

Why can't tarot be used for yes/no questions? Who determined that? Is it really impossible to analyze a reading and say if it's more a "yes" or a "no"?

Of course, answering a yes/no question with ONE card is hard. But as I previously said, it was an example. A situation that came up and made me think, and I specifically told in the first sentence of my post that I was using ONE card for simplicity's sake. My question as one of another kind, but suddenly the focus is on the yes/no and the pregnancy parts.

Is it "handicapped?" I don't know. If an Olympic swimmer can swim a mile in a minute but not run a mile in a minute, is he handicapped? He may still run fast or well, but why not put him in a swimming pool where he can really win you medals?

Well, a tarot deck and olympic swimmer aren't quite the same thing, are they? What is a tarot deck? A tool for introspection, inner searching, advice and... it also answers questions. A question was asked, the deck was not being misused - but the person who did the reading is indeed a beginner in the art so may not know all potentials of the tarot yet.

Using your own analogy, it's the same as asking an Olympic swimmer to swim a butterfly-stroke and they tell you they only swim front crawl. You'd expect a Olympic swimmer to know both.

I'd expect a Tarot deck to be able to answer a yes or no question, showing me the different nuances of 'yes' and 'no', as only tarot can do. Yes and no are not as black and white as many people think.

Should doesn't mean "will" and I think I'm beginning to see why it gave the Empress. A tarot deck will yell at you. It will scold you. And it will stick it's tongue out at you if you misuse it and try to treat it as your slave, saying, "Slave! Answer my question now! Exactly as I want it answered!" What would you do if someone regarded you that way?

I honestly can't see myself being scolded by a deck of cards. I am asking a question, tarot answers questions, I'm not asking from it more than it can give. If I was asking tarot to come fix my life, then it could supposedly "yell" at me.

There is just limitations you're putting on a very good tool that could give you so much more if you gave it room. You don't take a racehorse and use it for a kids pony ride in the park. Can the horse give little kids rides in the park? Sure. Will it be harmed by letting little kids walk it around in a circle? No. But all the racing folk will shake their heads and say, "Damn shame."

Am I the one putting limitations? Or are the limitations being put by someone else? I believe the tarot to be such a complete oracle that it can answer nearly all kinds of questions, according to the reader's ability. It seems to me that the limitation comes from telling that it's an oracle only good for certain questions, and also from believing that "yes" or "no" questions have nothing more left to be explored. That's a indeed a "damn shame".