The Next Few Cards in the Deck

[WingspreadPhoenix]

I have a strange habit of looking through the next few cards in the deck after I'm done with my reading (mostly because I really like looking at the pictures ) But sometimes I see that the very next card completely alters the meaning of the reading I'm getting. So I wonder, should I bother looking through the next few cards in the deck after I've done the reading and the cards are still laid out? Do those next few cards affect the reading at all, or should I just ignore them? (I tend to have this problem most with 1- and 3-card pulls, which actually makes a world of sense)

Also, I've heard that asking for clarification on a card involves simply pulling the next card from the deck. This is probably where my wonders on this topic stem. Any thoughts on "clarifying" cards and how they should be done?

 

[AJ]

I don't deal the cards, I fan and pull at random so the next few cards in the deck would be immaterial to me.

 

[rwcarter]

The cards involved in your reading are those you've laid out on the table (and possibly the shadow card if you use that). The cards that remain in the deck have nothing to do with the reading you've just finished. If those cards were meant to be part of your reading, they would've been.

Rodney

ETA: If you don't use clarifying cards, my suggestion is don't start because I find they muddy the water just as often (if not more often) as they clarify things. If you're going to use clarifying cards though, I'd suggest to shuffle the deck again and select the top card (or cut the deck where it feels right to you and select the card on the top of the pile that remains on the table). And only use one clarifying card. Don't fall into the trap of clarifying a card and then clarifying the clarifier and then clarifying the clarified clarifier, ad nauseum .

 

[Grizabella]

I'm with Rodney here. The cards you got are the cards meant for your reading. And I don't use clarifiers at all. I also don't use shadow cards. I think clarifiers and shadow cards both muddy the waters.

 

[janee]

I agree with Rodney and Griz if you've declared a 3 or 5 or whatever card reading the cards that follow are irrelevant, not meant for that reading.

 

[Fostha]

I don't deal the cards, I fan and pull at random so the next few cards in the deck would be immaterial to me.

Same here~I dont use clarifying cards.

 

[zephyr_heart]

If you don't use clarifying cards, my suggestion is don't start because I find they muddy the water just as often (if not more often) as they clarify things. If you're going to use clarifying cards though, I'd suggest to shuffle the deck again and select the top card (or cut the deck where it feels right to you and select the card on the top of the pile that remains on the table). And only use one clarifying card. Don't fall into the trap of clarifying a card and then clarifying the clarifier and then clarifying the clarified clarifier, ad nauseum .

I agree. And like gregory said here:

I never clarify. If I don't get an answer, I figure I wasn't meant to....

 

[Ronia]

I use clarifying cards and they help me enourmously because I don't use reversals or elemental dignities. So, I sometimes get two great cards and more on the negative side. For example, I last saw wish cards followed by 10 of Swords or anothe rtime I got the 10 of Swords in the beginning followed by very sunny cards. I could have read the nice things were ending, or endings of the nice things, or wishes not fulfilled but I pulled a clarifyer of the 10 asking "What will be ending" and it was a relationship ending which didn't affect the other wishes of the querent. I have tons of examples like that. But I always ask a specific question for the clarifyer, never draw a card without specifying what I want the card to clarify.

I've also noticed that the cards in the deck are very often telling a story which is relevant to me not necessarily to the reading (which may not be about me). I like to "read" these stories, it's fascinating but I don't relate them to the reading.

 

[nisaba]

I have a strange habit of looking through the next few cards in the deck after I'm done with my reading (mostly because I really like looking at the pictures )

<grin> We're on the same page, there!

But sometimes I see that the very next card completely alters the meaning of the reading I'm getting. So I wonder, should I bother looking through the next few cards in the deck after I've done the reading and the cards are still laid out?

If *you* feel it's important, why not take out those "next few" cards when doing a reading, and put them on the table? Make your spreads bigger.

 

[sorceress]

well..

Everyone has their own little ways of pulling and reading cards. It has less to do with "the rules of the game" and more with what your own intuition is telling you. Are those next few cards calling out to you? Do you feel like they are relevant to this specific spread? If you feel that way, they probably are, so include them in the reading. If you don't, put them back in the knowledge that they're not trying to send you a message.

All my decks are really jumpy, and after pulling a certain number of cards for a spread, they'll sometimes spit out a couple extra. Listen to your deck. If it is telling you to look at certain cards, then that's for a reason. Don't always confine it to the structure of spreads, because it can be limiting.

(Although, this point was made, too many cards can cause too much confusion. I usually go with my first instinct, which is always right on.)