Pet peeves

Barleywine

Good list overall, Brilliance. Just for fun, I decided to see how I stack up:

#1 Older reader? Yup, not many here are older. 30 years tarot experience? Yup (45, actually). Studied each card for two years? Nope, just use them in as inspired and creative a way as I can muster. Mature? Well, when I have to be . . . I guess. Elitist? Not my style, ever.

#2 Kabbalah/Golden Dawn aficianado? Absolutely, but not to the point of mindless exclusivity. It's one system that works very well, but doesn't cover all bases equally (think TdM).

#3 Non-intuitive thinker? Not since I threw off the training wheels (aka "keyword lists") back in the 1970s. These days I start every reading in a visual/intuitive manner and only fall back on the knowledge base as a way to tie disparate elements of a difficult reading together. Astrological, elemental and numerical correspondences can be a life-saver.

#4 Professional reader? Not for decades, I believe it's a gift that should be shared (and, not coincidentally, I have other adequate sources of income). But don't PM me any reading requests; I don't do on-line.

#5 Relentless optimist? Ha, I'm too much of a student of human nature to see everything through rose-colored glasses. Shit happens, and some of it hurts.

#6 Clarifiers? Nope, have never needed them (although I've been experimenting casually with the numerical quintessence). If a spread doesn't make sense, I take two steps back, one deep breath, and make another run at it. I'm one who believes that the cards always speak truth, all the time, despite our imperfect understanding of their message.
 

Talulah26

People who take forever to post exchanges and feedback or dont even bother to post exchange or feedback at all... especially after pm'ing them and often there the very ones who pm bitchy messages when they dont get their exchange within 5 minutes of them posting your reading. Another one is readers who take it personal when you tell them the reading doesn't resonate.
 

HallowedNight

My pet peeve with clarifiers is like...when someone pulls a card and doesn't know what it means, so they pull a card to clarify that card... If you didn't understand the first one, why would another one help? I think basically drawing more cards that aren't in the original thread is a pet peeve of mine. If your spread specifically points out that card X clarifies card Y then that's fine, but it's annoying when someone draws fifty thousand (I'm exaggerating) cards beyond the original reading. The cards in that reading were there for a reason! 😋 Stick with those.
 

Holly doll

My pet peeves:

1. Older readers that look down on young/younger ones. I am not saying all of them do, but the ones that do are really arrogant. Just because you got 30 years of Tarot experience and spent 2 years studying each card, does not make you a 'better' Tarot reader. Plus, maturity has nothing to do with age.

2. People that bring up Kabbalah all the time and refuse to ackowledge that the Golden Dawn is not the one and only true system. When let's say someone happens to use their astrological knowledge, they might notice that a bunch of Major Arcana cards don't fit their supposed equivalent astrological zodiac sign or planet. But then GD fans jump down their throat and fight tooth and nail to justify their truth: "Just because in Kabbalah this and that letter..." In my opinion, the astrological associations are there to actually FIT. They help me greatly when studying Tarot.

3. People that refuse to think intuitively. Reading 120 books about Tarot and parroting what other Tarot teachers/gurus say won't make you original.

4. People that read Tarot cards for money. Seriously? The world revolves around money anyway. I see spiritual areas of life as sort of an escape from this. Money and giving spiritual advice doesn't fit together. It is hard to explain, but it just doesn't - at least to me.

5. People that try to portray every each card as 'positive'. No, the 3 of Swords and 10 of Swords (heck the whole suit of Swords :D) are not all rainbows and butterflies.

6. People that pull 12345 "clarifiers" until they see the desired card. - No comment.


1 - Although I've been reading tarot for many years I still view myself as a "student" of tarot - there's ALWAYS something to learn ;)

2 - Kabbalah does work, but so do other systems & none are without their faults

3 - I see no problem with doing the ground work - gotta start somewhere, but some people aren't that intuitive & are more comfy regurgitating book meanings - I've had readings from both those who work intuitively & those who work "by the book", the "by the book" reader was pretty good.

4 - I work for money & don't see the issue with it & won't be shamed for it, it's always been my vocation, plus where I live jobs are thin on the ground... As you say the currency of the world is money, however many people don't respect what they get for free. I've given free readings - I have no issue with that, but I've found in the past there are those who try to shame me "it's not very spiritual to charge for a gift is it...? & then hinting or asking for a free reading. Skilled surgeons & specialists charge for their gifts too, as do car mechanics & dentists - even priests get paid for doing spiritual work, it's the way it rolls :)

5 - It's annoying to see people refusing to take the shadow side of the cards into account - refusing to see the shading of life - 3/swords - at some stage your heart's gonna be broken, 10/swords - end of. Only seeing the positive leaves people unprepared for those times where sunshine & butterflies are nowhere in sight - the disappointment or heartbreak hits harder.

6 - clarifiers - urgh!!!
 

Saskia

My pet peeve #1 are people who request for readings, give zero background info and then get upset when the interpretation goes to different direction from what they wanted to see; or when I didn't realise this in fact is, or is not, a romantic situation they are asking about. Often these same people also give one sentence feedback, such as 'didn't resonate' and leave me hanging with trying to figure what was the context of the question in the first place and why it didn't resonate.

Pet peeve #2 are querents who won't accept the message. I understand that I don't have all the information at hand but I have a reasonable hold on the card meanings. If a querent gets a row of 5 Swords, 10 Swords and 8 Cups; no, it's not very likely that it means the other person actually secretly has loving feelings and is building a solid relationship.

Pet peeve #3 are readers who throw in a bunch of cards with no positions or explanations and then read something vague and even unrelated like 'you'll meet a tall dark stranger' out of Queen of Cups, 5 Cups and 2 Pents. I try to explain each card as a reader because not everyone knows the meanings and certainly people can't know the personal meanings the cards have for me, so opening up the reading process makes it easier to understand why the reader came to the conclusion they did.
 

pagan.hare

My pet peeve with clarifiers is like...when someone pulls a card and doesn't know what it means, so they pull a card to clarify that card... If you didn't understand the first one, why would another one help? I think basically drawing more cards that aren't in the original thread is a pet peeve of mine. If your spread specifically points out that card X clarifies card Y then that's fine, but it's annoying when someone draws fifty thousand (I'm exaggerating) cards beyond the original reading. The cards in that reading were there for a reason! 😋 Stick with those.
Lol I hear you! When I do a reading I break my cards into three piles. Choose the pile with strong vibes and do the same with that pile. It usually leaves men with about 6 or 7 cards. I do a 3 card spread with three in hand. I did one a few days ago that screamed my sister. When I turned the card in my hand it was my sister. I only use them to expand as opposed to explain. So for me for me it's not clarifying, but expanding 😊
 

pagan.hare

Mine is when a reading sounds like the book its from. I personally never use the book my cards came with or any other. My book is of my own creation with colour, number, flower and animal meanings. But I have seen readings that have no soul. They literally read like a book.
 

pagan.hare

Ooh and my other pet peeve is someone telling you your reading wrong. I went to a tarot workshop out of interest and was told that because I wasn't using the written meanings I was reading wrong. In their opinion there was no such thing as an intuitive reader. I did a reading for her father-in-law. When I was having issues trying to read her why he told to do it my way. He was impressed and told mW to read in my way as it worked for me. Great advice. The sad thing was her husband went online the next night and dissed me on a psychic forum. What he forgot was I, unlike him and his wife, I was an online tarot reader for a psychic web site and I also selected new readers and mentored new readers. Nothing they said or did bothered me!
 

The Happy Squirrel

Unprofessionalism. Even in unprofessional settings. (So maybe that is not the right term....Maybe I should say unethical or dishonourable behaviours).
 

Kgirl

My pet peeve #1 are people who request for readings, give zero background info and then get upset when the interpretation goes to different direction from what they wanted to see; or when I didn't realise this in fact is, or is not, a romantic situation they are asking about. Often these same people also give one sentence feedback, such as 'didn't resonate' and leave me hanging with trying to figure what was the context of the question in the first place and why it didn't resonate.

Pet peeve #2 are querents who won't accept the message. I understand that I don't have all the information at hand but I have a reasonable hold on the card meanings. If a querent gets a row of 5 Swords, 10 Swords and 8 Cups; no, it's not very likely that it means the other person actually secretly has loving feelings and is building a solid relationship.

Pet peeve #3 are readers who throw in a bunch of cards with no positions or explanations and then read something vague and even unrelated like 'you'll meet a tall dark stranger' out of Queen of Cups, 5 Cups and 2 Pents. I try to explain each card as a reader because not everyone knows the meanings and certainly people can't know the personal meanings the cards have for me, so opening up the reading process makes it easier to understand why the reader came to the conclusion they did.

Agree with all of this.

Sometimes with #3 I think some readers are just taking the piss and they have absolutely no idea what the hell they are talking about. I mean, I know it goes both ways, and as a reader we get frustrated when the message isn't respected or accepted but there are literally some interpretations that are *whistles* off with the goddamn fairies, quite simply hard to understand.