How to handle a Tarot reading?

[LovelyMissAries]

I love Tarot and I find it's really easy to do readings for people online without feeling awkward or finishing too quickly.

Yesterday however, I went to a professional Tarot reader here in Vegas and although she laid out about 40 cards (or it looked like 40) my reading was over in 10 minutes and I felt like I lead her to most of the answers (although she did pick up on my father having high blood pressure). She kept asking me to ask her questions, and I was thinking "Well, I don't know! What do you see in the cards?" I had a few subjects I wanted to approach but after telling her about it (and not giving too much away so as not to cloud the reading) she gave me really short and succinct answers that I could've easily come up with myself. I also told her I was dabbling in Tarot and she seemed way too interested in that, as if was a competitor.


SO. My question, for those of you kind enough to stick around after my rant,
-what is proper protocol for getting your cards read?
-Are there standard questions you ask?
-How can you tell if a Tarot card reader is legit?

I guess I just don't feel like I got everything I could've out of the reading, so I wanted tips on how to do better next time. How to better prepare myself, etc.

 

[Crystelle]

Hey Starlight09, I've had a similar experience. In fact I try about once a year to get my cards read in person somewhere near my home and it never pans out. I've sort of given up except for here (we have some AMAZING talent on this site).

Honestly, it sounds like the reader was confused by the cards thrown. Maybe it was that she was not very good, but it could have also been that you were not focused on one thing but worried about many things. Evaluate yourself as the sitter -- did you focus on a topic, did you relax and clear your mind, readying yourself for a reading? If you did, well there's bad painters, bad car mechanics, and bad lawyers... so it stands to reason there are also bad professional tarot card readers.

How do you tell if the reader is legit? Well, if you have a reading and you don't see yourself in it, ask about timeframe. Maybe this is something that is coming, not yet here... etc. The best readers I've ever had just "felt right". I've often walked into shops and turned right back and gone out again. Check your gut when you first walk in and see if the reader won't shake your hand. Other than that you may just have to kiss a bunch of frogs!

GL
Crystelle

 

[214red]

word of mouth is the best way to know about good readers, if in doubt book the smallest amount of time or the cheapest reading to test if you like them.

I don't think there is a protocol, reading is a two way thing, what you want from a reader is not the same as what i might want from a reader. different people want different type of readings, and different things form readings.

i have had great readings, i have had lousey readings so now i pick readers carefully if i am parting with money.

 

[nisaba]

-what is proper protocol for getting your cards read?

Dunno - don't know that there is one.

-Are there standard questions you ask?

Not that I'm aware.

-How can you tell if a Tarot card reader is legit?

Well, some kind of material from a recognised Guild or Association is a good start, but by no means all, or even many, of people who don't belong to professional bodies are unprofessional.

I suppose it's a matter of what happens in the reading.

If the reader keep trying to tack on extra services that coast extra, that's a red light. Also, if what they say makes no sense in the context of your life. Also, if what they say makes sense in the context of your life, but is very general and would be equally relevant to most people (ie: "you sometimes feel alone", "you've had a hard life", "You've never really felt completely loved, no matter what").

 

[Rev_Vesta]

For me personally whenever i am having a reading by someone else I close my eyes, centre myself and breath..... I allow myself to think of either a general reading or one topic I want a reading for....I allow the reader to say the whole reading..as i focus on everything they say and agree with the points they are accurate with...and explain nicely that unfortunately there are some points that at this time don't seem to fit......I usually ask for a reading that is only 10-15 mins at first.......

If you find that you have prepared yourself and the reading still does not fit..... then maybe the reader is having an off day...

maybe it is how the reader delivers the reading, the tone.......the way they speak.. Are they in their EGO?

Very difficult to know whether a reader is legit or not.... maybe not go to a reader unless a friend can recommend them......unless you can tune in and trust your intuition.. trust your knowing yourself......

For me if I am just speaking what I see much quicker if I look at just a quick overview... even lots of cards wont take long if it is a quick overview but more once you get into it with more depth....

but because i type... does take a wee bit longer........

just some thoughts...

take care

Vesta

 

[Gennai]

Hi Vesta, sorry to hear about your reading. I was wondering, and I'm not excusing the reader in any way, but I was wondering what time of day it was.

It is because, and it is just a thought, I think that sometimes when a reader has been reading for a long time, perhaps with no sufficient breaks in between, sometimes specially at the end of a long long reading session, the readings can get cloudy. However, the odd thing is the number of cards she laid out. It seems like an extraordinary number to me...

If I go to an MBS (mind body spirit) fair and I want a reading, it gives me chance to walk around the tables and see if there is a person who stands out to me, or maybe I see how they read. Like the others, it is hard to know whether some one is legit, and also I guess we can all have our off days, although it is nice when I reader just says "sorry just can't make a connection"...

 

[LovelyMissAries]

Honestly, it sounds like the reader was confused by the cards thrown. Maybe it was that she was not very good, but it could have also been that you were not focused on one thing but worried about many things. Evaluate yourself as the sitter -- did you focus on a topic, did you relax and clear your mind, readying yourself for a reading? If you did, well there's bad painters, bad car mechanics, and bad lawyers... so it stands to reason there are also bad professional tarot card readers.

I don't think she was confused, the way she would tell me things was very confident and sure of herself. It was almost as if she knew for a fact it would happen. I'm not saying she was shoving it down my throat (well, I really didn't protest as I was a bit nervous) but she said it like "Nope, you guys won't be friends. It will be hello/goodbye and that's it. Done." I think I made the mistake of asking her "Do you see anything about a love triangle?" because right there, that says 'Ok, this girl is single and someone is confused." to which she said "Yes, he's confused he does have positive feelings towards you but you have a close friend who is gossiping about you and getting in the way, she's very jealous." and I said "Oh that's my best friend" and I asked "Why is she jealous?" and the reader said "I don't know, she wants him but I don't know what for." To which I replied without thinking "Well, she's a Scorpio and she's possessive." and the reader says "Then that's why." To which I felt dumb for asking her why in the first place, even though I was inclining more towards "Does she truly like him, or is she just keeping him from me to keep him from me."

How do you tell if the reader is legit? Well, if you have a reading and you don't see yourself in it, ask about timeframe.

I did appear in the reading, but even if I hadn't I wouldn't thought of that. Actually, I was asking questions like "when"? and "How long?" and she told me on one question, about 2 weeks maybe but for another card, she told me she didn't know when it would happen. It was the 3 of Cups and she was talking about a party, she said "3 weeks, 3 months, I don't know."

I was about 10 minutes late to my reading due to downtown traffic, so when I walked in, she stayed on the phone for about 5 minutes. I sat down, and I'm not sure if she had just finished reading for someone (the place was crickets and cobwebs, nobody but her was there, or even just leaving) or if she had done a spread prior to me getting there, about me to get a feel. When I walked in, I was so excited I was getting a Tarot reading I didn't pay attention to my gut, but I know I instantly felt comfortable and like she would "protect" me. Weird, I know!

 

[LovelyMissAries]

Also, if what they say makes no sense in the context of your life. Also, if what they say makes sense in the context of your life, but is very general and would be equally relevant to most people (ie: "you sometimes feel alone", "you've had a hard life", "You've never really felt completely loved, no matter what").

It wasn't that what she said made no sense, it was the fact I had to ask her questions and draw it out of her. I think my skeptic side took over once I started shuffling, and it's like my mind drew a blank. When she laid the cards out, she kept making me ask her questions and I was kind of put off by that because I thought the cards would explain simply what I needed to know at that time.

Also, as far as general goes, does this qualify? "You've had a difficult childhood. You're a kind person and like to help people but when you need help nobody is around, they don't help you." It's very very true and almost made me well-up for some reason.

Also, she said the Emperor reversed represented my father with high blood pressure. Then I asked how my grandma would do and she simply said "She's old, you know, she'll do good but she's old." My grandma is recovering from having lung cancer so I kind of expected more than "she's good" but hey, I guess that's my mistake for not being more specific in my question..

 

[nisaba]

Also, as far as general goes, does this qualify? "You've had a difficult childhood. You're a kind person and like to help people but when you need help nobody is around, they don't help you." It's very very true and almost made me well-up for some reason.

<gently> That would make almost anyone well up. A part of the human condition is not feeling safe in childhood, no matter how good your care. We all have moment (or days, or years) of loneliness and isolation, and in childhood, those feelings always seem more insurmountable than later in life.

Also, she said the Emperor reversed represented my father with high blood pressure. Then I asked how my grandma would do and she simply said "She's old, you know, she'll do good but she's old." My grandma is recovering from having lung cancer so I kind of expected more than "she's good" but hey, I guess that's my mistake for not being more specific in my question..

The grandmother-thing also sounded like fishing (looking for something general to say). If she'd mentioned breath or breathing (or surgery) any of that would have been good.

Do you have a pinkish complexion? (I ask for a reason)

 

[LovelyMissAries]

Do you have a pinkish complexion? (I ask for a reason)

Lol yes, yes I DO! Don't most people?