When you just can't connect to the cards...

[Niti]

We've all had this happen to us.

Often-times, I can feel a failed reading before I lay out the cards. I falter during shuffling, uncertain if it's the right time to stop. I feel weird when I choose the deck. The querent is giving me bad vibes. Whatever the problem, I sense it, but decide to continue with the reading anyway.

Problem is, when I lay out the cards, I cannot make anything of it. When a reading goes well, it's like reading a book. Cards, details, and colors pop out at me and interact with one another as my intuition works. This time, it's just pieces of meaningless colored paper in front of me.

What to make of this?
In the past, I would try to do the reading anyway, using purely traditional meanings. I would think to myself, "whether or not my brain is connecting, these cards showed up for a reason and I shouldn't ignore it." Lately, though, I feel more like I should put the cards away. Perhaps I'm not supposed to know the answer that question at this time. Perhaps the querant is too blocked off. Perhaps I just don't jive with that deck today, and I should try later with a different deck.

Is it important to honor every reading, or are there times when a reading actually says nothing? Is it better to force it or bow out for the day?

 

[Alta]

Well, I don't know the 'big answer' to that, but for me, I put the cards away when that happens. When it works, it is just so easy, then there is a big middle where I have to make more effort, then the ones where nothing seems right.

However, a caveat. I recently laid out cards for a tarot friend, and when I saw them I thought "That can't be right". I was close to gathering them up. But we persisted and it turned into an very insightful reading, though with some tough truths.

 

[gregory]

If I can't read on any given day - I can feel that coming and I won't try (I am glad I don't need to make a living that way !)

Twice in my reading life, I have pulled cards that I KNEW were wrong for my sitter, and (on the advice of people here) I started over and things were OK. Maybe I should have persisted as Alta did - but I didn't, and the readings I did fit the sitter OK (and the cards weren't warm and fuzzy at all, either time !) so...

 

[Topsy]

When a reading goes well, it's like reading a book. Cards, details, and colors pop out at me and interact with one another as my intuition works. This time, it's just pieces of meaningless colored paper in front of me.

I've had instances like this, where I've drawn cards and realised I was simply reciting by-the-book meanings that didn't have any life in them. When this happens, I normally make a note of the cards that came up, put them away, and lay them out again later when I feel I have a better mindset for reading them. Later, I'm often able to see the complex webs of meaning and imagery interacting with one another, and the cards make sense.

I don't think the cards are ever wrong, but if your intuition isn't kicking in, you won't gain much from the reading. Like Gregory said, I'm glad I don't do this for a living because creativity and intuition can be very temperamental!

 

[MariaPeea]

I've had times where that's happened to me, when I didn't "feel" anything, but I've never actually put the cards away and not done the reading. I think it's mainly because I feel bad when I'm in the middle of an exchange with someone going "Uh, I don't know, I'll just do it tomorrow." So I just persist....sometimes it turns out amazing, but a couple of times I've botched it when I didn't feel anything from the cards.

Although, I have to say that every time I put cards down and go "that can't be right..." either because it looks too negative, or positive, or too much like what I've been drawing for myself, I never reshuffle. And it always turns out to be accurate. Actually, sometimes those are some of the most accurate readings I've done. I don't know what it is that makes a draw look weird, but sometimes the weirdness is what forces us to use our intuitions more and come up with some amazing stuff.