Tarot Reading FAQs

I started like most everybody does: with a deck of tarot cards and a book next to me.

Later on, I got a "starter deck" that had interpretations on them. That was helpful, but eventually I found it to be too much of a crutch—it was keeping me from improving.

So I went back to good 'ol Universal Waite. I found a couple of websites that had interpretations that struck home to me, and bookmarked them. I started reading the cards differently.

First, I would lay out the cards out and force myself to come up with some kind of interpretation. Even if I had no idea about the traditional meaning of a card, I imagined what it might mean. I studied the imagery and surrounding cards. I tuned in to my intuition. I wouldn't look anything up until I had come up with some kind of interpretation. This was hard to do sometimes, but very productive in improving my skills.

I frequently found connections between my interpretations and my references. Eventually, I came to rely on my own interpretations primarily, but sometimes refer further to other sources to expand my understanding.

I now also work with crystals and gemstones in my readings to enhance focus, and have found the most helpful of all is meditating and asking for guidance before beginning a reading.

Of course. Aren't you?

I'm as human as anybody else, at least! I do my best, sure. But maybe I don't get something. Maybe I misinterpret what I get. It happens. Or maybe things just change.

The future is always in motion and we all have free will. So even with my best readings, the direction things are moving today may not be the direction they are moving next month, next week, or even tomorrow. That might even be a very good thing.

Yes. Specifically, I've found I can't read people who don't want to be read. If you don't want me to know about your personal life, or for any reason just don't want me to tune into your energy, I probably won't be able to.

I also have trouble reading people who are very emotionally guarded (as confirmed by self-reports). You don't have to believe in the Tarot for me to successfully read for you, but you do have to be open to the idea.

No, not right away. I find that I get the same cards and the same impressions when I ask very similar questions close to one another. It's just not helpful.

If you don't agree with what I tell you for whatever reason, that's fine! You can either decide that I've missed the boat, or if you aren't sure, maybe you can do something different to change the direction energies are going. The future is fluid. So manifest your own.

Then ask, please! I want you to understand all the information I get in your reading, so I'll do my best to clarify. Just ask.

Sometimes. This seems to happen most often when the question is focusing on a small issue, or part of an issue, and ignoring more pressing concerns. Sometimes it's just something that's especially been on your mind lately, or something more immediate than the specified question.

I don't control what comes through, and figure I'll get what I'm supposed to get, which in turn is what I give you.

Don't count on it. I sometimes get feelings one way or another, and when I do, I share those impressions.

I may provide suggestions or share ideas. But that's just what they are: suggestions and ideas. I may also share my own perspective, but you are responsible for your own journey. It's your life, y'kno?

I have enough to manage being responsible for my own life. 

Who knows? I can share what I believe, though. I see Tarot as merely one of many tools that help us tap into our own intuition to access a universal knowledge stream.

Tarot provides archetypes that could evoke endless interpretations. Very Jungian/collective unconscious, really. When we shuffle the cards, we add our own energy into the mix, connecting with the archetypes.

In the end, the way the cards come down combined with info we intuit combines to create the reading. I don't think it makes much of a difference whether you use Tarot or Runes or simply straight intuition. What makes a difference is your state of mind and receptivity.

We're looking again at my personal beliefs. Your mileage may vary.

I see all energy as being connected. The reason why Tarot, astrology, numerology and so many different approaches seem to work is that same energy thread that runs through everything in existance. Different windows looking onto the same landscape.

Each avenue is just another lens with which to view the same, unified truth: about who, what and where we are. And even if you don't believe in the ultimate truth of information gathered through these tools, each will give you additional perspective to think about and reflect on. That's a good thing.

This is a very good question. I answered it at length over on my Tarot blog, A Fool's Journey. Thanks!