A tarot reading is a ritual of clarity. It is a special moment in which we enter into an intentional dialogue with ourselves and with the forces of life.
The way I conduct these sessions is in the fashion of friendly conversations where we, the reader and the querent, first identify and discuss together the subjects that are important to you at this time.
We do this to further establish the connection between us, to stabilize the energy if necessary and to enable us to formulate clear, concise questions to inquire of the cards.
Preparing Questions
Asking the « right » questions and asking them in a constructive way is essential to obtain beneficial and practical answers. If you don’t know how to formulate your question(s) prior to the session, it’s not a problem, we’ll do this together. However, it may be helpful and productive for you to at least identify subjects that are either significant or interesting to you before the reading takes place.
A few tips:
- Formulate questions that target the essence of the situation. From there, during the reading, we’ll be able to ask follow-up questions as desired. The heart of the matter is a potent place to start.
- Make the questions about yourself more so than about other people—the point being that you are directing yourself, not others, and you are making choices for yourself rather than making choices for others.
- Avoid strickly « yes or no » questions. Open-ended questions will be more effective with the language of tarot which expresses more depth and nuances than a simple one word answer.
Examples of Productive Questions
Productive questions tend to be focused on self and on the present (or an overall ongoing process, such as life in general or personality traits), which is important if we want a reading that effectively identifies genuine opportunity, deepens self-awareness and amount to a self-empowering experience.
Some Examples:
- What am I in the process of creating in this situation?
- What energy am I predominantly projecting in this situation?
- What is the next step for me to manifest this?
- What is the most beneficial overall direction for me in relation to this situation?
- How can I create more stability in my life?
- What is my biggest strength in dealing with this situation?
- What deserves acknowledgement and congratulation in my life?
- What am I not aware of in this situation?
- What constitutes my biggest obstacle in this situation?
- What do I need to resolve in order to accomplish a more balanced emotional state?
- What expectations do I need to release and let go in relation to this situation or process?
- What « lesson » am I learning (or did I learn) in this situation?
- What new avenue of exploration is in the process of opening up in my life?
- How do I genuinely perceive this individual?
- What is my relationship with this individual based on?
- What is the meaning of this dream imagery?
Where to Start?
If there are no pressing matters in your life, it is possible to simply begin with a general reading that touches upon each of the main aspects that are usually important for most of us, namely: relationships, occupation, finances and wellbeing. From this general assessment we can then dig deeper into any of these or the reading may spark other questions into awareness. There are some standard spreads that we can use for this.
Also, as we are never really done becoming aware of ourselves, tarot is a wonderful tool for us to explore aspects of our personalities that are not necessarily problematic but that would benefit from acknowledgement or further investigation (for example, we can look into our strengths, passions, qualities, blessings, etc.). Tarot does not have to be engaged in a heavy manner, we can explore subjects that you consider fun.
Being in an existential crisis is not necessary to benefit from a tarot reading—it can also simply be a fun experience.
What About Time?
As far as framing the questions in relation to time frameworks, I would say that the further we look into the potential future, the less absolute it is.
We make choices continuously and, naturally, longer timespans will incorporate more opportunities for us to make choices that set new directions that contrast with whatever future may have been previously foreseen.
I find that limiting future-oriented questions to a span of three to six months to be generally optimal. In any case, I do generally tend to bring the focus toward the present as much as possible because that’s where the opportunity for choice and action lies—always in the now.
One way to approach the future constructively is to ask about what the next step is in a given situation or process. That way, we focus on what can be done at this time rather than lock our attention onto long-term patterns and expectations while still focusing on moving forward.
Of course, all this is not to say that it never is beneficial to look at current probabilities and see at how things are currently shaping up for us. It is only a matter of not forgetting where lies the authentic opportunity for choice and change, which is now.
Just Prior to Session Time
Tarot picks up on energy and it is, just like pendulums, a sensitive tool. It is ideal if the reading takes place at a moment of relative calm so that we obtain imagery that represents the whole of a situation rather than a temporary state of potentially upset, agitated or loud energy if the subjects that are looked into are charged as such.
So it will be helpful to take a moment just before the session to simply relax in whatever manner you enjoy and is effective for you. If this is not possible, no sweat, you are welcome as you are and we’ll do tarot in the trenches!
I’m looking forward to connecting with you, cheers!
