How do sift through/balance the "superficial divination" culture surrounding Tarot?

[SilverLeaf]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just joined in the past week, really grateful for everything and everybody here, feel really inspired by this a thoughtful and mature community. I have recently been visiting a number of Tarot social media sites (problem #1, I know) in order to get high(ish)-volume practice at reading with a new deck that has really captured my passion (Wildwood). My experience with this deck has been really profound, and it feels like it really cuts at a deep level (both with my personal work with the deck and in my readings for others). I'm curious if others feel disheartened or "pulled down" by the fact that 90-99% of Tarot interest/traffic seems to be focused on what I'm calling "superficial divination" culture - things like "How does he/she feel about me?", "Did he/she enjoy the weekend together?", etc. To me, the Tarot can obviously work with these types of issues, but the Gift, as I see it, is digging beneath the surface and helping illuminate the issues and themes underlying one's limiting beliefs and patterns. Someone can ask about an "ex", and I can offer a reading that really challenges them to consider/evaluate priorities and/or relationship habits, but then they may not spend any time with the reading because they are only interested in knowing "if he/she is going to reciprocate my crush", etc. I love doing the readings regardless because of all of the lessons I am learning for my own path and am honored to try and offer a chance for self-illumination, but I'm wondering if others have strategies or personal guidelines that help them engage with readings for other people in a deeper way (or not engaging in the more superficial stuff). Sorry, that was rambling and unfocused, but I hope it communicates the heart of what I am going for. This community is so refreshingly devoid of this superficiality that it strikes me that many of you probably have thought about this and come up with explicit strategies for working with the Tarot (in relationship to others) that holds onto what I consider to be the "divinity" (pun intended) of the process. Any perspectives or advice truly welcome!

[katrinka]

27 minutes ago, SilverLeaf said:

Hi Everyone,

 

Just joined in the past week, really grateful for everything and everybody here, feel really inspired by this a thoughtful and mature community. I have recently been visiting a number of Tarot social media sites (problem #1, I know) in order to get high(ish)-volume practice at reading with a new deck that has really captured my passion (Wildwood). My experience with this deck has been really profound, and it feels like it really cuts at a deep level (both with my personal work with the deck and in my readings for others). I'm curious if others feel disheartened or "pulled down" by the fact that 90-99% of Tarot interest/traffic seems to be focused on what I'm calling "superficial divination" culture - things like "How does he/she feel about me?", "Did he/she enjoy the weekend together?", etc.

 

Those are valid concerns. Why shouldn't people care how someone else feels about them, or whether someone enjoys spending time with them?
 

27 minutes ago, SilverLeaf said:

To me, the Tarot can obviously work with these types of issues, but the Gift, as I see it, is digging beneath the surface and helping illuminate the issues and themes underlying one's limiting beliefs and patterns. Someone can ask about an "ex", and I can offer a reading that really challenges them to consider/evaluate priorities and/or relationship habits,

 

But they asked about the ex.

When clients ask about the ex, I read about the ex. In all the decades I've been doing this, I've never had anyone ask me to "challenge them to consider/evaluate priorities and/or relationship habits." If they had, I wouldn't have read for them. I'd have suggested they find a state certified counselor.
 

27 minutes ago, SilverLeaf said:

but then they may not spend any time with the reading because they are only interested in knowing "if he/she is going to reciprocate my crush", etc.

 

"Crush"? Surely you're not reading for 12 year olds. 
 

27 minutes ago, SilverLeaf said:

 

I love doing the readings regardless because of all of the lessons I am learning for my own path and am honored to try and offer a chance for self-illumination,

 

We're fortunetellers. Not spiritual leaders. A Tarot deck doesn't make anyone a High Lama.
 

27 minutes ago, SilverLeaf said:

but I'm wondering if others have strategies or personal guidelines that help them engage with readings for other people in a deeper way (or not engaging in the more superficial stuff). Sorry, that was rambling and unfocused, but I hope it communicates the heart of what I am going for. This community is so refreshingly devoid of this superficiality that it strikes me that many of you probably have thought about this and come up with explicit strategies for working with the Tarot (in relationship to others) that holds onto what I consider to be the "divinity" (pun intended) of the process. Any perspectives or advice truly welcome!

 

Reading cards isn't about that. The people who come to us for readings should be respected, their feelings shouldn't be dismissed as a "crush", and our job is to answer their questions, not treat them like damage cases in need of fixing.

[Raggydoll]

I think that any topic is valid and despite having done many (many!) love readings over the years, I can’t say I have gotten tired of them. I understand why they are in such high demand. I am sort of also thinking that focusing on ways in which we feel others are superficial, is making ourselves superficial too. Comparison feeds the ego and when we start to entertain the idea that we know the depths of other people or that they might benefit from having us showing them the way, it can go downhill. At least I know I need to be fully present and not analyzing the validity of a persons questions during a session. I think any moment and any topic can have a spiritual facet to it, but we as humans are sometimes not able to grasp it for what it is.

[SilverLeaf]

1 hour ago, katrinka said:

 

Those are valid concerns. Why shouldn't people care how someone else feels about them, or whether someone enjoys spending time with them?
 

 

But they asked about the ex.

When clients ask about the ex, I read about the ex. In all the decades I've been doing this, I've never had anyone ask me to "challenge them to consider/evaluate priorities and/or relationship habits." If they had, I wouldn't have read for them. I'd have suggested they find a state certified counselor.
 

 

"Crush"? Surely you're not reading for 12 year olds. 
 

 

We're fortunetellers. Not spiritual leaders. A Tarot deck doesn't make anyone a High Lama.
 

 

Reading cards isn't about that. The people who come to us for readings should be respected, their feelings shouldn't be dismissed as a "crush", and our job is to answer their questions, not treat them like damage cases in need of fixing.

I agree the concerns are valid, but there are underlying reasons why someone would be consulting the Tarot for something that they could just ask their partner. My question is whether you dive deeper than the surface question when the cards are giving you stuff that the person being read isn't asking for but sits beneath the issue? The questions, of course, are valid. Most people would love to know the secrets of a lover's heart, for example. But I guess I feel like there is usually more in the cards than just "Yes, he/she loves you" or "No, they did not have fun". My experience with the Wildwood deck is that it does challenge both the reader and the sitter with deep questions about our motivations and perceptions of the world, challenging all involved to examine the underpinnings of their hopes/dreams/fears/pains. I claim zero spiritual authority (or clarity) in these contexts, I merely pass on the questions and themes that I am seeing in the cards. Maybe this is my own (acknowledged) lack of personal confidence with the strict divination aspect of the Tarot, but this has been my experience thus far in my admittedly brief journey thus far. Your seeming judgement at the term "crush" is simply the literal terms that I am getting from people I've read for, I can't verify their age, but the context would suggest they are adults. I don't feel disrespectful or dismissive in my process, but I will examine that feedback, thank you. I guess I'm wondering whether more experienced readers go beneath the surface of the sitter's question if the cards lead them there. Maybe my perspective of using the Tarot to get essential questions for self-reflection is not a common practice. It felt so natural and "right", that I didn't really question its validity, but you've given much to ponder, thank you for the engagement!

[SilverLeaf]

49 minutes ago, Raggydoll said:

I think that any topic is valid and despite having done many (many!) love readings over the years, I can’t say I have gotten tired of them. I understand why they are in such high demand. I am sort of also thinking that focusing on ways in which we feel others are superficial, is making ourselves superficial too. Comparison feeds the ego and when we start to entertain the idea that we know the depths of other people or that they might benefit from having us showing them the way, it can go downhill. At least I know I need to be fully present and not analyzing the validity of a persons questions during a session. I think any moment and any topic can have a spiritual facet to it, but we as humans are sometimes not able to grasp it for what it is.

I appreciate what you've written here. I regret that I gave the impression that these types of questions are not important or valid, I'm mostly curious about what you do with the information you get from the cards that lie beneath the surface of the question. I agree that there are spiritual underpinnings to every query, but do you think it is appropriate to "go there", when the questioner did not indicate any interest in that type of reading. For better or for worse thus far, I can not turn that aspect "off" when working with the Wildwood deck.

[Raggydoll]

6 minutes ago, SilverLeaf said:

I appreciate what you've written here. I regret that I gave the impression that these types of questions are not important or valid, I'm mostly curious about what you do with the information you get from the cards that lie beneath the surface of the question. I agree that there are spiritual underpinnings to every query, but do you think it is appropriate to "go there", when the questioner did not indicate any interest in that type of reading. For better or for worse thus far, I can not turn that aspect "off" when working with the Wildwood deck.

If I get messages that are outside the realm of their question then I will share those messages. But I make sure to answer the actual question too. Since my readings combine traditional meanings with psychic/intuitive input there has indeed been many times where other things come up. But it’s not always that it’s the intuitive message that is the spiritual aspect and their question that is mundane - sometimes it’s the other way around! What I try to do is to keep it simple and deliver the message without any extra fluff that isn’t supported by what I have seen or what I know for sure. I’m not a counselor but if a client wants (and they expressively said so) for me to give my instinctive impressions or my common sense suggestions then I’d of course do that. I’m not some lofty mystical Oracle and I can give my two cents if someone is interested in it. Typically though, that’s not why strangers come to a reader. It might be why your friends ask you, but rarely why clients seek a tarot reader. 

[SilverLeaf]

14 minutes ago, Raggydoll said:

If I get messages that are outside the realm of their question then I will share those messages. But I make sure to answer the actual question too. Since my readings combine traditional meanings with psychic/intuitive input there has indeed been many times where other things come up. But it’s not always that it’s the intuitive message that is the spiritual aspect and their question that is mundane - sometimes it’s the other way around!

Thank you, this resonates with me!

[AlbaTross]

TL:DR, but I'm assuming you're doing readings for other people who are asking questions you think are superficial, as I fail to see how what other people ask their decks should in any way impact what kind of readings you do for yourself.  But, what Raggydoll said sounds like good advice.  Even in my relative inexperience, I find that readings yield far more insight than simply answering a yes or no question or something equally simplistic.  For one thing, while it's possible for readings to come up in a seemingly overwhelmingly positive or negative way that heavily leans one way or the other, there is always far more nuance to be had than a card simply saying "yes".  Maybe the person you're reading for is only interested in that explicit answer, but the cards always paint a bigger picture.  So, maybe lean into that nuance and give them the deeper meaning too.  At the end of the day, they can disregard anything that doesn't explicitly answer their question, but you can share as much insight as you see fit, and maybe some of that will resonate with them too.  

[katrinka]

10 hours ago, SilverLeaf said:

I agree the concerns are valid, but there are underlying reasons why someone would be consulting the Tarot for something that they could just ask their partner.

 

"Partner" implies a certain level of commitment. These questions, as a rule, come from people who are dating. Not people who have been together for years.
 

Quote

My question is whether you dive deeper than the surface question when the cards are giving you stuff that the person being read isn't asking for but sits beneath the issue?

 

The cards answer what I ask them. They should always be read in context.
If it's a "why?" question, they'll show causes, but as far as "giving you stuff that the person being read isn't asking", that's not the cards. That's imposing your own opinions, not reading cards. We had a similar conversation here fairly recently:
 

 

Quote

The questions, of course, are valid. Most people would love to know the secrets of a lover's heart, for example. But I guess I feel like there is usually more in the cards than just "Yes, he/she loves you" or "No, they did not have fun".

 

There can be more, but again, that would relate to the question you're actually reading on. You might get "He loves you, but he's polyamorous", but not "You need to reevaluate your priorities." The cards aren't there to think for them. Either your sitter is OK with the guy being poly, or they aren't. Their decision.

 

Quote

My experience with the Wildwood deck is that it does challenge both the reader and the sitter with deep questions about our motivations and perceptions of the world, challenging all involved to examine the underpinnings of their hopes/dreams/fears/pains.

 

Personally, I can't ascribe that level of depth and insight to Mark Ryan, lol. 
But let's look at the original Greenwood. Suppose you asked how someone feels about your sitter, and the 9 of Wands was one of the cards that came up:

 

 

I might say that there's a boundary there, he's guarded, so to speak. The neighboring cards would give more detail, but for now, at least, he's not going to get emotionally entangled. That's basically it. It's not talking about the "underpinnings of their hopes/dreams/fears/pains" because that wasn't the question. You can do more spreads asking if this going to change, etc., but when you start giving opinions, you're not reading cards any more.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by katrinka

[Raggydoll]

I don't work with the Wildwood but I do work with many other decks, and with runes. Runes are often seen as having a shamanic dimension to them. Which is true. But I have also found that I am able to do readings about different topics and have the runes behave differently depending on the reading. It is entirely possible to read on topics such as love or work or fitness etc with runes, just as it is possible to read on the great mysteries of the universe or about a persons spiritual path. Both the runes themselves and me as the interpreter will behave differently depending on the context. I don't think that it was necessarily that way for me in the beginning. Its been a while and when I started out I mostly read for myself and used runes for other, non divinatory purposes, for a long time. But I believe that this is a skill and a connection that came gradually. The same goes with tarot. I started when I was young and back then I could not adapt readings to different people or different topics (I could hardly do readings that made any sense at all in the beginning because I was 12 years old 😁) . I also took a while for me to be able to do quick readings when necessary or to know what was the most essential about a message. I think that when you read professionally for others it really helps to specify a bit about you and how you work and the systems you work with. It is also good to offer different type of readings for different type of topics or circumstances. This would involve different levels of elaborate/costly readings too. But I am not sure that professional readings was even part of the topic here. What did stand out to me in the original question is this: "I'm curious if others feel disheartened or "pulled down" by the fact that 90-99% of Tarot interest/traffic seems to be focused on what I'm calling "superficial divination" culture - things like "How does he/she feel about me?", "Did he/she enjoy the weekend together?", etc. " What I am wondering, and struggling to relate to, is why the internet traffic or why other peoples practices are impacting you. I guess maybe we are just different. I tend to do my own thing and not study too much what other people are doing, mostly because I am too busy with my own stuff. Obviously we are more than our one thought or our present thought. Even shamans will wonder about topics around love or health. And most of us have both a superficial and a deeper side to us. I often do readings together with a special group of friends and we touch on any topics. Sometimes it is extremely deep and other times it is super light-hearted and fun. I have a person close to me (not a client) that likes to ask me things such as where they put their keys or whether a certain event will be delayed (and for how long - a common topic this year!) or.. well, other mundane stuff. That person is also an incredibly complex individual, who is both an academic and a spiritual being. (And yes, they don't mind me giving them as an example here.). I have truly had all sorts of questions and sitters over the years. I mean, yeah... I don't tell stories about past readings so it will all die with me. But lets just say that the practice is colorful and that is the beauty of it!  

[devin]

3 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

the original question is this: "I'm curious if others feel disheartened or "pulled down" by the fact that 90-99% of Tarot interest/traffic seems to be focused on what I'm calling "superficial divination" culture - things like "How does he/she feel about me?", "Did he/she enjoy the weekend together?", etc. " What I am wondering, and struggling to relate to, is why the internet traffic or why other peoples practices are impacting you.

I presume SilverLeaf is interested in performing online readings that cover deep, spiritual or whatever type issues. And perhaps viewing such readings as performed by others for practice and development purposes. I do sympathize. The first Tarot readers I really admired were intense and slightly oddball types with reading styles to match. I hoped to emulate them in some way. However, I quickly realized the majority of people, whether they be friends, family, acquaintances, online peeps, paying clients (I've only had a handful), etc. are interested in quite simple fortune-telling style readings. Over time I came to understand that fortune-telling is rather more interesting than it may first appear in both theory and practice.

 

That said, I do get quite a few advice questions: how to get that promotion, how to resolve a phase of constant arguing with a partner, etc. which I, or, to be more specific, the cards, answer in a very mundane and non-psychological fashion, ie. do this, stop doing this, why not speak to this person, and on....

 

@SilverLeaf There definitely is a market for self-developmenty and or spiritual and or energetic type readings. At the very least, there are many readers who work this way. Why not be upfront and state the kinds of readings you're offering when you post on forums, social media, et cetera? So if someone asks a 'superficial' question, you can answer it directly as best you can, and then delve into whatever else of relevance you think the cards are saying. This way, at least the sitter will have been forewarned and should know what they're in for. 

Edited January 5, 2021 by devin

[_R_]

This is hardly a new concern as people have been complaining about it for nigh on 2,000 years now, notably Plutarch in his De Defectu Oraculorum (part 7).

[katrinka]

1 hour ago, _R_ said:

This is hardly a new concern as people have been complaining about it for nigh on 2,000 years now, notably Plutarch in his De Defectu Oraculorum (part 7).

 

"Shameful and impious questions" and "questions about treasures, inheritances and unlawful marriages" have always been popular, then. 😁 

It's good to see that Plutarch didn't think this was a problem - even though that oracle was considered to be consulting a god. Thanks for this - bookmarking!

[_R_]

11 minutes ago, katrinka said:

"Shameful and impious questions" and "questions about treasures, inheritances and unlawful marriages" have always been popular, then. 😁 

It's good to see that Plutarch didn't think this was a problem - even though that oracle was considered to be consulting a god. Thanks for this - bookmarking!

That's it. Sometimes going back to the classics can be enlightening.

[Guest]

19 hours ago, SilverLeaf said:

Hi Everyone,

 

Just joined in the past week, really grateful for everything and everybody here, feel really inspired by this a thoughtful and mature community. I have recently been visiting a number of Tarot social media sites (problem #1, I know) in order to get high(ish)-volume practice at reading with a new deck that has really captured my passion (Wildwood). My experience with this deck has been really profound, and it feels like it really cuts at a deep level (both with my personal work with the deck and in my readings for others). I'm curious if others feel disheartened or "pulled down" by the fact that 90-99% of Tarot interest/traffic seems to be focused on what I'm calling "superficial divination" culture - things like "How does he/she feel about me?", "Did he/she enjoy the weekend together?", etc. To me, the Tarot can obviously work with these types of issues, but the Gift, as I see it, is digging beneath the surface and helping illuminate the issues and themes underlying one's limiting beliefs and patterns. Someone can ask about an "ex", and I can offer a reading that really challenges them to consider/evaluate priorities and/or relationship habits, but then they may not spend any time with the reading because they are only interested in knowing "if he/she is going to reciprocate my crush", etc. I love doing the readings regardless because of all of the lessons I am learning for my own path and am honored to try and offer a chance for self-illumination, but I'm wondering if others have strategies or personal guidelines that help them engage with readings for other people in a deeper way (or not engaging in the more superficial stuff). Sorry, that was rambling and unfocused, but I hope it communicates the heart of what I am going for. This community is so refreshingly devoid of this superficiality that it strikes me that many of you probably have thought about this and come up with explicit strategies for working with the Tarot (in relationship to others) that holds onto what I consider to be the "divinity" (pun intended) of the process. Any perspectives or advice truly welcome!

 

 

Is it not judgemental and unhelpful to classify such questions as superficial divination?  Readers can decline questions (that is valid) but you cannot judge your querents.  When we decide what is or isn't valid we are allowing our own biases (and often privilege) determine the path of others.    That is far from helpful.

Edited January 5, 2021 by Guest

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

welcome and thank you for subscribing to the forum! Back to your original query about superficial culture. 

Many years ago there was a much larger billion times busier tarot forum. One of the leading lights at the time said "this is just a chat forum" and I was stunned at the very idea, spoken by someone whose tarot knowledge was deep and wide. Stunned enough that the idea still hurts a bit today. But it was true. 

 

People of like mindedness hang out very long and that is what it becomes, a place where we talk about our decks, fishing poles, shoes, whatever the forum relates to, not how they are made or used or the history behind and what we actually did with them today. So that is what I think of when superficial comes up 🙂 

I don't share my deep readings online. And I seldom offer open readings because I don't want to read about last week's date outcome or will the person they saw on the bus ask them out. Sex and love make the world go around truly, but I'm long past those unsure tentative days so am just not interested in reading about or for them. I think we've got bigger things to think about but that enters opinion, and shouldn't be part of a reading. So I make my choice by not. 

 

Perhaps sideways of your original post, but thank you for making it, posts keep a forum alive and responses enlarge our outlook.

And I'd like to respectfully request that paragraphs be used in our posts...a wall of print is very hard to read. Directed at no one in particular. 

[SilverLeaf]

6 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

 What did stand out to me in the original question is this: "I'm curious if others feel disheartened or "pulled down" by the fact that 90-99% of Tarot interest/traffic seems to be focused on what I'm calling "superficial divination" culture - things like "How does he/she feel about me?", "Did he/she enjoy the weekend together?", etc. " What I am wondering, and struggling to relate to, is why the internet traffic or why other peoples practices are impacting you. I guess maybe we are just different. I tend to do my own thing and not study too much what other people are doing, mostly because I am too busy with my own stuff. Obviously we are more than our one thought or our present thought.

Perhaps superficial is the "trigger" word here, to me, I'm mostly referring to suface-level (my admitted judgement is not at the level of the question, but I suppose there is judgement/astonishment about the disinterest in exploring what lies beneath the surface).

 

I appreciate your response, I think I did not communicate well, I'm am not perturbed by people's questions, I am more mystified at the disinterest of some sitters to engage with the depth of the answers - but again, I'm not sure I'm doing it "correctly", I am just following my inner guide on this and am fairly new. For me, working with the Wildwood deck, I feel like deeply impacted by my glimpse of (PART OF) the sitter's journey through the cards. I consider this a divine privilege, and it comes through no matter what level of question. I guess I have been surprised that some sitter's don't really care, and just want the surface answer. I do feel a sense of loss (judgement perhaps) that stems from the fact that it feels like the sitter is ignoring the real pearls that the Tarot is offering. I started the thread to see if others struggled with that, or simply didn't bother reading beyond the surface because they felt it is not the reader's place to go there.

 

I really appreciate the thoughtful responses, thank you.

[SilverLeaf]

41 minutes ago, AJ-ish/Sharyn said:

I don't share my deep readings online. And I seldom offer open readings because I don't want to read about last week's date outcome or will the person they saw on the bus ask them out. Sex and love make the world go around truly, but I'm long past those unsure tentative days so am just not interested in reading about or for them. I think we've got bigger things to think about but that enters opinion, and shouldn't be part of a reading. So I make my choice by not. 

 

 

Perhaps sideways of your original post, but thank you for making it, posts keep a forum alive and responses enlarge our outlook.

And I'd like to respectfully request that paragraphs be used in our posts...a wall of print is very hard to read. Directed at no one in particular. 

Not sideways at all, this is exactly the topic I was interested in learning about from the more experienced. I can see I opened it up poorly, but thank you for sharing this, much appreciated.

[SilverLeaf]

1 hour ago, timtoldrum said:

 

 

Is it not judgemental and unhelpful to classify such questions as superficial divination?  Readers can decline questions (that is valid) but you cannot judge your querents.  When we decide what is or isn't valid we are allowing our own biases (and often privilege) determine the path of others.    That is far from helpful.

 

I agree, judging the question is a distortion of the reader's role, my own work is around not-judging and accepting that some sitter's don't really care to explore beyond the surface of the answer. It's more of a bafflement to me: as a reader, I feel this excitement to unpack the Tarot's message to those I'm working with, and some respond with "Uh huh, thanks, I just want to know if he/she reciprocates my feelings - don't tell me what the cards are saying about my own stuff". I guess as a sitter, I can't imagine not wanting to know EVERYTHING that the reader is getting from the cards.

[Raggydoll]

7 minutes ago, SilverLeaf said:

Perhaps superficial is the "trigger" word here, to me, I'm mostly referring to suface-level (my admitted judgement is not at the level of the question, but I suppose there is judgement/astonishment about the disinterest in exploring what lies beneath the surface).

 

I appreciate your response, I think I did not communicate well, I'm am not perturbed by people's questions, I am more mystified at the disinterest of some sitters to engage with the depth of the answers - but again, I'm not sure I'm doing it "correctly", I am just following my inner guide on this and am fairly new. For me, working with the Wildwood deck, I feel like deeply impacted by my glimpse of (PART OF) the sitter's journey through the cards. I consider this a divine privilege, and it comes through no matter what level of question. I guess I have been surprised that some sitter's don't really care, and just want the surface answer. I do feel a sense of loss (judgement perhaps) that stems from the fact that it feels like the sitter is ignoring the real pearls that the Tarot is offering. I started the thread to see if others struggled with that, or simply didn't bother reading beyond the surface because they felt it is not the reader's place to go there.

 

I really appreciate the thoughtful responses, thank you.

Oh, yes that does change how I understood your point. You know, I’m Scandinavian so English isn’t my native language. 

[Raggydoll]

49 minutes ago, AJ-ish/Sharyn said:

welcome and thank you for subscribing to the forum! Back to your original query about superficial culture. 

Many years ago there was a much larger billion times busier tarot forum. One of the leading lights at the time said "this is just a chat forum" and I was stunned at the very idea, spoken by someone whose tarot knowledge was deep and wide. Stunned enough that the idea still hurts a bit today. But it was true. 

 

People of like mindedness hang out very long and that is what it becomes, a place where we talk about our decks, fishing poles, shoes, whatever the forum relates to, not how they are made or used or the history behind and what we actually did with them today. So that is what I think of when superficial comes up 🙂 

I don't share my deep readings online. And I seldom offer open readings because I don't want to read about last week's date outcome or will the person they saw on the bus ask them out. Sex and love make the world go around truly, but I'm long past those unsure tentative days so am just not interested in reading about or for them. I think we've got bigger things to think about but that enters opinion, and shouldn't be part of a reading. So I make my choice by not. 

 

Perhaps sideways of your original post, but thank you for making it, posts keep a forum alive and responses enlarge our outlook.

And I'd like to respectfully request that paragraphs be used in our posts...a wall of print is very hard to read. Directed at no one in particular. 

I realize I failed to use paragraphs, will keep that in mind in the future! 

[joy]

1 minute ago, SilverLeaf said:

 

I agree, judging the question is a distortion of the reader's role, my own work is around not-judging and accepting that some sitter's don't really care to explore beyond the surface of the answer. It's more of a bafflement to me: as a reader, I feel this excitement to unpack the Tarot's message to those I'm working with, and some respond with "Uh huh, thanks, I just want to know if he/she reciprocates my feelings - don't tell me what the cards are saying about my own stuff". I guess as a sitter, I can't imagine not wanting to know EVERYTHING that the reader is getting from the cards.

In my opinion this is 'protection' also, it is not necessarily that the sitter does not want to see it or is ignorant. But maybe just not yet ready. Not everybody can deal with the hard and tough truth....

[katrinka]

2 minutes ago, SilverLeaf said:

 

I agree, judging the question is a distortion of the reader's role, my own work is around not-judging and accepting that some sitter's don't really care to explore beyond the surface of the answer. It's more of a bafflement to me: as a reader, I feel this excitement to unpack the Tarot's message to those I'm working with, and some respond with "Uh huh, thanks, I just want to know if he/she reciprocates my feelings - don't tell me what the cards are saying about my own stuff". I guess as a sitter, I can't imagine not wanting to know EVERYTHING that the reader is getting from the cards.

This begs the question: precisely what are you asking the cards in this situation? 

[SilverLeaf]

5 hours ago, devin said:

@SilverLeaf There definitely is a market for self-developmenty and or spiritual and or energetic type readings. At the very least, there are many readers who work this way. Why not be upfront and state the kinds of readings you're offering when you post on forums, social media, et cetera? So if someone asks a 'superficial' question, you can answer it directly as best you can, and then delve into whatever else of relevance you think the cards are saying. This way, at least the sitter will have been forewarned and should know what they're in for. 

Thanks for this devin, my tension has resulted by the fact that I have been very upfront prior to reading about my process and the types of reading I do, and am still seeing disinterest in engaging with that. I think that I perhaps gave the impression that I am not interested in working with people who have these types of questions (that is not the case, I am happy with all the practice I can get within my schedule), I just have been suprised by some of the responses. In some ways, I feel like an excited kid trying to communicate what I'm seeing, and the response can be "Can you just get to the point without all other stuff?". I do think I am suffering perhaps from not requesting more specific questions from those I'm working with. Thank you for your words.

[SilverLeaf]

1 minute ago, katrinka said:

This begs the question: precisely what are you asking the cards in this situation? 

Well, it struck me this morning that THAT might be where the whole things can potentially go off the rails. I've been working (out of ignorance) with a basic framework of: "What does [Sitter/Querent] need to know right now about [Situation/Person of Interest/Relationship of Interest]?"

 

Perhaps that is too unstructured and why the readings are diving beneath the surface?