Can you get incorrect answers?

[LilyJolly]

Hi! I'm a newbie in tarot reading. 

 

I have a question that's really important to me. Can you get incorrect answers? How and when does it happen? 

 

I tend to take "tarot answers" too seriously. That's why I get nervous whenever I try to read tarot cards for myself because I'm scared of negative answers. 

Edited January 2, 2022 by LilyJolly

[LilyJolly]

Thank you for your response, @Wildcard! These are really helpful. I've also researched on my own if you can get incorrect answers when reading tarot cards, and I noticed that they all said it happens when you misinterpret it.

 

So, how does one know the true and absolute interpretation of the cards? What if we're just interpreting it however we want to interpret it? 

 

I'm talking about when people get bad readings, like bad luck, financial crisis, broken relationships -- readings that leave people with anxiety and depression. They all believe that what the cards told them are true even if it hasn't happened yet. 

 

Or, another example, what is happening in the present: "Is my boyfriend cheating on me?"

The tarot cards will tell you, "Yes, you're boyfriend is cheating on you." Now you're gonna look at your boyfriend in a suspicious way. Then a while later it turns out that your boyfriend is not cheating on you.

 

Did the cards lie? What happened? Did you manifest the answer? Did it just show what's on your subconscious mind? 

 

This is my problem. A lot of people believe the answers that they got from tarot reading so much that if it's bad thing, they will believe it to the point that it ruins their lives. 

[katrinka]

1 hour ago, LilyJolly said:

These are really helpful. I've also researched on my own if you can get incorrect answers when reading tarot cards, and I noticed that they all said it happens when you misinterpret it.

 

Exactly. The correct answer is always there on the table, but it's possible to mistranslate it.
 

1 hour ago, LilyJolly said:

So, how does one know the true and absolute interpretation of the cards? What if we're just interpreting it however we want to interpret it? 

 

There is no "true and absolute interpretation", only what's true and absolute for you. It's vital to have clearly defined meanings that can't be interpreted "however we want." IOW, none of this "It might be this, but it could also be just the opposite."

You'll probably find this helpful:
 

 

I don't agree with everything he says in the latter part of the video. I've never had the cards start lying to me because I heeded warnings they gave me. But the first 10 minutes of the video are solid gold.

You can start by going through your deck and separating the cards into positive, neutral, and negative piles. Think over each card and boil it down to its core essence. That way you don't get some big ambiguous smear of cards in your reading that you don't know what to do with.
 

1 hour ago, LilyJolly said:

I'm talking about when people get bad readings, like bad luck, financial crisis, broken relationships -- readings that leave people with anxiety and depression. They all believe that what the cards told them are true even if it hasn't happened yet. 

 

Or, another example, what is happening in the present: "Is my boyfriend cheating on me?"

The tarot cards will tell you, "Yes, you're boyfriend is cheating on you." Now you're gonna look at your boyfriend in a suspicious way. Then a while later it turns out that your boyfriend is not cheating on you.

 

It could go the other way, too. You could sugarcoat and tell yourself that everything is sunshine, love, wealth and lollipops when it's not that way at all. And finding out can be devastating.

 

1 hour ago, LilyJolly said:

Did the cards lie? What happened? Did you manifest the answer? Did it just show what's on your subconscious mind? 

 

I'd have to see the spread to autopsy a botched reading, but IME if you know how to read cards, only two things can go wrong:

 

1. You miscalled it. The cards are tricky sometimes. If you're reading about a person who is very ill and suffering, for instance, the cards might show a positive outcome that you interpret as recovery. But in their case it's actually death, because for them, death is welcome. So it's important to consider context and ask yourself what quality of life that person would have if they overcome their latest health crisis.

2. You didn't ask the right question. I flubbed the 2016 election by asking who would get more votes. And the cards answered truthfully, Hillary won the popular vote. But if I'd been thinking more clearly, I would have remembered the Electoral College and just asked who would hold the office.
 

1 hour ago, LilyJolly said:

This is my problem. A lot of people believe the answers that they got from tarot reading so much that if it's bad thing, they will believe it to the point that it ruins their lives. 

 

Who? I've been doing this forever and I've never seen anyone whose life was ruined by it.

[LilyJolly]

Thank you, @Wildcard and @katrinka!

These are just what I read and watched (YT) where people got bad readings or incorrect readings. They say that they were crushed or that it caused them to live in constant worry, anxiety and depression. There are stories like that, so it made me wonder. 

 

I guess you have to properly train yourself first especially when it comes to interpreting tarot answers. 

 

Thanks again, guys! I'll do my best at studying each tarot cards first, learning reading techniques, and how to interpret them right.

 

It's a bit scary (when you get negative answers) but also exciting and fun especially when you get good and positive answers, haha. 

[katrinka]

Being disappointed, worried, anxious, or depressed sometimes is normal. It's part of life, whether a person is into cards or not. It's not the same thing as having your entire life ruined.

[ilweran]

It can be hard to read objectively for yourself because you know your life, you're likely to be aware of some of your worries and concerns, but not others and both can influence your readings.

 

Your also need to be sure you're asking the right question and focusing on it. I've had 'incorrect' answers that were really just answering the question I was preoccupied with rather than the one I thought I was asking.

 

For negative readings - despite having anxiety, I personally don't find them anxiety inducing, possibly one of the few things I don't get anxious about! But I don't see them as 'I'm doomed!' more as a warning to be prepared. 

[DanielJUK]

One thing I have learnt as I have got more experienced with tarot is that you don't have to ask about everything and you shouldn't ask about things that you are not sure you can handle knowing. Some things you should leave well alone. Tarot's purpose isn't to give you readings that make you feel happy and give you good news, it's purpose is to help and advise you. If you are not sure you want to handle a negative answer on something, perhaps it's something you shouldn't read on. There have been times where I have left areas of my life and questions well alone at that time. If you don't think you could handle finding out a boyf is cheating, you shouldn't ask about it. But if you are wondering about it, there has to be something that has given you a lack of trust in the first place 🙂

 

Also be gentle and sensitive with your readings, they shouldn't make you feel really bad. Negative outcomes can really advise and help you.

 

edited to add: I don't believe the cards lie, they are just a message from ourselves which comes from what source? I don't know. I really believe now that they give us the correct message we need to hear at that time. But sometimes we don't interpret it right, think like reading Egyptian hieroglyphics. We need to have experience and wisdom of being able to translate them to our language but sometimes we can get the message wrong. Also you have to add in being impartial and neutral! It's not easy and gets easier the most you use tarot and learn with it

[ilweran]

2 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

One thing I have learnt as I have got more experienced with tarot is that you don't have to ask about everything and you shouldn't ask about things that you are not sure you can handle knowing. Some things you should leave well alone.

I agree with this. If you don't want to know, don't ask. I did no readings at all while I was pregnant, for example, did not want to know anything I might be shown, positive or negative.

[Eric13]

I haven't read all the responses, but I'll say if you're going to learn and read tarot it is very important to get over the fear of negative answers or negative cards/spreads that may show. And learning through practicing may also show you that what you may perceive as a negative is actually not! But reading for yourself while learning, and being able to see, accept and maybe someday pass on hard truths is very important to becoming a true reader. 

[katrinka]

6 hours ago, ilweran said:

For negative readings - despite having anxiety, I personally don't find them anxiety inducing, possibly one of the few things I don't get anxious about! But I don't see them as 'I'm doomed!' more as a warning to be prepared. 

 

5 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

One thing I have learnt as I have got more experienced with tarot is that you don't have to ask about everything and you shouldn't ask about things that you are not sure you can handle knowing. Some things you should leave well alone. Tarot's purpose isn't to give you readings that make you feel happy and give you good news, it's purpose is to help and advise you. If you are not sure you want to handle a negative answer on something, perhaps it's something you shouldn't read on. There have been times where I have left areas of my life and questions well alone at that time. If you don't think you could handle finding out a boyf is cheating, you shouldn't ask about it. But if you are wondering about it, there has to be something that has given you a lack of trust in the first place

 

3 hours ago, ilweran said:

I agree with this. If you don't want to know, don't ask. I did no readings at all while I was pregnant, for example, did not want to know anything I might be shown, positive or negative.

Every bit of the above is true.

And something else occurred to me that's worth mentioning here. For years, I noticed that if I was very stressed over something, near-panicky, and tried to read on it, the cards tended to answer with the worst possible scenario, so extreme and absurdly bad that I knew at the time of the reading it couldn't be true. Basically "ROCKS FALL EVERYONE DIES" if I was asking whether I'd have money to keep the lights on, things like that. But - the cards were not lying. It was their way of saying they weren't going to answer, at least at that particular moment. As comprehensive as a deck is, there is no "Calm your t**s and try again later" card or combo. 🙂 The cards work with what they have. And sometimes, they just tell us to go away for now and come back when we've got our head on straight.

 

[mooshedpotatoes]

I think that's it's easy to seek confirmation bias from the cards and see what we want when we read for ourselves!

There's nothing wrong with a second opinion. Plus it also depends on the kind of answer you're seeking I would think.

[khatsar]

Bad or incorrect readings, no...but I have had readings that didn't make much sense to me because I hadn't properly grounded myself beforehand. In those instances, I've found it helpful to take a break from the cards and make sure I am in the right state of mind to "connect" to them and receive information without my own anxiety or stress getting in the way.  At this point, I can feel when it's not going to be helpful to read on a given situation.

[gregory]

The Big Question:

 

How can you tell for sure if it's incorrect ? Yes if you ask "will I miss the bus", and it says you won't but you do - but for actual serious questions, only quite a bit of time and self-honesty will tell.

[Jamontoast]

I feel that it is possible. Particularly I received a reading a number of years ago that was very vague from a reader who was lazy in her method and presence. I believe this influences not just the interpretation made of the cards, but the cards that are actually pulled. Clarity of intention and sincerity I believe produce "cleaner" readings 

[AlbaTross]

There are multiple factors that can muddle readings, such as drawing multiple clarifier cards (a practice I haven't gotten into), approaching the same question multiple times, etc., but in my experience the biggest factor is simple misinterpretation.  Nine times out of ten, if a card seems "wrong", it may simply be misinterpreted.  Experience is certainly a factor in that, as are one's expectations when doing a reading.  It's important to note that even if you ask the cards a simple yes or no question, you're going to get a nuanced answer.  There will certainly be cards with vibes that align more with the yes or the no side based on their imagery and general meaning, but if you go into a reading expecting a straight-up yes or no, you might be disappointed to find out that it's generally not that black and white.  I've even been in a conversation with someone who had negative associations with The Sun, which is normally considered to be an overwhelmingly positive card, and one that may be generally received as a very emphatic "yes".  

 

When it comes to reading into the future, and events that have not yet come to pass, it's important to note that Tarot isn't going to speak into a future that's set in stone.  The cards tend to speak into a possible future, that may come to pass if things continue on the same trajectory they are on at that point in time, predicted choices are made, etc., but if you expect it to be as simple as "the cards said this would happen, so that's what's going to happen", you might be disappointed to find out that things don't necessarily work out that way in reality.  It's also important to note that Tarot is a tool to add to your toolbox, not a one-stop shop to gain all knowledge into life, the universe and everything in it.  Some things are best answered with a simple Google search.  If you're simply looking for facts, there are other ways to get those.  You're not going to discover the cure for cancer by drawing some cards.  Tarot has answers, sure, but recognize which questions are best answered by seeking clairvoyance through a means like Tarot, and which aren't.  

 

As for "bad" readings, that's an example of how nuance can be really important.  It's possible a card might seem negative, but might actually be more positive than is readily apparent.  Sure, it's also possible that it is in fact negative, but it might not be as simple as "bad things are going to happen".  It could mean, "you're going to go through a rough period, but here's how you can get out of it", or maybe "if you want to experience the growth you're looking for, you're going to have to make a sacrifice", or any number of other, more nuanced things.  It's important to examine what your idea of a "negative" card is, and whether or not those preconceived notions are limiting your ability to see the nuance in those cards.

 

Finally, context is important.  You need to consider what it is you asked the cards, and also, which position the card is in.  By position, I don't mean upright or reversed, but rather, where a card falls in your spread, as particular placements in spreads often specify certain parameters such as "what's holding you back".  It's important to differentiate between something like that, and "what's helping you".  The same card can carry completely different meanings depending on what it's meant to represent.  Heck, I remember a conversation I had over a year ago on Reddit where the OP asked some advice on a matter and got the Five of Pentacles (normally not a card one wants to see), and she was afraid it meant tough times ahead.  I pointed out that she asked for advice, and it was unlikely the card was advising her to seek out hard times.  Rather, the card seemed to be saying that she was in a tough situation, and needed to ask for help to get out of it.  So yes, consider context when drawing a card, as that is part of the nuance.  

[gregory]

On 2/10/2022 at 3:05 AM, Jamontoast said:

I feel that it is possible. Particularly I received a reading a number of years ago that was very vague from a reader who was lazy in her method and presence. I believe this influences not just the interpretation made of the cards, but the cards that are actually pulled. Clarity of intention and sincerity I believe produce "cleaner" readings 

 

That wasn't the cards; that was a bad reader.

 

I ask again - define "correct."

[frankie]

11 hours ago, AlbaTross said:

It's important to note that even if you ask the cards a simple yes or no question, you're going to get a nuanced answer. 

This is so true from my experiences and the reason behind nearly all of my incorrect readings, and there have been many! Since I'm at the beginning stages of my learning, I like to ask the cards yes or no questions just for this reason, namely to force this test of reading nuance. Getting attuned to the "voice" of the cards fascinates me to no end, like calibrating a scale or a thermometer, or as I've heard said before, like learning a new language, but one that doesn't follow the same rules necessarily. I can't help but think of the prophesy from Macbeth about the timing of his end being when the Birnam Wood comes against him, which he doesn't believe since trees can't move, but people camouflaged behind them can! 😱 

 

11 hours ago, AlbaTross said:

The cards tend to speak into a possible future, that may come to pass if things continue on the same trajectory they are on at that point in time, predicted choices are made, etc., but if you expect it to be as simple as "the cards said this would happen, so that's what's going to happen", you might be disappointed to find out that things don't necessarily work out that way in reality. 

Another important lesson. I would add that putting a time frame in my questions has helped me in this regard, although fully knowing that sometimes you need to give outcomes more time to be verified by life. For me, it's the gap between doing a reading and having events come to pass that can be agonizing, and it's interesting to see what aspect of the outcome the cards picked up, which goes back to understanding nuance and having the experience to detect the right bent of the cards and interpret their subtlety.

 

11 hours ago, AlbaTross said:

Finally, context is important.  You need to consider what it is you asked the cards, and also, which position the card is in. 

Yes, and coming up with clear questions is a big step towards understanding how context applies. I have to write mine down once I've pulled my cards (although I write out my interpretations, too, for learning purposes). Something I'm also working through is the position of the cards, being mindful of which cards fall at the beginning of a line or at the end, and I'm slowly learning about elemental dignities, too--both potential areas where interpretations can go wrong!

[Jewel]

Your frame of mind when doing a reading has a lot with how you will interpret the cards.  I mainly read for myself but read for others as well. I always ensure I am in stable mind frame when doing readings.  Reading for yourself requires a lot of objectivity and that does take practice because as others have said you know your life, and you are vested in the outcome of the reading.  Both of those can really influence how you interpret the reading.  Honestly I typically do more general readings for myself than anything else for that exact reason.  The cards seem to always point to particular issues that are influencing me and give me good info on how to approach the situations I am in.  If something really stands out, then I might do a second reading on a particular issue to learn more and get more concrete advice, but in general, the general readings give me what I need.

 

I have found that as I have gained more experience with Tarot the more layers of meaning I can synthesize (traditional meanings, intuitive feelings, imagery, symbols, numerology, elemental correspondences) which add depth and clarity to my readings and help me identify and side step some of my personal bias.  It is not fool proof but it helps me be more objective when reading for myself.  I am not saying you have to learn all these things, many people do not and are great readers, this is just what has worked for me.

 

If you are going to ask specific questions it is very important to learn how to construct a good question.  Sounds simple but can be tricky.  I typically stick to questions like what do I need to be aware of right now?  What do I need to know about my life at this time?  I usually use spreads that 5 to 10 cards with card positions that address various areas of my life.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Jewel