What would you do? - cards 'wrong' for past and present

[Guest]

I did a past, present, future spread yesterday for 'my relationship with X' and the cards I pulled for past and present are, for lack of a better term, 'wrong'. 

 

Without getting into specifics, because this is intended as technique and how to approach this, my relationship with this person has not been good, and currently is not good. The cards that came up were showing a positive relationship, for past, present and future. Who knows what the future holds so I won't automatically discredit that one, but past and present definitely did not reflect the reality of how things have been and currently are.

 

I can't see any way of these cards reflecting this relationship, even when trying to 'find' interpretations that fit (which I KNOW I shouldn't do, but as a learning experience I was trying to see if there was something I was missing, or a different way of interpreting the cards that I didn't realise.) So my conclusion is that the cards were 'wrong'. I use that term lightly, and broadly.

 

What would you do here? 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Kliz

[RunningWild]

You don't say whether or not you read reversals and if not, you might want to include the downside of those cards.  So say for example, if you drew the ten of cups for the past position and you know for a fact that it wasn't an emotionally pleasant situation then you would need to include meanings contrary to that (not all rx meanings are negative, this is just an example).  So here, then, there is a negative association with the ten of cups.  Does that make sense?

[legendaryelement]

Sometimes my divination draws are reflective of what I want the topic/question to be. On a similar note, there are times where the cards just show what I am thinking or processing. My usual response it to “put the question away” until the next moon phase (or other timing marker that has significance).

[Raggydoll]

Personally, I’d want more information about the specific cards, the question asked and what your interpretations were. I think that if you’re a beginner, it’s more likely that you misunderstood the cards or that you didn’t have an optimal spread/question. But in order to do that, staff would have to move this topic to Personal tarot readings. What I can say, in a general sense, is that I have personally never found the cards to be wrong. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, RunningWild said:

You don't say whether or not you read reversals and if not, you might want to include the downside of those cards.  So say for example, if you drew the ten of cups for the past position and you know for a fact that it wasn't an emotionally pleasant situation then you would need to include meanings contrary to that (not all rx meanings are negative, this is just an example).  So here, then, there is a negative association with the ten of cups.  Does that make sense?

 

Ah good point. Yes, I do read reversals if the card comes out upside down. None of these did. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, legendaryelement said:

Sometimes my divination draws are reflective of what I want the topic/question to be. On a similar note, there are times where the cards just show what I am thinking or processing. My usual response it to “put the question away” until the next moon phase (or other timing marker that has significance).

 

Thanks. Maybe the cards that came up actually weren't actually reflective of that question.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Raggydoll said:

Personally, I’d want more information about the specific cards, the question asked and what your interpretations were. I think that if you’re a beginner, it’s more likely that you misunderstood the cards or that you didn’t have an optimal spread/question. But in order to do that, staff would have to move this topic to Personal tarot readings. What I can say, in a general sense, is that I have personally never found the cards to be wrong. 

 

Thanks. I didn't write down the cards and don't recall which ones they were. At the time, I just looked them up on several websites, and went "well that's wrong" and put them away, and asked a different, unrelated question. But it's been on my mind since so thought I'd ask. I might try it again later, and if similar then I'll post in the reading section.

[stephanelli]

5 hours ago, Kliz said:

I did a past, present, future spread yesterday for 'my relationship with X' and the cards I pulled for past and present are, for lack of a better term, 'wrong'. 

 

Without getting into specifics, because this is intended as technique and how to approach this, my relationship with this person has not been good, and currently is not good. The cards that came up were showing a positive relationship, for past, present and future. Who knows what the future holds so I won't automatically discredit that one, but past and present definitely did not reflect the reality of how things have been and currently are.

 

I can't see any way of these cards reflecting this relationship, even when trying to 'find' interpretations that fit (which I KNOW I shouldn't do, but as a learning experience I was trying to see if there was something I was missing, or a different way of interpreting the cards that I didn't realise.) So my conclusion is that the cards were 'wrong'. I use that term lightly, and broadly.

 

What would you do here? 

Forgive the bluntness, but is it possible you've been asking a lot of similar questions along the same theme in a short space of time?

It could be the deck responding to your subconscious thoughts and going "you've asked me this (or similar) before so I'm going to show you what you want/wish to be true rather than the actual truth".

 

I suggest this from personal experience, not to make you feel bad, because the only time I've experienced 'wrong' cards was in a situation I asked the same question too many times.  The deck reworded it's reply a few times but then gave up and told me what I wanted to hear, not the truth.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, stephanelli said:

Forgive the bluntness, but is it possible you've been asking a lot of similar questions along the same theme in a short space of time?

It could be the deck responding to your subconscious thoughts and going "you've asked me this (or similar) before so I'm going to show you what you want/wish to be true rather than the actual truth".

 

I suggest this from personal experience, not to make you feel bad, because the only time I've experienced 'wrong' cards was in a situation I asked the same question too many times.  The deck reworded it's reply a few times but then gave up and told me what I wanted to hear, not the truth.

 

I appreciate bluntness, it gets to the point faster 🙂

 

Possibly I guess, although it was a different person. I've asked questions about myself, and 3 other people (best way to learn something is to do it). This time was a person I had not asked about before. But the question was phrased in a similar way to a question I'd previously asked about someone else. Even then though, if it had answered relating to the other person, the past and present aspect wouldn't "fit" reality. It read as if the relationship (family member, not a love interest) was all sunshine and roses which is far from the truth.

[DanielJUK]

Sometimes you need to sit on a reading for a while, the cards are rarely wrong, it's just us working them out and understanding them. Suddenly it just comes to you later on and you understand it! 😀

 

But they can go wrong if you keep repeating readings on the same topic and question. This is a classic beginners mistake and one I was guilty of. Especially readings of the heart and emotions cause us to read over and over on them, we want good news and something positive! But tarot doesn't work like that, it tells us what we need to know. If you are reading on the same topic or question I would say you can only really trust the first reading on the topic, after that it gets screwy. I wouldn't read on the same thing within a month, some people say 6 months unless the situation changes. Part of learning tarot is learning to trust in the readings. 

 

If you are unsure about the reading, post it in Personal Tarot Readings and get other views on it.

[gregory]

38 minutes ago, DanielJUK said:

Sometimes you need to sit on a reading for a while, the cards are rarely wrong, it's just us working them out and understanding them. Suddenly it just comes to you later on and you understand it! 😀

 

THIS - so very much. I recall a reading done once on another forum, where - well, the sitter was absolutely furious and caused such a stink about how WRONG it was that they were eventually banned.

 

Guess what - a few months later we learned from someone who was on facebook that.... Give it time.

 

38 minutes ago, DanielJUK said:

 

But they can go wrong if you keep repeating readings on the same topic and question. This is a classic beginners mistake and one I was guilty of. Especially readings of the heart and emotions cause us to read over and over on them, we want good news and something positive! But tarot doesn't work like that, it tells us what we need to know. If you are reading on the same topic or question I would say you can only really trust the first reading on the topic, after that it gets screwy. I wouldn't read on the same thing within a month, some people say 6 months unless the situation changes. Part of learning tarot is learning to trust in the readings. 

 

This too.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, gregory said:

 

THIS - so very much. I recall a reading done once on another forum, where - well, the sitter was absolutely furious and caused such a stink about how WRONG it was that they were eventually banned.

 

Guess what - a few months later we learned from someone who was on facebook that.... Give it time.

 

 

This too.

 

Thanks for replying. I'm just going to park this all completely for now. It was a completely different person I'd never asked about before, and even with time, there is just no way these cards could fit the reality (given it was past and present). Perhaps I'm just not cut out for doing readings, and that's ok.

Edited May 20, 2022 by Kliz

[Raggydoll]

14 minutes ago, Kliz said:

 

Perhaps I'm just not cut out for doing readings, and that's ok.

I don’t think you should worry about that. Practice makes progress and one bad or confusing reading means very little in the long run! 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Raggydoll said:

I don’t think you should worry about that. Practice makes progress and one bad or confusing reading means very little in the long run! 

 

I appreciate that, but it's not just this one. This one aside, I think my thoughts/beliefs cloud my judgment too much. Tis the story of my life! lol

[stephanelli]

20 minutes ago, Kliz said:

Perhaps I'm just not cut out for doing readings, and that's ok.

I wouldn't go that far.

 

One thing I will suggest is that perhaps you've done quite a few readings in a short space of time. (In a wide variety of topics, themes and subjects, no all for the same thing).

 

It may be a minor case of 'tarot burnout'.  You're learning a lot but sometimes your brain needs a little rest to let it mull over what it's learnt and let it settle in.  You can't rush the learning process.

 

My best advice is to take a break from reading for a day or two and come back to it.

 

You've got a new deck so this is kind of understandable.  But don't underestimate the mental effort it takes to do readings.

[stephanelli]

2 minutes ago, Kliz said:

 

I appreciate that, but it's not just this one. This one aside, I think my thoughts/beliefs cloud my judgment too much. Tis the story of my life! lol

Perhaps you are worrying too much about your thoughts closing your judgement?

[gregory]

It's easy to say the cards are wrong. In my experience it does usually mean we are missing something., Especially when we read for ourselves, as we always tend to feel we know better. Try a few practice readings on things like fairytales, TV shows and the like, where the outcome is for sure and certain KNOWN, and where you have no personal stake in it all. It's a great way to learn.

[MuninnMissinHuginn]

4 hours ago, Kliz said:

I appreciate that, but it's not just this one. This one aside, I think my thoughts/beliefs cloud my judgment too much. Tis the story of my life! lol

I can not read for myself. No matter the question I ask, an answer comes up for something that has been a struggle in my life, and without any further insight in to that struggle.  While this maybe information I need ultimately it does nothing for answering the questions that are asked.  I put this problem to being a new reader and not having the skills to do the compartmentalizing needed.  

Reading for others has been a good way for me to practice reading - and as a bonus others will read for you! If you are concerned about having to give too much detail to get an answer from another’s reading I can say I have not found that to be true.

I came here to learn to read for myself, and still hope to in the future, but have ended up finding reading partners that I really have benefited from, and have appreciated their readings.

 

(In the reading circles forum). 

Here:

 

Best wishes.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by MuninnMissinHuginn

[and_it_spoke]

5 hours ago, Kliz said:

It was a completely different person I'd never asked about before, and even with time, there is just no way these cards could fit the reality (given it was past and present). Perhaps I'm just not cut out for doing readings, and that's ok.

 

Don't forget - the cards can address a question or situation indirectly. We're getting an accurate insight from the cards, but we haven't framed the question correctly.

 

The old "42" from Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy problem. You've got the correct answer, just not the question that goes with it.

[gregory]

1 hour ago, MuninnMissinHuginn said:

I can not read for myself. No matter the question I ask, an answer comes up for something that has been a struggle in my life, and without any further insight in to that struggle.  While this maybe information I need ultimately it does nothing for answering the questions that are asked.  I put this problem to being a new reader and not having the skills to do the compartmentalizing needed.  

Reading for others has been a good way for me to practice reading - and as a bonus others will read for you! If you are concerned about having to give too much detail to get an answer from another’s reading I can say I have not found that to be true.

I came here to learn to read for myself, and still hope to in the future, but have ended up finding reading partners that I really have benefited from, and have appreciated their readings.

 

(In the reading circles forum). 

Here:

 

Best wishes.

 

This so much - especially the bolded bit. There's ALWAYS some other area of my life where I can redirect whatever the cards show. if I think it doesn't fit whatever I asked.... Which is - usually !You know what - in one of those circles we weren't told who we were reading for till afterwards - and when it turned out that we had read for ourselves - that was the first time I actually SAW the message the cards had for me. Because I hadn't been able to second guess it or decided it was wrong. I'd posted my take and it was up there for all to see !

 

20 minutes ago, and_it_spoke said:

 

Don't forget - the cards can address a question or situation indirectly. We're getting an accurate insight from the cards, but we haven't framed the question correctly.

 

The old "42" from Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy problem. You've got the correct answer, just not the question that goes with it.

 

This is so important. It is so easy to ask the wrong question and then get knotted up in what we now see as the "wrong" answer. IN this case - you say the cards show a positive relationship where there wasn't one. Are you sure the other person didn't take a positive view ? Did you miss positives because you were fixated on the negative sides ? Ask yourself exactly what you wanted to know, not just "past / present / future"  in a random sort of way. Focus on the question.

[Guest]

On 5/20/2022 at 7:07 PM, stephanelli said:

Perhaps you are worrying too much about your thoughts closing your judgement?

 

I think my thoughts are clouding my judgement with the cards. They're certainly clouding my intuition in general. 

 

I was perhaps too strong in saying tarot isn't for me, but I don't think I'm just not supposed to read for myself. On a few spreads, what I've 'read' in the cards has actually only mirrored my own thoughts of 'maybe X or maybe y'. So even with the cards, I haven't seen any clarity or further context than what my mind was already focusing on/debating over.

 

[Guest]

On 5/20/2022 at 11:10 PM, MuninnMissinHuginn said:

I can not read for myself. No matter the question I ask, an answer comes up for something that has been a struggle in my life, and without any further insight in to that struggle.  While this maybe information I need ultimately it does nothing for answering the questions that are asked.  I put this problem to being a new reader and not having the skills to do the compartmentalizing needed.  

Reading for others has been a good way for me to practice reading - and as a bonus others will read for you! If you are concerned about having to give too much detail to get an answer from another’s reading I can say I have not found that to be true.

I came here to learn to read for myself, and still hope to in the future, but have ended up finding reading partners that I really have benefited from, and have appreciated their readings.

 

(In the reading circles forum). 

Here:

 

Best wishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for that. I think it's a case of me not being able to read for myself too. Apart from this one spread that I still feel was 'wrong' (I take on board I probably read it wrong) the rest only showed what I already know without any further insight and without answering the question I asked. I will look at joining the reading circles but for now I'm taking a break. 

[euripides]

2 minutes ago, Kliz said:

 

I think my thoughts are clouding my judgement with the cards. They're certainly clouding my intuition in general. 

 

I was perhaps too strong in saying tarot isn't for me, but I don't think I'm just not supposed to read for myself. On a few spreads, what I've 'read' in the cards has actually only mirrored my own thoughts of 'maybe X or maybe y'. So even with the cards, I haven't seen any clarity or further context than what my mind was already focusing on/debating over.

 

 

It can certainly be useful to have others read for you in this situation - I've often been really impressed by the insights that others bring to a reading. We often can't see clearly because we're too close and get blinkered, and spin our wheels in the same spot instead of being open to possibilities. The other thing is that perhaps you've already decided - this is actually a 'thing', in psychology - people often just use the decision making tools to justify a gut-level decision they've already made.  So anyway, perhaps do some reading exchanges and hone your skills by reading for others. 

 

Not sure if someone's already said this, but the other thing is, if you're re-reading a lot on an issue, sometimes the cards tend to go 'right I told you already, stop asking', and give you garbage. 

 

But I do recommend reviewing the good advice you've had in these threads. The deck you use can make a big difference, too. I find some decks very hard to read, but the right one can really help. 

[Guest]

On 5/21/2022 at 12:19 AM, and_it_spoke said:

 

Don't forget - the cards can address a question or situation indirectly. We're getting an accurate insight from the cards, but we haven't framed the question correctly.

 

The old "42" from Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy problem. You've got the correct answer, just not the question that goes with it.

 

In that case, I do wish I knew what question it was for! But maybe it doesn't matter. I read it as all 'good' so regardless the question, it seems to not be something I need to worry about.

[Guest]

On 5/21/2022 at 12:50 AM, gregory said:

 

This so much - especially the bolded bit. There's ALWAYS some other area of my life where I can redirect whatever the cards show. if I think it doesn't fit whatever I asked.... Which is - usually !You know what - in one of those circles we weren't told who we were reading for till afterwards - and when it turned out that we had read for ourselves - that was the first time I actually SAW the message the cards had for me. Because I hadn't been able to second guess it or decided it was wrong. I'd posted my take and it was up there for all to see !

 

 

This is so important. It is so easy to ask the wrong question and then get knotted up in what we now see as the "wrong" answer. IN this case - you say the cards show a positive relationship where there wasn't one. Are you sure the other person didn't take a positive view ? Did you miss positives because you were fixated on the negative sides ? Ask yourself exactly what you wanted to know, not just "past / present / future"  in a random sort of way. Focus on the question.

 

That's really interesting that you did your own reading without knowing it was yours. That's one way to get objecting views! 

 

In his own twisted way maybe he did, but I doubt overall he would say it was positive, he certainly showed a lot of hatred in his words and actions.