Do our desires influence the drawing of cards?

[Yola]

Do our desires only influence the interpretation of the reading or can they also influence the drawing of cards?

For example: I really want to pass an exam. In a reading, draw very favorable cards related to approval. What I want to know from you guys is: while I know that my strong desire can influence how I analyze this result (I want to see my approval, therefore I see it - confirmation bias), can desire also pull favorable cards that do not correspond to the true situation? even if it's a blind draw? Influence of the subconscious? If so, is it really possible to do a neutral reading (mainly for ourselves)?

[gregory]

In theory it is absolutely possible to do a neutral reading for ourselves. In practice I find that if the reading delivers a message I don't like for the question I asked, the cards will miraculously have delivered the exact answer needed in some other part of my life. This being so - I get others to read for me ! I don't actually think our desires can influence the draw - but I suspect others will disagree....

Edited May 1, 2023 by gregory

[2dogs]

I think we can influence the actual drawing of cards. I’ve thought a few times that a certain card would be ideal, then drawn it, and once wanted to study a particular card and just cut it out of the deck. Of course when I told my wife and tried to do it again, I failed. So she said give the deck here and she got it first time. She doesn’t even read cards.🙀
 

I still like to read for myself though.😹

[Therese]

It can be I think. But if you are in the mood of a truth seeker, ready to accept anything you hear - the reading coul be wonderful. 

 

Often we do readings when we don't feel good and maybe are a bit desperate, so maybe this mood could influence the reading. In my experience: if we can accept anything we hear, the reading would be top notch. But sometimes we just can't.

[Misterei]

2 hours ago, Serpentwand said:

I think we can influence the actual drawing of cards. I’ve thought a few times that a certain card would be ideal, then drawn it, and once wanted to study a particular card and just cut it out of the deck. Of course when I told my wife and tried to do it again, I failed. So she said give the deck here and she got it first time. She doesn’t even read cards.🙀

Yes, I've also noticed similar phenomena. It's uncanny, and one of the things I love about Tarot.

 

So I've seen 2 things:

• desire influences DRAWING the card ... it's rare and special
• desire influences READING  the cards ... every reader struggles with confirmation bias and how to avoid it

[Yola]

It's always a pleasure to read all your replies, thank you to each one @gregory @Serpentwand @Therese @Misterei ! ☺️

I have the habit of doing a concentration and centralization exercise before each reading, which helps a lot. Yet I still find that when I am emotionally involved in the situation - especially those times when there are fulminating emotions of anger, passion, and anxiety - I can influence the draw.

I've lived experiences like this: my platonic crush was not interested at all and my readings exhaustively stated that he could. I conclude that unconsciously I have been forcing this draw.

after all, you are right @gregory... in these situations, resort to reading a colleague.

 

 

[Grizabella]

My opinion is that it's your intuition that's telling you ahead of time that you're going to draw a certain card when you're talking about drawing a card you've thought beforehand.  There's a little tiny voice in the back of your mind that you can learn to take heed of that used to be called ESP.  It's important to learn to listen to it.  I find it happens throughout day for me and if I ignore it, I find that I should have listened and done something about it.

 

As for drawing a favorable spread, the influence that might affect the reading of those cards is your bias in reading them.  In other words, you want to get a favorable grade much that you misinterpret the cards you've drawn in answer to the question.  To prevent this happening, I suggest you use a specific question and named positions.  When you use a specific question and named positions, it's harder to misinterpret the spread.  If you just give it a random thought, such as "I wonder whether I'll pass this exam" and then just draw some cards without positions, that's what I call a "puddle" of cards and you really don't have good guideposts for what the cards are telling you.  

 

If you make a specific question----"will I pass this exam?"----then pull the cards, you've got a more specific question, alright, but it's going to then mean you're trying to sift out a yes or no from the puddle you see in front of you.

 

If you put out cards in response to specific positions, you'll find it easier to get constructive answers.  An example would be:

 

What are the positives in my exam?

 

What are the negatives?

 

And then you might add on: 

 

What can I do to improve my marks on the next exam?  Or another aspect you'd like to know about.

 

I believe the cards we draw are ones we're meant to have drawn but I don't believe we influence which cards we draw in the way you mean. We can definitely influence our reading of the spread, but not having drawn those cards to begin with if you get what I mean.

[DanielJUK]

I think this discussion depends on how you believe tarot works. I don't believe our desires influence the shuffling, in my tarot belief system, the shuffling orders the cards to give you a message and is from outside us. Maybe it's random chance or I believe from karma/ destiny/ the universe. Let's say "some outer source". So unless we don't give it a good shuffle (which could affect the reading), the message is given from outside us. Then we have to interpret it, at that point we could change the reading based on our desires or I prefer to say our perspectives. The message is there, it's how we see it and give it over.

[Yola]

Oh this is so rich thank you so much @Grizabella! 😊 You're absolutely right. When the method is better chosen and explored, the chances of making a mistake are smaller. Sometimes it may not even be a matter of misinterpretation or "forcing" a result. Just a bad spread choice. Thank you for your suggestions, I'm sure they will be extremely useful!

 

I think you nailed it @DanielJUK. In fact, our beliefs about how tarot works are key to these answers. It is very enriching to learn from their perspective! I always thought in a square "box" that the tarot was the result of synchronicities connected exclusively with our subconscious. And so I always thought it was something internal. This way that you shared of seeing the tarot is very sensible and coherent... Thank you very much! I think I need to keep reflecting on this and exploring these new concepts. 🙃 

 

[Juperko]

Desire can influence the interpretation of a tarot reading, but it doesn't directly affect the drawing of cards. Tarot readings are based on chance and randomness. While our subconscious beliefs and desires can subtly influence interpretation, cultivating self-awareness and seeking external perspectives can help maintain a more balanced and neutral reading. Tarot readings provide guidance, not absolute predictions, and it's up to you to use your judgment in interpreting the cards and making decisions.

[Kellian]

I read in a book - I think it was Tarot for One by Courtney Weber - that to see if you are simply pulling the card(s) you want to see, consciously or unconsciously, deliberately go through and choose the card that you think answers the situation, then shuffle it back in and randomly pull a card to answer the same situation. The theory is that the two cards will be different and you can be assured that you are not influencing the answer. Of course, if the two cards are the same I guess you tell yourself that you’re *really* in sync with the universe. 

[Silk]

I haven't found so and I read mostly for myself.  The only thing I have found is that if  conversation is going on while the cards are being shuffled, no matter whether it's about the matter being read on or about something entirely different, the cards will echo the conversation.  So I ask people to be quiet and not talk while I am shuffling and while the cards are jumping.  I also try not to let myself start talking about or insistently picturing any particular outcome while I am doing the reading.

[Raggydoll]

On 5/1/2023 at 8:25 PM, Serpentwand said:

I think we can influence the actual drawing of cards. I’ve thought a few times that a certain card would be ideal, then drawn it, and once wanted to study a particular card and just cut it out of the deck. Of course when I told my wife and tried to do it again, I failed. So she said give the deck here and she got it first time. She doesn’t even read cards.🙀
 

I still like to read for myself though.😹

Yes, I have also had several occasions when I’ve thought “The Devil (or any other card) is bound to pop up” and then it does. Not sure though that these situations have been tied to what I wanted to see, probably more to what I expected to see. I guess it can be based on either experience, intuition or prejudice. I hope and think it’s the former two. 
 

Sounds like your wife has a natural talent. OR maybe your deck has a cheeky personality and did it all on purpose 😁

 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Raggydoll
Spelling

[Chariot]

On 5/4/2023 at 11:23 PM, Grizabella said:

 

 

As for drawing a favorable spread, the influence that might affect the reading of those cards is your bias in reading them.  In other words, you want to get a favorable grade much that you misinterpret the cards you've drawn in answer to the question.  To prevent this happening, I suggest you use a specific question and named positions.  When you use a specific question and named positions, it's harder to misinterpret the spread.  If you just give it a random thought, such as "I wonder whether I'll pass this exam" and then just draw some cards without positions, that's what I call a "puddle" of cards and you really don't have good guideposts for what the cards are telling you.  

 

If you make a specific question----"will I pass this exam?"----then pull the cards, you've got a more specific question, alright, but it's going to then mean you're trying to sift out a yes or no from the puddle you see in front of you.

 

If you put out cards in response to specific positions, you'll find it easier to get constructive answers.  An example would be:

 

What are the positives in my exam?

 

What are the negatives?

 

And then you might add on: 

 

What can I do to improve my marks on the next exam?  Or another aspect you'd like to know about.

 

I believe the cards we draw are ones we're meant to have drawn but I don't believe we influence which cards we draw in the way you mean. We can definitely influence our reading of the spread, but not having drawn those cards to begin with if you get what I mean.

I love the term 'puddle' when it comes to a bunch of cards laid out without a real format in mind beforehand.  Love it.  It's just been added to my tarot vocabulary, for sure. 😀

 

Puddles can be fun, if I'm practicing hypothetical interpretations, or in the mood for an unspecific overview of life at the moment. But when I want a specific question addressed, I always choose a spread beforehand—after thinking carefully about what I actually need to know. I clearly indicate what each position in the spread will address, and I write these positions in my journal before I even deal or shuffle the cards, so I can't weasel out of them!—and go from there.

I nearly always include a position labeled 'advice' in my readings, by the way.  This position has proved incredibly helpful to me.  It shows what attitude or action I should be effecting to improve or cope with the situation.  I find this more helpful than just showing me what my attitude is likely to be, or what action I may be contemplating.

For me, tarot is a language—used between me (the reader) and whatever forces are attempting to interact with me—so I try to make the format for the 'conversation' as unambiguous and specific as possible.  I want honest answers and direction from a reading; I want to walk away feeling more enlightened about a situation and what my role in it should be.  Otherwise, why bother?  I can confuse myself without help from the cards!  🙃 

Of course the ultimate answer to the OP @Yola's question is to look at how the situation turned out after the fact.   Did my subconscious 'desire' for a particular card manifest itself in the actual outcome?  Or was the reading off-kilter or plain wrong?  If the reading turned out to be spot-on, then I'm not too concerned about my influence on it.

Edited June 13, 2023 by Chariot

[Guest]

I believe that a genuinely powerful, iron will can influence outcomes and thereby indirectly dictate the cards drawn. But these are exceptional cases. When it comes to pivotal questions wherein the reader's total impartiality cannot be assured, the cards may at times reflect his state of mind - his hopes and fears - instead of the future.

[Silk]

12 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

Yes, I have also had several occasions when I’ve thought “The Devil (or any other card) is bound to pop up” and then it does. Not sure though that these situations have been tied to what I wanted to see, probably more to what I expected to see. I guess it can be based on either experience, intuition or prejudice. I hope and think it’s the former two. 
 

 

 

I think it's your intuition kicking in and also your knowledge of what is going on in the situation already and how that corresponds to cards.  

I had an interesting situation one time.  I was reading cards for a client who wanted me to see which of 2 potential suitors might be a better choice for her.  The first one I read, I got some concerning cards (I was using a combination of tarot and oracle cards,) that made me think this fellow might be the type to stalk her if things didn't go as he wanted, and that his behaviour could be severe enough to necessitate getting the police involved.  I got the feeling of an obsessive personality when it came to romance.  While I was doing that reading, I kept thinking of the Pluto/Venus vibe in astrology and wondered if this was present in either his natal chart or in the synastry chart between the two.  Sure enough, after I finished reading on him with the cards, I pulled up the ephemeris for the day he was born and sure enough the man had a Pluto/Venus aspect!  I'd say it was a combination of intuition and also my familiarity with that energy that made me spot it before seeing the chart.  So same kind of thing that I think happened with you feeling the Devil card was likely coming out...