Feeling Disconnected with my cards. Feeling blocked during readings.

[Guest]

I am not sure if this is the right section for this but I have been having this problem for quite a while and need help. 

 

I have been feeling disconnected from my cards lately. Every time I touch them, I feel like something is not quite right. It is like a I sense another energy on the cards. As if someone else has been reading with my cards. I knew some people allow others to use their cards and they are fine after using them. Is it possible that if someone is using m cards, for me to feel their energy while using it or could it be something else. 

 

This feeling of disconnect has also caused me to not be able to read as well as before. Sometimes, I read fine while other times I get blocks. This can also occur as I am doing multiple readings at once. At times, in the middle of a reading. Has this ever happened to anyone else? And What could the possible causes of this be?

[Grandma]

Hi @Cati. Maybe it's time to take a break. You have posted a lot of readings in the last several weeks. It's not uncommon for readers to feel disconnected from our cards and from reading when we're worn out. 

 

Don't read so much into it, pun intended...

 

You can take a few days off altogether, or focus on study rather than reading, or treat yourself to a new deck to see if that makes a difference. I can pretty much promise you that you'll get your spark back soon.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Grandma

[Guest]

@Grandma You are probably right. I do need a break. I have been doing way too many readings. I will probably take a long hiatus from tarot in general. Once my mind and thoughts clear, I will be able to have clearer readings. Thank you.

[DanielJUK]

Can't say it any better than what @Grandma said.

If we do many readings on ourselves and read on the same topic, eventually you get reading burn out from it.

 

I take a break for about one month every year, during the pandemic, I didn't do any readings for 4 months, I needed time out! I came back to it fresh.

I start to feel tired during the readings and really burnt out. Also reading for other people, I start to not care and I am a highly empathetic reader. So I know the signs to have a break.

 

It's fine to put down your cards and step away, some people also have regular breaks from this forum and come back, that is fine. We never take any action against inactive accounts, have a rest and time away!

 

Other ideas - stop reading on what you have been reading on. Read on different things or in a different way. Try a new deck, add something new to your readings, shake it up a bit!

Some people will reorder their cards back in deck order and this helps, apparently. A deck "reset" to shuffle again.

[Guest]

@DanielJUK Yes, I think the best thing for me would be taking a break from tarot itself. My readings, coupled with readings I have done others have made me feel completely drained. I feel different emotions during my readings as well. That has drained me more than the cards. 

I think a 6 months hiatus would be good for me. When you took your 4 months break, was there any special rituals you did with your cards? Or you just stored them away and cleansed them before use again?

[Chariot]

Gosh, I relate to this topic.  While I love reading cards, I burn out REALLY fast.  To the point that even if I have to do an extended reading, or a secondary one delving into an aspect raised by the first reading, I find my attention wandering ...or rather my intense engagement with the act of reading dissipates, and my intuition floats away as well.  It's one of the reasons I don't think I could ever do 'an evening' of reading for lots of other people.  I don't normally have a problem concentrating on something and getting it done, but for some reason tapping into the subconscious does drain me fast.

I will be interested to follow this topic and see how others deal with it.  I simply deal with it by putting the cards away when the disconnect happens.  (I always re-order them after every reading, to 'clear' away the previous energy, so that's not an issue.)  But I sometimes need a couple of days at least, before I can re-engage with the cards.  Using different card decks doesn't really fix the issue, although I do make a habit of using different decks whenever I do readings.

It's not really a problem, as I don't read for others very often any more.  But I wish I could stick a bit longer with the energy at each session.

[catlover5201314]

sounds like u could use a break and bonding again when ur ready !

[Guest]

@Chariot and @catlover5201314 Yes, I realized that I need a break from my cards. I have been doing a lot of reading lately. I am giving myself enough time until I can read more clearly again. Thank you.

[Guest]

36 minutes ago, catlover5201314 said:

sounds like u could use a break and bonding again when ur ready !

 

Did the same thing, and bounced back more refreshed than ever. 

[DanielJUK]

On 7/7/2023 at 11:28 AM, Cati said:

@DanielJUK Yes, I think the best thing for me would be taking a break from tarot itself. My readings, coupled with readings I have done others have made me feel completely drained. I feel different emotions during my readings as well. That has drained me more than the cards. 

I think a 6 months hiatus would be good for me. When you took your 4 months break, was there any special rituals you did with your cards? Or you just stored them away and cleansed them before use again?

 

Sorry for the delay in coming back to this. I don't really make any formal intentions when I take a break. I just put the cards away when starting to feel burnt out by them. I usually have some readings going on or some exchanges here, so I wrap everything up and then just put them away. Then I pick them up again when I feel refreshed or need them again. I didn't mean to take months and months. Just put them all away and have a little break, I bet you will feel refreshed and back into it. Everyone takes breaks every so often 🙂

 

On 7/7/2023 at 1:49 PM, Chariot said:

Gosh, I relate to this topic.  While I love reading cards, I burn out REALLY fast.  To the point that even if I have to do an extended reading, or a secondary one delving into an aspect raised by the first reading, I find my attention wandering ...or rather my intense engagement with the act of reading dissipates, and my intuition floats away as well.  It's one of the reasons I don't think I could ever do 'an evening' of reading for lots of other people.  I don't normally have a problem concentrating on something and getting it done, but for some reason tapping into the subconscious does drain me fast.

I will be interested to follow this topic and see how others deal with it.  I simply deal with it by putting the cards away when the disconnect happens.  (I always re-order them after every reading, to 'clear' away the previous energy, so that's not an issue.)  But I sometimes need a couple of days at least, before I can re-engage with the cards.  Using different card decks doesn't really fix the issue, although I do make a habit of using different decks whenever I do readings.

It's not really a problem, as I don't read for others very often any more.  But I wish I could stick a bit longer with the energy at each session.

 

I have this as well and not really found a solution. From reading people's views on this over the years, it should get better as you get more experienced with reading. If you think about it, doing a reading uses concentration when you are doing it and also it uses your intuition / spiritual energy, so you are burning out and getting tired because it does use energy. Reading the views of people with far more spiritual knowledge than me, there are some ways to help it. Drinking a lot of water during it (many spiritual practices use that), grounding yourself, there are exercises and meditations you can do. Using crystals around you. You can find on here and on google, many grounding techniques, but still it happens to me. So I just don't do too many readings. I try to spread it out, I can't churn them out quickly and all at once 🙂 .

[Guest]

@DanielJUK Thank you. The months aspect was more so for me. I have been feeling more refreshed. I started experiencing blocks where I couldn't interpret my cards too well. I would lose concentration and couldn't put the cards together. I am taking months off. That way I can study and understand the cards more while giving myself a break. 

[Chariot]

When I do readings for myself, and have the solitude to do them the way I like, I keep two salt lamps on the table in front of me, and one candle in a votive holder between the two.  If I find my attention wandering, I've started staring at the candle flame for a while, and this sometimes helps me to get rid of whatever else is creeping into my thoughts.  It doesn't work all the time, but if I catch the 'wandering' impulse quickly enough, it can certainly help to bring me back.

I haven't read for anybody else lately, but I'm wondering....maybe it might be easier to stay on track if there is somebody else there, to speak to about the issue the tarot is dealing with, etc.  I don't know.   Would be interesting to try this.  I do remember, back when I had friends nearby who liked to do readings with me (they've all moved away some years ago) that I didn't seem to have a problem keeping focused.  Maybe it was the interaction that kept me from daydreaming or wandering off topic.

(I don't want to come across as being a friendless sad sack!  It's just that the friends I have around me now aren't interested in tarot.  I'm working on that!  🙂 )

[Natural Mystic Guide]

1 hour ago, Chariot said:

the 'wandering' impulse

Developing and maintaining focus is, I think, the key to success not just in Tarot /oracle readings, but in life.  Recognition of this, too, is a huge first step.  I'm working on it every day.  When I'm reading for a client, you can be sure that I am absolutely focused... because I'm keenly aware of the time and want to give them the best possible experience.  If you are reading for a friend, then it depends not just on your ability to focus, but on your friend's, as well.  If they tend to get spaced out or be mentally all over the map then you may be drawn into their orbit.  I think it is important to develop your own ability to focus first.  I'm encouraging you to be very aware of your wandering impulse when it comes and then do the things that help you to stay centered.  It sounds like you are doing exactly that and doing it well.  The more you exercise that muscle -- the ability to focus, the easier and more second nature it will become.

[Guest]

@Chariot For me, I would stare at the cards and nothing would come to me. It is as if my brain froze. No thoughts at all. Afterwards, I would get a headache and need to sleep. I was alternating between a blank state of mind and confusion. I knew what the cards meant but could never put them together to get an understanding of what I was looking at (if that makes sense).

[Chariot]

14 hours ago, Cati said:

@Chariot For me, I would stare at the cards and nothing would come to me. It is as if my brain froze. No thoughts at all. Afterwards, I would get a headache and need to sleep. I was alternating between a blank state of mind and confusion. I knew what the cards meant but could never put them together to get an understanding of what I was looking at (if that makes sense).

Yeah, it does make sense.

I did find, if a reading was important enough, to record what the card placements were, then go back ...maybe the next day ...and recreate the layout and try interpreting it again.  I've done this on a couple of occasions, with good results.  But overall, I'd rather come up with a solution that doesn't require this kind of re-doing exercise.  I'm trying the trick of staring at the candle flame, which works as long as I do it quickly enough, as soon as I feel my attention slipping.

 

[crystalrose]

Besides taking a break, when I feel a block to my cards, it helps to open up some tarot books and look up new meanings that I haven’t seen before. Maybe some study is what’s needed. 

[Guest]

@Chariot I lik the idea of going back and reading the cards later. I will try it next time.

[Guest]

@crystalrose That' what I have been doing, studying the different meaning of tarot. So far, I have only done 3 reading since posting this. I have notice an ability to concentrate more but not to the extent that I like to. Thanks 🙂

[lazuli94]

Apologies if this seems extremely basic but I am new here lol, but I'm assuming you've also tried cleansing your cards and rearranging them in their original order for a bit if not it always helps me to reconnect after having a break. Just a thought if you haven't done so! 

 

Happy reading