Have you ever had any temporary BLOCK? Please cards, talk to me!

[Yola]

It's like an artist who spends time without inspiration and a writer who can't write. Creative block.
The cards don't speak, you don't see patterns, it's difficult to make predictions correctly. I can't connect with the cards.

Silence. There don't seem to be any answers. 
Both for my readings and for the readings I do professionally. I make 1, 2, 3 predictions. Wrong - at least I see it that way.
I review the meanings, the symbols, the methods, the wording of the question... nothing. This is new to me!
Yes, it's the end of the year, the demand for New Year's readings are arriving in full force. Stress increases, the pressure to be productive...
I've been trying to relax my mind, have moments of creative leisure, play sports...

Have you ever experienced something like this?
What do they think about that?

[Nemia]

I think everybody who works longer with the cards knows this feeling. Some years ago, my cards only spoke gloom and doom to me. I could see nothing but terrible things. There was a good reason for it and it passed after a while... and I remember times when the usual reading ritual didn't work. 

 

If you don't want to lose touch with the cards while giving you a break at the same time, maybe you'd like to work through one of the books that give you ideas how to play with the cards. 

 

Lynda Cowles' Playbook with the Tarot - Andy Matzner's Tarot Activity Book - Alison Cross' Tarot Kaizen. Three excellent books that you can work through, play with the cards. Choosing and picking your cards is always a good idea if you want to shake up your tarot practice. 

 

You can take a deck that fascinates you and study it, the Spirit Keeper Tarot or Holy Light Tarot are great for such projects. Don't even try to read, give yourself a break, and approach the tarot from another side. 

 

What helps me, too: writing down my own meanings of the cards. Not one by one but first the cards that really speak to me and where I have the feeling I have some insights. Write affirmations, do walking meditations with a card in your mind. 

 

Drawing, painting, telling stories with the tarot, mapping your family constellations using the tarot, studying a topic like Astrology, Kabbalah or Alchemy - it will keep you in touch with the tarot and enrich your intuition instead of depleting it like tarot can sometimes do. 

 

Branch out into oracles, playing cards, Lenormand or Kipper - or divination with dice or a pendulum - the world is full of wonderful ways to your inner teacher. 

 

I always found myself gravitating back to my beloved cards after a while, and it worked again. 

 

And sometimes, a hiatus is all that helps. Make music, dance, read, work, do whatever you want. Everything you experience will help you later to make your reading practice richer and deeper. 

 

[Mister]

Hi @Yola

One way to go about it is to go and make your own pack.

Those won't let you down, ever.

 

True, it is no short-time solution, alas, as someone I do respect a good deal once said: It does pay dividend.

Even the pondering over what YOUR cards are about gets you a good deal closer to the essence of what you are working with.

Being a Majors-Only-Favoritiseur makes the task easier.

On that note: Did you try reading MO yet?

 

To invest a good year or two (given that you have a cartomantic base already) into reading the Game of Hope (aka Lenormands) is also something I can recommend.

[DanielJUK]

I've moved this thread to Tarot Talk & Technique as I don't think this is just about Playing Cards 🙂

 

Sorry you have this @Yola 🤗. When this happens to me, it's time to have a break and take time off reading till I feel connected again.

 

we have some old threads with ideas on this, here -

 

[Chariot]

@YolaJust ran across an interesting technique that might be something to try.  (This technique is new to me, although it might be standard practice for some.) The idea comes from the excellent book by Courtney Weber, entitled Tarot for One: The Art of Reading for Yourself.

Basically, you think of something from your past ...it can be a relationship, or an event, etc.  Think of three or four aspects of that 'something.'  (Example: 1) What was that person like when I first met them? 2) What was I like when we first met each other? 3) What was the strength—or weakness—in our relationship? 4) How did the relationship end?)
 

Go through your deck and deliberately pick a card you think is the best answer to each of these questions. By deliberately, I mean you go through them them face up—either upright or reversed, if you use reversals—and pick the card you think best describes that situation.  There is no need to shuffle at this point.

Okay, now comes the fun part.  Lay your chosen cards aside, and shuffle the rest of the deck as you would normally shuffle. What you are going to do now is ask the tarot its opinion on the same questions!  You will draw one card for each question, but draw these cards at random, face down.

Lay them out beneath the cards you deliberately picked, matching them to the same answer you chose for each aspect of the situation.  And have a look.  What is the tarot's opinion of the same situation?  It might give a similar view—OR something surprising and enlightening.

This is a startlingly effective little exercise, and should get you back into reconnecting with the tarot and tapping into the insight it has to offer.

[dippingin]

Also as the nights get darker and we head into Winter, our bodies want to hibernate but we have to keep going for Christmas/new year etc. I'm sure this affects our motivation  too

[Misterei]

On 12/8/2023 at 6:59 AM, Yola said:

It's like an artist who spends time without inspiration and a writer who can't write. Creative block.
The cards don't speak, you don't see patterns, it's difficult to make predictions correctly. I can't connect with the cards.

... Both for my readings and for the readings I do professionally.

YES. It's normal.

While its happening close your shop for a week or 2 and don't take any clients.

This might be the PERFECT time to take a winter vacation.

On a personal level ... you might also just give it a break for some weeks.

 

I had gotten very disconnected from my Personal practice [my professional practice was fine ... but I DO periodically take vacation and close shop for 2 weeks].

I found that reconnecting with this forum and doing the ISG reading circles helped me re-kindle my personal practice.

 

It's normal. It will pass. Relax and take a break😇

[Yola]

Hello @Nemia, Are you okay?

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I followed your suggestion and looked for good literature, other practices and moments of mental rest in my free time. I already felt like this could help me - a lot.

 

Hi @Mister, how are you?

Thank you for your suggestions. Could you clarify for me what MO is?

And look what a "coincidence". I just got a Lenormand deck for Christmas. I think your advice came at the right time. It's not just the name of the method, I actually believe it needs hope.

 

Hello @DanielJUK!

Thanks for the suggestions. These topics are very precious. I will read carefully! I have tried to have free time, although as I said this is the busiest time for tarot readings and I have to work from Monday to Monday to keep up with all the demands. Still, it's very useful. Because sometimes, even in my free moments, I try to keep my cards close to my chest so I can improve myself professionally.

[Yola]

Hello @Chariot, its very nice talk to you!

Thank you very much for your very detailed suggestion of this method. I just did it and my experience was surprisingly interesting!

 

Hello friends, @dippingin and @Misterei! How are you?

Thank you for your suggestions and for your kindness in bringing words of serenity to this moment. I live in Brazil and here we are experiencing slightly different days, experiencing the hottest, most humid and sunny days possible - and we haven't even reached summer yet, which in fact only starts on December 22nd. As the holidays have started and everyone is preparing for the summer break, there is an unusual amount of excitement compared to the rest of the year. I will have the opportunity to take 4 days of vacation and I believe this will be really good. Interesting how these differences alter our experiences, isn’t it?

Without a doubt, this forum helps A LOT. Thank you for the kind connection.

[Misterei]

1 hour ago, Yola said:

...I live in Brazil and here we are experiencing ... the hottest, most humid and sunny days possible - and we haven't even reached summer yet, which in fact only starts on December 22nd. As the holidays have started and everyone is preparing for the summer break, there is an unusual amount of excitement compared to the rest of the year ...

Ah! strange to think of Christmas in summer for us northerners!

My busy time is Halloween ... October and beginning of november get booked solid.

By  Christmas time I can take a break as people in USA are into materialism and shopping [I don't go to the store even for my normal purchases b/c I don't want to deal with crowds and traffic]. Tarot & Astrology will get busy again at New Year.

 

Enjoy your short summer vacation!

[cyberpunkkitty]

Sometimes I don’t have any cards jump up to me at all, no matter how many times I shuffle and try. It might be an energetic block at times. Try to ground yourself and cleanse your working area.