Reading for Yourself

[Tom]

I am reading a book, Tarot Interactions by Debra Lipp, which is very good.  She said that when you read cards for yourself you should read them outloud.  I don’t have my study set up in my new home right now, so I don’t have a very private space to read—there may be family members around.  I do read things in a very low voice sometimes, but sometimes I transcribe my direct thoughts on what the card means into my journal.  It doesn’t seem to affect accuracy, what do you all think?  Is it really always necessary to read for yourself out loud?

 

The author said the reason for this was that our brains process the information differently when we speak it.

Edited August 23, 2024 by Tom

[DanielJUK]

I can see the idea in this, there is a theory with affirmations or learning something like languages or studying that it helps the brain to retain the info better.

Personally I have never done this and I value the privacy of my own personal readings in my household 😂

 

Whatever method improves your readings I guess. It might be useful if someone is taking a daily card for a meditation or message but I don't think it's essential to do

There are many many readers who cannot read for themselves at all and have to get someone else to read for them, I am not sure this would solve that.

[Raggydoll]

32 minutes ago, DanielJUK said:

Personally I have never done this and I value the privacy of my own personal readings in my household 😂

 

No, you do not need to speak out loud in order to read accurately for yourself! 😄
 

I know I have read that book you mention, and if I remember correctly, there were several good things in it, but I also remember that the author was quite opinionated and a lot of it simply didn’t resonate with me. My advice to you is to take what resonates and ignore the stuff you know won’t work for you! 

[Nemia]

I tend to murmur to myself when I read for myself but I find a much better way to get clarity is journaling. Document your reading, take a picture, write down everything, and return to it after a while. That works for me. Disregard it if it doesn't for you 😉 

[Tom]

Thank you for your suggestions.  I do a daily inspiration card and weekly affirmation card.  I have gotten a lot of the book as far as being able with how to related cards to each other in a narrative.  The author was also an Eden Gray student , and we have a lot of card meanings that we agree with.  In fact Eden Gray taught her some of the spreads in the book.  I like the affirmation that I don’t have to adopt all the “modern” ways of card interpretation.

[DanielJUK]

I think a big change in tarot over decades, is that before many books were manuals for readings and using the cards. You must use tarot like this, the deck must be a gift, you have to sleep with it under your pillow, use the Celtic Cross spread, etc, etc. In the last ten years there has been a shift and now you can use it however you like, so there is a freedom to find your own path. Authors can offer suggestions from their view but we can take what works for us and leave the rest behind 🙂

[FindYourSovereignty]

I actually love reading the cards out loud for my personal readings, however, I have the privacy to do so. I often get more out of the reading by talking to myself like I am a client. I also journal which supports me even more. I use this as an opportunity to practice readings and hearing myself talk about the cards. I think everyone needs to find what works best for themselves and allow that to evolve.

[RunningWild]

I don’t think it’s any more helpful while learning to speak the reading aloud than it is in journaling it.  At least with journaling you can look back at your notes as you progress and see how you’ve done and how accurate you were.  Plus there’s the privacy factor.  Personally, I’m a quiet person unless someone really aggravates me.  When I was working, I probably didn’t utter more than five complete sentences on any day.  I lived alone, so unless I addressed the dog, there wasn’t much going on there either. 😅  I would just take her strong opinions as a suggestion and maybe some day in the future you’ll be able to give saying it to yourself a try if occurs to you.