Author suggests to *never* read for yourself?!

[gregory]

When I started to read (in a group on AT) it was always for others. But when I wanted practice, I used to do as Ricklef suggests and read for TV shows, novels or even fairy stories where I already knew the outcome. You can be surprised what Cinderella could have done if she'd had a reading sooner.... 

[Ix Chel]

I have done readings for an television soap serie. The cards knew things which, I saw months later in the show.

 

Doing readings for fictive persons is very interesting. There is no pressure for being right or wrong. You can explore the card meanings in more depth. The Devil does not always mean a bad person, it can also be a workaholic with a very good heart.

 

@gregory I would like to know what Cinderella could have done.

 

[gregory]

Geez I will have to look for the book - now is not the best time.... I'll try.

[gregory]

OK - not quite as much fun as I remembered - but it would help her to focus on a solution - on finding the man of her dreams - rather than thinking all the time about being hard done by. It;s Tarot Tells the Tale - it's a great book. Ricklef is a genius.

[EMarieHasADHD]

On 10/12/2024 at 11:28 AM, Ix Chel said:

Reading for your self, is often more difficult than reading for others. I have red this book years ago, it was mainly for the tarot card meanings. 

 

You do not have to agree with everything what an author says. It is just an opinion. Some people like a deck, and you do not like it. Pick the good things out of this book. And if you like to read for yourself, just do it. 

 

Remember the words of Barbara Moore: Your Tarot your way.

 

Yes, I’m aware that I don’t have to agree with everything others say/write. It was mainly an interesting discussion starter. I was curious about others’ views on this topic. Thanks for contributing to the thread 🙂 

[RickInBakersfield]

On 10/12/2024 at 6:57 AM, EmarieWithADHD said:

I stumbled across a book titled “Mastering the Tarot” by Paul Fenton-Smith. I read a couple of pages as I was curious about its potential based on the title. I feel there are more than enough beginner tarot books and not near enough intermediate/advanced ones. However, I scoffed and stopped reading as soon as I saw an entire page about how one should ONLY read for other people and literally NEVER read tarot for oneself 

Does anyone here agree with Mr. Smith? Anyone never read for themself? 
 

Well, I've been pulling one card a day in the closed-club section of this forum...and frankly I am getting a lot out of this. Isn't that a form of reading for yourself?

 

So, I'd have to disagree with the author of that book.

[Morwenna]

I have read often for myself, but usually for general things. In fact the last few years that's all the readings I've done; my performance anxiety took over a long time ago.  But I never want to read for myself (or even have a reading done for me!) on any really serious topic. The older I get, the more I don't want to know.

 

But I do know people who don't believe it's possible to read for oneself without bias (in any form of divination). But that's a person's choice; it shouldn't be held as an injunction. The real caveat is to look out for bias. 

 

Reading for myself was the way all my learning was made to sink in. I would try out a spread, analyze what I got, seeing if and how these things actually applied to myself. It was a great tool. 

[Chariot]

19 minutes ago, Morwenna said:

The older I get, the more I don't want to know.

That says it all!  You're right.  Me too.  🙂

[Misterei]

14 hours ago, Morwenna said:

... The older I get, the more I don't want to know.

14 hours ago, Chariot said:

That says it all!  You're right.  Me too.  🙂

I've heard people express this sentiment. I don't think it kicked-in for me. Reading for myself has changed, yes. I no longer do 1001 readings about a guy I'm dating  or the job application I submitted. Those topics aren't in my life anymore.

 

I do plenty of reads about health or introspection or interpersonal stuff. I go through phases of not wanting to know. Will those phases get longer and more frequent as I age? I cant say. I'm 60 and still find many topics to read about, especially as a spiritual / meditative practice.

 

Often the I don't want to know arises from over-reading a topic or observing that Ive lost objectivity / accuracy. So i give it a break. But I did this when I was younger, too.

[Chariot]

22 minutes ago, Misterei said:

 

I do plenty of reads about health or introspection or interpersonal stuff. I go through phases of not wanting to know. Will those phases get longer and more frequent as I age? I cant say. I'm 60 and still find many topics to read about, especially as a spiritual / meditative practice.

 

I don't know.  I'm 75, and while things are not completely awful yet, and I have no severe health issues yet,  I can't see a lot of improvement on the horizon ..either personally or politically.  Do I want to get a reading that makes me discouraged or fearful?  Sometimes I'm just not in a place where I feel I can handle bad news.  

[Misterei]

1 hour ago, Chariot said:

...  Sometimes I'm just not in a place where I feel I can handle bad news.  

Yes. I sometimes feel this way and avoid self-reading. I guess I'm an optimist, tho. Even as I see certain possibilities vanish with ageing, I also remain ever hopeful on the inner frontier. My self-reading has become more introspective and spiritually oriented as I age. I would like to burn as much karma as possible before I die and self-reading helps me understand and accept this process.

[Chariot]

11 hours ago, Misterei said:

Yes. I sometimes feel this way and avoid self-reading. I guess I'm an optimist, tho. Even as I see certain possibilities vanish with ageing, I also remain ever hopeful on the inner frontier. My self-reading has become more introspective and spiritually oriented as I age. I would like to burn as much karma as possible before I die and self-reading helps me understand and accept this process.

What an excellent attitude.  I should strive to adopt it.  (Maybe AFTER the election!  🙂 )

[Deian]

Well... At the end of the day all these are just people, providing their point of view... G.D. and other orders are the same, though, just people, in some cases very young that had to find their way through metaphysics with much less info then present day person can find.
Their opinion and views... We take it or not. I kinda understand where he is coming from, not for tarot that much, but there are some systems that can't be "turned off", once we know them they always show up. And for me there have already been times that that could be overwhelming... Would be very boring to live without them, at this point, not to mention how incredibly useful that info has been, though, so for me at least, the overwhelming part, seems to be worth it. And the accuracy part for ones own reading also sorts out with time, figuring out stuff is always what needs to be, so shifting it to answer in a "good" way is pointless...

 

Strangely enough, for me the bigger challenge was the opposite. Reading for other people, as then the question becomes from what position I could take the responsibility to give advises when I can never be absolutely sure in my answer. Using free will for me seemed fair, but using it for other people didn't...
Back then had a lot of health problems and based on a lot of divination took very unusual path for healing that specific conditions, so my logic was - i'm using it for life and death decision for years now, that suggests I have enough faith in my own readings and the system to do that, that kinda given me the right to give advice as well.

 

But that time has passed, its different now, so I kinda have doubts again for answering others and avoiding it when doesn't seem very needed. I do read for me all the time, though...

[Guest]

The advice stands on a practical foundation; is very hard methodically to achieve a level of clarity for self-reading because we need to kind of detach from self, and that requires a big effort. Personally I find reading for others easier, because I am not attached as much as I am to my own existence, expectations, experiences and feelings. But, with practice it becomes easier. 

[Saturn Celeste]

On 10/12/2024 at 9:57 AM, EmarieWithADHD said:

Anyone never read for themself? 

I don't read for myself.  In all honesty, I don't need to.  My life is 'fixed' at this point.  I'll be 70 in Feb and at this age, there isn't too much I can change.  All I can do is keep my mind active.  I'm on meds for my mental health and am happy.  When something bad happens, it's the tower and it just happens.  If something in the house is breaking, we have to deal with it, our finances are fixed so we go without until we can afford to fix the big ticket problem.  So what are the cards going to tell me?  I am happy in the knowledge I have now.

 

When I picked up reading the tarot, I read for everything, my house, my cats, the weather, whatever I spotted, I read for it.  I have always preferred reading for someone else.  I am a recluse and don't leave my house, so it was easy for me to read for tons of people online.  I never lacked someone to read for.  I know myself very well and simply don't need the added mental stress reading for myself can induce.

[Skaye]

On 10/12/2024 at 7:59 AM, Raggydoll said:

In my humble opinion, that’s pure nonsense 😁

I agree. It’s easy to try new spreads on yourself compared to with other people all the time. Nobody has time for that.