I had a discussion with another Tarot reader recently who insisted that every card was positive and none of them should be read negatively. Even the Tower card. And reversals? Forget it.

Since the human imagination is limitless I can envision a pathway to taking that approach, but it doesn't strike me as either realistic or healthy. Pretending that negativity doesn't exist by refusing to recognize it, in fact by forcing only positivity on Tarot readings, strikes me as fakery. Positive forces are balanced against negative forces, a foundational concept of eastern harmony. Focusing only on positivity seems wildly out of balance.

Personally, I'm willing to let honesty rule the reading, releasing my intuition to feel negativity or positivity as presented by the cards. It's not my purpose to impose intentional outcomes through my conscious will. That honest approach to intuition makes the reading free of intentionality and willfulness, thus releasing me from moral issues about any messaged negativity rebounding.

I suspect my views are in the minority. My friend's positive-only approach may be more extreme, but most of the Tarot readers I've met seem to focus strongly, at least, on positive readings and shy from negatives. What say you? Always focus on the positive, or just let the cards lead where they may?

Bad stuff happens. We can't deny it.

What are the lessons to be gained from the events that occur that we don't like, i.e. the "bad"?

Positivity would (in its best form) be to identify the reality of the situation but point to where the individual needs to grow. We often don't like to face ourselves, but the cards can see us and our patterns clearly.

For example, change and letting go is hard, and we often don't want to do it "Death". Sudden realisations about how gigantic our ego is and how we lie to ourselves can be shattering - we put ourselves in some superior category out of an often unconscious need to compete (don our regalia) and then get knocked off our perch and get caught out somehow in humiliation (Tower) hopefully making us humble and behave more like our true uncloaked self with all our emotions and subconscious/unconscious movements (Star).

We're on a journey and while all of it is - or can be - good for something, we don't see it as good.

There may be some need to clarify about the focusing on the positivity - is it the lesson that is the positive thing? My intention when reading is to help. I think that's the important thing. But we don't want to say "everything's fine" when we could be warning someone about something, do we? If taking someone's money to give advice and we don't, we are possibly doing the ego thing wanting them to like us - but the sitter would have every reason to despise us for taking their money. "You should have warned me!"

Thank you for raising such a good topic, @Croat .

Life is a mixture of good, bad—and very often simply indifferent or trivial as well. I find I am not attracted to tarot decks that emphasise one end of the spectrum at the expense of the other. I don't like 'dark' decks, but I am equally unmoved by 'rosy' decks.

Usually you can get some positives from an overly negative reading if you include a space for it in your spread. Something like 'what is best to do in this situation?" or 'what is helping me in this situation?' This kind of thing. This is another reason why I don't do one-card spreads, or spreads that don't have enough cards in them to give a nuanced view of a situation. And why I ALWAYS include an 'advice' card in every spread.

Of course when you're reading for somebody else (or even for yourself) and you sense that an overly negative reading will shatter them rather than help them, it's good to be able to soften any blow without being dishonest. I think that's where practice comes in, and also the ability to interact with your querent. Talk the situation through, and get them to look at as many aspects of a situation that you can. How many different directions an 'outcome' can lead. You can even do a second reading to clarify any aspect of the first reading that needs a bit more information.

It's also helpful if you can point out how many times you've received or dealt negative cards for yourself in your time as a card reader ...and yet, here you (still) are!

My own tarot journey has recently led me into practicing how to de-catastrophise a reading. That's where the tarot journal can really help. How did Death manifest itself in readings where it actually appeared? Ditto 10 of Swords, The Tower, etc. Cards that are traditionally seen as 'negative cards.' What ACTUALLY happened AFTER the card reading occurred?

That approach helps me to understand how melodramatic cards hardly ever presage everlasting grief.

OMG. Death! In a position of 'what will happen today.' Somebody is going to die! Nope. Turns out I finally threw away those shoes that never did fit me right—and now there is a space on my shoe rack for another pair. Death. Transformation. And we move quickly on ...nothing to see here....

Edited September 1Sep 1 by Chariot

Alla @geoxena - bad things happen. Such is life.

But in order for a reading to be useful to the querent - one must de-catastrophize alla @Chariot .

Self-fulfilling prophesy is all-too-real, and it's always helpful to the querent to give them some positive things to take away with them.

@Croat your aforementioned Tarot reader was a Doreen Virtue model? 😁 (Who removed all the "negative" cards from her decks, replacing with other imagery. It was all fluffy Angels and bluebirds... until she had some sort of personal breakdown [my assumption], denounced her practice & decks, and went back to being a stoic Christian. It was quite a drama).

Edited August 31Aug 31 by Tanga

2 hours ago, Tanga said:

bad things happen. Such is life.

But in order for a reading to be useful to the querent - one must de-catastrophize

Well, of course. Acknowledging that some cards may indicate messy, dangerous, or less than ideal situations or outcomes isn't necessarily catastrophizing. Of course there must be perspective in viewing how all cards in a spread correlate with each other and how the combination of cards relates to the querent's question. And in just about every situation, there are options or choices to make in order to move forward or swerve out of the way of something that could have negative results or repercussions.

Self-fulfilling prophesy is all-too-real, and it's always helpful to the querent to give them some positive things to take away with them.

Sure. I never said that a reading which acknowledges possibly negative things wouldn't also include positive ways to handle or avoid them. I mean, to me, it kinda goes without saying that the reader would also look for a solution, next steps, way out of a mess, etc. and advise accordingly. I would never just tell a querent, "Bad sh!t's gonna happen!" and leave them with a sense of foreboding and fear of some kind of disaster heading their way. But, as someone sitting here with a fractured ankle, I can attest to the fact that life isn't all rainbows and puppy dogs.

Edited September 1Sep 1 by geoxena

After my mother died (decades ago) I got Tarot of the Origins (now Primordial Tarot) because it featured death as a daily possibility. When things are already bad, I find an overly positive deck or reading depressing in how unrelated it feels. "You'll feel better later," doesn't really hit for me in serious situations. I want a message for now. I'd rather see the 3 of Swords and be reminded that I am not alone That this is the way life works, and there's nothing happening to me that isn't part of what everyone deals with. (Not because I want other people to be sad too, of course. But because that's the way it is, and accepting that reality gives me more peace than incorrectly feeling singled out or treated unfairly.)

If I get 9 of Swords, 5 of Cups, Tower, the positive is that things going to s*#t is going to force me to deal with something I definitely don't want to, even if it's on the small scale. Lke being nauseas and needing to throw up, it's better to get it over with and get to the other side. So that's good advice. Even if I only drew one card and it was the 9S, I would read it as 'anxiety will be worse so remember your best strategies to cope with that'. In that way, to me all tarot readings are positive, because they're of use. Of course, that's not the same kind of positive as the tarot reader @Croat mentioned is talking about.

EDIT:also forgive me if you've seen this before. 😅 I've posted something similar here several times over the years. It's fundamental to how I see tarot.

Edited August 31Aug 31 by Rose Lalonde

Dolly Parton (RIP) once said, "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain".

That's the human condition, there are bad times and good, positives and negatives, we have to get through the ups and the downs.

About 15 years ago, I went through a bad depression and I turned to a Doreen Virtue Angel Deck to help me. I think she was at the height of her popularity around then and it was useful to me to take a card, each day for a positive message. Like I needed that positive boast. Looking back on it, really I was getting a positive affirmation and you can get cards with them on or just make up your own or a positive intention for the day. They were not good at doing readings or spreads because they were so themed one way.

I think positive only decks or readings are useful in a very specific way but you cannot use them for regular or general readings. You need the "bad cards" (I don't even believe personally they are bad cards). Sometimes they give the most important advice you can ever hear. You want to find love? Well maybe they are saying you need to dramatically end something from the past, change your whole mindset, get rid of all that baggage. Things could get worse before they get better (just an example).

I've noticed some Youtube and TikTok readers remove the 10 of Swords, Death and The Tower (sometimes also the Devil) from readings. I am not quite sure why but I think when they are pulling random cards for their readership, they don't want to make them feel bad or I dunno, but it's strange. I've written about it before but there is a prominent astrologer who has a blog and has a tarot card for the monthly readings for each sign and excludes the negative cards. They also have an astrological value, it really bugs me.

In my own readings, I try to give the message that comes up. It's not always positive and it's not always negative, I try to be honest to what I am seeing. I also believe that all cards can be positive / neutral / negative depending on how they turn up and read in position. So even if you remove those cards, The Sun can burn you, Lovers can be too codependent and relying on someone else. They all have a range. The greatest thing I have learnt in my readings is that the cards are nuanced and I don't think I can get that without the balance of all the cards in the deck.

9 hours ago, DanielJUK said:

Dolly Parton (RIP) once said, "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain".

That's the human condition, there are bad times and good, positives and negatives, we have to get through the ups and the downs.

About 15 years ago, I went through a bad depression and I turned to a Doreen Virtue Angel Deck to help me. I think she was at the height of her popularity around then and it was useful to me to take a card, each day for a positive message. Like I needed that positive boast. Looking back on it, really I was getting a positive affirmation and you can get cards with them on or just make up your own or a positive intention for the day. They were not good at doing readings or spreads because they were so themed one way.

I think positive only decks or readings are useful in a very specific way but you cannot use them for regular or general readings. You need the "bad cards" (I don't even believe personally they are bad cards). Sometimes they give the most important advice you can ever hear. You want to find love? Well maybe they are saying you need to dramatically end something from the past, change your whole mindset, get rid of all that baggage. Things could get worse before they get better (just an example).

I've noticed some Youtube and TikTok readers remove the 10 of Swords, Death and The Tower (sometimes also the Devil) from readings. I am not quite sure why but I think when they are pulling random cards for their readership, they don't want to make them feel bad or I dunno, but it's strange. I've written about it before but there is a prominent astrologer who has a blog and has a tarot card for the monthly readings for each sign and excludes the negative cards. They also have an astrological value, it really bugs me.

In my own readings, I try to give the message that comes up. It's not always positive and it's not always negative, I try to be honest to what I am seeing. I also believe that all cards can be positive / neutral / negative depending on how they turn up and read in position. So even if you remove those cards, The Sun can burn you, Lovers can be too codependent and relying on someone else. They all have a range. The greatest thing I have learnt in my readings is that the cards are nuanced and I don't think I can get that without the balance of all the cards in the deck.

Re: Doreen Virtue. Yes. I was at a Tarot moot once and there was a lady there who was petrified of "negative" cards, but she wanted to learn to read. So I recommended a Doreen Virtue deck.

And HA! - people actually remove cards from the deck? Good grief. No further comment needed.

11 hours ago, geoxena said:

Well, of course. Acknowledging that some cards may indicate messy, dangerous, or less than ideal situations or outcomes isn't necessarily catastrophizing. Of course there must be perspective in viewing how all cards in a spread correlate with each other and how the combination of cards relates to the querent's question. And in just about every situation, there are options or choices to make in order to move forward or swerve out of the way of something that could have negative results or repercussions.

Sure. I never said that a reading which acknowledges possibly negative things wouldn't also include positive ways to handle or avoid them. I mean, to me, it kinda goes without saying that the reader would also look for a solution, next steps, way out of a mess, etc. and advise accordingly. I would never just tell a querent, "Bad sh!t's gonna happen!" and leave them with a sense of foreboding and fear of some kind of disaster heading their way. But, as someone sitting here with a fractured ankle, I can attest to the fact that life isn't all rainbows and puppy dogs.

Neither of the comments I made were directed at "correcting" your post - by the way (from the above, it appears that you have read it in this way). I was just giving my own succinct penny's worth to the OP 🙃.

Edited September 1Sep 1 by Tanga

On 8/30/2026 at 10:43 AM, Croat said:

I had a discussion with another Tarot reader recently who insisted that every card was positive and none of them should be read negatively. Even the Tower card. And reversals? Forget it.

Since the human imagination is limitless I can envision a pathway to taking that approach, but it doesn't strike me as either realistic or healthy. Pretending that negativity doesn't exist by refusing to recognize it, in fact by forcing only positivity on Tarot readings, strikes me as fakery. ...

Everything is context. Going on a spiritual retreat where you WANT to tear down your ego structures? Tower is positive in that context. Remodeling your house and need to demolish the old floor to repair the rotted joist? Tower is part of the process.

Planning a wedding? Tower is probably some kind of disaster.

That promotion you really wanted? Tower is a hard NO.

Einstein's Theory of Relativity comes to mind. Everything is relative. And yes, it also strikes me as fake to pretend that context plays no role in whether a card is positive, negative, or neutral. Empress is a benefic card--but for an obese person who overeats sweets--it's too much of a good thing.

The phrase "toxic positivity" comes to mind.

On 8/30/2026 at 10:43 AM, Croat said:

I suspect my views are in the minority. My friend's positive-only approach may be more extreme, but most of the Tarot readers I've met seem to focus strongly, at least, on positive readings and shy from negatives. What say you? Always focus on the positive, or just let the cards lead where they may?

A few times I've had well-meaning friends try to put a more positive spin on malefic cards. As events transpired I could see the cards were accurate but my friends' affection for me gave a softer interpretation . This is just human nature. We want to be nice to our friends.

The YouTubers and TicTokkers? Removing cards? Figures. Nothing surprises me with social media. I've heard some readers do it for party readings too. And, yes, it is awkward when you get Tower for someone in a 12-minute bachelorette party reading. But I've managed to navigate malefic cards in party readings. Not everyone has the skill to do this. And if they are unskilled--prolly best they don't read malefic cards. If we were ice skaters--the malefic cards are a higher difficulty level. Benefic cards are a waltz jump. Malefic cards are a triple axel.

Edited September 1Sep 1 by Misterei

I think there are enough negative and positive cards in the deck to balance it out. I don't like decks that are completely positive or try to make negative cards like 10 Swords, 3 Swords, The Tower, Devil, Death more positive - they all have their places in a traditional deck and are needed to make balanced readings. I also don't do reversals because, again, I think that there are enough cards to get complete and balanced readings without reversing them.

On 9/1/2026 at 4:46 PM, Misterei said:

The YouTubers and TicTokkers? Removing cards? Figures. Nothing surprises me with social media. I've heard some readers do it for party readings too. And, yes, it is awkward when you get Tower for someone in a 12-minute bachelorette party reading. But I've managed to navigate malefic cards in party readings. Not everyone has the skill to do this. And if they are unskilled--prolly best they don't read malefic cards. If we were ice skaters--the malefic cards are a higher difficulty level. Benefic cards are a waltz jump. Malefic cards are a triple axel.

This is where perhaps a symbolic deck rather than an overly pictorial one could help. If you're experienced enough to read pip decks, that should solve any minor arcana 'scary' cards turning up. And there are decks where the majors aren't as scary as others either, without being cutesy. Personally I don't use pip decks, etc, but I've seen pictures of decks that seem designed for individual and neutral interpretation.

On 8/30/2026 at 7:43 PM, Croat said:

I suspect my views are in the minority. My friend's positive-only approach may be more extreme, but most of the Tarot readers I've met seem to focus strongly, at least, on positive readings and shy from negatives. What say you? Always focus on the positive, or just let the cards lead where they may?

From my point of view, if you read all of the cards in a positive way, you do an affirmative read - there is a time and a place for that.

It's just one style of reading, with a particular use and usefulness.

If a decisive answer to a case is needed, you shift gears.

Sticking with positive-only interpretations while reading a "What's to happen?" is something I'd feel iffy about.

Worse, if all I knew were the sunny side to my cards - I wouldn't be able to face my people, nor could I answer their questions.

Sometimes, I wonder: There are these tides in reading cards, they colour what's practiced - and there is need for a definite standpoint, especially when dealing with indefinite matter (the future, for example) so some do take recourse to "It shall be that and none other!" Which is still A-Okay! However, very often "... for you, too!" is added, either in words or in expectation, and that messes things up - it stiffles evolution.

And it's wrong.

There's a difference between our own reality and Reality, most markedly that the latter does incorporate way more elements and configurations of life.

Which is also what makes it hard to straight out abolish the remarkably narrow-minded idea discussed here.

Seeing as there is indeed a time and a place for a purely affirmative read, considering how vast reality can be, it wouldn't be too strange if there was time and space for a purely affirmative reader, too.

I mean, we pretty much live in a strange place already.

ETA: Just put that idea to Lenormand - some do! - Well.

The hidden door lies elsewhere - it is to boldy aquaint yourself with the suit of acorns via the path signaled by the Cross.

Once you have the obstacles figured out, the rest becomes much more manageable.

And you can't figure them out if you shy away from them, which I'd classify as something to work on if you want to read cards.

In Tarot terms, if the outcome of commitment is in question and my Devil occupies the spot, I know it is a bad idea to go there, which is a 'No.' And that is exactly what my Devil shall do: Warn me, when things aren't healthy. Be there, where things aren't healthy.

Signal that area for me, so I can point it out and incorporate it into my answer.

The cards dubbed "negative" are not the Negativity itself.

We link them to it in order to warn us, to get a grip on things and a handle on situations.

If we only link our cards to positive things, they can not talk about the negative stuff because we do not understand, and thus they can not warn us.

It's operating the cards with decreased functionality.

Something I do not recommend.

Edited Saturday at 11:18 PM4 days by Mister

5 hours ago, Mister said:

The cards dubbed "negative" are not the Negativity itself.

We link them to it in order to warn us, to get a grip on things and a handle on situations.

If we only link our cards to positive things, they can not talk about the negative stuff because we do not understand, and thus they can not warn us.

It's operating the cards with decreased functionality.

Something I do not recommend.

This is exactly why I always include an 'Advice' card in my readings, no matter which spread I choose. The Advice card gives the querent something to do. If the reading is otherwise 'negative' this Advice card will point the way towards either reversing the negativity, preventing the negativity, or surviving the negativity and moving on.

6 hours ago, Chariot said:

If the reading is otherwise 'negative' this Advice card will point the way towards either reversing the negativity, preventing the negativity, or surviving the negativity and moving on.

In my earlier years, if sh** hit the fan, I used to look at the fan to see what can be done.

Which is, deal three cards in a bundle for a follow-up.

Around three years ago, a spread I used and used again (a 5-card-cross-type) began incorporating that feature on its own - What happened was the following:

The position used as "how to arrive at the outcome" became "how to approach the future", thus incorporating the aspect of guarding if danger is afoot.

Remarkable was that it just clicked; I did my usual, and then it wasn't needed anymore, because something happened - and it happened entirely in stride.

2 hours ago, Mister said:

The position used as "how to arrive at the outcome" became "how to approach the future", thus incorporating the aspect of guarding if danger is afoot.

How to approach the future. Yep. That's a good one. It's more specific than "Advice." I'll remember that. Thanks!

Edited Sunday at 01:27 PM3 days by Chariot

When I read for a tarot site professionally, the owners of the site insisted we give each card a positive twist, and that was the only thing that I found difficult about the job. Life is full of unpleasant experiences, big or small, there are disruptions, shadows that we carry from our past, and the results of mistakes that we make. That's just life, there is no smooth path for anyone, and we shouldn't expect it. One thing I love about the tarot (as opposed to some oracle decks that are only, only positive) is its honesty. It reflects happy times, balanced situations and great opportunities, but also times of tension and misery, lack of balance and botched opportunities. And that's how it should be. Otherwise, what use would a deck without the Hanged Man, the Seven of Swords, or the Three of Swords be?

Of course, each of these "negative-at-first-sight" has a potentially positive twist. It can serve as a speed bump, preventing us from crashing into more difficult situations. It can turn into a wake-up call. It can reveal unpleasant truths that we don't want to acknowledge. It can tell us clearly: move on, this ship has sailed.

But the "positive" cards have the same potential. There is a warning hidden even in the most idyllic and harmonious card. In the RWS, a subtle hint can be the line that indicates a set painting for a theatrical stage. Oh, just look at the beautiful Ten of Cups!

Everything is hunky-dory, isn't it? But maybe this is just a painted set, an illusion, a fata morgana? Maybe it's a performance for our family, our neighbours and ourselves?

There is no card without hidden depth. We don't even have to use reversals to find it. Decks like the Tarot of Oppositions spell it out for us and helps us find the hidden potential of each card, but we can do the same with any tarot deck, just digging a little deeper. If a seemingly positive card makes us feel uncomfortable, that's a place where we should dig.

I have never really connected to the idea of white light in visualisations, as a spiritual cleansing experience. When I think of light healing or cleansing me, it's rainbow coloured or flecked with shadows, like on a sunny day with clouds, or the purple light of Yesod, or the light of the Moon... all kinds of light. That's probably a bit weird of me... Anyway, I don't want purely uplifting messages from my tarot deck, I want the truth. I want it from my husband, my children, my friends, and I want it from the tarot as well. And that's what I can give others. Tactfully, yes, non-confrontational, yes. But no sugarcoating. Where is the learning experience, the challenge, the opportunity for growth?

Edited Sunday at 04:18 PM3 days by Nemia

1 hour ago, Nemia said:

Otherwise, what use would a deck without the Hanged Man, the Seven of Swords, or the Three of Swords be?

Plenty.

Apparently, there's this stuff, Leno-something-or-other - or so I hear.

1 hour ago, Nemia said:

Where is the learning experience, the challenge, the opportunity for growth?

Absent.

1 hour ago, Nemia said:

Oh, just look at the beautiful Ten of Cups!

And try pairing.

I don't like it when it comes around as an intro.

I much prefer it in the future and outcome.

Edited Sunday at 06:01 PM3 days by Mister

Very true - I should have written, what use would a TAROT deck without these cards be.

I tried to work with Lenormand many many years ago, using a German book and the good old Blue Owl deck, and I liked it. However, I always return to tarot... One great thing about Lenormand is the many layers of meaning in one card. I keep thinking: I have to get back to it. Lenormand is proper fortune telling ;-) not all this self-reflective stuff. However, I seem to be in need some self-reflective stuff, so there we are...

@Nemia You can do some proper fortune-telling with 'em Tarots, too, as you are well aware, I bet.

But... I noted that I did apparently feel entitled to flippantly diss the "Only Positivity"- stance in the end, despite my initial effort to leave it some room, which made me wonder what it is making me go "Can't! No!" - and arrived at a most peculiar answer.

It undermines our instinctive understanding of form and pattern, forming part of each informed readers approach to cards.

Whether instinct is present and aligned with heart, soul and understanding is what makes an approach informed in the first place.

And part of that is that you just look at a card and feel something.

Take XIII, TdM-style, look at it without thinking for a moment.

"Look good and long, and let it step in through the inner door, now do you dare?

Ah.

What a nice fellow we have here, don't we?"

-made up on the spot-

And here is why I go "Can't!": The feeling each card evokes inside of us is an essential part of how we approach its core, how we align with it.

It is part of where we go looking for what's most useful - Very often, once we are entirely clear about our resonance with the core, the character of the card has settled, too, and we say "it clicked" for us, and each "click" is so precious to us that it enriches the entirety of our craft.

Here's where I arrived at: I'll discourage the above discussed praxis, it's prone to lead into accidents down the road.

If someone feels the need for a purely positive read and would feel the need to make the troublesome cards less or not so to arrive there, the more beneficial approach will likely be to exclude them from the pack in their entirety for the period one is in need of affirmation.

It's better for the mind, you need not doctor around with stuff and can be honest with you about not feeling up for troubling impact.

There's a good chance that it will feel like you've grown a bit once you feel ready to take them on once more, too.

30 minutes ago, Mister said:

If someone feels the need for a purely positive read and would feel the need to make the troublesome cards less or not so to arrive there, the more beneficial approach will likely be to exclude them from the pack in their entirety for the period one is in need of affirmation.

It's better for the mind, you need not doctor around with stuff and can be honest with you about not feeling up for troubling impact.

There's a good chance that it will feel like you've grown a bit once you feel ready to take them on once more, too.

I am a firm believer that tarot (and other cards) cards are tools. We use them for what we need them for.

While I've never removed 'negative cards' from a deck, when doing a reading for myself, I do occasionally remove all the court cards. I haven't got a problem reading court cards, but sometimes I just want insight into an issue WITHOUT dealing with personalities as well.

I think if you want a reading but KNOW you can't deal with negativity at the moment, it's perfectly okay to remove a few cards you definitely don't want to get. Tarot will find a way to tell you what you need to know, anyway. If you know you're going to have an over-reaction to a negative card ...just take it out. I'd rather do that, than assign some happy clappy meaning to a scary/negative card. Just me, I guess.

These removing a card actions don't apply when I'm doing a reading for others, though. With any luck, I can read calmly and not over-react if a negative card comes up. I'm less likely to catastrophise a reading for someone else, if a negative card appears, and often the personality cards are the most useful when pinpointing particular people. I usually look for the most helpful meaning of any card, when reading for others. When reading for myself, though ...I can do whatever I want!

On 9/13/2026 at 5:17 PM, Nemia said:

When I read for a tarot site professionally, the owners of the site insisted we give each card a positive twist, and that was the only thing that I found difficult about the job.

Goodness that sounds difficult and unnecessary. I wonder where they would stand with Etsy readers now advertising "BRUTAL READING! RIP THE BANDAID OFF! IS HE COMING BACK OR NAH? FIND OUT FOR CERTAIN - READING GUARANTEED IN 0.8 FEMTOSECONDS OR LESS". I wonder if/why touchy feely readings have stopped being trendy? 🤔

-*-

Like many folks in this thread, I agree that life is about taking the rough with the smooth. It does worry me when I see spiritual folk being all "love and light, don't let the negativity get to you, only invite in good thoughts xoxo" because ignoring the bad stuff means ignoring injustice, suffering and heartache. Both the types felt personally and internally and the external types writ large in the world.

You can't deal with the inner stuff by ignoring it. And you can't speak crucial truth to power about the external stuff by locking it away in a brain-drawer either.