Reading tarot when you're tired.

[Anouk]

What do you think. Do you need to be alert and fully conscious to read?

 

Do you do readings when you're in need of a nap? Does it help or hinder to be five steps closer to dreamy dream land?

 

I'm asking because I'm tired a lot and even coffee has no impact on me. I feel if I'm too tired there's no way I could make sense of tarot cards.

 

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[RavenOfSummer]

Good topic- I come up against this issue as well!

 

I have tried on a number of occasions to do a reading when I'm tired, and what almost always happens is I lay out the cards, I stare at them for a while, and then I eventually admit to myself that I can't make heads or tails of them. Then I put them away and go to bed. Also, I like to center myself before I read, and when I'm too tired I find it's really impossible to get to that centered place I want to be in.

 

So, for me, I've found it doesn't really work very well. Sometimes you need a tarot reading, sometimes you need a nap, and one does not replace the other  ;)

 

Having said that, I often find working with the cards very relaxing. So as a wind-down activity, I'll sometimes look through a deck, or even lay out a few cards, not really to read them, but just to kind of look at the pictures.

 

Also, I actually really love doing a reading first thing in the morning. I find that is a time when I'm still in that liminal state, closer to dreaming, and can bring that dream-state understanding and approach to things. It's a nice transition into the day and into full wakefulness. But the opposite ending of things, reading when I'm tired at night, or during the day when I haven't gotten enough sleep, does not work for me.

 

As for being tired a lot...is it possible you're not getting enough sleep? I struggle with sleep routines and with falling asleep, so that's something I've been working on and doing somewhat better with lately. I find if I practice mindfulness and de-stressing throughout the day, it helps me a lot more than trying to just release everything at night when I'm ready to go to bed. There are some herbs that make great sleep aids as well- I'm partial to catnip tea, and love linden, lemon balm, and passionflower as well.

 

Also, eating a well balanced diet, with whole foods (as opposed to subsisting on quick things like nutrition bars, like a lot of us tend to do when we get busy!) and lots of veggies and avoiding sugar also helps a lot to be more awake and energetic throughout the day. And of course regular exercise is important too. Those are things I find way more helpful than caffeine!

[Anouk]

Having said that, I often find working with the cards very relaxing. So as a wind-down activity, I'll sometimes look through a deck, or even lay out a few cards, not really to read them, but just to kind of look at the pictures.

 

I do this too. My new favourite thing is just staring at the Ostara deck because some of these cards are so beautiful I get lost in them.

 

I'm taking a medication that gives me terrifying lucid hallucinations. It's sleep paralysis which I've always had but now it's almost nightly and causing me to lose quality sleep. I try to eat well. But I'm not the best.

 

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[RavenOfSummer]

Oh, that sounds horrible. Hugs. Not the same thing, but I struggle with anxiety and sometimes if I wake up during the night I find myself so anxious and fearful that I can't even attempt to sleep again until sunrise. It's terrible when the body needs something so much but isn't able to have it :(

 

I'm glad the cards are a relaxing experience for you. The Ostara is a beautiful deck! I have a deck called the Starlight Illuminated, which is basically RWS images all set with night sky backgrounds, so I tend to use that one at night a lot.

[Starlight]

I'm taking a medication that gives me terrifying lucid hallucinations. It's sleep paralysis which I've always had but now it's almost nightly and causing me to lose quality sleep.

 

Crumbs, that sound frightening, Anouk[/member] . I'm really sorry to hear that. I listened to something Wayne D. Dyer said about the last 5 minutes before sleep. He said whatever you're thinking about as you fall asleep is basically programming you overnight and affecting how you are the following day. I wonder if looking at the cards you really love in the Ostara deck before you sleep might help a little?

 

What do you think. Do you need to be alert and fully conscious to read?

Do you do readings when you're in need of a nap? Does it help or hinder to be five steps closer to dreamy dream land?

 

What I've started doing recently as I wind down for sleep is draw a card for the day, a card related to something that's on my mind that happened during the day. And then I free write about it. Because it's something I'm doing as I feel tired, there is a point where it actually helps me dive a bit deeper into what the card is bringing up. But I know that when I'm beginning to nod off and lose track of what I'm supposed to be doing that I need to put the deck away and call it a night.

 

I wouldn't attempt to do more than one card when I'm tired. It's too much to process.

[Anouk]

I'm taking a medication that gives me terrifying lucid hallucinations. It's sleep paralysis which I've always had but now it's almost nightly and causing me to lose quality sleep.

 

Crumbs, that sound frightening, Anouk[/member] . I'm really sorry to hear that. I listened to something Wayne D. Dyer said about the last 5 minutes before sleep. He said whatever you're thinking about as you fall asleep is basically programming you overnight and affecting how you are the following day. I wonder if looking at the cards you really love in the Ostara deck before you sleep might help a little?

 

What do you think. Do you need to be alert and fully conscious to read?

Do you do readings when you're in need of a nap? Does it help or hinder to be five steps closer to dreamy dream land?

 

What I've started doing recently as I wind down for sleep is draw a card for the day, a card related to something that's on my mind that happened during the day. And then I free write about it. Because it's something I'm doing as I feel tired, there is a point where it actually helps me dive a bit deeper into what the card is bringing up. But I know that when I'm beginning to nod off and lose track of what I'm supposed to be doing that I need to put the deck away and call it a night.

 

I wouldn't attempt to do more than one card when I'm tired. It's too much to process.

I've tried free writing but can't seem to break free of all the training I have as a writer. I can't let go of structure and grammar and word choice etc. It's so ingrained in me to care what I'm writing.

 

Do you have any tips?

 

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[Starlight]

Write as *fast* as you can, without stopping to correct or re-read. I'm talking MAJOR SPEED here, if the rules of writing weigh you down. If you aim for speed, you'll have to let the rules go. So, speed, even if that means spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, missed words, Freudian slips, etc. And maybe try doing that for 1 minute to start with, or 30 seconds, just so that the exercise doesn't feel too onerous to do. And then increase the amount of time you do it.

 

And remember, no one is going to see this but you, so the "rules" don't matter. I've put "rules" in inverted commas because the people who wrote the rulebook are not necessarily the greatest of writers. The best writers know the rules and know how and when to break them. Writers create and make people feel. Writers speak to our hearts. If you try speed-writing, perhaps your heart will be able to make its voice be heard above the Admin Assistant part (which all writers have) who wants to Get Things Written Correctly. There's a time and place for our Admin Assistants, but self-exploration isn't the best time or place. Once they've got the writing space set up, and the writing time pencilled into the diary, the Writing Assistant's job is done!  ;)

 

ETA: And free writing, I've always found, is best done by writing longhand, not by typing.

[Anouk]

Ok speed and time limit. I'll try it, thanks. Having an object like a card to write about is a great idea, too.

 

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[Starlight]

I found the rules Natalie Goldberg recommends in her book, Writing Down the Bones.

 

1. Keep your hand moving. (Don't pause to reread the line you have just written. That's stalling and trying to get control of what you're saying.)

 

2. Don't cross out. (That's editing as you write. Even if you write something you didn't mean to write, leave it.)

 

3. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. (Don't even care about staying within the margins and lines on the page.)

 

4. Lose control.

 

5. Don't think. Don't get logical.

 

6. Go for the jugular. (If something comes up in your writing that is scary or naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy.)

Best of luck with the free writing. Maybe you'll report back and let us know how it goes for you. :)

[Starlight]

Ok speed and time limit. I'll try it, thanks. Having an object like a card to write about is a great idea, too.

 

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:thumbsup:

[Anouk]

I found the rules Natalie Goldberg recommends in her book, Writing Down the Bones.

 

1. Keep your hand moving. (Don't pause to reread the line you have just written. That's stalling and trying to get control of what you're saying.)

 

2. Don't cross out. (That's editing as you write. Even if you write something you didn't mean to write, leave it.)

 

3. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. (Don't even care about staying within the margins and lines on the page.)

 

4. Lose control.

 

5. Don't think. Don't get logical.

 

6. Go for the jugular. (If something comes up in your writing that is scary or naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy.)

Best of luck with the free writing. Maybe you'll report back and let us know how it goes for you. :)

I will, but maybe we should have another thread on the art of free writing lol.

 

I think it's going to take practice because I have spent so many years trying to perfect my writing (I used to be a technical writer) that writing without worrying about the rules seems impossible to me.

 

I'm sure it's possible, but I'll need to keep at it until I'm free.

 

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[Intense Tarot]

I try not to but sometimes I get a surge of energy when I shuffle the cards & then feel super energised. My much loved Rider deck can really pep me up & center me, I love going through the cards as a sort of meditation/focus exercise.

[Rowena]

I struggle with reading words when I'm tired, much less tarot. X-D

[Grandma]

I struggle with reading words when I'm tired, much less tarot. X-D

 

Huh? (YAWN)

[Anouk]

I struggle with reading words when I'm tired, much less tarot. X-D

 

Huh? (YAWN)

Haha me too. I got high on new years eve and thought it would be a great time to get in touch with my cards. I sat and stared for what seemed am eternity before realising I had nfi what I was looking at.

 

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[Thoughtful]

l absolutely cannot read when tired, l have tried but l get cards that make no sense and my mind feels more addled than usual  ;D then l get frustrated with myself.

 

To do a reading l have to feel on the ball, alert, and ready to go. 

 

[Guest Night Shade]

I'm not good at reading cards when I'm tired, but if I look at the layout right before I fall asleep, sometimes I'll wake up with new insights.  I think my subconscious must work on them while I'm asleep.

[chongjasmine]

I am not good at reading when tired.

I need to be alert to read well.

[~D~]

Years ago I wouldn't be able to read when i was tired.

Now I just tell myself we are gonna do it, and it works out some how.

I don't think it screws anything up,"whats to be, will be"...

[DanielJUK]

Don't beat yourself up about being tired Anouk[/member]  <3 I see divination and Tarot as a experimental process, see how it goes! There are people who read when sleepy, can't sleep or drunk or high or in a hallucinatory state, whatever works for someone and their reading! There are cultures in the world where people divine when in a trance, drug induced or not, so whatever works to get your reading!

 

I know my limits personally with reading. I know that if I read for a lot of people or work on a big reading, I get tired, it drains me! I know if I am tired from the day there is a limit for me, I need to concentrate! I also find I read in silence, no tv on, no music on, I have to think and concentrate. So that is my method and style. I can read when tired or a little tipsy from alcohol but if I am really tired or drunk then it's not going to go well! I have tried it out for myself as an experiment. I prefer to get some sleep and do it the next day  :)

 

Some people are always tired, people who cannot sleep or on medication or have a new child, real life sometimes makes reading difficult. So I think everyone has to make it work for them  :thumbsup:

[Esk]

I too seem to be unable to read when I'm tired, and the more time pass, the more I have to be rested to use tarot. Although it don't stop me to try sometimes. But nearly every time I read when tired it doesn't make much sense. Worse, I think I tend to dramatise all cards when it's not "good" ones. Funny last time it happens I kept getting the 10 of swords. I guess the message was "stop making things worse than they are in  reality".

 

 

[Anouk]

There does seem to be a consensus on this issue. Being tired is not overly conducive to tarot reading.

 

Apparently 150 years ago (before lightbulbs) it was normal for people to wake up in the middle of the night, having gone to bed early, and being quite active at that time. You got your Edgar Allen Poe Raven style of mid-night ponderings, sex, writing poetry. Passionate stuff. Our sleeping habits have changed since electricity allowed us to stay awake much later. I would imagine waking for a couple of hours like that would make for fabulous tarot reading opportunities.

 

Here's an article that discusses it. https://www.kqed.org/science/26331/how-electric-light-changed-the-night