Tarot for the 21st Century!
Not Every Card in a Spread Needs to Be Read
Not every card in a spread needs to be read. This may come as a sigh of relief for some, and become a sore point for others, and maybe others have never even contemplated this yet - but I mean this only in light of my reading experience. This just relates to the way I read cards, and I'm writing this primarily to encourage others who may struggle with finding meaning in every card in a few ways:
Firstly, the larger the spread, the more cards there are and the bigger the story. In a 10 or even 21 card spread, for example, it is highly unlikely that 100% of the cards will speak to you equally, just as chamber music has a different balance than an orchestral sound. Just one trumpet can cut through the entire orchestra, and often in a reading it is just one or two cards that jump out and give the reader a full-blown message, speaking way louder then the other 9 or 20 cards. My take on that is, go with it! When I read, I go with the cards that speak to me first.
It's just the same with an apple - it is chock full of seeds, precisely because not each one will sprout! Some cards are merely there as placeholders, or to give meaning on a different level than the other cards.
Secondly, there are times when we even lay small spreads, such as 3 or 5 cards which may or may not be emphasized by position meanings. On the one hand, yes, a walk through each position may be very revealing and meaningful. It may also just as likely be the case that only 50% to 75% of those cards are really screaming at you, and the rest can be ignored - and still remain pertinent. In this way, I like to use another scenario: If I am with 3 friends and we are going out to dinner, usually it is one or two who will influence the direction of the evening's choice and the rest will comply, go along and fully participate.
For example: Suppose you asked a question and in answer received the Magician, 7 of Wands and 5 of Swords. At first glance the Magician makes immediate sense because of a visual rhyme with your question and you chuckle! Looking at the 5 of Swords, the meaning reinforces the impression and you are satisfied. You return to that 7 of Wands in the center, and it speaks nothing to you. Well, here I would say your reading is complete. You could also work with the 7 of Wands and arrive at its message through concentration or reflection. That is equally valid, but not the focus of this article.
I think it's important to remember that whenever doing a reading, we give ourselves permission to speak initially to those cards that speak the loudest, make most sense, give us the clearest impressions, or carry the most weight. Our personal practice will give us the tools to make these decisions, and ultimately it is for the benefit of the person receiving the reading - so why not give them only the most pertinent and helpful information we have?
Comment
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Comment by Melinda Carver on June 1, 2011 at 8:43pm -
Thanks Ann for sharing that you pull extra cards when necessary! :)
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Comment by Ann Westland on June 1, 2011 at 2:13pm -
I've pulled out an additional card (up to three, actually) on the celtic spread if I wanted clarification - or if the last card for outcome was a court card.
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Comment by Christiana Gaudet on June 1, 2011 at 5:44am -
This is well said, John.
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Comment by Mikael Johansson on May 29, 2011 at 9:34am -
Yes, one could have asked. Even though I thought it should have been obvious at the time what it was meant for. It was a remote reading, so the client was not there, and no additional questions were asked.
Looked to me like she just had a bit of time left and added another card, like a sixth card to a poker hand.
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Comment by Melinda Carver on May 28, 2011 at 5:20pm
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Mikael,
Why don't you ask the reader why she did it? You can always ask.
I myself don't always use one of the accepted spreads (Celtic/Astrological/etc) but my own special one. Sometimes the seeker (client) does NOT get it and/or has another question so you have to pull additional cards. There's nothing extreme about it, just useful to the seeker to me!
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Comment by Melinda Carver on May 28, 2011 at 5:17pm
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Edmund,
Yes, if the seeker (client) even gets the message! Some are just like "Huh??" and it takes awhile for them to "get" it!
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Comment by Mikael Johansson on May 28, 2011 at 12:00pm
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Once I happened to see a reader who was laying out a Celtic cross for someone. She did that ok, she told the positions and the meaning of the cards. But then, after she had laid out the last one, "the outcome", she did something that surprised me, she pulled another card! "A special card"? And I wondered why did you do that?
It was almost like she didn't care about the 10 cards in the spread and put everything on another card, that didn't have any meaning.
I'm still wondering why she did that. Kind of an extreme way of skipping cards.
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Comment by edmund hamer on May 28, 2011 at 10:52am
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as beginner years ago, i realised that not all cards "speak" to the reader, however, each card has a traditional meaning and in my own humble opinion this meaning can be relayed to the client, who may or may not accept that the meaning has validity for them. i never forget the reading is for the client, not for me, and just the fact the card is present means it has a place, purpose and meaning, i may not personally feel anything for myself, but to the client just knowing the meaning is useful....magusrelax
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Comment by Melinda Carver on May 28, 2011 at 4:38am
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Jan,
As Dax does, I also encourage them to call back, answer back in the chat or e-mail me via TG e-mail or my personal e-mail. I have received several e-mails from those min-readings going back to my first show.
Erin in FL sent me an e-mail that the spirit I saw driving with her was her ex father-in-law that she loved. The description I gave her was spot on and she even KNEW when he was with her.
I've read Mary N. & Mary B. and they gave testimonials on my page, my group page and in the various other groups I belong to on TG.
The whole point of min-readings are quick answers for the numerous callers - Dax usually has over 40 people on the phone and 2 different chat rooms are filled too with seekers. If you listen closely you will hear some confirmations during the show during the chat with the caller.
Every psychic is different. We receive info differently. Also, the seeker has to be the one to GET the message. They might not recognize something when I first tell them, and during the reading they will then have an A-HA! moment and say they know who it is.
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Comment by Dax Carlisle on May 27, 2011 at 2:28pm -
When I do mini-readings on Tarot Today shows, I always encourage the callers to call in again and give us updates. Now often the Sunday shows feature guests and we may or may not be doing readings. If we are, it's usually the guest and not myself, so we have no control over that. But on the Sandy & Dax shows, we definitely ask for feedback and for callers to call back into the show and let us know how things went.
In fact, on Thursday's show, Tonya from Chicago called back and gave us an update and we did an updated reading with her as well. As Deb says, these ARE mini-readings and we are limited with how much help we can be in 2-5 minutes as well as how much information can be gleaned.
Also, I'd like to say in response to Jan that very few guests that we have on Tarot Today Radio claim to be "psychic". Now our frequent guest Melinda Carver is a Psychic Medium & Tarot Reader. I will let her respond to your statements herself. My co-host on Mondays and Thursdays is Sandy Winnette and she also gets "psychic information and impressions" in addition to using Tarot. As for myself, co-host Mark Reed and MOST of the guests on Tarot Today, we have never claimed to be "psychic".
The mini-readings are somewhat vague as we only have 2-5 minutes with a caller. Also, I am not "seeing, hearing, or feeling" any information. There are no specifics popping in my head to pass on to a caller. I do get intuitive impressions and they guide me as to where do go with a card or group of cards. I am a Tarot Reader, not a psychic. We are just trying to help them out as best we can, with a limit of one question per call, in the time allotted. In a full session, lasting 40 minutes to an hour, we can cover many questions and glean more specific answers and information using the Tarot.
© 2013 Created by Dax Carlisle.
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