Reading For Yourself
While conducting readings for yourself can be challenging due to potential biases or emotional involvement, the benefits far outweigh these challenges. It’s an essential and rewarding aspect of your Tarot journey.
Independence and self-sufficiency are fundamental for the modern Tarot Reader, and reading for oneself is now widely embraced as essential. However, this practice is a relatively recent innovation in Tarot history.
Traditionally, Tarot reading maintained a clear distinction between the roles of the Reader and the Querent, often excluding the idea of a Reader conducting readings for themselves.
Past Fears of the Future
In the past, older Tarot books often discouraged reading for oneself without adequately explaining why. These warnings usually stemmed from superstitions and outdated beliefs. During that era, people believed in an unalterable destiny and feared confronting an inevitable future without the guidance of an experienced Tarot Reader. It was widely thought that novices attempting to read the cards alone would likely become frightened or unsettled. Additionally, there was a common perception that effective Tarot reading required innate psychic abilities.
The Modern Approach
In contemporary Tarot practice, there's been a significant shift away from predictive and fatalistic readings towards more constructive interpretations. Querents today are less inclined to see themselves as mere victims of fate. Instead, they approach Tarot with openness and a willingness to gain deeper insights into themselves and their current circumstances.
While Tarot cards can still be used for making predictions, these are typically viewed as potential scenarios in a future that can be influenced and altered by the individual's actions. This perspective acknowledges that outcomes are not solely determined by destiny but are shaped by the choices and decisions made by the Querent.
A Popular Practice
Over time, Tarot has evolved significantly, with self-reading becoming a widely embraced and essential aspect of Tarot practice. It enables practitioners to experiment with different spreads and decks, fostering personal growth and enhancing their ability to interpret various life situations through the cards.
Contemporary Tarot enthusiasts view reading for oneself as an invaluable method for refining skills, though it requires mindful consideration. It serves as a pathway for self-reflection and exploration, facilitating a dialogue with one's intuition and subconscious. This process ultimately promotes deepened self-awareness and personal development.
Why Read For Yourself?
Reading Tarot for yourself offers numerous benefits:
Convenience: Access the wisdom of the Tarot anytime, anywhere, without relying on a professional reader.
Cost: Save money that would otherwise be spent on consulting a professional Tarot reader.
Privacy: Address personal and sensitive questions or topics without sharing them with others, ensuring a confidential exploration.
Practice: Enhance your skills and confidence by regularly reading for yourself and experimenting with different spreads and decks.
Self-development: Foster introspection and self-exploration through a dialogue with the cards, promoting personal growth and advancing your journey of self-discovery.
The Challenges
When reading Tarot for yourself, you might encounter several challenges that can be overcome with the right approach:
Objectivity: It's easy to interpret the cards based on personal desires or fears rather than their true message. Stay objective and open-minded, avoiding the temptation to distort readings to fit what you want to hear.
Fresh Perspectives: If you find yourself stuck in repetitive interpretations, especially if you favour traditional meanings, try using different decks regularly. This can inject new insights and keep your readings dynamic and fresh.
Dependence: Reading Tarot for yourself should empower independence, not create dependency on the cards for decision-making. Avoid over-reliance by limiting how often you consult the cards and challenging yourself to make decisions without always seeking validation from them.
Making Sure You Stay Focused
Staying focused during personal Tarot readings is crucial to avoid getting lost in emotionally charged questions. Rather than pulling multiple cards without clear outcomes, maintain the same disciplined approach you use for others. One effective method is to write down a precise question, turn over one card, and succinctly record its answer. This practice helps to anchor your thoughts, slow down the process, and guide you towards a coherent conclusion. By being aware of potential pitfalls and using structured techniques, you can harness personal readings to enhance your skills and confidence, thereby improving your success when reading for others.
Card of the Day
Each morning, start by shuffling your deck and drawing a single card, which you will interpret as a forecast for the day ahead. For example, drawing the High Priestess might suggest an upcoming discovery or learning experience, based on the card's associated keywords.
If you draw the Strength card, it could imply a need for self-discipline, whereas the Devil card might caution against indulging in excessive passions, or conversely, encourage you to fulfill some desires. After interpreting the card, jot down your insights and possible meanings.
Later in the evening, revisit the card and your notes. Reflect on how the events of the day aligned with your interpretation. Sometimes, reviewing the card can provide clarity or a deeper understanding of the day's experiences.
This daily practice not only hones your interpretive skills but also fosters a deeper connection with the Tarot deck, enhancing your ability to read intuitively for yourself over time.
Self Reading Techniques
Reading for yourself is an empowering way to integrate Tarot into your daily life, offering clarity and solutions to challenges without relying on others for interpretation. Developing a close bond with Tarot as part of your routine may initially feel like a journey, but it yields numerous benefits, enhancing your sense of empowerment and refining your Tarot practice over time.
Here are some techniques to help you get started:
Card of the Day: Each morning, draw a single card and interpret it as a forecast for the day ahead. Write down your insights and revisit them in the evening to reflect on how the day's events aligned with your interpretation.
Focused Questions: When you have a specific issue or question, write it down clearly. Draw one or more cards to address the question, and record your thoughts and feelings about the cards' messages.
Daily Reflection: At the end of each day, draw a card that reflects on the day's events or provides insight into your experiences. Compare this with the morning's Card of the Day to see how they align.
Spread Exploration: Experiment with different spreads to gain deeper insights into various aspects of your life. Common spreads include the three-card spread for past, present, and future, or the Celtic Cross for a more detailed analysis.
Themed Readings: Focus on specific themes such as career, relationships, or personal growth. Use spreads and questions tailored to these areas to gain targeted insights.
By incorporating these techniques into your routine, you'll deepen your connection with the Tarot and enhance your ability to read intuitively for yourself.
Achieving An Open Mind
To enhance objectivity in self-readings, especially for beginner and intermediate Tarot Readers, it's crucial to combat personal biases and mood influences that can skew interpretations. For instance, optimistic Readers may overly favour positive meanings, while pessimistic ones might focus on negative aspects, even in typically favourable cards.
To foster balanced interpretations, Tarot author Mark McElroy advocates the technique of moderation and excess. Here’s how you can apply it in your self-readings:
Three Interpretations Approach
Extremely Positive: Explore the most optimistic outlook for each card.
Extremely Negative: Consider the most pessimistic view.
Moderate Interpretation: Find a balanced middle ground between the two extremes.
This method encourages Readers to confront both ends of the spectrum initially, helping them engage their intuition to arrive at a more impartial interpretation. By integrating a moderate viewpoint, Readers can achieve a clearer understanding of the cards' meanings, enhancing the effectiveness of their self-readings.
By employing this technique, you'll develop a more balanced approach to interpreting the Tarot, allowing you to see the full range of possibilities and thus gain more nuanced insights.
Updated
28 July 2024 at 13:58:38
The Comparative Method
The Comparative Method, developed by American Tarot Reader and author Valerie Sim, offers a solution to the challenge of repetitive interpretations when reading for oneself. This technique keeps interpretations dynamic and stimulating by introducing variation through different Tarot decks.
Here’s how you can apply the Comparative Method in your self-readings:
Choose a Spread: Begin by selecting a Tarot Spread that suits your question or intention.
Use Multiple Decks: Draw the cards for the Spread using your first Tarot deck. Take note of the interpretations based on these cards.
Repeat with Different Decks: Recreate the same Spread using another Tarot deck or multiple decks. Ensure that each card from the original Spread is matched with its counterpart in the new deck(s).
Compare Interpretations: Analyse and compare the interpretations of each card from the different decks. Note the nuances, variations, and new associations that each deck brings to the reading.
Deepen Understanding: By seeing how different decks present the same cards, you gain new insights and perspectives. This helps you avoid falling into a pattern of repetitive interpretations and encourages a richer understanding of the cards' meanings.
Example:
If your initial Spread includes the Six of Cups, Three of Wands, and Wheel of Fortune from the Universal Tarot, you would then draw the Six of Cups, Three of Wands, and Wheel of Fortune from another deck, such as the New Vision Tarot. Each deck offers a unique 'tone of voice' in interpreting the cards, enriching your reading experience and broadening your Tarot insights.
By using this method, you’ll enhance your interpretive skills and gain a deeper, more varied understanding of the Tarot.
Keeping a Tarot Journal
Keeping a Tarot journal is indeed a valuable practice for anyone learning to read the cards, whether for themselves or others. Here’s how you can effectively maintain a Tarot journal to enhance your understanding and practice:
Choose Your Journal - Select a notebook or journal that you enjoy using and that fits your style. It could be a plain notebook, a bullet journal, or even a dedicated Tarot journal with predefined sections for each card and reading.
Record Your Readings - Whenever you perform a reading for yourself, note down the date, the cards drawn, and your initial interpretation. Keep this entry concise yet insightful, capturing the essence of the cards and their meanings as you see them at that moment.
Reflect on Interpretations -
At the end of the day or after a significant period, revisit your journal. Reflect on how the interpretations you wrote down earlier manifested in your day-to-day experiences. This helps you connect the abstract meanings of the cards to practical situations in your life.
Identify Trends and Themes - Pay attention to any patterns that emerge over time. Note which cards appear frequently and which are absent. Identify recurring themes or messages that the cards seem to convey across different readings. This can provide valuable insights into your life's challenges, strengths, and areas for growth.
Personalize Your Entries - Use your journal to explore how different Tarot decks resonate with you personally. Record any unique insights or intuitive flashes you experience while working with specific decks or cards. This personalization helps deepen your connection to the Tarot and enhances your ability to interpret the cards intuitively.
Track Your Progress - Over time, review your journal entries to track your progress as a Tarot reader. Note how your interpretations evolve, how your understanding of the cards deepens, and how your intuition develops. Celebrate your successes and learn from any challenges or mistakes you encounter along the way.
Sample Tarot Journal Entry Template
Date:
Deck Used:
Question/Focus:
Card(s) Drawn:
Initial Impressions:
Detailed Interpretation:
Events/Reflections:
Personal Insights:
Benefits of Keeping a Tarot Journal
Enhances Self-Reflection: Journaling encourages you to reflect on your readings and how they relate to your life, deepening your self-awareness.
Tracks Patterns: Identifies recurring themes and patterns in your readings, offering valuable insights into your life's journey.
Boosts Intuition: Helps you develop and trust your intuitive abilities by recording and reflecting on your intuitive insights.
Encourages Learning: Facilitates a deeper understanding of the Tarot as you document and review your interpretations and experiences.
Provides Reference: Creates a personal reference guide that you can refer back to, helping you see your growth and track your journey with Tarot.
By consistently using a Tarot journal, you create a structured way to engage with the cards, reflect on their meanings, and refine your reading skills. It becomes a powerful tool for self-discovery, personal growth, and harnessing the wisdom of the Tarot in your daily life.
Calculating a Daily Major Card
Calculating the Major Arcana card for any given day is a fun and insightful way to gain a daily Tarot focus. Here’s a step-by-step guide to calculate it:
Write Down the Date:
For example, for 10 September 2023, write it as 10/09/2023.
Sum All Digits: Add the digits together: 1 + 0 + 0 + 9 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 17.
Reduce to a Single Digit (if necessary): If the sum exceeds 22 (since the Major Arcana has 22 cards numbered from 0 to 21), add the digits together again: For the sum of 17, you don’t need to reduce further because it is less than 22.
If the sum was 23 or more, you would add those digits together until you get a number between 1 and 22.
Identify the Major Arcana Card: - The number 17 corresponds to the Major Arcana card “The Star.”
Examples:
10 September 2023: 1 + 0 + 0 + 9 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 17 (The Star)
21 June 2024: 2 + 1 + 0 + 6 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 4 = 17 (The Star)
15 August 2024: 1 + 5 + 0 + 8 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 4 = 22 -> 2 + 2 = 4 (The Emperor)
The Technique of Moderation and Excess
Using the Technique of Moderation and Excess helps Tarot Readers develop objective and balanced interpretations of the cards. Here's how you can apply this technique with an example using the card XII - The Hanged Man.
Essential Meanings and Keywords
Essential Meanings: Transcendence, Punishment
Keywords: Inversion, Reversals, Insight, Halt, Meditation, Sacrifice, Gestation, Surrendering, Acceptance, Initiation, Perspectives
Developing Three Interpretations
Positive Interpretation:
"I will be able to overcome a temporary difficulty brilliantly because I know how to avoid giving any weight to material concerns."
Focuses on the ability to transcend challenges by adopting a spiritual or enlightened perspective.
Emphasizes using insight and meditation to navigate and resolve issues.
Suggests that the Querent will find strength in non-material values and inner wisdom.
Negative Interpretation:
"I will face problems which will damage my ideals and leave me feeling betrayed."
Concentrates on the potential for experiencing setbacks that challenge the Querent’s beliefs and values.
Highlights feelings of punishment, stagnation, and sacrifice without immediate reward.
Indicates that the Querent may feel a sense of betrayal or disillusionment.
Balanced Interpretation:
"I will be asked to give something up and, even though I won’t like it, I will be willing to make that sacrifice, recognizing that it is the best solution in the circumstances."
Represents a middle ground acknowledging both challenges and opportunities for growth.
Suggests a conscious and willing sacrifice for a greater good or long-term benefit.
Encourages acceptance and the ability to see things from different perspectives to find a balanced solution.
By exploring these three different perspectives, Readers can gain a more nuanced and objective understanding of the card, reducing personal bias and enhancing their intuitive reading skills.