But surely what we're doing here is twisting a cards meaning into the context of the question so if we had a position in the spread for 'red flag' we've already decided to frame it through the negative connotation because that's what we're looking for.
Imo it's better to read the card with the traditional meanings because all possible interpretations are covered therein and the work has been done for us. If we go assigning the same meaning to different cards, doubling up essentially, it would be way too confusing for me but each to their own.
Great example is someone posted a spread asking for 3 things his partner liked in him, we'd expect from the question 3 shining qualities but that's not what presented itself, there's a possibility she was running him ragged and enjoying it. Temptation is to twist the meanings into a positive frame because that's what we're looking for and expect but there's no need to re frame the cards in light of the question, you read what you've got.
Not necessarily. I've done plenty of readings for people who have
insisted that something was amiss and the cards time and time again insisted that everything was fine. I feel as though in situations like that, what negativity is shown usually reflects the querent's negative mindset, not the situation at large. Alternatively, I've had situations where people have obsessively insisted that, for example, someone was in love with them and the cards time and time again showed otherwise.
Our jobs as readers is to pull what we can from the cards regardless of what bias or attempt at pressing for an outcome someone may have. I think sticking to text book definitions
personally is where a lot of readers falter. It restricts your ability to see finer details that can easily be overlooked if you go into each reading with a card auto being good and another auto being bad. I think it also automatically assumes that everyone uses the same deck and each deck reads the same. I own several and can pull up the same card across the board and the difference in how they're interpreted vary greatly from deck to deck.
On top of that but there are people who use other factors such as reversals or elemental dignities that can shift an otherwise seemingly positive set of cards into something that's full of red flags.
Ex:
A textbook reader pulling up a set of cards like Knight of Wands + Ace of Cups + Six of Wands + Queen of Swords + two of Pentacles might look at this and see a situation where someone finds a new love filled situation with someone passionate that can help them feel secure. That these two people will find a way to mesh their lives together and juggle their differences. But what I immediately see is either a love affair where someone is being juggled and the other person is really just looking to fluff up their ego. Again this would also depend on the deck I use since not all of mine care for elemental dignities, but it's important to look at the bigger picture and be open to the different ways seemingly positive cards can be read.