Reading without a question

daedal

Is it possible to divine a reading without a question for general purposes?
 

gregory

How do you mean ? If you mean what I would call a "general reading" - yes, absolutely. Just think of it as asking the cards what the sitter needs to know. I much prefer them to focused readings actually.
 

Barleywine

A general reading is one option I offer my sitters. If they ask which method is best - a specific question, a broader focus area like romance, health, work, family, etc, or a general life-reading, I tell them that the general reading will cover more ground and will most likely bring up details that we can explore in more depth. Usually, though, since I don't want to know what their question is in advance, I let them interact silently with the cards any way they want.
 

Tanga

Yes - as above.

And I've been enjoying using Earthair's General Spread for myself - since she posted it...
damn I can't find a link for it at the minute...
So - you'll have to make do with my "roundup" of it here:


~~~~~
Earthair’s General Spread - finding the Question and Answer:

Step 1
Lay out 22 cards face down on the table to represent the Major arcana archetype positions.

*,*,*,0,*,*,*
1,2,3,4,5,6,7
8,9,10,11,12,13,14
15,15,17,18,19,20,21

Turn over 0 (the Fool position) - this is your question, or area which needs examining. From the pile of remaining cards, turn over the top one - whatever the number is, dictates how many cards will be turned over next.

Step 2
Use your intuition to turn over whichever cards equal the number you think will answer the question, (or the sitter turns over their choices).
Or, use a separate majors only deck, draw the number of cards, and let them tell you which to turn over in your 22 spread - so say you drew the Lovers, then turn over card 6 of your grid.
~~~~~


And here's my preferred habit for a "general reading" for a sitter:
I do that "first operation" thing - I shuffle a chosen signifier card into the deck (I usually use an extra card - I prefer not to reduce the occurrence of a Court Card in the spread), split the deck into 4 piles - namely Earth, Air, Fire and Water - and whichever pile the card turns up in - is the focus for the reading
(Earth - material plane, Air - thought plane, Fire - active/physical plane, Water - emotional plane. These are after Benebell Wen, from her book 'Holistic Tarot').
 

barefootlife

It's definitely possible to do a reading without a specific question. I do them all the time. The question sort of becomes 'what do the cards need to tell me/sitter right now?' In my experience, it almost always finds a way to tie into the sitter's life, and what they think they want to know isn't always what they need to know, if that makes any sense. Also, it removes the anxiety of a new sitter thinking that they need to have a question to ask. They're my favorite kind of readings to do.
 

Barleywine

And here's my preferred habit for a "general reading" for a sitter:
I do that "first operation" thing - I shuffle a chosen signifier card into the deck (I usually use an extra card - I prefer not to reduce the occurrence of a Court Card in the spread), split the deck into 4 piles - namely Earth, Air, Fire and Water - and whichever pile the card turns up in - is the focus for the reading
(Earth - material plane, Air - thought plane, Fire - active/physical plane, Water - emotional plane. These are after Benebell Wen, from her book 'Holistic Tarot').

This is the first step of the First Operation of the Opening of the Key method. I used it for a long time when I was still using a Significator in my Celtic Cross spreads. I added one more wrinkle: after splitting into four stacks, I turned over the top card in each stack to see if I could guess where the Significator would be found. If I guessed right, I would give that element even more importance.

I stopped doing the pairing and counting steps and went right into the CC after finding the Significator.
 

Ace

I do it all the time too. I ask the cards for information the sitter needs now. However: general questions can get general answers. And If the sitter complains, they have only themselves to blame.

barb
 

violetdaisy

I think you can do a "general reading" for someone else....but in my experience, not for yourself. Why? Because there is always something you're focusing on, consciously or not....For instance, when I draw a daily "card" or cards I find them most pertinent to work ... on the days I work. If there's a situation brewing somewhere in my life, the cards tend to reflect that - even if I just ask what my guides want me to know.

I have found people want to know *something* whether they tell you of that *something* or not...

If you begin with a general reading, as others have mentioned - it will start going in the direction of the main concern of the querant. So I like the idea of asking where the querant wants to focus - romance, or whatever.
 

nisaba

Is it possible to divine a reading without a question for general purposes?

I do all the time. 90% of my clients don't give me a question. A well-constructed spread will tell you quite clearly what their issue is, anyway.
 

Barleywine

I do all the time. 90% of my clients don't give me a question. A well-constructed spread will tell you quite clearly what their issue is, anyway.

For me it's 100%, because I tell them not to. I tell them the cards will "speak their piece" directly to them and I'll translate. Sometimes it's like "peeling an onion," which is why client-reader interaction is so important to me. Some of my best readings emerge this way.