How to handle a "redo"

Darkmage

I don't currently read for money, but I have been doing alot of practice readings.

Occasionally I would just get something that didn't make any sense at all. The client would be asking about love and the cards just seemed to want to talk about health or money.

When that happens I tell them what I interpret the cards to mean, if it doesn't make any sense at all I tell them what they could mean and see what happens.

Twice what seemed to me a nonsense reading really freaked out the person I was reading for, because it explained their situation perfectly.

I think sometimes the cards can surprise us.

I've had this happen more times than I can count. I don't know why it should do this, but it does. I've just learned to read what the cards have to say and I keep my thoughts on its relevance out of it. Readings like this turn out to be spot on more often than not.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine was up for a transplant. I did a reading for him. The two central cards in the CC were Swords. Every. Single. One. of the others was a Court card. Seeing as his question was about money, both of us laughed and wrote it off as a bad day.

--imagine both our surprise when two weeks later, they called him and said they had suitable organs for him. The 8 Court Cards described his transplant team to a T, and Swords often indicate surgery. I've learned not to discount the 'nonsensical' readings. There's something out there that can see farther than we can, though we don't always understand what it's trying to tell us.
 

nisaba

Have you ever sat down to do a reading, had a hard time understanding the message, then decided maybe it wasn't the right time to be doing it so you picked up the cards and tried again at a later date?

I used to, but in recent years, I just couldn't be bothered. Also, if you've actually got a client sitting in front of you, they are only going to be there right then, not later, so the reading happens. It just does. Can't explain it.

If so, how do you handle the original reading?

If it wasn't useful, why bother remembering it at all? I think I used to just dismiss it from mind.
 

Grizabella

I don't read for myself that much because I'm just not good at it. As others have said, though, the times when it happens for a sitter, then is when I really just take a deep breath, give it more thought, and try to get on with the reading.

I think a few years ago I saw somebody post that, on rare occasions for a live sitter, they've just admitted to the sitter that they weren't able to get the message from the cards drawn, picked up the cards and didn't charge the sitter if it was a paid reading. And I think someone else said they pick up the cards, shuffle some more and give it another look, but I couldn't swear to that.

My frustration comes when I'm doing an online reading by email and the cards just don't talk. That's very frustrating. I usually just write down the cards and any notes that might have managed to trickle in with a little bit of a message and I come back to it later to see what I can then understand---or not. If I'm still not getting it, I'll scrap it and do some other cards in a day or so to see if I'm able to get a reading that works.

I've started a new method of being sure the cards are truly randomized between readings. Since I've started doing that, it might be my imagination, but I think it's actually helping me not get stumped over readings like that anymore. (Knock on wood.)
 

Barleywine

I don't read for myself that much because I'm just not good at it. As others have said, though, the times when it happens for a sitter, then is when I really just take a deep breath, give it more thought, and try to get on with the reading.

I think a few years ago I saw somebody post that, on rare occasions for a live sitter, they've just admitted to the sitter that they weren't able to get the message from the cards drawn, picked up the cards and didn't charge the sitter if it was a paid reading. And I think someone else said they pick up the cards, shuffle some more and give it another look, but I couldn't swear to that.

My frustration comes when I'm doing an online reading by email and the cards just don't talk. That's very frustrating. I usually just write down the cards and any notes that might have managed to trickle in with a little bit of a message and I come back to it later to see what I can then understand---or not. If I'm still not getting it, I'll scrap it and do some other cards in a day or so to see if I'm able to get a reading that works.

I've started a new method of being sure the cards are truly randomized between readings. Since I've started doing that, it might be my imagination, but I think it's actually helping me not get stumped over readings like that anymore. (Knock on wood.)

Unless you've updated it, I've been using a variation of your "four stacks" method for a while now and can confirm that it makes for the best randomization I've ever seen, both in card order and reversal. I randomize that way before a reading and then let the sitter's shuffle-and-cut "align" the cards in a personal way for the spread (which is really the goal as long as the deck starts properly randomized). On the rare occasion that I read for myself, I also do a finishing shuffle-and-cut.

One advantage of reading on-line (which, as you know, I don't do) is that you're not immediately on the spot, unless you've promised really prompt turn-around on the reading. Nobody is watching your every move. So you can pause and regroup later, either with the original spread or a new one. I would be prone to keep the original spread and ponder it rather than starting fresh, since I think there's almost always something to see with the proper perspective. I would only do a new spread if this more considered approach also failed.
 

Saskia

...I believe that as we become more proficient in tarot, the less we can read for ourselves. We have more control over the cards and a better sense of what card needs to be picked and we are more likely to manipulate the cards in our own favor.

I have completely opposite experience. The more I learn about tarot and become more proficient, the less I have to do retakes as the message just comes through. I don't think we manipulate cards as such, but we can definitely manipulate the message by having a bias that reflects in the interpretation.

What to do if the reading is off? I'm also at the camp "let it go". Sometimes it just doesn't open. Let some time pass and ask again. But I have, at times, said to my deck "show me the message in a way I understand" and done a redo straight away - that tends to work :D
 

gregory

I'd let it go - BUT - I wouldn't read on whatever it was again for quite a while. I tend to feel the cards know what they're about (yes, I know, they're cardboard, but you know what I mean !) and if I didn't get it the first time, I probably won't get it if I try again.

If I felt I needed the reading badly, I'd ask someone I think well of to do one for me instead.
 

Onaorkal

Many experienced readers have answered already and I'm quite the beginner, but I wanna add my two cents anyway.

I know it's better not to ask the tarot the same question many times in a short period, for many good reasons already discussed in many threads of this forum.
But here it seems to be a case of "I realized too late that I'm not physically/mentally able to do the reading."

For people who see tarot as a tool to help untangle what's going on in the subconscious mind, it would make sense to simply report the reading to a better time. The same as if you decide to meditate or simply sit down and work on some important matter and then realize you did drink too much coffee or alcohol or that you're overly anxious for some reason...you might want to stop and wait until you feel better.
If you still were able to gather some thoughts or if you got some work done, would you discard it completely? As if your thoughts would have been 100% wrong?
I don't know if you get what I mean, but anyway, in your case I think you also could have taken note of the cards in the reading and re-interpret it once you were in the good mindset.
And personally I wouldn't completely disregard the first reading. Especially if it resonates with your second one.

For sure one wouldn't do this when reading in public or for clients in general, but here we're talking 'self-work' using a tool instead of simply sitting and thinking our brain out. So I wouldn't necessarily stick to the same 'rules'. One should not read for sitters if they're not in a good mental state anyway no? :)
 

Pique Dame

Thanks for so many insightful replies! Darkmage, I actually had something similar happen to me yesterday. I pulled several swords cards and they didn't seem remotely in line with the topic. Hours later, I sliced my thumb really badly with a utility knife. I now think it was a warning to be careful when slicing the vegetables from my meal kit. :)

But back to the original topic, Onaorkal you kind of hit the nail on the head with regard to my concerns. The reading did make some sense but it still seemed to be reflecting my nervous, jittery state and I thought I'd get a much better idea of the overall message to wait a day or 2 then try again later in my usual element. I wrote down both readings and the side-by-side comparison made me think maybe I shouldn't discount the original one completely. For example, the first card was the HP and Moon, respectively, which share meanings of the subconscious, intuition, and mystery. The the 5th card was the 3 of Swords for both. Also, the quints were Chariot Rx for the first and Chariot for the second. Other positions, however, seemed to be in direct contrast with each other. It's possible both readings are correct but I wasn't sure so I thought I'd ask how others have handled this in the past.
 

CharlotteK

I don't read much for others and have cut back on reading for myself. I did a 3 card reading for myself last night and got 3 majors but couldn't get a sense of connection between them for my circumstances, so I just noted what the cards were, the traditional meanings and other thoughts that occurred to me looking at the images and then I put them away and didn't try too hard to figure it out. Today, one or two impressions have stuck with me and have been a recurring theme. On the spot, reading for someone else and needing a fairly immediate response for them, I would have struggled but letting the reading gestate a bit has helped. Still not totally sure what it entirely means but temperance and chariot have been a little in conflict so makes more sense now than it did!

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Barleywine

I don't read much for others and have cut back on reading for myself. I did a 3 card reading for myself last night and got 3 majors but couldn't get a sense of connection between them for my circumstances, so I just noted what the cards were, the traditional meanings and other thoughts that occurred to me looking at the images and then I put them away and didn't try too hard to figure it out. Today, one or two impressions have stuck with me and have been a recurring theme. On the spot, reading for someone else and needing a fairly immediate response for them, I would have struggled but letting the reading gestate a bit has helped. Still not totally sure what it entirely means but temperance and chariot have been a little in conflict so makes more sense now than it did!

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The Chariot plus Temperance make me think your car's wheels need balancing! :D Seriously though, whenever I encounter apparently irreconcilable cards in a reading, I try to find any kind of commonality between them before I give up. So it's correspondences to the rescue! Temperance has the Hierophant buried within it (1 + 4 = 5) and also all of the "5" pips (which one applies depends on the context of the question). Assigned to Temperance, Sagittarius is related to the higher mind (philosophy, higher education, etc) and the Hierophant symbolizes teaching and learning; both are on the conventional side, so there could be something to see there. The Chariot corresponds to Cancer, and its ruler, the Moon, and the ruler of Sagittarius, Jupiter, are highly compatible since both have to do with "increase." Also, the Chariot relates to the "7" pips (whichever one fits according to context). Since both the Fives and the Sevens are odd-numbered, unbalanced "difficult" cards, you could see whether any friction exists between the things they signify, recognizing that both are struggling to achieve balance in different ways. Even further, I created my own system of correspondences to relate the court and pip cards to the Major Arcana, in which the Chariot has a connection to the Knight/Prince of Cups (covering most of watery Scorpio) and Temperance relates to the 9 of Wands (Moon in Sagittarius). This presents a few more ideas to run down. You could almost write your own "Grail" myth! :)

There are lots of ways to skin the cat. I never quit at the level of "generally accepted meanings."