When the seeker doesn't have a particular question..

Hi, the question might sound strange, but I often came across this situation.
It seems many people just want to start from a 'general' reading.
But I actually find this general reading is quite difficult to do.
(Especially because I want to practice 3 cards reading or Celtic cross spread.)
If the question is specific (if I know whether it's about career or love..) it's so much easier-
but when querents insist they just hear something from you first before asking a question,what do you do?
Any experience as an advanced reader or suggestion?

I am not a reader. But I often seek a 'scan' reading from readers, and when reading for myself. This is the type of reading I often needed most. In reading for myself I do no more than 4 card readings. With 3 card reading I simply read each card independently and then stepped back and see the three cards together, taking into consideration the three independent messages I received from the three cards. But from what I understand each reader read differently so I am not sure if how I have been moved to read would be of any use to anyone else.

I am not a professional either- Um...Perhaps CC is too much right now.
But 3 cards reading- Past, present, and future is enough?
I draw 2 cards even for my daily reading. (Well, I first drew one card, but one day I had 10 of cups but had a bad news in the evening after having a normal, happy day. I checked the next card after 10 of cups and it was 3 of swords. I've drawn 2 cards for daily reading since it happened. It mostly works.)

It's still difficult to know how many cards I need to draw..Particularly when I have no information about the seeker's situation. But I'll try 3~4 cards from now.

cfish said:

Hi, the question might sound strange, but I often came across this situation.
It seems many people just want to start from a 'general' reading.

Click to expand...

Yup. I find that, too.

But I actually find this general reading is quite difficult to do.
(Especially because I want to practice 3 cards reading or Celtic cross spread.)

Click to expand...

Three-carders don't give you very much information for a person's whole life, and the CC, in my opinion (yours may differ, but you seem to be struggling with it so you probably don't differ) isn't very well-designed except for looking intriguing on the table.

Why not either use a spread designed to give information about different areas of life, or a brief spread designed to show what they most need to work on?

but when querents insist they just hear something from you first before asking a question,what do you do?

Click to expand...

I find that when you use either of these spreads, you don't need a question at all. The first spread will fill up a 30-45 minute reading time-slot comfortably, the second one tells the client what their question is and goes a good way to answering it. I'm actually very, very comfortable with reading without questions.

I came up with the larger of those spreads when my daughter was a baby, so 22 or 23 years ago, and the other one maybe five or ten years later, and they have served me very well in years of public reading. Probably less than a tenth of my clients have asked specific questions, but I always seem to answer to what they specifically wanted to know but didn't want to mention.

nisaba said:

Yup. I find that, too.



Three-carders don't give you very much information for a person's whole life, and the CC, in my opinion (yours may differ, but you seem to be struggling with it so you probably don't differ) isn't very well-designed except for looking intriguing on the table.

Why not either use a spread designed to give information about different areas of life, or a brief spread designed to show what they most need to work on?


I find that when you use either of these spreads, you don't need a question at all. The first spread will fill up a 30-45 minute reading time-slot comfortably, the second one tells the client what their question is and goes a good way to answering it. I'm actually very, very comfortable with reading without questions.

I came up with the larger of those spreads when my daughter was a baby, so 22 or 23 years ago, and the other one maybe five or ten years later, and they have served me very well in years of public reading. Probably less than a tenth of my clients have asked specific questions, but I always seem to answer to what they specifically wanted to know but didn't want to mention.

Click to expand...

Oh, Thank you!!! I tested the first spread and it looks pretty spot on my current life. Even 13~15 cards.
(just not sure if I have to read the third row as far future(outcome) or advice cards.)
Love this, I'll practive with this a lot!

well, uh - just lay out the cards and tell the sitter what you see! You can use many spreads for general questions - Glass Owl posted a useful general spreads index here, just click on this

for general spreads, myself I use a past, present, future spread using 7 cards in each line. You can certainly ask the sitter to tell you at least one concern (money, love, career, health, etc) on their mind, if it helps?

ETA you could just lay out three cards - past, present, future - and begin from that. Your sitter may want to know more, or ask a question, after that. Failing that, you could gently tell them that a question would really help anchor the reading. Or, you could tell them at the beginning that you require a specific question to focus on...

I noticed an interesting spread ("The Life Direction Spread"). It is large, no particular question is needed

From Elven: "It is specifically when the questioner is in a space of needing long term clarity and motivation about their future and situation from a very broad perspective. Its relates to Discovering the Life's Purpose (...)
This spread is useful for when the seeker has lost direction due to circumstances which have held the seeker in suspension for long periods of time. Such as ... long term unemployment, long term healing or health issues (...)"

Click to expand...

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=85378

I like the Celtic Cross or the Astrological spread for general questions. The CC gives a good overview of a single situation. The Astrological gives a good general reading as each issue can be addressed with the various houses.

Indeed, the astrological spread. Thanks for remind this.
I am interested in astrology but oddly I never do the astrological spread whereas it is a broad and very classical spread.

cfish said:

Oh, Thank you!!! I tested the first spread and it looks pretty spot on my current life. Even 13~15 cards.
(just not sure if I have to read the third row as far future(outcome) or advice cards.)

Click to expand...

That depends largely on the nature of the cards that fall there <grin>.

Love this, I'll practive with this a lot!

Click to expand...

As long as you remember it's mine, you're very welcome!