Why Tarot Readers Should Not Read Themselves

I agree that most people are prone to self deception, in particular when they are personally involved. But in theses situations we will use whatever there is to confirm our delusion. If there is no tarot deck at hand then anything else will do. So I don't see the special danger of self-readings. They might be pointless though. If we are determined to believe in what we want to, it probably takes stronger forces than a well-meaning divinity to stop us.

But the same holds for people who read for others if they already have strong opinions or prejudices. It's all about open mindedness and the right amount of personal distance.

I personally keep falling into the self-deception trap. I feel that something can't be right, but I am just unable to see the obvious. Later I laugh about myself and my own blindness. And that's fine because I never rely on tarot readings when it's about the real stuff (whom to get married to, whom to believe, what to do about that ongoing pain in the stomach).

I'm not so sure reading for oneself is the problem; people do it all the time without cards. It's called "foresight" if it's in line with emerging reality and "wishful thinking" (or "delusion") if it isn't. I would think a much bigger problem is acting on the results of a reading as if it's absolute truth and not just one more piece of data to fit into a decision-making puzzle. I don't always trust my conscious impressions unequivocally, so I'm not likely to trust my subconscious ones any more without some kind of validation. I see my self-readings more as philosophical "grist for the mill" than as actionable statements of fact.

Hopefully not to be too snarky to a first time poster, but it always bugs me a bit when other readers presume to tell me what is best for me, especially when I didn't ask.

I'm a professional, and I read for myself all the time. My readings for myself tend to be accurate because I only read once on a topic, not repeatedly.

Getting free readings from myself is one of the perks of taking the time and effort to study the Tarot over all these years.

I was unable to continue reading the original post due to lack of paragraphs.

The main reason i do tarot is for myself.

If i didn't read mainly for myself i wouldn't have first hand knowledge of what the cards mean. I think for me it's invaluable . If I've experienced first hand the tower in a relationship question for instance i am able to empathise with the questioner and offer better advice and help.

I know how it feels x

Starri Knytes said:

Thank you for the link sweetie
I will definitely check it out.

Click to expand...

I meant it for the OP, but glad you found it - um - useful ?

gregory said:

I meant it for the OP, but glad you found it - um - useful ?

Click to expand...

Oops!

psychicforlovers said:

Professional tarot card readers know all so well not to read for themselves, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. This also applies to other areas in which the reader is passionate about.

Click to expand...

By that logic, you could say that no one should ever try thinking or forming an opinion about anything they're passionate about. If your feelings cloud your judgment in tarot readings, they will probably do so at least as strongly as you consider whether to marry someone, or accept a job offer, or a move to a new location, or vote for a candidate, etc., etc.

We all have both hearts and brains. For at least some of us, listening to one doesn't make us incapable of hearing anything useful from the other.

Personally, as someone rather trapped (not quite the right word but it'll do) in my conscious mind... I use tarot for the express purpose of talking to my subconscious.

If I'm using it for an external purpose like prediction, then I'm fully capable of seeing the answer I'd rather not receive. Also, by my personal philosophy, the cards can't give me any knowledge that I don't have access to myself anyway... they're just unlocking the door to the bit of me that knows.

All this is to say that we're all different, our philosophies, methods and aims are different... so blanket dictats and judgements are pretty nonsensical.

Denever said:

We all have both hearts and brains. For at least some of us, listening to one doesn't make us incapable of hearing anything useful from the other.

Click to expand...

Beautifully put, Denever.

For me Tarot is a tool to learn to do just that.