It's not something you'll learn overnight, you didn't say how long you've been at it. Seemed like I had been using tarot for a couple of years before it really became second nature. Maybe you should try a different deck.
I think I joined when I first started so not very long. I've heard a few people say that they didn't get comfortable or feel like they "got it" until they'd been at it for a couple years. That's comforting to know, but it's easy to get frustrated isn't it.
Maybe you just haven't found the right deck yet.
I only have a Radiant RWS (courtesy and many thanks to AsbestosMango) and I get varied results with it. There are four other decks that have called my attention though: Shadowscapes, Legacy of the Divine, Robin Wood, and the new Steampunk tarot. I've been hesitant to buy them though because it would really suck to buy a deck only to have it become a "pretty but useless" decks.
You probably can read...try some exchanges.
Say what you feel and you'll be amazed with the feedback.
I can't read for myself....does not make sense.
With exchange readings and in person readings I do fine.
We are our own worst critics.
don't give up!
It may be that I can't read for myself
Which is exactly the reason I picked up Tarot, as a self help kind of tool. A guide of sorts. I've read for a few friends though and have gotten pretty accurate results. Whenever I do a spread for myself, even a small 3 card one, I'm left baffled and then I do that thing a few of you brought up where I start picking out clarification cards and it becomes a bigger mess lol *shakes head*
I'm super bullheaded though. The more challenging and anger inducing something is, the more committed to "conquering" it I am. Perhaps it's an unhealthy pride thing. It's quite sadistic actually when I think about it...
It is a good idea to pay a lot of attention to how you are framing your questions. "what do I need to know about my work situation right now" might get better results than "will I get the promotion?" Yes or No questions don't usually yield good readings.
Are you trying to do readings with too many cards?
You could try a two card reading "not this" (card one) "but this" (card two)
It took me years to get to where I felt tarot reading is really useful, and I stopped and started again a few times.
It could be that. Sometimes I don't know how to ask something. I think I will try that two card reading
I have restricted myself to a maximum of 3 cards because I feel so lost. I do a daily card reading with 2 cards every morning. Maybe I'll start a "Daily Draw" thread, but I think I might need a different deck...
Hi iamrioteyes (what a lovely name!)
In Mary Greer's book "21 ways" she starts right at the beginning with saying the name of the card out loud for step 1, then giving a literal description of the card in front of you for step 2, then saying what emotion is in it for step 3. It progresses from here and is really well written. If you haven't already seen this book, you could try reading it and doing what it says - literally, without trying to do the adept sections (just the apprentice ones) and not trying to do it with too many cards at once. This way, you'll discover if it's really not for you or if you just got in a mess and confused yourself trying to get it all together at once. Several (loads!) of people on here say to use them exactly how they make sense to you, which is great advice. I guess that's what I do. Certainly the little white books are not necessarily the place to start from because they all say different things, with different lists of words. Madness in some ways! Trust yourself? Frustration usually results from trying to do it someone else's way, so you could just say I'm fine as I am doing it my way.
I downloaded myself a copy of this book and am going to work through it...
I bought a few "reference" type books and a few others but haven't really studied them or anything. A lot of people here have said to let the cards speak for themselves so that's the direction I've been trying to go, only reading the "traditional meanings" when I got stuck but... I'm starting to suspect that I don't connect with the deck I have
Oh and thanks for the compliment.
Hi there!
Exchanges are good ways to "test the waters" and get help with interpretations.
What exactly is getting you hung up? What sort of material has been available to you to help you on this endeavor (book, mentor, ect?)
~K
Hello
I'm a bit scared to exchanges because I feel so incompetent lol But... If I don't try I'll never learn...
I'm just not getting anything out of the cards. At least not much. They don't speak to me that much so I don't get their meanings. At least when I read for myself... As far as materials go I bought a few deemed "essential reads" and the only mentors I have are you guys on this forum
I've tried a few spreads and if they had nothing to do with me they worked but when I asked about my life I had issues.
Don't TRY. Just take out the cards - one at a time - and get to know them as individuals.
I've done a few "entering the card" exercises and wrote the results in my journal... I really think I need a deck that I "connect" with though...
I can't read really well.. not like some of the other posters on here.
Sometimes I get flashes of intuition. Like I saw 3wands/5 wands together when asking about a colleague and got "power struggle" - literally I felt like the cards spoke to me. And it sounds corny - but it's this feeling that you just know.
My psychic friend told me I was a natural - and that I should meditate on the cards to gauge their meanings. I am so impatient though... And sometimes I can't understand my own readings at all.
I do single card readings. A lot. And never more than three if I can POSSIBLY avoid it
Ooh we are in the same boat :/ I know what you mean, Thirteen and SunChariot (among many many many many others) always leave me in awe. I read their interpretations thoroughly amazed at how much they get out of just a couple cards.
Those flashes are far and in between over here - n - Well with Tarot anyway. Like I've stated a few times before. I picked up Tarot so I could do some self improvement but the only thing I (think) can do is read for other people. And ONLY for others. Go figure. Maybe you and I should read for one another or make some kind of study group or something.
My mother is a powerful medium, psychic abilities have been passed down from every mother to her daughter from my mother's side, and from an early age I've been able to do a wide range of things. Pick up on things. I had a palm reader tell me I had a psychic cross and that I should look into developing it more. There's a difference between interacting with entities and Tarot reading though. Or at least it hasn't been of much help to me :/
