Why Tarot Readers Should Not Read Themselves

Shade

Reading Tarot is far too fun to only do it for other people.
 

AraLuck

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.

I so agree with that... and resonate with it. I also feel that I know stuff within and Tarot just helps me bring it out... unlock the door to the bit of me that knows... I really like how you put that!

And I read for myself all the time and have been a lot more accurate in what I see for myself than what others do. There are some exceptional readers out here who've been able to read for me better than me of course... but I just sense I get it right most of the time because of this reason: because I do know inside and I just need to channel it out.

When I am confused and chaotic and emotional, that doesn't stop me from reading. I indulge in whatever I am feeling and allow the cards to tell me what I want, if it's going to make me feel better at the time I am reading. I know I will be more rational after the event and will see things in a different light anyway. So if the cards tell me what I want to hear just when I need that, it's not something I refuse either. I am not delusional. I just get emotional sometimes and need their friendly pat on the back... knowing that they're just telling me it's going to be OK. Even so, when am in a frenzy and keep pulling the same cards over and over again, I know there's a level of truth there which cannot be denied. I don't think the cards can ever be manipulated. Just my two centavos! :)
 

barefootlife

I think if you know you're only going to see what you want to see in a reading, then you're right, you shouldn't read for yourself. But I read for myself to get a less emotional view of my situation. The cards are gonna say what they're gonna say, and in my experience, even if it's unpleasant, I need to take it in and absorb it.

Like several of the posters above, I believe that the cards are a way to access things we 'know' but don't necessarily see or want to look at, a method of exploring the self when the brain isn't providing the answers. A sitter, even if they're also the reader, can take anything they want away from the reading, but I personally believe that what we 'should' do with tarot is what works for us personally, not what someone else believes. You'll find all sorts of readers here, from rigid to intuitive, and none of us are wrong to do what we do. We're all taking our own paths and learning as we go.
 

lantana

I started studying Tarot with no intention to read for others. I was using it as a form of self-therapy and, like others in this thread, as a way to explore myself, what had happened to me, and how to deal with it. I struggled with reading objectively for myself at first, but over time I have practiced it enough that it is quite easy for me to "zone out" during interpretation and basically slap myself with my own reading.

Most of the professional tarot readers I know read for themselves, and I personally think it can give a reader a leg up. Not only do you have a personal relationships with the cards that you bring to the table, but if you can read objectively for yourself who can't you read objectively for?

I'm gonna second what Nemia said: "Should and Should Not" phrases aren't the best to throw around when talking about a practice as diverse, complex, and personal as Tarot.
 

Spiffo

When I first read this missive the cynic in me dismissed it as an attempt to simply stir the hornet's nest. Declarations rarely serve any purpose, other than the superiority of the declarer. Now on reflection I think there is a point, buried in the clumsy expression; I think Carr-Gomm and Heygate express that point in a different but more useful way.

See http://accidental-warlock.tumblr.com/post/138408606433/from-the-book-of-english-magic-p-carr-gomm

I would still caution the OP to consider less authoritarian language, and dig a little deeper into the pros and cons of self reading. As to the (ongoing) distinction between what 'Professional' and non 'Professional' readers are, and what they should do, it's a silly distinction in this case.

Tarot has many uses. The exchange of lucre for a 'reading' is but one, and hardly the sign of professionalism, or indeed, expertise.

I concur with the other responders; surely the sphere of Tarot doesn't require absolutisms.
 

DownUnderNZer

I trust my readings and would go with my own over mostly anyone else's, but then I hardly get read by others. (Lenormand/Oracles/Playing Cards/Tarot).

On the most part, for myself, they are accurate and very on to it even down to timing. But then I am not always subjective when it comes to the subject - so it does contribute. Got to have a clear head, focus, and no emotional connection.


DND :)









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violetdaisy

I read for myself. But, generally not on anything when I'm upset or incapable of focus. And I definitely don't make decisions solely based on what I see. It's a great self-discovery tool. I think at one point I went though all 78 cards of one deck and asked myself "how am I this card and when?"

As an exercise it was pretty easy to see which cards I had a bias about and which ones I had the most difficulty relating to and which ones I had the least experience with. (Because all of us *can* be, act, have experiences that relate to each of the cards.)

I did do an employment reading about a year ago - a split path thing. Neither outcome was a great one. I stayed put. The path leading to staying where I'm at has played out and I have exactly the issue the cards alluded to but leaving (for another job - any of the ones I had applied for at that time) indicated a different kind of major issue and so I thought well, I'd just put the read away & wait and see. None of the jobs I was interested in actually led to a hire and I wasn't about to quit without something lined up.

At least I'm aware of my issue resulting from staying at my current job. One that hadn't occurred to me that would ever be an issue for me so I'm working to "fight it" - but haven't found a healthy behavior to sub out for my unhealthy one that offers the same effect. (Nothing illegal - I just happen to have an "addictive" personality....inherited from dad?)

So I can read for myself, and I can look at things mostly objectively. If I can't, or if I don't think I will be able to, I stop. If I *want* a certain outcome - I simply ask the cards the best way to get where I *want* to go....
 

Holly doll

Hmmm...something definitely doesn't smell right here...

How does a newbie learn if not to read for themselves? There are many great books out there written by readers who've read for themselves & the quality of those books hasn't suffered IMO

Don't mean to offend: authoritative tones generally get the opposite response to what they were seeking. Personally, I don't like being lectured as to what I should & shouldn't do so far as whether or not I read for myself.
 

Barleywine

Seems to me those who use tarot as a psychological life-support system and run to the cards every time life throws them a curve-ball are more in need of a therapist (or at least a little more maturity) than a card reading. It can become a form of obsessive navel-gazing, and would seem to take Socrates' dictum about "an unexamined life" well past the point of reason. But many of us here started long before there was any "tarot community" to speak of. We had our cards, a couple of books, and - if we were lucky - a willing victim or two among friends and family. So naturally we read for ourselves as a way to learn. It didn't mean we treated every word of it as gospel. Personally, I don't think the underlying "genius" of the tarot cares whether we are emotionally invested or obsessed; it cuts deeper than that, into our subconscious knowledge of a situation, which is connected to the Universe at a different level than surface feelings or wishful thinking. Of course, if we aren't willing to accept the message we will simply misinterpret it and continue seeking a more favorable result (see "therapist" above; it's like the definition of insanity - doing the same thing in the same way over-and-over again and expecting a different outcome).
 

Metafizzypop

If a tarot reader can't read for herself, that's a problem for a n00b. When a beginner buys her first deck, who is she supposed to read for? Is she supposed to right away start reading for other people before she's even had time to learn the cards? Reading for yourself is how people start off. It's how they learn. If they get the readings wrong, it's part of the learning process. What does it matter if a reader can't be objective? After enough readings, she'll get objective, all right. After promising herself too many love affairs and lottery winnings, she'll get the picture.

ETA: I just noticed that Barley and Holly doll said something similar. In that case, I agree with them.