asking questions

[finaflight]

I kinda touched on this in my last post Celtic Cross, but was wondering if someone could make it a bit clearer for me or if there is a book I can get to better understand - when asking a question - how to phrase your question or concern when doing a spread.

I do understand what is being said - that you must be clear - but could I maybe get some other examples that perhaps I have not thought of - Like a while ago I had a concern about ellective surgery. "Should I" - like is it nessasary - really? - another concern was having had nessasary surgery - 12 in total - What I`m saying is its a health risk during any surgery. So do u see where i`m going with this?

oh, and one more thing here - during a spread I asked a question - but I seemed to be getting an answer to something else - thing is is that one of the words I used when asking the question could pertain to what I was picking up - but wasn`t the concern or question I had asked about.

Does anyone know of a book - or have any input?

 

[Grizabella]

Tarot Tells the Tale and Tarot: Get the Whole Story by James Ricklef come to mind. Those two might be quite helpful to you. They were to me.

 

[finaflight]

Thank you Lyric

i`ll check those out on the internet.

 

[Mellifluous]

I think you could probably ask whatever way you want. It's a matter of finding a system of interpreting that fits the way you think and phrase things and that seems accurate to you after you've used it a while. Then, deciding before you start shuffling what system you're using and committing to interpretating that way. (Just like you decide in advance what position means what in a larger spread).

For example, some would say, you should ask, 'What do I need to know about my health/having surgery/etc.' instead, and then read whatever you can out of the cards that turn up.

But if you really want to ask, 'Should i do this?' then you just need to learn about reading simple yes/no answers from the cards. There are lots of different approaches to that as well, as with everything else to do with tarot.

Some people assign yes to certain cards, no to others, some would say the yes or no meaning depends on whether it's upright or reversed, some would say whether it's major arcana or minor, and some would still go with their knowledge of individual card meanings and how it relates to the situation you're asking about.

It's all about learning to trust your own intuition and learn from your own experiences. So, I wouldn't worry much over how you're phrasing questions. Just read widely and try different approaches and see what works for you and your deck. That's where journalling comes in handy - to help you remember what methods you used, what the outcomes were in the cards, and the outcomes in your actual life so you can look back at it for accuracy.

Even after you've done the readings though, you have to make your own decision about whether to rely upon them. As you well know, even if you had no interest in tarot reading, in a situation like that you'd get as much info as you could and then go with your gut instinct to make the decision - maybe even if it's different from what the doctors say. So, it's not much different now that you've become a tarot reader. Free will still reigns.

And yes, often cards tell extra information beyond what's asked. I've read that it happens especially when your mind wanders while you're shuffling, but I think it happens other times, too. And also, sometimes it is related, but we just leap to a new topic when we see certain images. In hindsight, you can often see how it actually related to the situation you asked about as well. There are so many layers of meaning in the cards and so many things going on in anyone's life, a card can do double duty, so to speak.

Hope that helps. Health and blessings.

 

[finaflight]

...Just read widely and try different approaches and see what works for you and your deck. That's where journalling comes in handy - to help you remember what methods you used, what the outcomes were in the cards, and the outcomes in your actual life so you can look back at it for accuracy...

Yes I have been keeping a journal for a while now. I was though having difficulty with the celtic cross ( second card) but Mee-Wah help me understand quite clearly.
I have only been working with the CC as well as the three card spread. I must look into other spread, and other decks as well for differant situations. I have onl been using RWS - but own and have owned a couple of other decks.

Free will still reigns.
Absolutley - free will has last call

And yes, often cards tell extra information beyond what's asked. I've read that it happens especially when your mind wanders while you're shuffling

That happens to me quite a lot. I sometimes stop, put the crads down and center myself again before shuffleing.

Thank you Mellifluous for all you input

Peace

 

[Mellifluous]

You're very welcome! Glad to be of help.

Good for you! I don't ever use the celtic cross anymore. I'm not sure why that one is always presented to beginners in books. It's rather large and complicated. I guess people are just handing down the tradition though. I get more than enough sometimes out of one-card readings and small spreads, but that's a personal preference, I know. lol

Yes, sometimes it's so hard to focus on just one question when you have a lot on your mind. I think it's a constant challenge though you do get used to making the effort over the years.

Have fun with all you're learning! (I still am.)

 

[Abrac]

oh, and one more thing here - during a spread I asked a question - but I seemed to be getting an answer to something else - thing is is that one of the words I used when asking the question could pertain to what I was picking up - but wasn`t the concern or question I had asked about.

Good questions. I found myself grappling with these questions myself for a long time. I never did find any one book dedicated to this subject, but by piecing together bits from here and there I was able to reach some conclusions that made sense, to me anyway.

Personally, I don't believe the Tarot answers question we haven't asked. If it did, where would it stop? Theoretically, an answer could mean anything. And what good would that do? We would be perpetually confused.

The answers we get may sometimes be surprising, but I believe they will always relate in some form or fashion to the question at hand and we will see this if we just hang in there work through it. Sometimes the answers we seek may not seem to be coming fast enough, so we say aha, it must mean something else, something entirely unrelated to the question I asked. This is a recipe for disaster in my opinion.

Usually, I phrase questions something like, "What is your opinion about this (or that)?" Or, "I am thinking about this (or that), what is your opinion?" Phrasing the question so that it is both specific yet flexible at the same time is the key.

 

[zach bender]

almost the only question zb asks in his daily readings is, what is it I need to be hearing just now. anything more specific, you will find that the deck tends to answer a somewhat different question than you think you are asking.

zb

 

[Elven]

LOL!! It must be question week - I just finished a couple of days ago writing a pm to someone and trying to put together something for the tarot cafe relating to asking questions ... then on the Sylvia Browne thread and now here ... LOL!

I have just cut and pasted from the pm a small section of what i do if i am reading for another person and we together are constructing a question for the reading. Usually I use a cc - so this is also relevant to your spread - but It can be used for any reading.

The more specific the question, the more relative the cards - and writing down the questions I think really helps teeze out and clarify what you're (as the questioner) is asking.

I can spend a couple of days contruscting questions for a spread - for some things - especially if I (personally) am feeling vague

If there are multiple interpretaions in the answer - look to the question for its multiplicity also - asking how many ways can the question be interpreted also.

If people are really stuck and are struggling - I try to get them to define if its a 'what, when, where, how, why, question' - anything starting with 'Is, should, can' usually means its going to be a yes/no question. So I try to avoid it as much as I can - though it depends on what follows of course
Sometimes its all of the above, but then it will usually relate to one specific thing - like career - or relationship.

It is easier sometimes to:
Know the issue or subject: For example ... New Job
and then specifically as possible - construct a question using each in the/a spread
'what, when, where, how, why' using one card for each placement (in whatever order applicable) adding to each ... the rest of the question.

This is really useful if I am doing a second or third round ontop of the cc or, after the first round of cards we are trying to look for solutions to the first round of xards (depending on the reading) ... and instead of what will happen - I explain that possibility of staring them as ''what can', 'when can', 'where can', 'how can', 'why can' ... it keeps the questions as probabilities - though there is the 'actuality' to them - this leaves room for free will and possibilities to expand the discussions also on the outcomes. Then we have answers - sometimes its just a five card draw on those 'what when where how why' type of beginners.

Hope it helps a bit

Blessings Elven x

 

[Sulis]

Does anyone know of a book - or have any input?

Hi Cosmoline,

If you click the 'website' button below my post and go to my website you will find a whole page on the phrasing of questions.
Go to 'Readings' in the drop down menu then go to 'Asking a question'
I think that how you ask a question is very important and can affect the answer you get.