I've been away for a while

Elnor

Just wanted to say hello, I've not been posting here in a long time and one of my New Year resolutions is to become more pro-active with my cards.

I hadn't given up using my cards for myself, but I seem to have become very burned-out when reading for others. A few difficult readings may have been the trigger, but it had reached the point where I had started to dread doing readings and didn't want to get my cards out... kept making excuses if anyone suggested it.

I thought the best thing to do was cease doing professional readings completely, out of a worry that I might give up on the Tarot altogether. It's a shame, because I used to love it- I don't know exactly why the change in attitude was so drastic.

I want to get back into the habit of recording things in my sadly-neglected Tarot journal, and become self-disciplined again about reading more regularly. I don't know if I'll ever be able to return to reading for others any more, so only taking baby steps for now.

BodhiSeed

Welcome back to the forum Elnor.

I think there is an ebb and flow to everything in life, no matter how passionate about something we originally are. I would suggest doing only what seems fun or interesting with the cards right now. Perhaps you'd like to join the Deck of the Week group?

Grizabella

Welcome back, Elnor. I think sometimes it's good to take a break from Tarot. Reading for others can burn us out and after taking an extended break, it becomes a joy again.

Elnor

BodhiSeed said:
Welcome back to the forum Elnor. I think there is an ebb and flow to everything in life, no matter how passionate about something we originally are. I would suggest doing only what seems fun or interesting with the cards right now. Perhaps you'd like to join the Deck of the Week group?

Thanks for the welcome, BodhiSeed, along with the suggestion. The thing is, I only have two decks that I work with- I did have more, but sold them several years ago when I decided that I didn't connect with them. I use the RWS and the Hoi Polloi, which is the one I read with for myself.

Elnor

Grizabella said:
Welcome back, Elnor. I think sometimes it's good to take a break from Tarot. Reading for others can burn us out and after taking an extended break, it becomes a joy again.

Yes, I think I did just over-do it. Readings were leaving me drained, and I felt guilty if someone I'd read for went away less than 100% satisfied. Then someone contacted me and wanted me to do a reading for them via email so that they could 'test' me for accuracy first, before they committed to having a face-to-face reading. (Which is one way to get a free reading, I suppose.) For some reason that was the straw that broke the camel's back- I stopped reading for others not long afterwards.

I'll still read for good friends... I didn't want to loose touch with my cards completely!

BodhiSeed

Then perhaps you could just have fun with the cards you own. For instance:

~ pull two cards and then write a greeting card or fortune cookie message for them.
~ go through the deck and look for a song, poem or quote to go with the cards.
~ go through the deck and sketch or photograph something that reminds you of that card.
~ do backward readings (pull a couple of cards in the morning, then in the evening see what pattern or issue they pointed to).