Readings when asked will I have children or how many children will I have?

escape183

How do you interpret this question? What kind of spread do you use?

I'm pretty sure this question has probably been asked a million times but I'm new to tarot and I'm sure I'll be asked this question some day. Looking for a little education on this....


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CrystalSeas

This question is currently in the wrong forum, and the mods will move it, but there are several spreads that might be useful.

Remember though that Tarot only shows what is likely to happen in the future given the current circumstances. You can't say with certainty that something will or won't happen.

Because everyone has free will, they can always do things differently to change the outcome. So what you see as the future today, may change if the querant makes changes in their life. Or, if something else intervenes, like an illness or accident.

Check out the discussions here
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=214562
 

Sulis

I think it depends what type of tarot reader you are and what type of readings you do. For me, I'd say this is more of a fortune telling type question so I'd explain that I don't really do those types of reading.

I think that's what some people expect when they get a reading though, they expect to be told that they'll meet a tall, dark, handsome stranger when they're 29 and they'll have 3 children with him, 2 boys and a girl :p
 

Apollonia

How do you interpret this question? What kind of spread do you use?

I'm pretty sure this question has probably been asked a million times but I'm new to tarot and I'm sure I'll be asked this question some day. Looking for a little education on this....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I already know which cards in the deck say "children" to me (The Empress, the Pages, Six of Cups, Ten of Pentacles, Ten of Cups). So knowing that, I lay out ten cards, and however many of these show up in those ten cards, that's the number of children possible. And then I always say something like, "There is the potential here for you to have up to X number of children, but of course whether you fulfill that potential depends on your life choices."

If no children cards show up, I will do a Celtic Cross to see what the blockage is and if it can be changed or if adoption might be a possibility.
 

Barleywine

This question is really better asked of horary astrology, which has specific parameters for whether someone will conceive, and how many children they're likely to have (but only in terms of one, one or two, a few or lots, not exact numbers). In John Frawley's book The Horary Textbook, he mentions that William Lilly, probably the most famous of all horary astrologers, would have said that trying to exactly predict the number of children is "too scrupulous a quere." I think it's "too scrupulous" for tarot as well, and perhaps even more so. I would most likely refer the querent to a horary practitioner if I knew of one in the area.

When I start a reading, I tell a sitter that I consider tarot to be a way to promote self-understanding and increase awareness of one's circumstances, that it can be predictive mainly to the extent that we create our own future through the actions and attitudes we adopt, and in that sense it can help clarify what those might be. I have more hesitation about the "timing" aspect that may come up, since we all know how tenuous the conventions are for that.
 

rwcarter

How do you interpret this question? What kind of spread do you use?

I'm pretty sure this question has probably been asked a million times but I'm new to tarot and I'm sure I'll be asked this question some day. Looking for a little education on this....
I did a reading like that 10 or 15 years ago. I laid down one card each for the answers 0-5 if memory serves (so 6 cards) and investigated that card's interpretation regarding that number of potential children. No matter what the Querent desires, the number 0 has to be considered because there might be fertility issues in the picture that the Querent isn't aware of or there might not be a male in the equation so unless there's a second immaculate conception the answer could end up as "none".

I only went up to 5 in the reading I did because the Querent wasn't even sure if she wanted one child. If the Querent desires to have 12 children, I'd do a 13 card reading, one card for each number from 0 to 12.

Also, I think some care needs to be used with "have". Most women who ask that question would actually be asking how many would they give birth to. "Have" includes adoption, fostering, step-children, etc. The Reader needs to address that distinction with the querent.

Rodney
 

Barleywine

I already know which cards in the deck say "children" to me (The Empress, the Pages, Six of Cups, Ten of Pentacles, Ten of Cups). So knowing that, I lay out ten cards, and however many of these show up in those ten cards, that's the number of children possible. And then I always say something like, "There is the potential here for you to have up to X number of children, but of course whether you fulfill that potential depends on your life choices."

If no children cards show up, I will do a Celtic Cross to see what the blockage is and if it can be changed or if adoption might be a possibility.

I can see where this could work with a standard RWS deck, because the minor cards all have one or more children on them (so does the 6 of Swords, but that seems to express "barenness" more than fertility), and the Empress and Pages are self-explanatory. I would probably find it difficult to get the same meaning out of, for example, the Thoth deck unless I graft on the RWS interpretations.
 

AnemoneRosie

I've been reading professionally for over a year and I've never been asked this.
When I am asked questions that stump me (as you're stumped here) I work with the querent to re-phrase the question. So for instance, rather than making this sound fated, I explain to them that they have the free will to control the number of children that they have. I find out how many children the querent wants, and then re-phrase to working towards having children (or not) be the goal for them to work for.
 

nisaba

How do you interpret this question?

It's not the question you interpret. The question seems pretty clear.

What kind of spread do you use?

I'd talk to the client about the things that need to be set into place before most people have kids, then cook up a spread which addresses such things (like reproductive health, financial stability and so forth).
 

nisaba

I've been reading professionally for over a year and I've never been asked this.

<grin> I've been reading professionally since 1981 and never been asked this. But there's always a first time.