Tarot Tip #7 Asking Questions

Asking questions is one of my personal favorite uses for the Tarot. 

     The simplest way to do this, for the beginner, is to simply hold a yes or no question in your mind, shuffle the cards well, reversing them as you shuffle so that they will be both right side up and reversed when pulled from the deck, then fan the deck out on the reading table, and pull one card from the fan, turning it face up on the table before you.

     If the card is right side up, your answer is yes.  If it’s reversed, your answer is no.

     You can use this simple technique for both yourself and for other people.  If you are reading for yourself and wish a little more insight, consult the meaning of the card in its reversed or upright position in your favorite tarot book, such as my own “The Tarot Reader’s Workbook”.  Resist the desire to add your own input, or you will likely muddy your answer.  But if you are reading for another person, you can both consult the book meaning and also ‘intuit’ whatever pops into your head, using the picture on the card as a jump off place for your intuition.  If your eye is drawn to a particular symbol on the card, talk about it.  It’s important.  By allowing the picture on the card to draw you in, you will be able to gradually expand your own meanings for each card. 

     This is a great way to answer simple, direct questions, and also a good way to learn and even expand upon the card meanings.

     Over time you’ll get better at phrasing your questions so you get the most accurate answers, and you’ll even learn to listen deeply to the often complex question the person you are reading for is asking, so that you can reframe their question into a simple, direct question that will deliver the most accurate answer.

     I keep a Tarot App on my smartphone and iPad just for this purpose, so that I don’t always have to be carrying my cards with me when I have the need to ask a question.

     Over the years using the Tarot to answer my own questions has helped keep me sane through many of life’s challenges.  Hold yourself to this simple rule, though.  Only ask a question once.  Firstly, that will force you to really think your question through before you ask it.  Organizing your thoughts this way you’ll get better clarity concerning the whole situation surrounding the question.  More importantly, the tarot itself will only answer a question once.  If you keep rephrasing the same question hoping for a different answer, it’s as if the cards know they’ve already answered that question, so the answer they give you is no longer answering your question, but something else that may have arisen from that answer. 

     This problem with knowing how to ask your question properly has confounded many readers, who assume the tarot doesn’t work, when in reality it is their own mind that lacks the clarity to ask their question properly.