Most aspiring Tarot readers first start reading Tarot for themselves. I mean, why wouldn’t you? You’ve learned how to read the cards and now you want to be able to gain insight into your own life.
But what many Tarot readers struggle with is how to read Tarot for themselves, objectively. Are you really tuning into your intuition, or are you just seeing what you want to see? And are you desperately searching for Tarot card meanings that fit the picture of what you want, rather than just listening to the messages you receive straight away?
Today’s Ask Brigit question is from Teresa – one of just many people who have written to me over the years to ask about How to Read Tarot for Yourself… Objectively.
Watch the video right here:
http://youtu.be/LfYPaJ4eJTI
If you loved this Tarot topic, you’ll find even more Tarot love at My Tarot Clubtarot.com. You can also sign up for my free Tarot tutorials and weekly newsletter to help you become a more confident Tarot reader.
And if you loved this video, click Like and subscribe to my YouTube channel for even more great Tarot videos.
Remember, you CAN transform your life and others’ with Tarot so keep your passion alive.
Thank-you for watching and I’ll see you next time.
After you’ve watched the video, I’d love to hear your own techniques and strategies for reading Tarot for yourself objectively. Leave your comments below.
Video Transcript:
Hi, I’m Brigit, Founder of My Tarot Club – the place to be if you’re an aspiring Tarot reader and you want to transform your life and others’ with Tarot.
And this is a special Ask Brigit video post where I answer your questions about the Tarot.
Today’s question is from Teresa:
“The biggest challenge for me has been to not let my own wishful thinking, or desired outcome permeate my interpretation of the cards. I want the cards to tell me all the right things, but often what they are telling me is something different. How do you know that you are interpreting a card correctly when it can have so many different variations on a theme? And most importantly for me, how do I not put my own spin on it??”
You’re not alone, Teresa. One of the hardest things about reading Tarot for yourself is how to do it objectively. That is, how to do it without reading into the cards what you want to hear.
Here are my three tips on how to read Tarot for yourself objectively.
Tip #1: Treat Yourself Like a Client
Pretend as if you are reading for a client… who just happens to be you. Set aside a specific amount of time for your Tarot reading and then create the perfect environment – make a cup of tea, put on some nice music, burn your favourite aromatherapy oils, and so on. Clear your mind by meditating before you start the reading. Then, clearly articulate your question and what you want to know from the reading. Choose a simple Tarot spread and then do the reading. Record it as you might with a professional reading. And give yourself time and space to do the reading.
So many times we just throw a few cards for ourselves and end up rushing our way through, without treating ourselves or the cards with the respect we deserve.
Tip #2: Limit Yourself to One Tarot Reading Only
It’s easy to get confused when you’re reading the cards repeatedly on the same issue. So make a commitment to yourself to read once only on your topic. Wait at least a month or until something significant changes before consulting the cards again.
Tip #3: Get a Second Opinion
If you’ve got a friend who also knows how to read Tarot, ask them to look through your Tarot reading and share what they see. Or share your reading on a Tarot forum or Facebook group.
You can also go to a friend who may not be familiar with the Tarot but who knows you well. Simply share with them what you picked up in the reading and ask if it seems consistent with what they know about you and the situation. Oftentimes a good friend can be a helpful mirror to what you might not be able to see yourself.
Tip #4: Don’t Shop Around
These days, it’s easy to jump online and look up Tarot card meanings. The trouble is, you can soon find yourself shopping around for the best interpretation that you most want to hear. So resist the temptation and stick with what you already know (or choose just one favourite website).
I hope this helps, Teresa.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Love the video, have been going through a bad time emotionally for a while now, my own fault but she doesn’t want to know now!
You are keeping me going at the moment
Hang in there, Philip. There’s always a blessing in the toughest of situations (think Tower).
Hi, when I want to read for myself I tend to either go with a gut feeling, which is pretty instant. It just comes to me in a flash as an ‘idea’ which I know, but which I can’t always put into words. I just know what I need to know. The thoughts which come a millisecond after that, I know to be my own thinking, superimposing on the gut reaction. However, I still question, challenge and disbelieve because if it is good news or comforting, I always ask myself if I have generated the gut feeling. (my own worst enemy or what?!).
Another thing I do if I can’t get past the self doubt, is to imagine I am doing the reading for someone else. You can just visualise someone, or else talk to the pillow or whatever. Talk to the mirror if you want. This will help you to crystallize your message and to also get used to presenting it in a palatable form.
I hope some of this helps,
Bisou
Helen
Great tips, Helen. I agree – those immediate flashes you get, without any thought whatsoever, are often the most intuitive and most accurate. And acting as if you’re reading for someone else is great – give yourself that extra time to process the reading and do everything you would normally do in a client reading.
What works best for me when reading for myself is, first and foremost, to really sit with the question and hone it until I know with absolute certainty exactly what I want to ask. Subscribing to the notion that it’s always wise to ask the question in such a way that I have power in the answer (e.g., What steps can I take to nourish our relationship? as opposed to Does he really love me?), what I often discover is that I don’t actually need to consult the cards because I already know the answer or am asking a question that neither I nor the cards can answer. When I really do need to ask a question, the message in the cards is a lot harder to ignore if the question in my mind is very clear and specific. It also helps to practice a little non-attachment to the outcome—coming to the reading with a truly open mind. As Brigit suggests in the video, meditation beforehand is good for that
Great advice – thanks for sharing. The question carries so much power for the following reading.
Thanks for posting it was really help ful ……
Nice tips Brigit. I guess you have broadly outlined what we need to do for a selfie reading. I generally read for myself late at night when it’s calm and peaceful.It always helps to keep a Tarot journal to track the progress. Also I think we should limit it to one topic at a time else it becomes too muddled and stressful.
There is another view which is completely against reading for yourself .Do you support this theory ?
“Selfie reading” – I like it!
I think if we were to ‘ban’ reading for ourselves, we’d find it very hard to practice when we’re just starting out. Plus, we’d miss out on SO much personal insight that is available to us in the cards. So, for me, I would strongly advocate reading for yourself, with some boundaries or ‘rules’ for making it an enriching experience.
This is some good advice. I haven’t done a tarot reading for a long time. My wife had cancer, and I didn’t want any negative readings to ruin her morale. After my wife passed, the center of my life was gone, and I decided I would have to build a new life for myself. This video has given me the insight I need to do a reading for myself as a means to find a road out of grief and depression and into creating a new life. I have never been good at doing readings on myself, and this video has really helped me to see why, and how I can do better in the future.
Thanks Brigit!
I am so glad that you are finding a connection with the Tarot and it’s helping you during these difficult times.
Hi Brigit
Can I just say I use your site everyday and see your updates on facebook which I love too! I was wanting to let you know I have tried your advice on reading the cards as if there is a client in front of me. It really does help to see the meaning a little differently to if Im just reading them for myself. I often ask the same kind of questions and generally get good outcomes and reading as if they are for someone else helps me trust the feelings I get, rather than hoping Im reading them right. As I do believe cards either have a positive outcome or negative, this cannot be misread, but the feeling is a little more light hearted looking at the cards as if for a clients reading. I do often get excited when the same cards show up, it shows its all very in tune with how things are.
Wonderful! I’m so glad this technique is working well for you.
hi My Tarot Club your blog is really helping me a lot. My only problem is time factor in reading. I have collected many books but they are not so clear on the time factor. Does your Master course gives the detail info. about how to handle ‘when’ question. If so can you give an example reading where the subject will be discussed. Or tell me where to fine the guidance. Thanks . Neetali
I am not a big advocate of predicting time with Tarot. I prefer to look at what needs to occur before something can happen, or what actions you can take to facilitate your desired outcome.
The Master the Tarot Card Meanings course doesn’t deal with timing. We will probably cover it in the Level 2 course, but more from the perspective of how to deal with timing questions, rather than predicting actual time.
Hey Brigit I accidentally lost the weekly card posting for this week the ‘eight of wands’ could you email it to me again please. Thanks Sukhy
You’ll find them all at http://archive.aweber.com/My Tarot Clubtarot
One thing I do is utilize another type of divination tool to help confirm my Tarot reading. I’ll use runes and/or an Oracle deck and see what they have to say. If they say something totally different than what I read in my Tarot reading then I know I probably should ask another reader to read for me on that question/issue because I can’t be objective enough for this one.
How about a major arcana card such as the star in upright falling into the blockage position in a tarot spread? Does it mean things are still good but not to the person best interest? I’m kind of confused in about that.
This post may help you out: https://My Tarot Clubtarot.com/good-cards-bad-cards/. Generally, I would see the Star in the blockage position as a temporary loss of faith.