Getting your First Tarot Card Reading: What to Expect, What to Do, What Not to Do, and What to Do When It’s Over
So, you’re getting your first tarot card reading. You know it involves cards, a reader, and a reader interpreting those cards. You ask a question and they answer based on what the cards say. And you’re understandably confused. Well, the good news is that your tarot card reader knows what to do. But as far as the rest goes, here’s a guide for what to do before and during your reading, what not to do, and what to do when it’s over.
What to Do Before Your Reading
It’s best to go into a reading with an open mind. Since you’re asking the universe to help you, you have to accept what the universe gives you. It knows more than you do, and it may not give you an answer you expect or even want right now. The reading will go as it will go, but to avoid an unproductive reading or disappointment, do not go in expecting a specific answer. If you knew the answer, you wouldn’t get a reading, right?
Focus on a specific yes or no question. The most productive readings are for yes or no questions. Find a way to whittle down your question until it could be answered with yes or no. Do you want to find a new career? If you literally asked “What career should I try?” You may get an answer, but it won’t be as specific or helpful as asking, “Should I pursue a career as a plastic surgeon?”
Try to leave your baggage at the door. You don’t want to go into your reading worried about that bitch at work who said something mean about your new sweater, or if the grocery store has that coffee you like on sale. If you can, take a few minutes to do some deep breathing so you can better focus on the reading. Make sure you’re rested enough and not hungry, either. It would be a pity to waste a reading because all you could think about is how hungry you were.
What to Do During Your Reading:
Stay focused. Turn your ringer off and avoid distractions. Go to the bathroom before your reading. You have set aside this moment to ask someone to reach into the collective unconscious and pull up guidance from the universe for you. The only thing you have to do in that moment is think about the reading.
Do what the reader says. If the reader asks you to cut the deck once, do so. If you’re asked to choose a card but not look at it, do exactly that. If you’re asked to close your eyes and concentrate, do that. Everything you’re asked to do is for a reason and for your benefit.
Answer questions thoroughly. If your reader asks you for specifics, go ahead and give them specifics. For example, if you ask if you should look for another job, the reader may ask you what kind of work you do so as to better interpret the cards.
What NOT to Do During Your Reading:
Don’t change your mind, keep asking questions, or hem and haw. If you have asked a clear question and you have focused on it, then that’s it. You don’t need to give the reader — or the universe — more context. Imagine if you’re playing baseball against the reader. You pitch a ball and expect the reader to hit it. If you ask a yes or no question, you may just get a home run! Now imagine that instead of pitching one ball, you throw two curve balls, one screwball, three fastballs, four up in the air for no reason, and then roll another few along the ground. The reader is probably not going to hit any of those balls.
Don’t touch the cards unless told to do so. The reader may ask you to pick the cards. After that, don’t touch them. They’re there for the reader to read and interpret. You wouldn’t reach up and grab the bottle while your hairdresser is dying your hair, right? Yes, you picked out the color, but now you let them do their job.
Don’t play with your cellphone or take pictures without permission. Stay focused on the reading. Stay focused on the conversation in front of you. And while the reader may not have an issue with you taking pictures of the spread, don’t assume that you can interrupt the reading to do so. Once your reader is in their groove, leave them in their groove. You’re the one who loses if you create distractions.
Don’t test your reader. There is nothing wrong with being a skeptic. There is something wrong with employing the services of another and then giving them a hard time on purpose. If you’re skeptic, ask the reader questions and speak to them in a civil manner outside of a reading. A tarot card reader need not be a psychic to give an effective reading. Purposely withholding information or giving incorrect information is childish and waste of time for both of you.
What to Do After Your Reading:
There is really only one rule here:
Don’t dwell or obsess. Yes, you have been given advice on how to go about your business, and whether or not the news is good or bad, the point is to move forward. You still have free will, so even if you were told that whatever you want to do will probably work out well, this isn’t a guarantee. If you’re told that something you want may not work out, you can figure out an alternative course of action.
Dwelling keeps you stuck in the past. It also makes you feel powerless. The point of tarot is to empower you. You’ve been shown a direction and now you have to choose to walk it or not.
The reading was for a specific moment in time, and now that the time has past, you take what you learned and put it to good use. Keep your wheels moving.
Okay, I lied. There are two rules:
Say thank you to your tarot card reader. They appreciate it.