Getting over the fear of giving a direct answer in a tarot reading
Have you ever had a really good tarot reading?
I’m assuming that since you’re reading my tarot blog, you’ve probably had some kind of tarot reading before – either from another reader, or one you did for yourself.
If you’ve received a reading from someone else before and you loved it, what was it that made it so good?
I’ve had many readings over the years, some better than others.
Some of those readings have been predictive. Some of them were oriented to the present.
Some were introspective and decision based. Others channeled messages from Spirit.
It’s not the approach alone that makes for a good reading, though. Interesting predictions can be exciting to hear. Accuracy and resonance counts for something, too.
But in my experience, what good readings have in common with each other is specificity.
A good reading should feel personal to the querent. It should hit on some kind of specific truth, or a personal dream or desire that is aching to come to the surface.
It should also make the querent feel seen and heard. How? By opening to the querent’s questions, and working to answer them as best as possible (within a reasonable scope of what’s appropriate for tarot, of course).
A common block that I notice with tarot students is that they hesitate to get specific in their readings.
Sometimes, the reason is that they’re afraid that if the messages are too definitive, they’ll be taking power away from the querent.
Another fear is of being wrong. The more specific you get in your readings, the more accurate you need to be.
And other times, the issue is that the reader is worried about going out on a limb with what they’re seeing. Instead of putting a reading into their own words, or talking about their first impressions of a card, they default to keywords they’ve memorized or meanings they’ve learned for fear of misinterpreting the cards on the table.
But the path to giving definitive, specific, personalized tarot readings comes from being willing to take a bit of a risk.
It also means giving yourself the opportunity to take something generic – like a keyword or a card meaning – and figure out how that might relate to your querent on a personal level.
And sometimes, delivering a more definitive tarot experience also means giving a direct answer. While many of us strive to empower, help, and guide our querents, these aims don’t necessarily mean that readings have to be vague or so open-ended as to feel undefined.
You can still give an empowering or inspiring reading while also being clear and direct. Yet I sometimes see tarot students holding themselves back in hesitation, unsure of how to find the balance between the two.
When querents ask direct questions and express a desire for a clear message, it can help to remind them that:
- No matter what the cards say, they will still have to make a decision at the end of the day;
- Tarot can give them a perspective or a look at what’s possible, but there may be other sides to the situation that we can’t fully see; and
- They are allowed to change their minds about the choices they are considering.
I find that simple reminders like this can help to strike the balance between direct readings that give definitive answers while aiming to help the querent stay close to their free will.
Remember that some querents might be desperate for a straight answer. They might already be full of random advice. They might already be going back and forth within their own thoughts and feelings.
Sometimes, the most helpful thing a tarot reading can do for a querent is to give them something clear and direct.
This is something that I put a lot of focus on in Taking Tarot to the Next Level. This querent-centric course is designed to help you build your confidence around answering all kinds of questions – from very specific, definitive readings to big, open, general insights.
If you’ve got some basics down with tarot but you feel like your readings are a bit too vague and you’re ready to learn how to take the leap from wishy-washy to definitive tarot readings, Taking Tarot to the Next Level might be your next step.
Until next time,
Liz
“I thoroughly enjoyed Taking Tarot to the Next Level with Liz. Tarot is a tool, and Liz helped to instil confidence in our abilities to interpret the cards. I have learned so much more about Tarot and have gained insights into myself as a reader as well.”
- S. Lajambe
