“How do I know if my reading is right?”
If you read tarot for others, or want to one day, this is a question you might already be familiar with.
I’ve been thinking about accuracy in readings a lot lately. Recently I’ve seen the question come up in online conversations, especially around whether it’s okay to check in with your querent as you go along.
Sometimes readers hesitate to check-in because they feel like they have to show that they know it all. A lot of us come into this path with unrealistic pressures on ourselves to be all-seeing.
But if you don’t give your querent an opportunity to at least tell you whether a message is relevant or not, you risk wasting time and energy following an interpretation that might be totally off.
It’s not uncommon to pull cards and see several different directions a reading could go in.
When this happens, I choose the one that feels most prominent and away we go. If it doesn’t immediately hit home, though, then that tells it might be worthwhile to regroup and start looking at the other angles that are showing up in the cards.
As you go along, you might start to realize why the cards have shown up as they have - but you have to give yourself the opportunity to unravel it by talking it out first.
When you take the time to have a querent validate what you’re seeing, it can help you to further clarify what’s being reflected in the cards.
Sometimes questions aren’t as clear as we think they are.
There have been many times when a querent has asked a question that did not accurately reflect what they actually wanted to know.
A common example of this has been, “What do you see coming up for me this year?” I know that’s such a common question in tarot, and it gives opportunity for a range of messages to come up.
But every so often, I get a client who asks this question and then, as I start to talk about what I’m seeing, they interrupt me and say, “Actually, what I was really wanting to ask about was in relation to XYZ.”
You can get all kinds of information from tarot, but if there is something specific you want to know, it helps to clarify that from the beginning. Sometimes people go wide with their questions hoping the answer they want will randomly come up. It might, but there might be other things a reading reveals, too.
Which is why it’s good to check in with querents throughout the session, and to make space for querents to interject with questions or added context if they feel it will be beneficial.
Sometimes an interpretation can be wrong.
It’s not always an easy thing to accept, but readings are not always right. We have to remember that we are engaging in the art of interpretation, and sometimes a reader will interpret the cards incorrectly.
It happens, but it doesn’t have to seal the fate of your entire session with a querent. Unfortunately, there are instances where readers will railroad the querent altogether, not allowing for any interruptions or questions along the way.
If the querent is shut out from the process altogether, then it locks them into an experience that is completely irrelevant to what they need in the moment.
Checking-in is important because it allows the reader to validate the direction a reading is going in.
And it can help to provide additional context to a querent’s situation that might bring further detail into clarity throughout the reading.
The aim of any reading for me is to provide a relevant response to the querent that they feel they can relate to and use in their life moving forward. It doesn’t always mean the answer is fancy or mind-blowing. If I have to ask for a little bit of detail to better understand a querent or their situation in order to deliver the best reading possible, then I will.
Don’t feel shy about connecting with your querent along the way.
Until next time,
Liz
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