I'm a Tarot Reader

[MsHaindl]

As it says, I read tarot. I'm probably not the kind of reader you think I am: I tend to place myself firmly in the "non-woo" woo department.

But if you're interested in a certain perspective on tarot, then feel free to ask.

Can you do a reading for me?

i really want mine read....where would you suggest i start?

Hi! How do you approach your readings, if not in a 'woo' way?

Grabby - Yes I can, but I charge a relatively high amount. So if you're looking for a straightforward reading, I'm very happy to point you in the direction of someone who is good in their field, but will charge less. PM me for details if you want.

Run - Find someone with good testimonials, credentials - and go in with a clear question (which you don't necessarily have to say out loud, btw). I would go to an association and find someone from there, rather than a 'reading site'.

ScreamingValenta - My background is in psychotherapy, and my approach to tarot will certainly look esoteric to most people, but, really, what I believe the cards are, are a mirror. Yes, they can tell the future. But what I'm really interested in is how the reflect aspects of you back to yourself in the present that can be enlightening and wholly valuable.

*they

I don’t know much about tarot reading can you explain it all to me?

I can explain it to you the way that I understand it (believe you me, tarot readers frequently disagree about what it is/how it works).

To me, tarot is a deck of 78 cards that reflect all aspects of life - inner and outer - and which we can draw from to show us what we need to see, whether we have a specific question, or intention, or we simply want to know what we don't know.

The cards respond - not because they have autonomy, but because they fall in line with the quantum mechanics idea of the 'observer effect': they align with the observer so that the message is relevant for them - sometimes in surprisingly specific ways.

That, again, is just my opinion.

How do you use the cards for yourself on a daily basis?

Also, which deck do you have and why?

Theoretically, could you write tarot names on scraps of paper and use that? Or is the deck of cards itself significant?

Radicalised - I use them when I'm stuck, and when I know I'm too close to something to see sense. Otherwise I don't use them much at all. (I can hear tarot readers tutting loudly here!) I prefer to tap into my intuition, which is really what tarot is. It's simply a tool - and there are many paths to the same destination.

Morris - Yes, you could. There's nothing sacred about a deck, save for the sacredness we give it. That's my opinion. We could just as well read what's going on in the pattern in a pair of curtains. It's just that tarot is a five-lane highway; the curtains are a single-lane back-road :)

Radicalised - This might give me away because my deck is rare: I use the Rohrig Tarot.

I use it because when I saw it, it was instant attraction - so my approach suited its style.

Hi MsHaindl! Lovely to read your point of view as I am also non woo in my approach. Love your deck, not seen that one before. I use Robin Wood but i’m from a witchy background (also non woo about that) so it suits me.

My question - ever been tempted to design your own deck? If so, what would it be like?

Bloodied - Good to meet you! :) It's lovely to hear from a non-woo witch-esque-type-reading-person!

Yes, I have been tempted to design my own deck, but I know the blood, sweat, and tears it takes - and my life has had so much of that, I am definitely erring on the side of "once bitten, twice shy"! However, I am considering it more seriously nowadays.

Hello! I can read tarot as well and used them a lot many years ago although rarely nowadays.

I try to be non woo about them and definitely agree with them being a tool for reflection, but a couple of odd things which I wondered whether happen to you...

When shuffling sometimes a card will almost fly out - I put it back in and carry on shuffling but more often than not it will end up appearing in the spread. Does that happen to you?

I used to find that when I went through periods of using them a lot I was more "open" if that makes sense - would experience more telepathy with people, knew things were going to happen, that kind of thing. I think they basically helped me be more intuitive perhaps?

Lastly do you have a favourite card

scarletbee - I'm with you on the 'pack-jumper' phenomenon - and I actually use them if they fly out. I consider them a synchronicity.

I also can see why we do become more open when we use cards, but I think that's the same reason why we feel we run better when we're on a treadmill. We do, yes, but the engine that's driving us is really still only ours, even if it feels harder going it alone.

I no longer have favourite cards: each has their light and their dark sides. None of them holds the answers we seek by themselves :)

How did you get into being a Tarot reader as a job? Do you work from home?

@unadventuretime - I was gifted some cards by a friend, then attended a workshop by a visiting reader/psychotherapist, and went pro about 2 years after that.

Yes, I work from home, usually over Skype. For now, though, I'm not doing one-to-one readings as I've gone back to university and it is causing me to rethink how I use the cards.

Thanks for answering . I've read Tarot for myself and friends for over 15 years and considered it as a job. How do you find your clients?

I've always been drawn to tarot cards and at age 15 I bought myself some cards, I didn't know how to use them and so the novelty wore off eventually. Fast forward to now (I'm 35) a few weeks back I was walking my dogs in a big empty field, I stumbled across a tarot card on the grass, it was from the exact same cards I had bought all those years ago. It was the 8 of Pentacles. How could I interpret this? It definitely felt like it meant something.

Do you have the Thoth deck?

unadventuretime - They're usually via word of mouth, or repeat clients, or via my email newsletter/website. I don't have many, and that suits me right now.

moonandmountains - How serendipitous! Well, the most important thing would be what the card and image mean to you, but my initial response would be the dedicated hard work to bring something to fruition in your physical/daily life.

MintRoller - I do. I love it. It's a beast, in the best and worst sense of the word. I don't do many client readings with it at all, but prefer to use it on myself when I really need a reality check.