What are other peoples experience of using Tarot cards?

[bluethimble]

Hi,without going into too much detail I have a situation that I have sought to clarify using my Tarot cards. I've had them for quite a while and do use them for insight ( I've got a book to help with understanding the readings). I think that I may be putting too much faith in what they say, I'm not sure. What are other people's experience of doing their own readings? How accurate did they find them ? Do people feel that your own wants and wishes somehow get transferred to the reading so it tells you what you want to hear? I'm pretty confused and would be grateful for any help in understanding them. xx

my mother told me that tarot cards were the work of the devil along with ouija boards. so I cannot answer your question.

actually she might have had a point.

Haven't used them, mainly because a friend did start using them and became obsessed. It was pitiful to see, she ended up with real mental health issues. Realistically the Tarot use was probably a symptom rather than the disease, but just thinking about the bloody things gives me the shivers.

FWIW I'm pretty certain all divination techniques are actually ways to allow you to hear what you want to hear, even if it's actually bad news.

Tarot cards can be useful for getting you to take a different look at a situation. I don't think there's much 'woo' in them, tbh. But sometimes they can suggest an approach you might have missed. It can be useful to be told that there is an opportunity when things look bleak: it can force you to be a bit more hopeful and dynamic. Equally, when things are going well, being reminded that life can change can remind you to shore up, make sure your priorities are right, save money, pay attention to close relationships, etc.

To my mind, as I say, there's no supernatural element in play with the cards. Just a bit of psychology.

i use mine every once in a while, mainly using celtic cross spread and find them quite accurate when i'm reading for others, though when its for myself i dont have quite as much objectivity so its only when i look back on readings after the fact that i realise what they were trying to say. It helps if you've got a strong connection with your cards

they are creepy and wrongly used tho...my 13 year old daughter had a 'reading' done by a friend of the same age and came home asking me about the death card which had really worried her. I told her it was the symbol of new beginnings....but still it freaked her out.

i told her they were the work of the devil oMG I am turning into my mother!

Tarot is all iin the interpretation I think. I use them occasionally and have a book but don't always use it. Sometimes they help me to get a different perspective on things.

I agree with the comments that it is hard to be objective when reading for yourself. It is too tempting to see what you want and to downplay that which you don't. I think it is fine to use the cards as a tool to give you some insight, but not fine to expect them to tell you your future (they can't), or to depend on them every time you make a decision - not saying that this is what you are doing btw! That said, if you can be completely honest with yourself the message is usually there - it is interesting to keep a diary of your spreads and interpretations and then look further down the line and see how differnt your interpretation could have been once you have some hidsight.

You could try using a different medium if you don't feel your cards are working for you at the moment. I quite like the runes - find them better than tarot for indicating if it's a good time to make a change, for working out if there are blockages etc. If you want yes or no answers you could try pendulum dowsing, though i have to be honest and say that i have never found it to be very reliable. There is another form of dowsing just using your body called muscle testing, which is another way of giving your subconscious a voice - give it a google if you're interested.

Firstly, Tarot are not the work of the devil. They started out as a card game in Renaissance Italy. The use of them for divination started much later, and the ooky-spooky association didn't really get going until the late 19th/early 20th century.

Tarot can be a useful tool to tell us what our unconscious/subconscious mind is thinking. We interpret them based on our own thoughts and ideas. Use the book as a guideline, rather than a definite "this is what 3 Swords means". Look at the pictures and use the pictures and placement to give you thought-threads to follow.

Tarot cannot predict the future because the future is never set in stone. What the tarot can do is offer deeper insights into situations based entirely on your own subjective thoughts, and sometimes raise ideas and thoughts that you didn't even know were jumping up and down to get your attention.

Firstly, Tarot are not the work of the devil well I didn't mean literally but they are used by charlatans to scare people - I think that is what my mum meant.

you know the type all spooky and woo - invariably a pack of tarot cards with them - like the dreadful old hippy who came into my flat and said ..ooh I can feel that somebody hung themselves over there....
nice

nelly yes I agree, especially the Devil and Death cards. Which is really silly as there are cards which are supposed to have much worse significance in the pack.

I'm not a fan as I think you end up seeing what you want to see. If you ask someone else then you get their belief system thrown in.

If you have something you want to talk about or a big decisiosn ahead then talking to a counsellor or CAB or similar would probably be more objective.

I used to read Tarot for cash when struggling on benefits, and a number of my clients got quite hooked. One was a futures trader - trickle down wealth! I'm pretty sure 90% of what I said was psychology and cold-reading, but 10% was a bit harder to explain; what I think I was doing was most like writing fiction, where you suddenly know something about one of your characters which you didn't invent. But that's not supernatural; it's just the way the mind makes leaps... Clients usually make the leaps before you can. So it's a way for them to think about something. Often a counsellor is too blank and people need a prompt. And anyway, they are pretty. Harmless fun, I think.

I've also played Tarocchi. Awesome fun game., bit like rummy or canasta.

What deck you use makes a bit of difference, I think. People who use Thoth are often a bit odd. Rider-Waite-Coleman is the best beginner's pack, but I really really love Karen Mahony's work.

Hey Bluethimble, I think sometimes we cna become slightly reliant and obsessive on divining tools. I speak as having been there myself. Although I have tarot cards, I do sometimes prefer to use angel oracle cards a la Doreen Virtue.
No matter which situation you are faced with - I truly believe the very best thing to do is to trust your gut and your heart. Sometimes our minds can't calm down and keep on asking ourselves the same questions, then fear can set in. If you go with what you really feel, then I can say this must be the best guidance - that often - many of us are taught to ignore, when it's the best radar for our lives.

Thanks for all the comments, Indigo Barbie especially. Wow, Indigo you have a way with words. You are so right; I do, in my heart of hearts know what I feel but fear and a lack of self confidence and also somehow being taught to ignore our inner voice/ instinct makes it hard to see and keep hold of it, when my "other" part makes me doubt and feel afraid and loose sight of things.

The other day a thought just came into my head that gave me a new, much calmer way of looking at this situation. I'm really fascinated by this. Where did it come from? What is it ? How do I "tap into this" again? Indigo, you seem to really understand this stuff, can you shed any more light on this?

See if any of these resonate with you:
www.indigointuitive.co.uk/search/label/heart%20happiness
I will just say, all you need to do is to stop thinking so much. in moments of despair - I actually tell my angels I've had enough of the processing madness, and ask them to take over for a while - life does become more calm, and often solutions and ideas occur that didn't before xxx I'll be back later to speak with you xx

ooops sorry
www.indigointuitive.co.uk/search/label/heart%20happiness

As I understand it divination cards help to illuminate/indicate the path you are currently travelling on, where you go from there and your final destination are down to you not predetermined by your cards. Try not to fret over much about your reading, or let it distress you; I hope your find a positive resolution to your problem.

Indigo, I could hardly wait to see if you had replied. Thank you. I've followed the thread and read loads. It actually made me cry because it absolutely resonates with me... I've had some contact with someone who talks in the same language as you but I can only get in touch with her now and again, so to have found you is so brilliant. I do believe it was meant to be. I'm not very IT savy but kind of feel this would be better continued more privately, if you agree. I know there are private messages but not sure how to do one or how you know if you've got one. Anyway, I'll go and do some mundane stuff and check back in a bit. Thank you so much. xx

Hey blue, I will PM you xxx