By Greyhound

Forming a question for a Tarot reading can be a little confusing at first. People that have no prior Tarot experience, tend to think of the Tarot primarily as a fortune-telling tool. "Will I marry so and so?" "Is so and so cheating?" "Will I get this job?" We hear questions like these all the time. And when we first started out, we probably asked all the same questions. Let me share a little about what I've learned regarding question formation for the Tarot. As always, your mileage may vary...

A lot of readers (myself included) tend to shy away from questions where you are essentially "spying" on another person. Tarot questions should have you, the Querant, at the center of the reading. We are surrounded by other people every day and may truly need insight into how to handle a situation we are facing. For example, your daughter is doing poorly in school. Would I advocate asking, "Will my daughter fail such and such class?" No. But would I support asking "Please give me insight into how I can help my daughter succeed in school". Absolutely! This is precisely the sort of question that the Tarot is designed to answer... It provokes thought and helps us focus on positive action.

Yes/No and Should I/Shouldn't I questions

A Tarot reading can be very empowering. It can help you see your strengths and highlight areas that are concerning you. But it's never a good idea to place the responsibility for a decision on the Tarot. Decisions should be made by you, and you alone! There is no substitute for thinking for yourself... the Tarot only offers insight. If I want to know whether I should take this job or that job, I would ask the Tarot for insight into how I will mesh into those positions... or whether there are things I need to know to be successful in this job or that one... The Tarot offers guidance and helps us make better-informed decisions, but it should NOT be relied upon to make your decisions for you.

Fortune telling with the Tarot

Many people start out with the assumption that the Tarot is a fortune-telling tool. I think of the Tarot as giving you a snapshot in time of the energies surrounding you, or the situation you are asking about. The future is a very fluid thing... change one decision and we're talking about a whole new future. The Tarot will tell you what is likely to happen if things progress on the current path with no changes. I feel one of the best uses of the Tarot is to help us see when we are heading down a path we may not like, but the future is not concrete. It can be changed, and very often is.

Asking the Tarot about medical concerns

I have been asked before to do readings to tell people what their health problems are, or whether they have a certain medical condition. Many readers will not read concerning health issues (and I would be one of them). These are questions best answered by a medical professional. If you insist on asking the Tarot these kinds of questions, you might simply be procrastinating doing what you know you should (which is "Get thee to the doctor!"). That said, provided someone is under a doctor's care, I have no problem asking the Tarot questions such as, "What do I need to know about how this will affect my family?" or "What emotional issues may come up for me regarding my condition?"

The Tarot as a tool for personal and spiritual growth

This is my favorite use of the Tarot. Let's look at those patterns that keep us from progressing as human beings... that keep us failing at relationships or in our careers. The Tarot is a fabulous way to look at what ails us mentally and spiritually and help us break out of those patterns. The first step to growing as a person is identifying the needed areas for change. Some of the most powerful readings I have done for myself have been those that showed me a pattern I was repeating that was detrimental to me. I whole-heartedly advocate the use of Tarot as a counseling tool. Sometimes it's difficult to look deeply into ourselves, but it can also empower you to break out of the old way of doing things and find a new path. The Tarot can encourage, enlighten and help free us to do things differently.

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I hope this gives you some insight on how we put questions to the Tarot, and what a Tarot reading can do for you. Our purpose and hope is that you would get the best Tarot reading possible, and formulating a question makes such a huge difference in the results that you receive. You'll find that when you request a reading through our Reading Center, your assigned reader will be MORE than happy to assist you in coming up with a good Tarot question. Some conversations back and forth prior to the actual reading will only make the reading better. Since I discovered Tarot, it has changed the way I look at many things and helped me to live a more balanced and harmonious life.