Probably the most common question I get with regard to tarot is:
‘How does tarot work?!’
In other words, how on earth can a set of what-look-like elaborate playing cards with pretty (and not so pretty) pictures on them tell a story about a person? Not only that, but how can these pictures and words then also give guidance on someone’s life and the best path forward for them?
There is no one singular answer to this question, but I have done my best to explain it in this blog post: ‘How do tarot readings work?‘, so pop on over there if you want more of an insight into a reading from the reader’s PoV.
What’s perhaps more interesting is what I’m not asked, but what I probably should be asked, but which no-one ever really thinks to ask, but which I really wish someone would ask: namely: ‘What is the role of the recipient (also known as a sitter) in a reading?’.
Yes, that’s you my friend, the one that sits opposite me while I talk.
‘Me?’
‘Yeeeeeeessssss, you!’
‘No, surely not? My job is just to sit and stare at you blankly isn’t it? With the occasional crossing of arms?’
In a word, no.
‘Oh!. Well what am I supposed to do then?’
Oh I’m so glad you asked! Let me explain …
It is generally assumed that the success, or lack thereof, of a tarot reading is all down to the reader:
‘Oh he/she [delete as applicable] was rubbish. She/he [ditto] didn’t get a thing right.’
Sound familiar?
Well, what if I told you that a ‘bad’ reading might have an awful lot more to do with you, the sitter, than me, the reader?
‘Whhhaaaattt, me? But I’m just sitting there?’
Yes I know, radical thought isn’t it, that you might also be responsible for how successful your reading is. But before you get all indignant and flouncy, read on.
It took me a long time to realise this, but the truth is that the sitter plays as much of a role in a reading as I do, and if they play this role badly, the reading will be, well to put it bluntly, pants, because as the title of this blog post suggests, a tarot reading is a two-way street, and what you put into it will determine the success of the reading as much as what the I put into it.
‘Oh! I see. What should I do then?’
Well, a tarot reader works by using their intuition; they are ‘tuning in’ to your energetic field to pick up information about you and then using the cards to help translate that information. (We all have intuition, and we are all capable of doing this; in fact, we us our intuition all the time to pick up information from around us without even realising!) So in order for the tarot reader to be able to read you as well as their intuitive skills allow; you, the sitter, need to be as open as possible.
Now then, I know what you’re going to ask, what the jiggins do I mean by ‘open’?
To be ‘open’ basically means that you are fully allowing the process to occur, that you are willing to sit opposite your reader with an open mind, a willingness to be ‘tuned in to’ and have no fixed expectations of the end result. It means essentially that you are an open book, not a closed one.
Conversely, to be ‘closed’ means to be in a negative frame of mind, so if your thoughts are any of the following: ‘I hope she doesn’t see this or that’/‘I don’t actually want to be here but my mates persuaded me’/‘I’m going to test her and stare off into the distance and cross my arms while I’m at it’/ ‘Tarot? What a load of cobblers!’ These thoughts and attitudes will be reflected in your energy field, closing it off to the reader and interfering with the reading enough to produce a less than stellar result.
Think of it as water – if you’re ‘open’, the reader will be able to read you like a crystal clear stream, if you are ‘closed’ it will be like trying to look through muddy water – it can still be done, but it’s bloody hard and you’ll miss a lot. The best tarot reader in the world will find it difficult the more closed a sitter is.
‘Oh, alright then. But what about you? It isn’t all me is it?
No, the reader absolutely has their role too.
The reader’s role is to be as well prepared for your reading as they can; to be in a calm and quiet frame of mind, to sit in quiet meditation before you arrive to connect with their psychic abilities and to be just as open as you – holding no expectations of who is about to arrive for their reading – and to speak with clarity, non-judgment and honesty. Ultimately, to do their darndest best to give you an excellent reading.
I always make sure that I am well enough/calm enough/prepared enough to give a good reading otherwise I won’t go ahead with it. Spirit always show up without fail, so it’s my job to make sure that I am up to the task and at my best.
So basically, you do your thing, and I’ll do mine, and this is sure to guarantee a great reading.
I’m ready, what about you?