Reading the Question You’re Asked

Most people don’t arrive with careful questions. They ask “Will I get the job?”, “Will he come back?” or “What does she really think of me?” These are real questions that matter to the person asking, and as a reader you can work with them.

Be honest about what tarot can do. It can’t see the future, and it can’t read another person’s mind. What it gives you is a set of images to interpret in the light of the question. So answer the question that was asked, as an interpretation, never as a certainty.

For a “Will I…?” question, read the card for the question, then say what it suggests as things stand. Use words like “suggests”, “leans towards” and “as things are now”. Then add one thing the person can do, so the reading gives them something to hold.

For “What does he feel?”, read the card as how that person comes across, or the mood around them, not as their actual thoughts. Say what the card shows, say plainly that the cards can’t know what someone thinks, then turn back to your client: how do you feel, and what do you want?

A few questions need more than cards: health and diagnoses, pregnancy, death, legal cases and money decisions. Say kindly that a professional is the right person, and offer to read on how the person is feeling or coping instead.