Tarot Reading as Counselling

I saw this the other day and I thought it was a very insightful description of a tarot reading - I especially liked the bit about the tarot being like a wise friend. Precisely how I feel about it!

Rev Up a Tarot Reading!

Have you ever had a tarot reading that you’re unhappy with? How did that make you feel? No doubt it made you feel flat and a bit let down - and this would be the natural response. There is nothing like the thrill of an energising connection with a reader to make you feel good about your future and nothing like the lack of one to bring you down with a bump.

However, don’t feel powerless as all is not lost. There are actually ways to rev up a reading! You are after all, half of the people involved and even better, in terms of subject matter, it’s all about you! So don’t underestimate how you can contribute. Here’s a few pointers to help:

• Ask questions. If you feel the reader is heading in the wrong direction, it may be that s/he is actually picking up on the right energies but has not quite got a handle on the area that it relates to. This can happen. Now is not the time for you to jump in and tell them everything however! Confirm if you feel something is relevant and ask questions to help focus the direction, to take it to what you are interested in investigating

• If you having a general reading, be genuinely open. It is most often best not to opt for this in the hope that you get a reading relevant to your relationship as this can lead to disappointment. Again - it’s your reading! If you want to know about your relationship, simply ask :)
  

• If you have a specific question, make sure you are focused on this when you ask. No need to tell your reader the details of what you are concentrating on, just do it to build up the energies between you. Your dedication will be appreciated and even worked with by your reader.

• Strike up a general, albeit brief conversation. You are paying to have a reading and will not want to take up the time having a chit chat about what was on TV last night. That said, by being warm and friendly with one another, even if it’s not face to face, opens up channels and information is usually shaper for it.

If you put these simple tricks into play, you will not only cut down on feeling disappointment from the occasional slow tarot reading but in fact find that you can get even more out of the already good ones!

L&L Elizabeth xxx

Experiencing Symptoms of Psychic Ability

Many years before I did tarot readings I had experienced symptoms of psychic ability. This made me question who I was and what I was put here to do, but also scared me at times. It is a big responsibility and something you must learn to use wisely as you mature. The reason I bring it up here is because there is of course a big crossover between being psychic and reading the tarot. For those starting up now, some of you may have experienced symptoms of psychic ability yourself, and some may start to open this up in yourself as you progress. Neither is any more powerful than the other but you may find some slight differences in how this manifests in you.

General Symptoms of Psychic Ability
1) Psychic dreams. You possibly would have experienced these from an early age. They are not something you can control but can often bring you important messages.
2) Sensing when someone is going to call you, even when you haven’t heard from them for a while.
3) Called clairsentience, you will be able to pick up on the thoughts and feelings of others. This is a difficult ability to have sometimes and you must learn to switch it off as it can be a burden to be so sensitive to others.
4) Having images placed in your mind, either literal images of something or symbolic ones. For example, you may be presented with the image of a road to represent a journey in someone’s life, be it travel or even an emotional journey.

Symptoms of Psychic Ability Linked to Reading the Tarot
1) Sometimes extra details, prompted by the cards will come to you. Don’t be afraid to go with this as it is often what will build trust. An example of this is when you get draw a card such as the High Priestess and sense that a female figure is highly influential. An image of a sister may suddenly come to you, so go with this as it is likely to be presented to you for a reason.
2) Moods and strong emotions will come to you and this will show you the direction of the reading. The querant may want to keep their feelings to themselves or be looking for reassurance from you first so this is a good way of letting them know that you are right their with them.
3) Symbols can be placed in my mind for certain cards but I can have several to help me see the meaning of a card in the particular reading. For example, with the moon card I can get an image of a sepia tinged image of the moon to show me fears rooted in the past. If the card is showing me doubts relating to someone else in the querant’s life I will see the moon orbiting someone, always out of reach.
4) The position of the cards in the spread you have chosen will tell you what each card relates to, for example if it is showing you where the querant is right now. However, it is not uncommon for cards to represent 1 or more events in the querant’s life and this means you have to be a little flexible in how you interpret the direction of the reading. This will often be shown by drawing me into a particular card, even sensing some heat or a buzz around it. This alerts me to a more complex situation.

I hope this gives you an idea of how to look for symptoms of psychic ability in your tarot work and outside of it.

Understanding the Meaning of Tarot Cards

Understanding the meaning of tarot cards could be more accurately described as understanding the true spirit of the tarot cards. I was talking about the need to use your intuition before and also that it is necessary to learn the basic meanings of the cards. But I’d like to discuss how the meanings of the cards can shift and adapt. At first this is likely to seem so confusing that you think you’re never going to understand it! But it is where the beauty of the tarot lies; it’s wisdom is far reaching. To root yourself only in the literal meanings that you get from books is to only experience a fraction of what you could or should.

To help make this clearer, let‘s use the example of Jane, a fictional querant. She wants a reading on her relationship and one of the cards that you have drawn for her is the tower card. Here are some of the things you should be looking for when getting a true understanding of the meanings of her tarot cards.

1) The tower card is a major arcanA card. This means this has more meaning and weight than minor aracanA cards and is going to be highly influential on surrounding cards in the spread. It is setting a tone.

2) Now consider the basic meaning of the tower card. This shows upheaval, disruption and potential heartbreak. So not always a popular card! However, it is in the next 2 points that the true art of reading comes alive.

3) Look at the position of the card. Is it representing Jane’s past or is it an outcome of a situation? If this is about her past then you need to talk to Jane about letting go or working through some issues of past hurt. If it is to do with the outcome, bearing in mind we are looking at her relationship, there are some serious issues to be addressed as a split seems possible. However, even now it is too soon to come to conclusions. Which leads to point 4...

4) Interpretation is where you find your true understanding of the meanings of the tarot cards. To find the tower card as an outcome in Jane’s relationship reading seems very negative. But this is where the cards may be offering guidance. Look at the following cards. Are they showing something more positive? It is common for the tower card to show that the current behaviour of the querant is likely to lead to heartbreak - which actually leaves room for changing, working on what needs to be done and repairing the damage. In these circumstances, far from being negative, Jane has been given guidance on how to make her relationship stronger.

So far from being set in stone, understanding the meanings of tarot cards is flexible, far reaching and above all, beautiful! This is why I consider it to be a craft, something that takes time and patience to become accomplished in. If you are prepared to persevere, this wisdom will soon start to become part of you.

More tomorrow!

Tarot Readings, Not Fairy Tales

Just wanted to share a tarot reading story with you from yesterday. I did a reading for an absolutely lovely lady that I’ve actually done a number of tarot readings for before and I find her warm, caring and engaging - in short I really like talking to her. However, I’m not always comfortable reading for her!

How come? Much as I like her, there are times when she is not after a tarot reading, she is after a fairy tale. I have to work hard to get across the true meanings of the cards to her as she prefers to interpret them her own way, seeing only what she wants. I totally understand why she’s doing this. She is vulnerable in many ways and life is not going well for her. She wants the cards to sooth her worries and show her that things are going to be ok.

She’s not alone, I am always having to remind people that the wisdom of the cards is what you should put your faith in, not your imagination. Ultimately of course, you will benefit so much more from following the divine guidance even if it shows you that you have tough decisions to make or hard work is needed. And gaining insight in order to benefit your future is the great gift that the tarot has to offer.

Learning to Read Tarot Cards

Further to yesterday’s blog on interpreting tarot cards, I’m going to take this a little wider and look at learning to read tarot cards in general. This is because there is much more to it than just what you make of the imagery on the cards.

Learning to read tarot cards will challenge you on many levels. It should bring out psychic abilities and open your mind up to the mysteries of life. But also you need to work on acceptance and tolerance if you are wanting to read for other people, to learn to be understanding but also to avoid falling into the trap of giving too much advice. Here’s a brief look at some of these points:

Psychic Abilities
You do not need to have training or experience in psychic abilities in order to read the cards, but you will find that some work on what learning the tarot cards will bring out in you is necessary. Many thoughts and images will flood into your mind as you progress and it can be a little scary at first. You will grow in confidence and will start to have the confidence to go with these messages, but it can take time to recognise them.

Life’s Mysteries
If your learning to read tarot cards, chances are you are also interested in other mystical aspects of life! Take this as far as you can. Combining your reading with astrology, or pendulum work will bring extra energy and dynamism to your reading and open up insights that you may have otherwise missed.

Acceptance of Other’s Ways
When learning to read tarot cards, you may start to come across aspects of other people’s lives that you have not yet encountered and you may be a little shocked! You have personal reasons for not liking their behaviour or choices that they have made. But it is NOT your role as a tarot reader to judge. Leave this behind and focus on what the cards are giving you.

Be Understanding But Impartial
Sometimes, the querant can be vulnerable and in a state of emotional distress. Of course you will want to show them some kindness and offer comfort if you can, and this is fine. It is part of giving them the opportunity to trust in you. Sometimes you may find that people are vulnerable when they don’t appear to be, for example if they are aggressive, but they still deserve your understanding.

What you must be careful of however, is offering your personal opinion. They have come to you for a tarot reading and are looking for the guidance that the cards are offering. Even if you have been through something similar, stick to what the cards are showing them is the right course of action. It can be hard to detach yourself at first, but in my experience the tarot cards are always right in the long run so you can put your total faith in them!

Interpreting Tarot Cards

Interpreting tarot cards can be very difficult for the beginner. The artwork on the cards looks almost designed to confuse you! It also doesn’t help that most experienced readers will tell you that personal meaning is as important as the standard meanings. But interpreting tarot cards is an art and not something you should hope to master in one day. It takes time and it takes dedication and it takes faith. However, in order to try to make it easier for you if you are just starting out, here are some suggestions:

1) The obvious one first. Start with a good book and do readings for yourself or close friends and family with the book to hand. You may not be able to go as quickly as you think you should and it will also hinder your ability to see how the cards fit together but on the plus side, it will get you familiarised with the cards.

2) Do some readings for yourself and keep notes of what comes up. This way you’ll be able to see how accurate you are becoming at interpreting the tarot cards and also you may pick up on some common associations. This will mean you are forming a personal attachment to the tarot and developing special signs that will mean certain events or happenings to you. For example, certain cards may often represent someone older.

3) It is important however that you do learn to piece together readings and look at how the cards are relating to one another. Otherwise it will simply be a lot of random and disparate events! And this doesn’t reflect life, ergo it isn’t the best way to go about interpreting tarot cards which after all, all about life! This is quite a complex area and I will cover this in more depth another time. But look for a lot of major arcana cards to signify significant events coming up, or a high number of a particular suit. A high number of cups will mean emotional matters are central.

4) Learn to trust the psychic ’voice’ that you will be channelling. This is something deep inside you, a facet of you that you may not have encountered before. At first you will not know what to do with the sudden rush of thoughts or images coming to you but this will become familiar and more manageable.

5) Interpreting tarot cards is a craft and so this is something you will always be working on. I still like to read about the experiences of others and to continue to broaden my knowledge. So don’t feel that you need to get to a certain level of expertise. Tarot reading is a life time practise.

Best of luck!

Elizabeth xx

Readings of Inner Strength

I did an absolute wonderful reading yesterday! By which I mean that I thoroughly enjoyed it and really connected with this lovely, warm young woman. It was an absolute pleasure. The reason for this was because she was someone who had frankly had more than her fair share of problems in life (and the cards hinted at much more than she was going to let on) but she had such energy, such a go-getting attitude it was clear that she was going to be ok in the end. This girl had real mettle!

And the cards that came up around this were ones of turning life around. Tarot cards such as the magician which indicates a need to start taking control, grabbing the reigns of her own life. The reason that this was such an exciting reading to do was because she was so truly open to this and deep down had an unshakeable faith that she could do it.

I so often read for people that have been through tough times and sadly have no fight left. It is so heartbreaking to see cards coming up, revealing an inner strength and capability that they just don’t realise is there. The cards show the potential but you have a saddening feeling throughout the reading that the querant is just not going to see this. And self belief is totally paramount.

So if you are feeling down or despairing and choose to go for a reading, firstly be assured that is your time and not a place where you will be judged. But don’t dismiss the cards that show you have power and strength. You may not feel like it now and it may be too early for you to start to access these abilities. But be open to them - the cards are showing you that YOU are the real key to your future.

Mind Reading Vs Tarot Reading

I was talking to a fellow tarot reader last week and she said something that I thought was really spot on. She said that she often felt it necessary to inform people when she was giving a reading that she was a tarot reader, not a mind reader! This is actually a really important distinction and is a lot more helpful to the querant than it may at first appear. So here’s how this will help you…

I will go more into detail on how the tarot cards work as I update my blog but in order to see the reason that my friend was so right it is necessary to briefly look at what the tarot cards offer. They will give you guidance and help through emotional times, look at various outcomes for different actions taken and can help you see the way forward through difficult circumstances. They are an aid to help navigate your way through the more tricky patches in life, to throw you a life line!

Tarot readers may also possess psychic skills, or be clairvoyant or clairsentient - these abilities can help them gain a more in depth look at the details of your situation. Such details may come to the reader in a flash/thought, an image or a symbol. But beware someone who claims to be able to look inside of the heads of those you are interested in, to give you specifics on timings. The cards do not work with such guarantees as free will and choices always play a part along with actions (both yours and others.)

The brilliance of the tarot falls in the divine wisdom that it gives you access to and not everything is revealed at once if it is felt you need to unfold the situation, to understand the complexities of it. To be honest, understanding this is much more likely to help you in the long run than the simple facts of what someone else is doing, thinking or feeling at that precise moment.

LnL

Elizabeth x

How Do Tarot Readings Work?

Tarot readings can be exciting, insightful, instructive and even fun. But one thing they can also often be is confusing. This is often down to a misunderstanding over how the cards work and what they can offer you. I would like to give you some tips on the process that goes into your tarot readings, how the cards are working for you and what you should expect.

1) Tarot readings are not necessarily the same as psychic readings. Many readers will of course have psychic abilities and will use these to get further information for you. But the cards themselves will not provide specifics and details of your situation. Check this out with your reader before you get started.

2) It is essential that your tarot reader be open and ready to channel energies - this much I’m sure is obvious! But it is also important that you are too. If you are feeling distracted or tired then it may not be the right time for a tarot reading and it would be better to reschedule if possible. This is because you could unknowingly be blocking the flow of the reading and will therefore not be getting the best experience.

3) Tarot readings work best when you do not feed the reader all the details of your circumstances. This is more common than you might think and stems from the fact that the querant can be keen to see a particular outcome in the cards. This is understandable but is not giving the reading the chance it deserves. So try to keep specifics to yourself until such a time as it not effecting the reading.

4) This may seem like a contradiction of the above point, but bear with me! It is also common for those having a reading to not let on anything personal, keeping all reactions and comments back. This is absolutely fine if this is your wish and it not wrong in any way. I would just like to add though, that you must be prepared to interpret the information that comes from the cards yourself. If the reader is unaware of the area of your life that the energies are coming from, they will not be able to help you make sense of it I’m afraid. So, I repeat, there is nothing wrong in holding back all information, but it does mean that the burden of understanding things falls more on you than it otherwise might.

5) Rather than focusing on the outcome of one particular scenario, use the cards to look at several paths or options that you might have. For example, if you need to make a decision on a job change, ask the cards what will happen if you get a promotion but also alternatively where the opportunities lie if you don’t. The cards will be able to guide you through all of the openings that are possible for you in your life, investigating more than one option.

I hope this has given you food for thought regarding future tarot readings. Feel free to leave me any questions!

Elizabeth x

Hello From the Other Side of the Deck!

If you’ve ever had a tarot reading, you may well have wondered what is happening from the reader’s side. What are they doing, what are they picking up on and how are they doing it?! Obviously knowing nothing about this does not prevent you from getting a good reading. But I’ve always believed, as a tarot reader, that the querant can actually gain a better reading from understanding the process - knowing what to contribute and what to keep back. In other words, how to combine energies with your reader as well as the reading.

So in order to help you gain insight, I’ve decided to keep a blog :) I’ll be sharing and informing (I hope!) along the way, but am also more than happy to answer any questions you may have. I’ll also be posting thoughts and observations from readings that I may have done throughout the week (totally anonymously of course) in order to illustrate what can come through and the best way to use these messages.

I hope you enjoy my thoughts and ramblings and - you never know - find them enlightening!

Love and light
Elizabeth Ansell
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