Here’s When You Should Avoid Reading Tarot Cards
In order to get the most out of your tarot card reading, you need to approach the deck with the right questions and be in the right state of mind. Not doing so could leave you with a highly inaccurate reading, which might cause you more distress.
In states of volatile emotion
If you feel emotionally unsteady, chances are that this will translate to your tarot deck, too. That doesn’t mean that you’re not allowed to look to your deck to help you process deep emotions and life events, but you need to be clear-headed in order to interpret the deck properly. The same cards will have many different ways they can apply to your personal life, and misunderstanding them could cause you more distress or just leave you with an off reading.
Some tarot readers do prefer to look to the cards for peace and reassurance when struggling with strong emotions. Generally, you may want to avoid doing this when under a lot of stress or if you feel that you won’t be able to clearly interpret your own reading. Sitting with your emotions for a while before approaching the cards could give you a more effective reading.
When you won’t accept a certain answer
Approaching your deck with a specific question in mind is a practice many engage in when seeking advice. There’s nothing wrong with having a question in mind while you receive a reading. But in order for the tarot deck to be effective, you need to be genuinely open to all possibilities when it comes to reading your cards. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go with the worst possible outcome or only believe the answers you don’t want to hear; tarot cards have multiple meanings, and there’s nothing wrong with finding positivity in the cards you receive.
With that being said, looking through the cards you pull with only a particular answer in your mind will prevent you from reading them effectively. This can cause you to look at the cards and search for anything that could potentially support your question, rather than reading what the cards have to tell you and exploring all of their possibilities. If you struggle with this, you may want to seek a reading from someone else and tell them your question so they can help you navigate the cards. But if you’re seeking a certain answer from the deck, it’s usually best not to use tarot at all if you won’t take any answers except the one you want to hear.
If you’re trying to predict the future
Many people believe that tarot is about predicting the future, but it’s more about looking towards the possible outcomes of a person’s future based on their current life. You’ll likely find present life circumstances that relate to what the cards have to tell you; if you receive negative cards related to your financial life, for example, you might already be aware of how past debts, recent purchases, or issues at your job could be affecting you.
The cards are not there to control your choices; receiving a tarot reading doesn’t remove your free will. They give you an opportunity to examine your life and change it. A reading is never guaranteed, and you have to put in the work to either actualize the reading (by strengthening your relationship, working on your career, investing financially, etc.) or avoid it. So if you look to the cards to tell you your exact future, you should change your queries a little bit; you’re the only person who can control those outcomes.