Image: The Knot of Eternity. If you stare at the centre without moving your eyes all the colours disappear.
Reading Tarot cards is not the same as reading a book, or a newspaper, or a magazine.
Normally, when we read something, we start at the beginning and work our way towards the end. A similar process happens when we watch a movie, a soap opera or whatever. We start at the beginning and we only find out, or understand, what the entire story is all about just before the credits roll.
If we want to know whether or not, our two romantic heroes in the heart-wrenchingly melodramatic novel we’re reading ever live happily ever after, we know the only way we’re ever going to find out the answers is by reading the book from start to finish (or if you’re like me, skip a few chapters until the ‘good bits’ start happening).
Reading Tarot cards is completely different
You wouldn’t rewind a movie to find out whats going to happen to the hero, you won’t flick back five chapters of a book to find out whether or not the secret manuscript is going to be discovered by the bad guys, but that’s exactly what you do with a Tarot reading.
A Tarot reading, in its role as fortune teller, ‘plays‘ with time. No longer do the rules of past, present, future apply. Cards, in a Tarot spread, that traditionally represent the past, can often end up representing the future; cards that imply a relationship with someone in the past can also be reinterpreted to indicate a new relationship with someone they will meet in the future. In other words, time, as we all understand it, doesn’t exist.
The Tarot removes the Tarot reader from linear time and throws them into a black hole where the rules of the space-time continuum are mangled.
Although Heraclitus famously said, “you can’t stand in the same river twice” – that is exactly what Tarot readers have to do.
Okay Doug! But what does this mean for me?
It means that Tarot spreads that read like a book, or play like a movie, are a fundamental misrepresentation of how a Tarot reading works. It means that the next time you use a Tarot spread that clearly marks out a liner based time format (like those time-lines that move from the past towards the future), fundamentally demands that you abandon this format when the time comes.
When the time comes?
If I’m asked a lot of unrelated questions by a client, I rarely deal out new cards. To do so, misses the point, and the solution is simple – reinterpret the cards based on their questions. Remember, the Tarot doesn’t view time, nor does it understand time, the way us mere mortals do.
Avoid extra cards – just for fun
The next time you practice Tarot readings, or the next time you feel experimental within your professional practice, reinterpret the cards constantly.
Check out these simple two card readings for some examples:
- Hierophant – Page of Disks
- A general reading please!
- Okay! Firstly, you will successfully pass your exams.
- Secondly, you will receive professional advice concerning your debts which, based on these cards, will help (over time) to transform your financial situation.
- Third, I think you will meet someone who teaches within the education profession. This person will be on the cusp of publishing some of their ideas within their chosen field.
- Is this person married?
- Hmmm … yes.
- Will I go travelling?
- It looks to me like you will be busy at work – some sort of a restructuring process is going to happen and you will be involved with the logistical part of that operation.
- What is happening with my son?
- He’s completely disrespectful, and I want to know what will happen.
- Your son trusts someone – not a friend, and not someone who he would socialize with. This would be an authority figure that he has respect for. This person is subtly teaching your son, and providing moral guidance and direction.
- In terms of his relationship with you, things will improve – largely due to the positive influence of this other character.
- Overall, he is going to discover what his place is within the world, and his own sense of right and wrong.
- 6 of Cups – 7 of Swords
- General Reading please!
- You will eventually go travelling with someone special.
- Regardless of anything else that happens to you, always in the background will be your need to understand yourself – a kind of self-counselling.
- You’re not going to feel as confident within relationships as you would have been previously. You will be looking to people you trust for advice.
- One of the reasons for this is certain people you have been friends with for a long time will start lying to you, perhaps even try to manipulate you.
- Can I trust him?
- Not fully.
- What will happen in my career?
- Expect the overall atmosphere within your work place to remain the same as it always has – negative in-house politics, with the occasional laugh thrown in.
- Will I ever find happiness?
- Yes, I see you going on holiday with someone special. I also see you working out what it is that you truly want from life. However, there’s no doubt about it, this period of your life is tough. Think of it as a transitional period. These periods in our life are never enjoyable, but oftentimes necessary. They’re necessary to get us to where we’ve got to be.
Remember, the Tarot is fluid, not fixed
If the Tarot was fixed, then a Tarot reading would produce a fixed response to any question. There would also be a fixed method of shuffling the cards, dealing the cards, using only the right spread, interpreting the cards in the ‘correct’ way, and so on. But the Tarot is not fixed, thankfully.
The Tarot is fluid, it provides answers illogically, and it never allows for set methods of interpretation.
Summary
In every Tarot reading I do, I reinterpret the cards. I never stick to the same interpretation. This is a particularly important point.
After I’ve read the cards once, I will immediately reinterpret them. Why? Because the Tarot is fluid and the interpretation is not fixed. I’ll often go back to those very same cards and reinterpret them.
Nothing is true, everything is permitted 
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27 comments… Let's discuss
Hi Doug!
This is a great article (as always) and you make some really important points about the time issue. The reinterpreting is fascinating – I’m going to play with that and see what happens.
Question – what about a client who asks the same questions over and over in a different manner to get the response they want? Would reinterpreting the same cards be a wise way to handle this – or simply do a new spread to see if the same answer comes up?
Blessings!
Theresa
Hi Theresa,
Glad you liked the post
Good question
I would be probably deal out new cards because it’s what they want. I’ve found that clients who are like that, don’t feel reassured unless you throw in a little bit of the showman. However, from a technical point of view, there’s little need.
Let me know how the reinterpretation goes
Hi Doug,
Yes, clients like that seem to “need” to see further proof that whatever the initial read says is “valid”. Ironically, the same cards will pop up again in most situations – and that usually stops the b.s.
Still playing with the reinterpretation….doing it on myself with a current situation. Thanks again for another interesting post.
T
Hi Theresa,
Clients often come for a reason after some kind of trauma (even small things can trigger them), or long standing issues. Either way, they are dealing with their ‘stuff’, often imperfectly. If you shuffle the cards and deal again, you will probably find that the same questions/interpretations. You have to find some way of helping the person move on from whatever issue is making them stuck.
Either way, you have to make sure that you are in control of the reading, and not the client! Not easy, but even if you fail, make sure you get paid for your time.
Paul
Hi Paul!
Yes! Like I said above to Douglas, often the same cards will pop up when a client asks the same question over and over. I can then point it out and move on with the reading in most circumstances. I rarely have a client who pulls this – I keep my readings limited to a half hour so they know to make the best use of their time.
Cheers,
Theresa
You make some good points Doug. The sequence of cards can be taken not only in any direction time-wise, but any direction according to the characters or client. Furthermore, the direction in time or space can change.
Reading the same set of cards at different levels according to context, and the nature of the questions is one of the most important skills a tarot reader can develop.
By the way, the two pairs of cards you use as examples have an interesting relationship. The Hierophant and Page of Disks represent the hierarchy of knowledge and tradition, of transmission of knowledge from master to student, and of knowing one’s place, while the 6 Cups and 7 Swords represent dissatisfaction, asking the question “what is happiness?”, knowing that happiness is not found in orthodoxy. The 7 Swords confirms that happiness has to be found within, but in order to find this happiness one has to go on the journey.
Hi Paul,
Great comment – really adds to the post
LOL oh yeah! Very cool insight
Thanks for sharing
This may end up on here twice – I added it once, but it didn’t appear! -) I have to disagree with the immediate reinterpretation of a spread. IMHO, each card is interpreted in relation to the cards around it. The energy is, I agree, fluid – and archetypal.
An immediate re-interpretation of a reading seems to indicate that the initial interpretation lacked something. Reinterpreting through the lens of another question really requires another draw of the cards.
BTW – While I don’t agree with you, this is great work!
Blessings,
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
Thanks for dropping by, and your kind words
I think the point where we disagree centres on this key point – “An immediate re-interpretation of a reading seems to indicate that the initial interpretation lacked something.”
I disagree with this because I think that reinterpretation adds many different layers (one on top of the other) to the overall story. Rather than detracting from the reading, I think it adds to the reading.
Having said all that, I can see the validity in your position.
All the best,
Doug
Reinterpreting the cards to find other or more deeper levels is perfectly valid. Whatever interpretation the reader comes up with, if the reading is done correctly, will be pertinent to the client.
If the reader is doing relatively short readings (15 minutes, say) or she is coming to the end of the time, then this technique is a real time saver. On the other hand, if you have an hour to fill, reshuffling and re-dealing definitely eats up some of the time.
By the way, if we consider all four cards in the example, Fire is missing, so it may well be that the Reader has to provide the call to action. Maybe book another reading?
Paul
This article is just brilliant Doug!
Interesting that I use astrology (meaning I know where the planets are and what they are doing) before I ever even draw a card (or a few) – so I already have a background, and I know what you mean about an energetic pattern applies to nearly everything going on – awesome!
Theresa – I have had that happen to me MANY times hehe! I have to stop them and call them on it – I have found the first time IS the answer. They may not like it, but then ask them if they hired you to lie to them hehe?
However, you could have them ask this: What is the best thing to do about it, to alleviate some or all of the undesired outcome – and how to make better decisions from now on to avoid these outcomes as much as one can? This can be more constructive. But this may take some effort, because folks that ask the same question (different ways or not) over and over often don’t learn very fast in my experience.
HI AarTiana,
Thank you for your exceptionally kind words
I liked your thoughts on Theresa’s question. It’s a very cool method of working.
I normally ‘play it’ low-key. Usually, if they become a regular client, they kind of get into my ways of doing things. However, it’s the fine line between being emotionally responsive to someone who is highly distressed (a common motive for constantly asking the same question) and explaining that asking the same question over and over doesn’t change the answer.
If I’ve known the client for a while and they constantly ask the same question, I’ll patiently answer them – but I don’t deal out extra cards. I guess, like the Tarot, it’s a fluid thing that changes with each person, or situation. In fact, my moods at the time largely determine what I’ll do
My moods also dictate a lot in my work – mostly who gets banned! LOL
I think Doug is making an important distinction in reading the tarot. Many believe the answers are in the tarot, but actually there is always a three way process between the reader, the positions of the tarot cards and the client.
If, as many do, you use positional spreads – one card in each named position, then what Doug is talking about will probably not make sense. However, when for example he specified The Hierophant and 2 of Disks, he did not give a position such as love, work, health, etc.
I have struggled with pairing cards for many years, to the point of giving up on them, as I would probably have come up with the same standard kind of answer, but Doug is using the situation or position of the client in relationship to her life to bring about different meanings and nuances. Clearly this is far more satisfactory, particularly to the client, as specific questions are more like to get specific answers.
Instead of trying to find a sense of sameness or unity between any paired card, there is greater advantage to seeing tension, a choice, ‘which way will we go?’ It is this dynamic tension that brings about the choice of outcomes based upon the client’s questions, and if you think about it, it is easier on the reader.
I gave up on positional spreads many years ago, favouring the Opening of the Key spread, which relies on interpretation of the relationship between a string of cards using the elements (Elemental Dignities) and card counting, among other techniques.
Doug, I think you have found the answer to really understanding the pairing technique that is part of the OOTK spread.
Paul
I agree whole heartedly – A flexible tarot reader can use any card for any question, any time. Weaving a story together through the various aspects of a few cards can be extremely rewarding and challenging. Especially in the face of many different questions, it can feel difficult to handle such different areas of life with only 2 or 3 cards.
When I give one-card tarot readings I especially enjoy answering many questions with what appears to be very little to go on; I think that works well with your suggestion to avoid additional cards for practice! One card readings take that a step further.
Highlighting the non-linear approach the tarot basically necessitates is fun food for thought. Thanks for a fun and different article!
Hi Lionel,
I’m glad you liked the article.
I think that this deceptively simple way of practicing Tarot can help people connect with the cards in a faster, less fussy way. As you’ve said,
Great post. As a reader, I completely agree with your opinion on the timeline. I enjoyed everyone’s comments.
Cher
Hi Cher,
Thanks for dropping by and I’m glad you enjoyed the article
I’m excited by this article and the comments. I enjoy “out-of-the-box” approaches to relating to Tarot, reading cards, supporting clients, developing our art.
Douglas…you had me with your first non-linear declaration. I whole-heartedly agree. To me Tarot as a medium of communication is no more linear than our own dreams and beyond. I also believe the art of being a reader, much like the role of the Hierophant, is to channel and translate the information inspired by the cards in a way that the client can best receive the transmission.
The reader tends to select a particular layout that works best for him/her to share that process with the client. Layouts can be very non-linear or attempt to contain information in a line. As humans, we relate best to stories and expect a beginning, middle, and end. Some people try to simplify life into right/wrong, good/bad, this/that, boxes, but life really isn’t that dualistic or simple. Neither is the Tarot. Some impose dualistic simplicity upon their interpretation of cards, layouts, even questions from querents, but there is so much more.
Thank you for your ever-expanding perspective on Tarot, including us all in this dynamic universe.
Love & Light, Katrina
Hi Katrina,
I’m glad you liked the post
Couldn’t agree more
Hi, sorry for my English.
I write you from Chile. Your blog is very interesting. You don’t repeat the same of the same like other tarot websites. I agree with you on the point of combining cards; they help each other to give a message and that this combinations cannot be red as a book. I have a question. What is your experience with tarot reversals? I personally don’t use them any more. I hope you can answer me.
Greetings from Chel, South America.
Hi John,
Thank you for your kind words
I simply see Tarot reversals as another grouping of cards.
If there are 3 reversed Tarot cards in a spread, then I’ll interpret those 3 as a complete group of cards – as if they belong together.
Lets say that one of those reversed Tarot cards is a court card. I would interpret the 2 other reversed Tarot cards as belonging to that Court! I would use this information to give me insight into how this reversed Court card was interacting within the rest of the spread. What are this persons expectations etc?
I don’t reverse the meaning of the cards – I only group them together!
I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions
I feel so stupid and frustrated! I bought Paul’s book and read it and went to the Internet to try and get more information to help, but I just can’t get the hang of this card counting thing. I don’t know how to get started. It seems that I don’t end up where Paul does. I know I am doing something wrong, but can’t see what. Can anyone dumb this down for me? I’m so embarrassed.
Hi, Doug!
I’ve been reading up on your posts – I love your approach and have been learning a lot from you, especially the Elemental Dignities pages (which must have taken a lot of work to compile and are incredibly thorough and user-friendly
This post reaffirms what I’ve been noticing on my own: a specific spread is usually enlightening on VARIOUS levels of my existence at the SAME time (so my daily 2-card combo will often shed light on my work, love life and social life simultaneously).
I enjoyed reading your “general readings” for the pairs you presented, however I was stumped by one of your interpretations: how did you read the 6 Cups & 7 Swords as upcoming travels with someone special? I’m really curious to know your thoughts on this!
Thanks for a great site!
~Paulina
Hi Paulina,
Thank you for your kind words
I often see the 6 of Cups as representing someone that the client knew from their past. Usually this person is someone that they have had a good emotional connection with. The seven of swords can represent ‘travel over land’. Combined together, these two cards can represent travel with someone special.
Hope that helps
UPDATE: I want to mention that the ‘good emotional connection’ I mentioned with the 6 of Cups is misleading. When I say ‘good’ I really mean strong. The connection itself is not always healthy.
I have read over everything and you have really helped me a lot! Espicially the part about picking one word instead of the MANY different translations of each card. Thank you for that. My problem is that I recently took a job ( out of necessity to supplement my income) doing readings over the phone. This creates a problem since the clients are paying per minute and want fast, fast, fast readings….very frustrating. How do you handle a reading over the phone? It seems that readings in person are “more accurate” than over the phone. Any advice? Thank you Doug
Hi Camille,
I used to think that reading over the phone was about producing a lot of information quickly. That by rapidly making predictions the client would think I was a good reader. No, this in fact is the worst way to go. The trick here is to do less not more. You need to learn how to slow the reading down. This has nothing to do with your tarot ability – this is all to do with communication.
For instance, start by asking how you can help. Normally they’ll say something like, “Can you help me with my love life?” Or, “I want you to tell me about my career”. The point is that they will give you a strong indication (perhaps even a question) on what they want the reading to be about.
After you’ve dealt the cards out try and find something very specific – something that specifically answers their initial question.
For example, if they asked about their love life and you notice two Kings in the reading then mention that their love life involves two men. Something as simple as that will normally be enough to encourage them to comment further. The point I’m making is that you have said very little and yet they have said rather a lot. That is, in my opinion, good phone reading technique. It’s all in how you communicate with them, not what you see in the cards. The actual content of you reading is secondary at this stage.
If things are going well then just use your judgement as to how much more information to give them before asking them another question or inviting them to comment further on what you have said. Eventually, you will have built up enough of a rapport to have a genuine conversation on what the reading is about. The process of getting to that stage however, is all about slow and steady communication which actively encourages their involvement.
Let me know how you get on and I hope what I’ve said helps in some small way
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