This blog post has been sitting with me for a while, slowly brewing in the background. This is a post exploring what and how to ask a Tarot question, specifically those exploring the minefield territory that is a relationship. (Part 2 looks at the more pragmatic side of life such as work and business)
The High Priestess from the Bohemian Gothic Tarot
So here’s a hypothetical scenario:
You meet someone you rather fancy. Perhaps you really, really like them, though you are not quite sure how to proceed, or whether you should in the first instance. Perhaps past experiences have scarred you a little, and doubt and hesitation hold you back. Should you, shouldn’t you…. Or maybe, you are already in a relationship, but not really sure where it is heading.
At some point you decide to see a Tarot reader, and after explaining the scenario, you ask the question: Will this relationship work out? Sometimes, this gets rephrased as, Is he/she the one?
And this is where I have to pause and do a delicate dance around this question. It is not that I avoid the question – I understand all too well that sometimes, there is a fated element to a relationship (or work, business, and life in general), and there is no avoiding this.
However, my experience, as both a reader and a client, is that in most cases, these are not the right questions to ask. For starters, one is placing a tremendous amount of power in the hands of the Tarot reader – and equally, one is disempowering themselves by doing so. The repercussions of this are vast, but essentially can be summed up in one word: responsibility, or lack of should I say.
Taking responsibility for your own actions, rather than laying the blame somewhere else (our parents, society, or the Tarot reader), if one of the hallmarks of maturity and empowerment. So, you may wonder, what should one ask instead?
This largely depends on each person and what stage the relationship is at, and also on the ethics of the reader, however here are some suggestions:
What does he/she need from me?
What does he/she want from me?
If you are in an existing relationship, you can go a step further and ask, What does he/she need (or want) from me that I am not offering (or not able to offer)?
What do I need from a relationship?
What does he/she think of me?
What are his/her feelings for me?
How do we emotionally relate? Or mentally?
How sexually compatible are we?
What does he/she hope for in this relationship?
What are his/her fears in this relationship?
What is our relationship based on?
How do we communicate?
What are my strengths (weaknesses) in this relationship?
How does he/she deal with conflict?
What do we need to do in order to overcome this issue/obstacle?
What am I not able to see clearly about our relationship?
What are his/her intentions for our relationship?
What do I need to do in order to make this relationship work?
Haindl Tarot
The last one in particular is relevant to my earlier point about taking responsibility – for it’s really up to two people whether their relationship will work out or not, rather than the reader.
Again, there are always exceptions to the rule, and I certainly do not mean to diminish or ignore the role that certain karmic energies play in our lives. This post, however, is more about the destiny we create when we actively and consciously work on our own issues, rather than lay the blame at the feet of some divine intervention or the Tarot reader.
If you are exploring the more psychological aspects and complexities in a relationship, here’s a good one: What was his relationship like with his mother? (or her relationship with her father?). Or, what am I projecting onto my partner? etc.
Finally, for those who are dealing with infidelity, a good question might be, what can my wife/husband be (or express) with the other person that they are not able to be with me (rather than, what do they see in the other person).
As you can see, the options are endless. In writing the above, I must articulate that I am not a counsellor or psychologist. I am a Tarot reader who shuffles the cards to help clients to the best of my ability, and that ability has largely been coloured by both life experience and experience as a reader.
In Part 2 I’ll be looking at questions pertaining to work, business, career, and the like.
Until next time, Monica