One of the first questions people understandably have when one tells them they read tarot cards, is to ask how accurate the readings are. The readings I have done since picking up that very first deck are scary accurate. Seriously, I don’t know if anyone’s readings should ever be this accurate. I guess that seems like an odd statement, let me see if I can clarify.

In the last 16 years I have read for myself, strangers, and countless friends. I even did readings by phone for awhile a few years back. When I do a reading, no matter how little I know about someone, they nod their heads enthusiastically as I tell them their life story. I can’t tell you how many times I have felt compelled to say something that seemed completely out of the blue, or completely incorrect, yet when I said it aloud the querent was astonished and asked how I could possibly have known? This should be a good thing right? Yes and no. First of all, it means I often have to tell people unpleasant things in the past, present or future. That is never any fun. With the rare exception of the enlightened querent who will not let the negative bother them, and instead uses it (as it should be used) as a call to action and a point of growth. Second, even though my answers are correct they may not be complete. I have had several occasions when I was on the right track, I was getting all the right reads, and crystal clear answers, but I just stopped too soon.

For example, my best friend’s first marriage. She was dating this guy that, well let’s just say I was not nuts about him. When she told me she was going to marry him, I could feel the fear and panic building in my chest. Being someone who knew me quite well she knew that I read tarot cards, and she had a lot of faith in my readings. So I suggested we do a reading to find the outcome. I was confident that the cards would reveal that the match was inadvisable, so I promptly whipped them out and away we went! Imagine my devastation when the cards confirmed that yes, she was going to marry this guy. Here is where I made my mistake. I put my tail between my legs and packed up my cards in defeat. She did marry him. Even though we were, and still are, very close I wasn’t invited to the wedding. Maybe because I wasn’t supportive of her choice, maybe because her parents weren’t nuts about me, or maybe just because she recognized she wasn’t marrying him for the right reasons. I was, however, present when she picked up her divorce papers less than 2 years later which made up for it completely.

Was my reading inaccurate? Not at all. She married him just as predicted in the cards. My reading was incomplete. I read far enough to find an answer I did not like, and I stopped. What could have been different had I read deeper into the situation? What if I had asked how the relationship would work out, if they would be together in five years, would they be happy, what would their challenges be? Maybe her marriage, brief as it was, was just meant to be. Or maybe that whole part of her life could have been bypassed in favor of better things if only I had given her more to work with?

So what is the moral of the story? Don’t always assume you have a whole situation figured out just because your reading has been accurate and clear so far and you have reached the last card in your chosen spread. Sometimes the “answer” you just discovered is just the tip of the iceberg. Although it is true that we can not read indefinitely, ferreting out every possible scenario (especially if you are reading professionally and are therefore on a tighter schedule,) we can ask ourselves whether we think this is the entirety of what this person needs to know at this juncture in their life. Life is fluid, our path altered slightly with each decision we make or refrain from making. Tarot, as a reflection of life, is no different. Don’t be afraid to break out of the “norm.” Challenge what is expected, and go with your gut. If cards 3 & 4 look like they should be switched, do it. If the querent has shuffled, and you get the urge to shuffle it one more time yourself, do it. You can not successfully read tarot cards if you do not trust your instincts. The cards do not provide answers exactly. What they do is help you tap into your psychic senses and connection to the universe, this is where the real answers come from. In denying your instincts, you can make the cards virtually useless. So listen to your instincts, and at the end of each reading ask yourself if that really was the end?

~Anyanka

Want to study the tarot? The Witches Cupboard offers a wide variety of tarot books, and a multitude of tarot and oracle decks and starter kits for you to choose from.

Related posts:

1. My Journey Through the Tarot
2. Exploring the Tarot – 1 The Magician
3. Exploring the Tarot – 0 The Fool