Reading for yourself?

[Tidalinfluence]

Hello,
I'm new on this forum and relatively new to the Thoth deck. My mother always used the Raider Waite and I understand them better, but I love the symbolism and paintings in the Thoth deck and Aleister Crowley has always fascinated me.

My question is about reading for yourself. I started to get into Tarot so that I could read for myself but most say this is a bad idea, in the sense that people see what they want and dont read them correctly because of their own intentions and inner thoughts.

I also reached out to a high priestess who uses the Raider Waite deck and while she wouldn't divulge too much information on why reading for yourself isnt good, but that she had a bad experience reading her own Tarot. She was pregnant at the time, and through the cards she read that she would raise her child alone or would be alone something of that sort, and her partner passed away mere weeks later unexpectedly. This scared her to never read her own Tarot, so she only reads for others. While as sad as this is, doesnt this show that you can have unbiased reading when you read them yourself?

What are some of your opinions on reading the cards for yourself, particularly the Thoth deck?

Amateur here, so thanks for any help.

[Charlie Brown]

I think that most people on this forum read for themselves regularly. In fact, I think it's essential to read for yourself if, like many today, your going to use tarot as a source of mediation and reflection and not just straight divination.

It's true that, when reading for yourself, it's important that you look at the cards and try not to project your own desires onto them. It's also true that new readers tend not to be very good at that. In my experience, though, those 'readers' are usually more interested in getting reassurance about whatever romantic entanglement they're in rather than actually learning how to read tarot.

Finally, even those of us who firmly believe that these cards can predict the future understand two things: 1) that the cards predict the future, they don't cause the future and 2) that the future is not fixed. We have the power to change the course of things.

I don't want to cast aspersions on anybody I don't know or pass judgement on a situation I didn't witness, but there are a lot of "professional" fortune-tellers that have an interest in keeping people scared or otherwise making sure that they can keep getting your money. That's one reason someone who charges for readings might say that it's dangerous for you to read by yourself. If a reader has ever asked you to pay them a significant fee after a reading in order to light a special candle or remove a curse that the cards revealed, then that's a pretty tell-sure sign of a con artist. Please don't confuse as me saying that there's no value in paying for a reading. It's a service like any other. But, if a reader is trying to disempower a client, then there are problems.

[Papageno]

Chas. Brown has pretty much summed it all up very neatly, so I can only add a cautionary note about too much of a good thing.

Daily readings for yourself should be an exercise of meditation, not divination.
There is a very important difference between the two.

Divinatory readings should be conducted very sparingly, otherwise it becomes an abusive practice/habit, counter-productive and possibly toxic.

Just to clarify, the toxic element becomes insidious and the readings only serve to undermine clarity and objectivity.

[Tidalinfluence]

Thank you so much for your comments! Those were immensely helpful. If it's any consolation the person I talked to was a friend and doesnt charge people when she reads tarot. That being said, that is such good advice I wouldn't have thought of, and anyone getting a reading should hear that! Very valuable insight moving forward.

Thank you Charlie brown and papa geno. You rock! I just got the DuQuette understanding tarot today. I hear this is a great starter and cant wait to jump into it. If you know of any other helpful resources I'm open to suggestions or advice!

[fire cat pickles]

I think reading for yourself is essential when you first begin reading. It's like you're testing your skills. How else are you supposed to begin? You can start of with "how will my day go?", or " how did my day go?", or "what can I expect today?" You can keep a detailed journal and compare your findings. If your predictions are along these lines then I don't see a problem with it.

[Amoroso]

I use the Thoth in a lot of self-readings and its veracity has astounded me time and time again. Among my decks it's the most worn out - that's how much I've come to trust it.

When reading for yourself, just think that it's better to draw inauspicious but accurate cards so that you can heed their warnings and prepare for them beforehand, even possibly forestalling them in the process, than to get lulled into a false sense of security. Also: if you get unfortunate messages, you may consult the cards as to the best course of action that you can take to solve the problem.

[Parzival]

There are newer decks that are designed with reading for yourself in mind, like the gigantic Alchemical Visions Tarot and the Voyager of some years ago, still in print, and the Mystical Dream Tarot, to refer to a few. When Tarot is created and produced, this is an important aspect-- is the deck for self and other/client reading or for one or the other? The purpose designed into the whole 78 card structure impacts the usefulness and insightfulness.

I wonder what Tarotists think about daily one-card self-reading? Are there questions that work better (or worse) for this? I think painting the whole day with one tone or mood or message could limit the possibilities. What do others think?

[BlueStar]

I don't often read for myself other than daily draw type readings. When I do daily draws I do them at the end of the day i.e. ask about the day so far, as a way to practise, especially when getting to know a new deck, it works really well for me. If I did them in the morning and a tough card came up I'd be worrying about it all day...

I think you can only know by trying it and see how you feel. If you happy reading for yourself then go for it. I do understand though why some people don't like to.

[Papageno]

There are newer decks that are designed with reading for yourself in mind, like the gigantic Alchemical Visions Tarot and the Voyager of some years ago, still in print, and the Mystical Dream Tarot, to refer to a few. When Tarot is created and produced, this is an important aspect-- is the deck for self and other/client reading or for one or the other? The purpose designed into the whole 78 card structure impacts the usefulness and insightfulness.

that’s a very astute assessment and the 3 decks you chose to underscore the importance of this distinction are well chosen.

I wonder what Tarotists think about daily one-card self-reading? Are there questions that work better (or worse) for this? I think painting the whole day with one tone or mood or message could limit the possibilities. What do others think?

Essentially, I agree with your statement:

“I think painting the whole day with one tone or mood or message could limit the possibilities.”

Stuart Kaplan once said:

“I have witnessed some remarkable readings and I do not doubt it works.”

for an in-depth clarification on his views regarding cartomancy, refer to this interview from which this quote was extracted:

https://www.usgamesinc.com/Stephen-Wini ... aplan.html


His personal philosophy is also underscored in this NY Times interview, in which he states:

''I avoid having my cards read,'' Mr. Kaplan said. ''If I were to live my life based upon what the cards portray, I'm afraid I might be swept up into it. And I prefer to be objective about what I collect and publish.’'

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/01/nyre ... iness.html