Resistance to certain cards

[emporer]

I have a resistance to certain “negative” cards coming up in some readings. The devil, a lot of the swords cards, 5 of pentacles you know the drill. Especially when I get them in spreads for seemingly happy information. I’m not saying all cards need to be positive but the deeper my understanding of a card is, the more I’m able to apply it to varying circumstances. The most basic example of a “negative” card being able to fit into positive or neutral circumstances is Death also representing transformation. Things like that. What are some cards that you guys have resistance to when it comes up in your readings?

[pinktarotic]

When a card triggers you, there is something you don't wan't to see. When I first started out in tarot I read a lot about the 5's or the devil and the 10 of swords and people's reactions towards it. And I took over those feelings. Now, after taking a step back and using the RWS deck, reading the history, the symbols and stopped listening to others there are no negative cards for me or cards that trigger me. For me certain cards are things I am not seeing and that is positive, because it means you are growing. Every card is a message for me and it is making me aware of behaviour, thoughts and situations in my life.

[Joan Marie]

What are some cards that you guys have resistance to when it comes up in your readings?

For the longest time, whenever I saw the Hierophant pop up it drew it giant "Ugh!" from me. From any deck, but the RWS Hierophant depiction is especially egregious and triggering to me.

I can only attribute it to many years of Catholic school and my innate resistance to authority which made those years pretty much a living hell for me.

What has "helped" me with this ambivalence is the discovery of the Thoth Tarot and that depiction of the Hierophant which is far more positive with a slightly sinister undertone which seems at least more honest to me.

I also learned that the word Hierophant comes from the greek and means "revealer of secrets" but that it must be done in the presence of the right spirit in order to understand and act upon those secrets. (that's the tricky part)

All this has made the card more interesting to me but I confess that every time I see it I feel, if not resistant, at least a bit challenged by it.
I guess that's my old authority issues again.

[Genna]

The Tower has come up in bad situations in my life, so I feel resistence when it comes up. Now I´ve got the light seer´s tarot with the sweetest squirrel on it, probably because of The Simpson´s Bad Squirrel Card ( but also burning butterflies), and the Tower in Everyday Witch Tarot and Jolanda(Swedish Witch Tarot) so they are better, but I think I always will feel bad about The Tower.

[casique]

It's definitely the tower card for me. I have had tower moments in my life, and in the lives of my loved ones, and it is the ONLY card I have trouble seeing a positive side to. Whenever I see it I need to take a deep breath. Sometimes I don't want to continue reading--I just don't want to know--and I won't finish the reading. Other times I have to close my eyes and tell myself--after the tower comes the star but in order to get there you have to just ride out this tower moment.

When I see that card in readings for myself, I now take it as a sign that I need to let go and realize I am powerless in that moment. But it will pass. But yes--it is a major trigger for me. And I try not to read about major life catastrophes anymore because sometimes it is better not to know and just stay in the moment. So if the tower comes up for a situation I am reading about it is my sign to just let it go and stop reading on that particular topic because feeling stressed and worried about something that is out of you hands is not helpful and it makes me obsessive trying to hard to control the situation or change the outcome. It is my sign to "give it up to God".

[casique]

Reading this thread and replying with my triggering tower response has made me a lot more aware about what happens when I read and a triggering card shows up. It's almost like I lose sight of the actual question being asked and my mind goes into a deeper place that uncovers the real reason why I am asking the question. I took a bit of a step back from tarot after a tower moment that made me learn that sometimes I need to go with the flow. Sometimes I am better off not knowing too much and that I need to recognize when using tarot gets in the way of me having faith. There is a moment in certain situation where my use of tarot would shift beyond trying to gain insight to trying to control the natural course. It makes me blind to what the cards are trying to tell me and leaves me feeling paralyzed, helpless, and desperate. So when I read tarot now I try not to ask the tough questions. I will ask specific detail questions connected to the tough situation--but the kind of questions that will give me insight that are within my control. If something bad is going to happen regardless of the choices I make, I'd rather not see it coming and have faith that God (I am a liberal Christian) will see me through it and that after it passes my next course of action will become clear.

So today, I decided to do a fun silly read: Will I win the lottery? (for background--I very rarely even play the lottery and haven't bought a ticket for anything recent or upcoming but "hey, you never know").
I had no real spread but just started turning cards kind of the way you do if you play the middle button game on your iphone. Keep on going until you have a complete thought.

First card pulled: THE TOWER--of course the tower. Instant panic and fear set in--TRIGGERED!! What is going to happen next--I can't handle another tower moment. I pulled 2 more cards (3 card readings are my default) Magician and 5 of wands. First thoughts-- disaster is ahead--why did I do this reading? I wish I never asked. Pulled a 4th card--hoping for some sort of resolution to the chaos of the first 3 cards--3 of wands. Ah--peaceful ok. Let me stop there.

So I started reading the cards, but I was reading it in a different way then the intention behind the original question. And I was putting myself into a state of panic. It was a silly reading, but because of that tower it became about my deeper financial fears which was not the intention behind the spread. And before I realized that I was getting myself into a really dark panicked state. I walked away and tried to calm myself down. But as I was pacing I remembered my actual question.
Will I win the lotto?
And with that in mind when I went back to the spread, instead of seeing the devastation of the tower I saw the lightening and I was able to chuckle.

Will I win the lotto?
You have a better chance of getting struck by lightening (tower). Don't give in to the mind games that things like lotteries and gambling pray on (magician). Even if you do win it will lead to all sorts of conflicts (5 of wands). Just let that ship pass and don't even bother buying a ticket (3 of wands).

So I really want to thank this thread for making think deeper about card triggers. I was always aware that I had them, but never really paid attention to how they interfere with my reading.