Recently, out of curiosity, i got a free tarot reading on a astrology forum. I got on board with this out of curiosity, and also the reader did her own 12-card spread that correlates to the 12 houses of astrology. The result was surprisingly accurate and insightful. That kinda got me hooked. I'm very curious about how tarot and psychic readings work, especially over the internet. The reader "tunes-in" to your energy field? How does tarot reading actually work? 

I never actually gone through with a face-to-face reading with a psychic. I am somewhat apprehensive about the whole experience. I'm under the impression that the element of free will weighs more in astrology. For example if you have challenging aspects you can learn to cope with it and be aware of it, and things can manifest in many different ways. But when it comes to tarot reading etc, if I'm told something is going to happen, then it is inevitable. Nothing can be done to alter it. And there is also the whole "self-fulfilling prophecy" phenomenon, too. 

So right now, I am having mixed feelings about tarot reading in general. I'm very curious about it, but don't know how to make sense of it.. I'm wondering if any of you guys have experiences with tarot readings, any thoughts or comments are appreciated!

Lotion, I read tarot and have for more than a decade.  I've read professionally in person, online and over the phone.  For me there is no difference and in fact it might be slightly easier to avoid distraction and tune in to a clear message when I read for people  online. 

 I do not believe in fate.  When I read I tell people I don't read the future, I read the present and will look at the likely outcome of the current path.  People change direction all the time.  I think it's extremely important for readers to be ethical about how they read because a poorly delivered message can cause a great deal of harm.  

 For example, I read for a man in person last year at the local renaissance festival.  He was  a stranger who I had never met.  It seemed very likely from the cards that he was dealing with a life threatening illness or would be soon.  Should I tell him I think he's fated to die?  Obviously not, in my opinion.  I talked about the importance of living in the moment and being good to the people around him.  I talked about taking care of himself and suggested he have his affairs in order in not so many words.  He left my table and the hostess overheard him telling his friends that I had talked about things no one knew.  I think he knew he was ill and I said enough that it was clear and the advice was sound.  Telling him he was going to die would have been pointless if he was already aware and something that wouldn't have been received well if he had not known.  

There are people who read and who are sincere and far more who take advantage of people who are desperate for answers.  It is very easy to fool people who simply must know right now if they'll get their lover back or if they or someone else is going to die soon.  Easy to blow some smoke and flash some mirrors and talk mysteriously. 

BTW, I do incorporate my knowledge of astrology into my readings.  I have done a 12 card reading using the houses of astrology to set the placement of the cards.  It's a good layout.  I almost always ask the person's birthday because then I can speak to their sun.  I mean I can speak the language their sun will understand.  (Gemini sun here - communication!)  Their age will tell me where they are in their Saturn cycle or if they're approaching the midlife crisis transits.  And there is a great deal of symbolism in the cards that relates to the archetypes of astrology.  

 What else do you want to know?  Are there other readers out there? 

i read tarot and have an approach similar to lupa's. to me the function is quite similar to astrology - you look at the energies in play and try to identify the most satisifying and highest expression. i don't consider a reader to ever be an absolute channel of truth. just like some astrologers can spout off ill-conceived garbage, so some tarot readers and psychics can do the same.

the face-to-face vs. distance reading really doesn't make much of a difference for me, but it probably depends on how the reader connects. some like to have birthdays, some like to see a picture, some like to physically touch the person being read, some like to hold an object. just like with any skill, people will have their own metods and specialties.

it's also much easier for me to read someone i have never met. i do readings for friends and family, but that's harder because it can be difficult to tell what is my own feelings based on what i already know.

to me, astrology, tarot, numerology, all of it are different windows/perspectives to the same information stream.

I read Tarot. I have two decks I use (one Rider-Wait, and the other an Arthurian Legend deck). I've never done it in conjunction with astrology, though.

Ladies, what would you recommend for someone new to tarot? How did you first learn to read it?

I read the original post and find myself echoing most all lotion's sentiments, from the apprehension to the curiosity. It is very intriguing :) Lupa, what is an online reading like - do you use skype or something like that?

I made no progess on learning to read until I started doing simple layouts and forcing myself to make up a story from the reviewing the images and archetypes without looking up the "official" meaning of the cards. my rule was once i had my own interpretation, i could look up others to enhance my understanding. it was surprising how often my own were in close alignment with the sources i reviewed.

 that's when it started clicking for me. i also found i tended to get certain cards in certain siutations and sort of built my own lexicon over time.

lupa i have to add-my first paid reading i was SO nervous i got their birthday and ran it through astrology software to doublecheck my impressions. i worked forever on that reading.

that ebayer got one HELL of a reading for the $15 she paid, i'll tell you that!

I love Mary K. Greer's book Tarot for Yourself.  It helps you learn to use tarot as a meditational tool and in the process you learn the archetypes and associations.  I started by carrying my cards around me with the little book that came with the deck.  I just read for anyone who would sit still and let me. 

That's funny Goddess.  I was nervous about reading until I started reading for tips at a club in Atlanta.  Spent a year doing that every Sunday night and people would come sit down for fun and leave crying because I touched nerves and gave them something real.  After a year of that I stopped questioning myself.  :)

Francetta, I use skype sometimes.  I have done recorded audio readings and posted them for download later.  I've done short readings in chat and John (husband) and I did a show for a while in which I read cards on camera while he managed the chat room and fed me the questions as I was ready.  We're hoping to resume that soon but scheduling has been tough as I work a day job and he's working retail sales at the moment.

Thanks for all your comments! I'm at work now, will come back with a longer blurb later!

I tend to think that the psychic forces/cards/whatever can figure out who the hell the reading is about, even if it's online. I haven't paid a professional, but I sure know a lot of unpaid reader folks. I've got a buttload of books, have taken classes, and read sites online. I can work in the "intuitive method" (i.e. look at pictures in the cards) and to some degree I lean towards that when I am just reading on the fly for people. I mostly stick with the present moment rather than "this is your fixed future." Not really, it's more "this is likely to happen if things keep going the same way", if anything.

I am not a terribly good judge of love readings, though. I think I am too biased on them most of the time. The last one I did for someone indicated they were going to break up and they did, though. (He wasn't too broken up about it, ended up dealing the blow himself.)

When it comes to doing my own readings, I actually go look things up online (I love biddytarot.com's writeups) rather than try to do it myself. I want more of a neutral opinion than I can manage on my own. 

Interestingly enough, a friend of mine told me she didn't like astrology too much because it seemed like there was no free will. I said it was more like, some things you are born with and you are just going to have to deal with them, but it's not 100% like that.

Oh, um, forgot to mention that I do not do it for pay. Mostly just for friends for free.

Lupa, I really like that book as well. I have a number of books. Another of my favorites I can't seem to find at the moment. It's a poorly produced book - kinda homemade looking layout, but really great for getting the symbolism in Rider-Waite which enhanced what I got when using that deck.

But yes, I'm much more confident now when I do read. You learn to trust it once you find your groove.

She has a blog here:  Mary K. Greer  When I popped over to get the link I saw she posted a cool video by Roseanne Cash with lots of tarot images played out in the video. 

 I found that as my confidence increased I was more likely to assume I was touching on something the questioner didn't want to talk about rather than that I was wrong.  I see readings (whether astrology or tarot) as being layered from very deep issues to very superficial, so I would just bring the conversation up to a more comfortable place for the person to address.  I mean if you're being impacted by something in the sky/universe at the moment it will affect all areas of your life.  If someone can't talk about their burning desire to escape their family maybe we can talk about frustrations with  job and perhaps the message I deliver will apply later when they can think about all the ways they want to escape their situation.  

Lupa, I wondered to your site and am getting a lot from it! Also wondered off to aeclectic.net from your site and found it to be very resourceful. Somehow I'm more and more open to tarot and seeing it as something everyone can do. I like how the meaning of the cards are never set. as in a seemingly "good" card can be a warning, and a seemingly bad card does not necessarily mean the end of the world, even the death and devil card. Though I think the name and imagery still throws me off a little. 

I have a question about readings over the internet, in terms of internet generated readings on tarot.com and others like that, however does that work? there is no real human interaction? are those readings less accurate? 

a couple of my friends went to see a paid psychic recently and she was able to tell them about events that will take place in the future. It was as specific as "you will marry your next bf" etc... Should I be skeptical about reading like those or are there really ppl who can tell the future? 

I'm really looking into selecting a tarot deck for myself to play with and have been browsing some decks on aeclectic.net! I really love all the beautiful artworks :)

Lotion I see tarot as a meditational tool.  Like a hammer or wrench, people can use it well or they can create a lot of havoc with it.  It is easy for me to connect with people over the internet but not everyone can do it that way.  I do not tell people they will marry someone or they will get a particular job or whatever because I believe we have free will.  I do not predict which choice a person will make and I tell questioners that almost every time I read.  "Will I find love?"  That depends, do you want to find love.  Etc.  If the answer is yes, I want to find love then we look at what they might be doing to prevent their own success in that area. 

I would be cautious with any psychic who speaks in absolutes or who creates fear.  Question anything that means you are going to need to pay the psychic more or come visit repeatedly.  A good reading is concise and complete.  You won't need to follow up in a week.  

I was in Chicago on a professional trip once, all alone and bored, so I went into a reader shop I found.

First thing, the chick (dressed all "gypsy" to the extreme) tried to shortchange me for the cost of the reading, paid in advance. Uh, no. I would have been amenable to tipping after the reading if it were warrented, but I can count, thank you very much.

She did a reasonable reading, and some resonated. But then we got to the "somebody's put a hex on you - you need to come back so I can meditate and pray on your behalf." Yes, oh so important, lest I be struggling with the bad luck from that hex for years! Evidently, she didn't have the facility with the cards to tell I"m not a patsy.

As far as the auto-generated readings, it's up to you whether or not you feel like it resonates. I certainly don't give them the same weight as a human-generated reading but if they give me something useful to think about, then I think about it. There are many ways to get whatever messages are out there for ya.

Oh I misunderstood about the computer generated readings.  I used to toy with them for myself and have found them to be a bit insightful at times.  It's an interesting way to play with tarot but probably not as meaningful as a reading that involves a human.  :)

 I hate that kind of swindler Goddess.  Funny story though.  

My best reading's come from when the person I'm reading for touches the cards... I usually make them shuffle and I go from there.

The 3 things you want to keep in mind when learning to read is The image and what you see from it, Your gut feeling and then of course what the basic meaning of the card is.. I think the Rider waite is probably the best deck to start off with, and 1 or 3 card readings. Nice to see so many other people interested in Tarot here.  

By the way I do this as a favor for people I know or friends of a friend. I'm not intune most of the time, it comes and goes but I do enjoy being able to help people if I can.