An 11th century Andalusian sage, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, said that a wise man's question contains half the answer.
Unfortunately many people ask the most inappropriate questions and wait for confirmation of their suspicions. For example: "Is my husband cheating on me?" Firstly the Tarot is about you, so the question must be about you, not your husband and secondly, to yes or no questions, the Tarot gives ambiguous and interpretable answers, therefore irrelevant.
Most frequently I am asked if "does he love me?" - a question, like the previous example, best asked directly to your partner. The Tarot is not our occult spy. Anyone who does not understand these things has no business here.
The Tarot instead offers valuable answers and guidance both in our everyday problems and for our spiritual quests, i.e. for problems related to personal development. I know! I know! I know! Most people are only interested in the "concrete" (sex, wealth, health) and I respect that.
However, there are certain rules we all need to keep in mind when formulating questions to which we expect serious (useful) answers. Many say that rules are restrictions and Tarot is something "free". These people in general are the ones who don't know the rules, they always twist things so that the answers coincide with their assumptions and suspicions. Tarot is a science like any other and to be effective it needs rules, a well-defined basis and structure and a clear and predetermined way of use.
One more thing should be made clear: not every, or even every question has an answer. For example, neither science nor religion has been able to provide a conclusive, generally accepted answer as to how the Universe came into being. The Tarot doesn't have all the answers either, which is why it is important to know how to formulate the most appropriate questions so that they get the most useful answers.
The first 'rule' is not to turn to the Tarot when we are in a nervous emotional state: angry, frightened, desperate, ecstatic, but also when we are under the influence of drink or substances. The results of the reading can be seriously distorted.
The Tarot is neither a doctor nor a lawyer, it can give us certain "behind the scenes" information about our problems, but each problem must be treated with the help of the appropriate specialist and by the appropriate means.
Tarot is about you and your problems. These obviously often involve other people in your entourage, people close to you, but the questions must be about you and about your problems. As much as you want to get involved in other people's lives and no matter how good your intentions are, neither the life nor the choices of another person, no matter how close they are, is your business!
Focus on one issue. Each of us is tempted to want to find out everything from one fire. If you think about more than one issue and formulate your questions vaguely, the answers will be just as cloudy and vague.
I recommend writing down the question on a piece of paper and thinking hard about what you want to know, rephrasing it until you arrive at a final best option.
Be as specific as possible. Don't think of one thing and ask something else, neither the books nor the reader will guess your real question and answer what you haven't asked precisely and without any evasions.
Sometimes the question is not clear, leaving room for interpretation. For example, I don't know if it refers to a material, sentimental, health or spiritual problem. The answer in such cases can be vague or even completely beside the point. In general from the chosen books I can intuit what it is about, but intuition is not 100% infallible. The plans sometimes get mixed up, overlap and then intuition is of no use. (For example Coins can represent both the material plane and physical attraction, "carnal" pleasures.)
Avoid yes or no questions. For example, "Does X love me?", "Will I get the new job?" or "Will I be cured of disease Y?". The Tarot reveals possibilities, x-rays the moment and shows you what options are available to you at that moment, but the decisions are yours to make and you are the only one who can do anything to change things. Neither the Tarot cards nor the person who reads them for you can decide for you and do absolutely nothing to change the future. If that's what you're looking for, that's what you're hoping for, you have a bigger problem than you can imagine.
Instead of asking if X loves you, better rephrase the question like this:
- "What can I do to improve my relationship with X?"
- "How can I improve my relationship with X?"
- "What do I need to know about my relationship with X?"
- "How will my relationship with X develop over the next 3 months?"
Instead of asking if you will get a new job, it is more appropriate to ask what you can do to get it. Thus:
- "What can I do to get the new job?"
- "What do I need to know about the new job?"
- "How do I approach the interview for the new job?"
- "What skills are needed to get the new job?"
Instead of asking if you will be cured of an illness, it is preferable to ask how you can help yourself overcome the situation you are in:
- "What can I do to make my situation better?"
- "What do I need to know about my situation?"
- "How can I make my situation improve?"
Open-ended questions are preferable, do not include the desired answer in the question.
Thus, don't ask "How can I get my boss to promote me?" but formulate "what can I do to get the promotion?".
Don't ask "when or if X will ask you to marry him/her", ask "what you need to know about your relationship with X" or "how your relationship with X will develop" or "what are your prospects in your relationship with X".
Be positive in your question wording. Don't ask "why can't I find a better job?", ask "what can I do to find a better job?". Don't ask "why do my relationships always fail?" but ask "what can I do to make my relationships last?"
Also beware of "what should I...". These formulations are best replaced with "what should I do to..." or "what can I do to..."
Where possible, I recommend that you also include a set period of time in the question. One day (in the case of simple displays such as three cards), one week, one month, three months, 6 or 12 months. In general questions that refer to periods longer than a year become vague and obviously the longer the period, the more changes can occur that make the answer irrelevant. Those up to three months are most recommended. The shorter the period - one week, three weeks - the clearer the answer.
On the other hand, avoid questions that are only concerned with the time factor or a specific date. A question like "how long will it take to find a job (or a partner)?" will never have a clear answer. Neither will the question "when will I get my promotion (or new job)?" or "when will X propose?"
Each Tarot card also represents a specific, well-defined time period, and if you have such doubts, you can ask the card reader for further clarification.
