Tarot can be a wonderful tool to help you tap into your intuition for deeper insight, guidance, and support for various issues you may be experiencing in your life. It’s amazing how the images on the cards can bypass your conscious mind and protective barriers you have in place to activate your subconscious mind, enabling you to see things from a brand-new, fresh perspective. You can end up learning so much about yourself in the process of a reading.
However, there are certain times in your life when sitting down with your cards may not be the best thing for you to do. It’s okay to take a break from your tarot cards every now and then, and you can do so without feeling guilty.
Let’s talk about some of the times when it is best not to seek a reading or do one for yourself.
- You really want a specific answer and you’re not really open to listening to what the cards have to say.
When you want the best and most accurate results from your cards, it is best to get yourself into a state of mind where you are truly open to listening to what those cards have to say to you. If you are so invested in a particular outcome that you are unable to see the difference in meaning between the 3 of Swords and the 10 of Cups, causing you to twist a card’s meaning so that you get the result you want, don’t even bother consulting your cards.
If you’re going to convince yourself that any combination of cards supports the result you want, there really isn’t any point in doing a reading. You may as well just do whatever it is you want to do. Of course, then you won’t be able to place any blame on the cards for a bad outcome, and you’ll have no choice but to hold yourself accountable. - You’re asking the same question yet again (hoping against hope you might get a different answer).
Maybe you are open to listening to the cards, but you just don’t like what they’ve had to say to you. You’re hoping really hard that if you just rephrase the question slightly differently, the cards will provide you with a different answer. However, you’ve asked the same basic question multiple times, received different sets of cards each time, and each reading has given you the same answer.
Put the cards down and walk away. Maybe now is a good time to do some shadow work to see why you’re having such a hard time facing the answer. Or maybe it’s just time to realize that the answer is hard, and the easy answer you seek simply does not exist. If that’s the case, get ready to buckle down and do the work the cards suggest. Your life will end up being much the better for it. - You’re in a very emotional state and cannot calm down and ground yourself.
It’s pretty impossible to read the cards well when you have a lot od adrenaline running around in your system, whether you are super-excited about a wonderful thing that just happened or you’re super-angry because a foolish driver crashed into your brand-new car. Whenever you’re experienced heightened emotions, it’s best to take a little time to calm down and get your emotions under control. Do some deep breathing and perhaps a grounding ritual.
It will be much easier to feel a connection with your cards when you are calm and relaxed. - You are starting to rely too much on tarot to make decisions and you feel you can’t make a decision with input from the tarot cards.
Your tarot cards should be a tool to gain additional insight into situations, not a crutch you rely on to make all your decisions. Some decisions are best made simply relying on your common sense, integrity, and intelligence. Asking the cards for insight into a very complex situation can be quite helpful. Asking the cards to tell you whether to wear the blue shirt or the red shirt is a little silly. Indulging in a bit of silliness every now and then can be quite fun, but don’t let yourself start to rely on the cards for every little decision you need to make. Keep your autonomy! - You haven’t let enough time pass after a difficult or traumatic situation.
Whenever we experience a huge emotional loss or a deeply traumatic situation, we need to allow ourselves time to process the emotions we are feeling. We need time to recover, emotionally and psychologically. During times like this, it can be a good thing to take a break from using the cards for weighty situations. If you still feel a need to keep a close connection with your cards, use them for some light-hearted activities instead. Use them to do a reading about a character in a favorite book or tv show. Use them to pick a book to read or a new tv series to watch. - Your intuition is telling you now is not a good time for a reading.
Sometimes you may think you really want to sit down and do a reading, but you just have a strange feeling that now is the not the right time. You can’t explain why you feel that way, but sitting down with your beloved cards makes you feel quite uncomfortable. This is definitely a time to listen to your intuition: Put the cards away and go do something else.
Listen to your intuition and let it guide you when the time is right to do a reading. Maybe your intuition is telling you it’s time to take a healing bath, or time to eat a healthy meal, or time to talk with a friend. Maybe you’ll feel the need to take a very short break from the cards or maybe you need a longer break. Listen to your intuition and trust yourself. Following your intuition is hardly ever wrong. - You have had too much to drink.
If you have had too much to drink, you’re probably not going to be able to think clearly or make a good connection with your subconscious. You may find that you interpret the cards much differently after drinking heavily than you do when you are sober. Do yourself a favor and wait a day or two to consult your cards.
These are just some of the times when it may not be the best time to consult your tarot cards.
QUESTION:
Have you ever consulted the cards only to realize later that you probably should have waited for a more opportune time or place? I’d love to hear what you have to say, so please leave a comment below!