You’ve taken the plunge and purchased and paid for a Tarot reading.  What next?  In this situation, you are the querent, the person asking the question of the reader.  So how do you phrase your question so that you find out what you want to know?

Some readers offer a focus that you can select, such as Love, Money, or Career.  You tell them which area you want a reading on and they do it.   This sort of reading doesn’t require you to come up with a question on your own.  Some readers will want the details of the situation that’s troubling you, and will develop a question from that information. This may be a little time-consuming, as you and the reader send emails back and forth trying to pin your problem down to a question.   

But many times the reader will simply ask for your ‘question’, a statement that you have come up that reflects what you want to find out. 

Sounds simple, but it can be difficult.   Sometimes it’s hard for us to figure out exactly what we need to know.   Do I want to know whether I should look for another job…Or do I want to know how to get along better with my boss?   

Let’s start with your problem, your concern.  You have one or you wouldn’t have gotten a reading to begin with, right?  : )   Write down everything associated with your problem.  Imagine the paper is a big hamper and just toss everything in.  Don’t sort, don’t pause, don’t second-guess.   



Once you wind down from describing your problem, look over what you’ve written.  Is there an over-arching theme to it?  A common element that runs through the description?  In the example above, the real problem isn’t really the person’s boss and it also isn’t looking for a new job. 

The real issue is that the person feels trapped in her current job, doesn’t like it but doesn’t know what to do to fix it.  This feeling is what is driving her conflicts with her boss and desire to leave.  However, if she really doesn’t like her position, getting the same position at another company probably won’t solve her problem.  Sure, the novelty and the new co-workers might pacify her for a year or two, but eventually she will come back to the fact that she is stuck doing a job she dislikes.  

So should her question be:  Should I change careers?

 
There’s a problem with that question, too.  It’s a yes-no question, and tarot often does not answer yes-no questions well.  It’s part of the way that it’s designed.  It can talk about feelings, motivations, problems, advice, possible solutions…but a simple yes-no?  That’s like making your chatty Aunt Brenda talk about a juicy piece of gossip with yes-no answers!  

So did she cheat on him?   
“Well,” says Aunt Brenda, and takes a deep breath,  “Not at first, she wondered this and thought this, and then thought No way, and then asked me, and I said, “Go, girl,” so then she thought Maybe….”

She just can’t resist adding the details!   If you’d cut off Aunt Brenda at the first few words… “Not at first,” and stopped, you might have a very different picture of events than if you had let her keep talking.   :-D

A more open-ended question generally works better.  Some examples are:

“What do I need to know about….”
“What will be the outcome of ….”
“What lies ahead for ….”  
“How do I resolve…”
“How will the situation progress…”
“What obstacles do I face…”  
“What guidance do I need about…”  

Our querent decides to go with “What do I need to know about changing careers at this time?”  

The reader uses a seven-card spread whose positions are:  Past, Present, Positive consequences, Negative consequences, Best course of action, Outcome

You can see that this question, and this spread will give the querent a lot more information than the yes-no question.   And that additional information makes for a better reading, and one that is much more useful to the querent.  

Well, you think you've figured out your question.

You want to know what the effect of buying your new car will be on your finances, and how your flirtation with the new guy at work will progress.   That shouldn’t be a problem for an experienced reader, right?

Uh-oh.   Not quite.  

Realistically, those are two questions just strung together.  Each of those requires a separate spread.  The financial question needs a spread to itself, just as the relationship question does.   If you’ve paid for one question, then there isn’t really any way to combine these together and get a good answer.  

Many times faced with a disjointed question such as this, the cards will seem to arbitrarily ‘pick’ the most important situation and discuss only that, ignoring the other.  

Some questions might seem to be two questions but on closer examination are really one:  

How does Jack feel about me, and what’s our future like?   

This sounds like two questions, but it’s easily resolved, because the true topic is what the querent needs to know about her relationship with Jack.  Most relationship spreads include information on how the other person feels and an outcome position, so both of these concerns will be answered.  

There are some questions which might pose an ethical problem for your reader.   
Let’s say that you have an ex-boyfriend, Mike.  You still have feelings for Mike.   
You’re curious about how things are going for him and so you ask: 

“What are Mike’s most important concerns right now?”  

If answered, this reading could give you quite intimate details of Mike’s life right now.  Details that frankly, he might not want you to know about.  And where are ‘you’ in this question?  Actually, nowhere.  This question in no way focuses on you or your problems.  Many readers will not do a reading that is solely about another person, as they feel it will infringe needlessly on the privacy of that person.  Put the focus on you, on what ‘you’ need to know.  Make the focus why you’re having trouble letting go of this person, or even what the outcome of your relationship will be….  Which could indicate friendship, enmity, even perhaps an eventual reconciliation.  

Let’s look at another example.  You’ve heard that Mike is dating is someone, and you’re consumed with curiosity about it.  So you ask:  

"How does Mike feel about Lisa, and how will their relationship turn out?"

The same objections to the first question apply even more to this one.  Here the reading could potentially invade the privacy of two people, Mike and Lisa.  How will it help you to know that they’re planning to marry?  Or that they are breaking up?     

Instead try:  What do I need to know about Mike’s new relationship?  

This way you are more likely to get an answer that is useful to you.   Perhaps this time apart dating others is necessary  and will benefit your relationship in the long run.  Or that it’s time for you to move on and that there’s an even better person in your future.  : )  Either way the focus is on you, and your life.

Hopefully, these tips can help you figure out the best way to phrase your question.  This will help you and your reader get the best guidance for you, the most ‘bang’ for your buck.  :-D   Which is what you’ve paid for, right?   

Good luck and God Bless!!  
Meleusine