Tarot Reading – Which Questions Can You Ask and When?

In this article you’ll read about the kind of questions you can ask for a tarot reading. Also attention is paid to when it is best to do a tarot reading.

Types of questions for a tarot reading

In principle you can ask any ethical question to tarot as long as you are the subject of the question. But some types of questions don’t receive a clear and helpful answer. You must know that tarot never gives a yes/no, good/bad, black/white… answer. Tarot describes a situation. It tells a kind of story. Also tarot doesn’t take decisions for you. It doesn’t say what you must do. It’s your responsibility to take account of the advice, tarot gave you, or not. Another point of attention is that tarot never gives you an inevitable outcome. During a tarot reading using certain spreads, tarot gives an outcome of a situation. But this is an outcome on condition that nothing is changed to the present circumstances. It’s up to you to change the circumstances if you don’t like the outcome. In my experience this are the most frequent asked types of questions for a tarot reading:

• Questions about the evolution of something This is the kind of question you ask when you want to know what the outcome will be from a certain situation. In general tarot gives a clear and helpful answer for this type of question. You mostly will also get an indication of where there are possible difficulties.
• Questions that ask for the description of a situation When people want to know more about the background of a certain situation. This is often the case for introspective questions.
• Question about the Personality Example: “I have problems for communication with other people. Could you tell me about the background of these problems?”
• Questions that ask for an advice of tarot Example: “How should I change myself to give a new start to my relation?”

The above types of questions are all suited for a good tarot reading. But often people also ask questions that are not so well suited. This are the types of questions that ask for a black/white answer from tarot. Or that ask tarot to take a decision for them. Here are some examples:

• Yes/No questions Example: “Will I have a relation with the boy I met last week?”
• Questions that ask tarot to take a decision Example: “Where should I go during the holidays: France or Spain?”
• Questions about time Example: “When will I find a new house?”. Tarot will never give a strict timing on any subject. Tarot is about descriptions.

Mary K. Greer describes a yes/no spread in her wonderful book “Tarot For Yourself”. I never experimented with it. I think that you miss a lot of the possibilities of tarot with that kind of questions anyway. But if I ever would try it, this would be the spread that I use. By the way, the outcome of that spread can be neutral. Of course, people sometimes ask double questions that belong to several types. For example: “Is my love relation solid and how will it evolve?”. This is a combination about the situation of a love relation and about the evolution of that same relation. A question should always be related to yourself. Never ask something about somebody else, like: “How is the relation between my boss and his wife?”. You never would get an answer from a tarot reading for a question like this. And it is highly unethical. A tarot reading is also not suitable for pure “materialistic” questions. You should not expect that tarot will give you the winning lotto numbers or tell you where the treasure of the Inca’s is hidden. This doesn’t mean that you can’t ask about material things. If the object is related to you, then you might get an answer from Tarot. For instance “Where will I find a new house?” would not be a good question. But “What is the meaning of a new house for me” could very well be considered.

When to ask for a tarot reading

The answer on this question is very simple: when you truly feel the need for it. Don’t let you influence by anybody. And certainly not by an unscrupulous tarot reader. Only listen to your inner voice. Another question is: “How long should I wait between two tarot readings?”. In this case you can use the following tips:

• In the very first place: listen to your inner voice. This overrules anything else.
• Some spreads, used in a tarot reading, give you a kind of intermediate outcome. When you have reached that point, you could ask for a follow up reading. But be aware that, if you have changed anything to the initial circumstances, that outcome never might be realized.
• It’s not a good idea to ask for a new tarot reading, on the same subject, too fast. You must give yourself the time to deal with the first reading. Don’t rush it. You are not a machine. Myself I think you should at least wait 1 month, even 2 months, between two tarot readings on the same subject.