How to ask the cards questions

This is the most underrated lesson in the course. Nine out of ten failed readings happen not because the person knows the cards poorly, but because the question was asked in a way that cannot be answered.

Bad questions and what's wrong with them

"When will I get married?" The cards are not a calendar. But that's not even the point: the question hands all responsibility outward. It sounds like "tell me, and I'll wait."

"Will he come back to me?" There are two people here, but the asker seems to be alone. The question is about someone else's decision, one you don't influence, and any answer will leave you in the same position of waiting.

"What should I do?" Too broad. It's like going to a doctor and saying "I feel bad." Bad where?

"Will everything be okay?" That's not a question, it's a plea for comfort. Comfort is a legitimate thing, but it's better to go to a person for it, not a deck.

How to rephrase

A good question meets three conditions. It's about you. It's open, meaning it can't be answered with "yes" or "no." And you're capable of influencing its answer.

"When will I get married?" turns into "what's stopping me from building a close relationship?"

"Will he come back to me?" turns into "what do I actually want to bring back, and why do I want it?"

"What should I do?" turns into "what am I not looking at in this situation right now?"

"Will everything be okay?" turns into "what can I do to make things easier?"

Notice what happened? The question stopped being about the future and became about the present. That's not a loss, it's a gain: the cards speak far more precisely about the present, and the future is made out of the present.

Phrasings that almost always work

A few templates you can plug your situation into:

• What am I missing in the situation with ...?
• What is my role in what's happening with ...?
• What do I actually want from ...?
• What's stopping me from ...?
• What will the cost be if I ...?
• What can I lean on while ...?

One mistake everyone makes

Don't ask the same question twice in a row if you didn't like the answer. It's a temptation, and literally everyone gives in to it.

The problem isn't that the cards will get offended. The problem is that you're already reading the second spread with bias: you're looking in it for a refutation of the first. And you find one, because you know how to look. In the end, instead of an answer you get confirmation of what you already wanted to hear, and the whole point of the exercise is lost.

If you don't like the answer, that's the most valuable information of the day. Sit with it. Write down exactly what you didn't like. Often the real question is hiding right there.

A question about another person

A special case that comes up more often than all the others. "What does he feel?", "What does he think of me?"

Honest answer: the cards don't know that. There's nowhere for the deck, or for you, to get someone else's thoughts from.

But there's a legitimate and useful rephrasing: "what am I picking up from him, and how much do I trust it?" It brings the question back to you, and you really have been observing this person and really have noticed something. The spread will help you name it.

There's also an ethical side. Dissecting a person with the cards who didn't ask you to is the same as reading their messages. Technically possible, but essentially none of your business.

How many questions at a time

One. One spread, one question.

The temptation to ask three at once is understandable: the deck is already in your hands. But three questions in one spread turn into mush, where each card answers who knows what, and any interpretation becomes valid. And an interpretation that can't be disproven is worth nothing.

If you really have three questions, do three spreads. On different days.

When it's better not to read

When you're in a strong emotional state: you just had a fight, you just got some news. In that state, you'll read into the cards exactly what you're feeling and take it as truth.

Wait until tomorrow. The situation isn't going anywhere, and you'll read it differently.