What to Say When You Need to Go Out on a Limb in a Tarot Reading

Have you ever been in the middle of a tarot reading when, suddenly, an unexpected message pops into your head?

Or maybe you’ve been trying to answer a question, but the reply the cards are offering feels like a slight detour. It is an answer – even an acceptable one – but you’re not quite sure how it fits with the querent’s situation.

It's not uncommon to feel compelled to deliver a certain message that, to you as the reader, might feel a bit odd or unusual. Not because it’s irrelevant to the sitter (ideally, it should still relate to the context of the reading), but because you’re not sure how fits into the context of your querent’s life.

Tarot readers often have a limited view and understanding of their querents’ situations. Unless you’re reading for someone you know very well, you don’t have much to go on when it comes to the background of a question that’s been posed.

You also won’t necessarily know a querent’s beliefs, comfort zones, or sensitivities. So it can be a bit nerve wracking if you suddenly feel compelled to deliver a message when you’re not sure exactly how it will land with the querent.

This happens to me quite often in my readings.

Sometimes, you just have to go out on a limb and offer an insight that might not make sense to you, but for some reason, you’re driven to say it.

It can take a bit of courage to let yourself go with the flow in a reading. So if you’ve felt uncomfortable doing this, know that that discomfort is a typical learning curve that readers have to embrace.

Here are few things I do when I need to go out on a limb with my querents:

I take cues from my body.

I tune into what my body wants to do in a reading. How?

I might feel the words wanting to form in my mouth before my head has decided to follow along. Or I might feel a lump in my throat or chest, as though that message is sitting there, waiting to be released.

Our bodies can help us to tune into the direction a reading needs to go in. Your physical cues might be different from mine. Allow yourself to check in with what you’re feeling about a certain message.

I admit that I want to say something that might be a bit unusual.

I will openly tell my querent (or write to them, if the reading is by email) that I’m feeling compelled to offer a message that might sound a bit strange.

Sometimes you have to allow yourself to talk it out, and the only way to do that is to start articulating what’s on your mind.

I aim to be as transparent as possible with my querents, and find that openly telling them, “I’m going to go with what I see here, and you can tell me whether it makes sense or not,” is a good way to begin.

Other times, if the mood is right, I will ask, “Can I give you a weird answer?”

No one has said no so far 😉

Remember that at the end of the day, your job is to talk about what you’re seeing in the reading. That’s what your querent has come for, so they’ll likely be open to whatever it is you feel is important to share with them.

Practice detachment.

We put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect, and to deliver a flawless reading. There’s nothing wrong with holding yourself to high standards or clear expectations – it’s how you build quality work.

But when you’re reading tarot, it’s also important to remember that you are there to deliver the messages that arise, and to be in service to the nature of the reading itself.

Sometimes tarot is clear cut and linear as can be, and other times it meanders before bringing us to a conclusion. Like life itself, it doesn’t always put things in perfect packages.

Stay true to how the reading wants to unfold, while releasing yourself of a specific idea of performance or outcome from your sessions. When you are being honest about the information that is available to you, you are being in service to the reading, and the querent. And that’s really what matters most.

Hope this helps.

Until next time,

Liz

p.s. Are you ready to take your tarot skills to a new level? My intermediate tarot course, Taking Tarot to the Next Level, will show you exactly what to focus on in your tarot readings - and what to leave to the side. Enrollment is open.