Hello everybody!  It's a beautiful sunny day here in GA.  Time to welcome spring in all her glory.
  Today I am going to write a few ideas about doing a reading with Tarot cards.  The first thing I can tell you about doing a reading is the more serious you are during the reading, the better it will turn out.  If you act like the reading is a joke, it will be.  So take a few minutes to clear your mind, let the everyday stuff go, and get ready to do your reading.  A table set with a nice cloth in a quiet area is great, but not always necessary.  If all you have at the time is a cluttered desk, a cleared spot on the floor, or your bedside table, go for it.  You don't have to be formal with the reading, just have a good intent. 
  If you can, light a candle and incense to help your focus.  They make the whole process seem a little more mystical and take us away from our everyday world.  When you feel centered, focused, and peaceful, that is the time to do your reading.  If you are reading for another person, please have them take a minute to center themselves also. Select a question to ask before you begin.  Then you can focus on your question while you shuffle.  If you can't  think of a question you want answered, simply clear your mind and let the cards tell you what they want you to know. They may tell you something very general about your life or future, or something very pertinent indeed.  Now  shuffle your cards, or have the other person shuffle them, until they "feel right".  With a little time and experience you will know what I mean here.  The cards will feel good in your hands and will almost start turning themselves up.  This doesn't have to take long, and if you are a beginner, just shuffle a minute or two while you focus. Lay the cards out in whatever manner you choose, one card, three, or more.  If you are a beginner, I hope you have a book to go by that corresponds with your tarot deck.  Decks usually come with a little pamphlet that isn't very useful in doing a real reading.  If that is all you have, ok, but I encourage you to get a book sooner or later.
  So now you have laid out the cards and need to interpret them. This can be confusing to the beginner and the more experienced reader.  As I said in my last post, if you are only doing a one card reading, that is your answer.  The more cards, the more confusing it gets, so maybe doing simple layouts at first is best.  There are two ways to read the cards: with knowledge of the cards themselves, or simply intuitively.  Many readers start with little or no knowledge of what the cards mean and only use their intuition during the reading.  They just look at the pictures on the cards and let them speak to their third eye.  This can work but the more real knowledge of the cards meanings you have, the better the reading will be. The cards have their own power and when you add your intuition to that, you will be a great reader.  So do take the time to learn the traditional meanings of the cards from whatever books you can find or even online if you like. 
  If you are using a number of cards for your reading, say ten, in the traditional Keltic layout, try looking for patterns in the cards.  Cards that seem to go together to you.  Several cards of the same suit perhaps that spark your imagination and intuition.  Or several Court cards that speak of people in your life or around you.  Open up your mind to the possiblities of the reading and it will go well. Don't be afraid of the so called "negative cards" like the ten of swords or the Death card.  Many times the darker cards are in the reading as warnings, or things that may happen in our lives if we don't avert or change them. Not everything is written in stone in our lives or the cards.
  If you are a beginner, don't take the readings to heart too much until you get some experience.  Write down the answers the cards have given you, and wait to see how things turn out in your real life.  Or if you have other predictive tools, such as a pendulum or runes, ask them your question too, and see if you get a similiar answer.  As an example, if you ask the cards, "Will I get a new job?", then ask the runes, and the pendulum the same question, and they all say, "Yes",  it is a clear cut answer.  Get ready, you are going to  have a new job!  Do keep in mind though, that spiritual time can be different than our time in the real world.  Try to be specific when you ask a question: "Will I get a new job before summer?" might be better than just asking if you will change jobs. 
  More than anything in a reading, particularly when you are reading for another person,  you want to keep a positive attitude.  You don't want to be all doom and gloom during a reading, this only depresses everyone.  I feel that my biggest job as a psychic is to leave my clients feeling hopeful, and better than when they arrived.  Not every situation has a happy resolution, but there is always hope that we can find something better.
  I will post on something new next time.  Please feel free to post your questions about the metaphysical world on this blog.  Although I won't be doing actual readings, I welcome questions dealing with just about any spiritual or metaphysical subject.
  Blessings to you all from Psykiksister.