What Should I Ask the Tarot?

Tarot can feel like some really mysterious thing, especially at first.

We see images in media all the time of the tarot reader wrapped up in smoke and scarves predicting the exact moment you find your soulmate, or telling you you’re dying tomorrow. Coming into a tarot reading with these images in mind, it can be almost intimidating to ask a question. But it doesn’t have to be that way, at the end of the day tarot cards are paper and ink helping us to get in touch with a deeper part of ourselves.
It can be tricky to phrase our questions when asking the tarot for guidance so here are a few ways to get the best out of your reading. Try to steer away from yes or no questions, you likely won’t get a concrete answer. Try to keep it open ended; look towards what, why, and how phrases, these help you get the most detail and clarity from your reading. Keep your questions action based and you will find the cards have a lot more information for you that if you simply ask if you should or shouldn’t.

If you have a Yes/No question try rephrasing it!

Instead of: Will I get a job soon/Should I quit my job?
Try: What can I do to prepare for the job I’m looking for/ What can I focus on in my career?
Instead of: Will I get back together with X?
Try: How can I work with my current situation, what can I do to accept these changes?
Instead of: Will I ever find love?
Try: What can I do now to manifest and welcome love into my life?
Instead of: Is my business/project/venture going to be successful?
Try: First ask yourself what success means to you, it’s different for everyone. Then ask the tarot, what steps can I take now to put me on track with my goals?

A simple three card reading with the Dreaming Way Tarot.

A few prompts to get you formulating effective tarot questions:

• What do I need to know about this/myself?
• How can I improve my relationship with…
• Can you help me get clarity on…
• Where should my focus shift?
• What are the pros and cons of this situation?
• What am I not seeing?
• What is holding me back?
• How can I move forward with…
• Can you help me find a way to…
• Can you help me understand why…
• What can I learn from..

a three card reading with the numinous tarot by noel arthur heimpel

Many of these yes/no questions you already intuitively know the answer to; tarot can be used as a tool to point you in the direction you want to go, to help you create a plan, not simply say yes or no. Any number of things can affect the outcome of a situation, tarot just helps us get a better handle on things. Tarot doesn’t tell you definitively where you’re going, but it does tell you what might be coming up ahead as a result of certain choices. If we can see the possibilities laid out in front of us we then have the power to choose.
The thing is tarot isn’t some end all be all thing. It is first and foremost a tool. A tool to connect with your subconscious, with your higher self, with Source, with your Guides to help you along the way.

Tarot is not the destination. It is the map and your intuition is the compass, the cards don’t get to decide where you go. Their job is to tell you what’s out there so you can choose the road you want to take.

I hope my ramblings made some sense and can help you create effective and empowering questions to get the most information out of your tarot readings.
Much love,
Liliana x