One of the questions that I get most often as a tarot reader is, “Am I going to die alone?” Usually they work up to it, but sometimes it’s right out there.
“Am I going to die alone?”
“Are my cats going to eat me when I die?”
“Did I miss my chance?”
“Is my Person behind me instead of in front of me?”
I used to just answer that question. It’s pretty straightforward. Yes or no? If it was no, don’t worry about it. It’ll happen when it happens. If it was yes, well… I would start asking the person why companionship was the most important thing. They would say a variation of “I just want to be happy.”
And then I would get to the heart of the matter.
“Why do you think that you need someone to be happy?”
Why, indeed.
Next year will be my 30th year playing around with these cards, and I think the most important thing that I’ve learned is to listen for the question under the question. To use the conversation around the question to cultivate (see what I did there?) the conversation and get to the true worry that they’re carrying around.
If we look at ‘Am I going to die alone?”, there a few layers to this.
- Am I going to die alone?
- Why do I think I need someone to be happy?
- Why aren’t I happy right now?
- Am I afraid?
- Am I going to be ok?
Nearly every reading that I do can be condensed down to that last question. Am I going to be ok?
What this means is that my job as a tarot reader is to be so gentle with my clients. The world is a scary place, sometimes. What this means for my clients is this – ask yourself why you’re asking the question.
Is that the real question, or the surface part?
And as a reminder: you can divine this for yourself by using a pen and your journal. Give it a try by asking each question of and allowing the words to flow from your heart.Allow yourself to go beyond the surface and discover your own real question.
Whatever is pushing it to the surface is your true concern, and the faster you figure out what that is, the faster you can answer it.
About the Author: Melissa Cynova
Melissa Cynova
is owner of Little Fox Tarot, and has been reading tarot cards and teaching classes since 1989. She can be found in the St. Louis area, and is available for personal readings, parties and beginner and advanced tarot classes. You can Look for her first book, Kitchen Table Tarot, from Llewellyn Publishing.
Melissa lives in St. Louis with her kiddos, her partner, Joe, and two cats, two dogs and her tortoise, Phil.
She is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Go ahead and schedule a reading – she already knows you want one.