The Art of Asking Questions

For those of you who were not at our August Meetup, or even for some of you who were, here's a few of my own notes on the topic.

First of all, James Wells is the King of Asking Questions! You can visit his blog at:
http://jameswells.wor...

I was going to point you the the Tarot Connection podcast episode where James discussed Asking Questions, but it's already been archived. There is however a handout you can download:

http://tarotconnectio...

OK . .. James suggests that you work with your client or querent (or yourself) to brainstorm a list of open-ended questions that start with:

How . . .
What . . .
In what ways . . .
Where in my life . . .
Why (as long as it's not whiny)

Then use those questions to create a spread.

Always turn fatalistic, yes/no questions into open-ended questions that look at the reasons behind the question.

Here's three main points you need to be clear on, when asking a question of the Tarot:

1 - What area of life do you want to explore? (relationships, money, career, health, spiritual path)

2 - What's the timing? (one month, three months, six months etc)

3 - What kind of information do you want? (For this, I always like to include a card for each of the following:)
- advantages or gift of the situation
- disadvantages or challenges of the situation
- strategy (i.e. "How can I . . .")
- possible or highest outcome

Other favorite questions of mine:

Mary Greer's all-purpose question: "What do I most need to look at in my life right now?" or, "What do I most need to look at in this particular situation right now?"

What is the appropriate action for me to take?

What am I supposed to be learning from this situation?

What is the Deep Wisdom that can emerge from this situation?

Please -- feel free to jump in with more ideas or comments on asking questions!

Wow...now I'm a King. That was a fast promotion from temple whore.

Now, back to the topic. When asking questions and turning them into layouts, I often like to see the polarities or opposites at work in the situation -- resources/obstacles, advantages/disadvantages, costs/benefits, and so forth. It often helps my readees (and me) make cleaner choices because we have more helpful feedback. Perhaps I really like the advantage and the cards indicate that the disadvantage isn't too onerous. Ah...looks like "yes" to me. The cost of pursuing my decision or goal may seem difficult, so it helps me to realise whether or not it's something I'm willing to go the extra mile for or whether it's just a whim. You get the idea.

Thank you for this information and links! I am going to be away this weekend but have printed out a bit of this to ruminate on!

Have a great weekend!

Fireshadow