A tarot reading, whether professional, casual, or self-reading, is very often about getting some questions answered, or some specific areas of concern addressed.

One of my favorite kinds of tarot reading is the one that begins without a question, when we are open to the wisdom of the universe. Even then, such a reading will usually produce questions that we need to contemplate both with tarot and within our own hearts.

One type of question that most ethical tarot readers worry about, and that scammer tarot readers use to their benefit, is the predictive questioning that is produced by trauma and fear.

There are some tarot clients, and some questions, that seem to want to repeat over and over again.

Many of us have found ourselves turning to our cards, day in and day out, asking the same question. Sometimes we even shuffle again and repeat the question in the same session.

This is not always a bad thing.

There can be times when a slight rephrasing of the question can make a repeated question worthwhile.

There are times when new information makes it worthwhile to ask a question a second or third time.

There are times when having the cards repeat an answer over and over can help us finally accept an unwelcome truth.

However, there are times when repeating the same question can lead to psychic addiction. There are times when working with tarot might increase anxiety rather than relieve it.

Many professional readers will refuse to read twice on the same question within a short period of time. Sometimes, refusing the reading may be the best policy for that reader in that situation.

Yet, there is technique that can be helpful. This technique won’t work for every reader, every client, or every question. A great tarot reader, either professional or casual, needs to have a lot of techniques in their toolbox.

Sometimes the anxious question is about love; very often about the hope for a reunion with an ex, or the reform of a partner who makes regular and repeated bad choices.

What happens when the constant question is “Will we get back together?” or “Will my partner start to treat me better?”

In a situation where we have worked with the same question several times, and the answer is consistent and not hopeful, why does a person continue to ask that question over and over?

Sometimes, as we said earlier, it is because they need time to process and accept the truth.

Does hearing the same answer over and over again help them do that? For some people, yes. For others, and especially in the professional setting, this can be expensive, frustrating and unhealthy.

Yet, the reader still has an opportunity to foster healing in a situation like this. With gentle and firm skill, sometimes the reader can pivot the question to get to the heart of the problem, and help the client discover a real path for healing.

Even in self-reading, if there is real willingness to heal, this pivoting technique can work.

The pivoting technique relies on the idea that there is something deeper causing the client to stay stuck in their thinking. It is not that they are pigheaded or blinded by love.

They are hanging on to their fantasy, or their version of this story, or their fear, for a reason.

The trick is to ask of the cards a question that will help you understand what that underlying fear or belief is.

Try asking the cards, “Why am I (or why is this person) so stuck on this situation?”

Pull a few cards and see what you see. This can very often take the reading in a direction with new questions that bring new hope.

Sometimes the client themselves will reveal a clue. They may say, “He’s a really great guy.” Then, you have an opportunity to ask the cards a question such as, “What sort of person is he?” You may discover a way to help your client, or yourself, understand that he really is not that great at all. Once that belief system is dismantled; healing can begin.

Even in self-reading, you can use tarot to examine your assumptions, and the things you believe to be fact. When you use the cards to make this examination, you may find the need and the ability to change your thinking and begin healing.

Tarot can be very good at revealing the flaw in our thinking. For the person who desperately wants a reunion with their ex, and the reader sees no reunion possible, there is a different kind of question that can break that cycle.

Ask the cards what the relationship would look like if they did get back together. Very often, the reason for the breakup is apparent in that answer. When the cards reveal that a second go-round would be nothing but more of the same heartache, healing and change can become more welcome.

There is a belief among some tarot readers and clients that the only fair question at the tarot table is the question that brought the client to the table. I believe that a good reader should know to ask the deeper questions to get the answers the client didn’t know they needed.

The key is to be quick enough, smart enough, and intuitive enough to ask the right questions of the cards at the right times. This creates an opportunity to pivot from anxiety and fear to healing and hope.

In the end, a great tarot reading can almost always provide healing and hope, even when there is no possibility that the original hope will be fulfilled.