I asked for guidance, but now I’m more confused.

[Maverick]

I asked for guidance, but now I’m more confused.

Discussion

[wavesandafrog]

It’s totally a personal thing, but I find that when reading, less is more. When you have a lot of cards out, it can make things more confusing than helpful. I really like one card readings or three card readings!

[Artemystica]

Honestly, I think you might be able to do better than this quadruple-barreled question with a bajillion different answers.

It sounds like you’re not understanding the final few cards because you were expecting (read: wanting) positivity if you followed the “guidance” offered. If you do X, then Y. If you’re answer fishing like that, tarot won’t be able to do anything for you. I mean that will all due respect. It will lead to disappointment, confusion, and frustration with yourself for not being able to read the cards, and with the cards for not showing you the “right” answer.

The advice somebody gave above was on point— if you reduce the cards, you’ll reduce confusion. You have a lot of inputs, and a lot of variables, so you will thus have a lot of outputs, and it gets difficult to synthesize. If I were you, I would make the question smaller. You’re scared of not having a job, and you’re scared of having a job. You want to pursue things, but you’re anxious. This is straight up paralysis, and you need a way out.

I might pull six cards on a simpler question like “what can I do now to help me feel fulfilled after graduation?” I would pull one central card at the heart of the issue, then label the cards something like:

1. One way to contextualize the past
2. Influences on the current moment
3. One way to understand my fears about the future
4. What am I missing about this situation?
5. How can I help myself move forward?

This offers a moment of reflection for you and ideas to help you take your next step without all the mess of anticipating and predicting the future.

[thelionsmouth]

All i see is murder.

[goggles-for-safety]

Deck: Crow Tarot by MJ Cullinane

Since I started tarot late last year, I’ve drawn a lot of cards that indicate that I’m overwhelmed, have low self-confidence, and afraid of change. Typically, the advice has been to confront the next steps in life and that I have the power to take charge of my life if I use willpower.

I’ve found these readings to be very applicable. I’m in my last semester of college now and I’m absolutely terrified of the unknown future. I’m a woman in a difficult STEM major that isn’t widely known/acknowledged, and I’m so afraid that I won’t get a job based on prejudice and my lack of skill (imposter syndrome). I get super anxious and depressed when I think about my future. I also don’t have any personal career goals and have a negative impression of 9-5 jobs, so searching for a job feels like a chore (with the goal of finding a scary commitment). I feel stuck in a rut right now and really want to pursue things that will make me happy in life, so I decided to use tarot to find some guidance.

I used this wish spread to try to understand what will make me happy in life and how to make it happen. I’m generally unhappy with where I am right now in life since everything is so uncertain and it feels like I’m being forced into something scary. I was really looking for some actionable steps and advice to follow to reach a happier place in life.

Intent that I wrote down: I wish to be happy. I don’t know how to make it happen. I’m looking for insight into what my true intent is (what I’m unconsciously thinking of when I say “happy”), what is affecting my ability to manifest this wish, and how to proceed to make this wish come true.

What I got for this drawing was pretty much what I expected until the last card (not to be dramatic, but it scared me quite a bit) and I need some help to figure out what it all means and what to do.

1. Basis from which wish springs: King of Wands – to be a charismatic, strong leader. To transform dreams into reality, have a clear vision, and reach the highest potential. I find this surprisingly accurate. I think I’m mostly looking for stability and self-confidence right now.
2. Past factors influencing current wish: Eight of Swords rev – breaking free of a self-imposed cage, facing truths, taking back control. These are things I’ve been working on recently, but I don’t feel fully past this stage. I actually pulled this card a little over a week ago as a card of the day.
3. What to expect in the immediate future: Three of Pentacles rev – not learning from mistakes and not knowing what I’m doing because of apathy or lack of determination. I feel like I’ve been going in circles trying to progress past the overwhelmed and fearful rut I’m in, so I’m not surprised that I would still be in a similar (or worse) situation in the near future.
4. Present influencing factors: Queen of Wands rev – currently lacking confidence, pessimistic, overwhelmed, held back by fear, and scared I won’t live up to the potential I thought possible. This hits hard and I almost cried when I read it, ngl.
5. Others who may be helpful: Page of Swords – someone lively, analytical, logical, and blunt. I kind of want someone to pick my life apart and analyze what’s going wrong, so this seemed like reasonable advice.
6. Forces which may oppose wish: The Hierophant rev – breaking conventions and rules would work against me. I had a hard time interpreting this with the reversal and the opposition to the wish, so I may be mistaken. I interpreted it as advice to stick with the typical search for a job after college and the path I’ve felt forced into. Very tough advice to swallow.
7. Best course of action or advice from card: Temperance – to become in touch with who I am and what I value, as this will make it easier to figure out my aspirations and set goals for myself. I felt like this was somewhat contradictory with the previous card since I interpreted it to say stick to the path and this one to say look to myself for guidance. Any other interpretations are greatly appreciated here.
8. Guidance on how to proceed in the future: Queen of Swords – be stern and sensible, listen to constructive criticism, and take an impartial view on issues. I read this as being somewhat strict with myself and sticking to the most logical approach to my problems. Hard advice for me to swallow since I have a bad habit of avoiding my problems.
9. Expected results if guidance is followed: Ten of Wands rev – too much responsibility, insurmountable problems, resigned to fate, not up to challenges. I was totally shocked by this. All this time I was reading this as advice that will help me reach a happy place. It basically said I would end up in the exact place I fear and dread landing in. I saw an alternative meaning to the card that was more positive, so I decided to ask for more clarification to make sure. The deck gave me cards 10 and 11 together.
10. First clarification of expected results: Knight of Swords rev – failing to recognize or seize opportunity, out of depth. Not a positive outlook.
11. Second clarification of expected results: Seven of Pentacles rev – lots of effort for little reward, lack of growth, frustration. Also not a positive outlook.

I was totally blindsided by this. It seems like it told me how to pursue my wish and then told me that pursuing my wish to be happy will lead to even more unhappiness. I wonder if it’s trying to say the unconscious goal I associate with happiness (King of Wands) is ultimately not a good thing for me to pursue. But if that’s the case, I don’t know how to find what I should be looking for in life. If you have insight or advice for me (whether in card interpretations, in my life, or what to ask my deck based on this) please help me out. I appreciate it so much and I thank you for reading my monster of a post. I’m totally open to any questions, too.