'Frivolous' readings

[litefoot13]

Had an interesting question pop into my head as I was doing my (semi)nightly reading tonight.

How do you feel about 'frivolous' readings? Or perhaps 'silly' is a better way to phrase it?
Or maybe what I mean to ask is how 'seriously' do you ask your questions?

Do you only ask deep, intense questions about very serious aspects of your life, do you ever ask things like 'Should I get pizza or tacos tonight?' or 'Should I spend the whole day binging the entire extended cut Lord of the Rings series?'

Probably because of how it's commonly portrayed to the general public, to me it feels like tarot comes across as this deep, serious process that should only ever be Taken Very Seriously and utilized only for the most important of subjects.

My personal thoughts, though, are that every aspect of life is important, both the Serious Life Problems, as well as the humor and the silliness, and that both are equally important to approach sometimes, and too much of either is an issue.
However, it also can depend on the deck - I have one deck that is pretty and lovely and serious looking that LOVES to throw snarky answers in response to my Deep Important Questions, and another cartoon based one that is so intense with its responses and I don't use it unless I want a truth thrown at me that I would probably rather not face. x3

Anyways, I just thought it an interesting question to ponder for a bit.

[Joan Marie]

Anyways, I just thought it an interesting question to ponder for a bit.

It is an interesting question.

It reminds me of discussions I've heard about praying to God to find your car keys. The Catholics even came up with a solution by naming some saint (is it St. Christopher?) to be the patron saint of lost things so they don't have to bother God with that stuff anymore.

But back to your question. I think one thing it brings up, and you clarify so well with your examples, about the different relationships we have with different decks. And also that we have relationships at all with our decks. I love that your serious deck is snarky and your goofy deck is a taskmaster.

This raises some really interesting questions about the kind of energy we imbue the inanimate objects in our life with.

But to answer your question honestly, I really never think to go to my decks with really silly or frivolous questions. And I don't know why.
Your question has really made me think about that.

[archimedes]

However, it also can depend on the deck - I have one deck that is pretty and lovely and serious looking that LOVES to throw snarky answers in response to my Deep Important Questions, and another cartoon based one that is so intense with its responses and I don't use it unless I want a truth thrown at me that I would probably rather not face. x3

Oh this is funny because I have exactly that deck - the Housewives. Throws truth bombs at me all the time. I don't always find the cards intuitive so often check its book, which is always rewarding as it's written with such brilliant wit. It's amazing how such an apparently frivolous deck can be so deep.

Meanwhile the literary, Universe and Everything, Thoth-based Rohrig that I save for Very Important Readings goes 'pffft stop being a drama queen and go get yourself a Margarita'.

I don't tend to read for small specifics, in terms of what to have for dinner, but I'll read for 'what should I do/know about today'. Though, what book to read/what to study, I suppose that's specific.

[Charlie Brown]

I love those kind of readings. I think they're fantastic for interpreting cards within a context and also are a great way to develop that lean, cartomantic style that I've been trying to develop.

[AstralPasta]

I love all the answers here. I'm with Charlie Brown, and it's kinda like what T Susan Chang says about tarot correspondences. The small things and the big things all have to be in tarot, otherwise it's sort of incomplete.

I also feel like if I practice asking frivolous questions, it'll make it easier to know when tarot is referring to something mundane. Like, is the 2 of Wands in the RWS referring to leaving my comfort zone to find my answer or to surf the web?

Plus for me that's where the fun is. I have to be able to have fun and be goofy and play with my passion hobbies. Someday I hope to become skilled enough at magick to try and attempt to curse butter to taste extra buttery. I don't know how that would work, but if I can't apply my hard earned skills to experiment with ridiculous things like this then I kinda feel like what's the point?

It's kind of like experimenting to me I think. I also am guilty of not being a diligent and disciplined student though. I feel like if you're keeping that tarot journal and not staying skin-deep about your studies, unless that's where you want to stay, then there isn't a conflict. Maybe depending on the deck it'll feel weird.

I love that your goofy deck is the more straight-to-business one haha. My partner has the Prisma Visions and the Mesquite, and his soft pastel Mesquite is the brusque and harsh (almost cutting) truth telling one, and his Prisma Visions seems more nurturing and emotionally involved. (he said it reminds him of his parents actually, hahahaha) Ooh this makes me want to do more in-depth reviews on my decks and how I experience them....it also makes me wonder how the Joe Sparrow tarot would read.

[Amoroso]

I've consulted my decks to settle minor affairs, but I never use them on frivolous questions.

I know some do that to establish rapport especially with their new decks so yeah, different strokes for different folks.

[BlueStar]

Interesting question!

I only ask questions that I really want an honest answer for, so for me I think it's more about intention (i.e. do you really want a truthful answer, what are you really aiming to achieve, what is it you really want to know etc.) rather than type of question. I wouldn't personally ask something like 'Should I get pizzas or tacos' because something that mundane I think I should figure out myself without asking the cards. But I might ask some other question which might appear frivolous, if it was something that I really needed insight to.

I have asked questions about what an object is in a box, which could be considered very frivolous, but the objective was to practise my skills, get to know how my mental symbology works through the cards, and get to know the cards in a new deck, etc. So although this may not seem very 'serious', and not about any great life questions or learning, it was very valuable to me.

Something I've pondered regarding this question is that it may also depend on your beliefs about Tarot, e.g. what or who you think you are asking the questions of. If you believe that all answers from the cards come from your subconscious maybe it doesn't matter that much to ask 'frivolous' questions (as you really are just asking yourself). But if you believe that you are asking a spirit being, or the spirit of the universe, or something similar, i.e. some being or force outside of yourself, then you may feel that generally more 'serious' questions are only appropriate. I'm not saying either of these is correct or not, just putting forward a possible factor which could be considered.

[Grizabella]

I've found that we can ask Tarot anything we want to. It doesn't matter whether the question is frivolous or not. It's all part of the interaction we have with our deck that helps us to understand better what it's saying when we do ask serious questions.

Tarot is a tool for me. It's like having a sewing machine. I might use a sewing machine to make a very dignified and elegant gown for a special occasion but then also use it to create a very whimsical toy for one of my great-grandchildren. The sewing machine doesn't care. It will perform each task to the best of its mechanical ability but the end result will depend on how I've used the machine. No matter what I've used it for, I've learned from the experience.