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When people come to me for a reading, the questions they bring often sound familiar. Things like “Does he love me?”, “What will happen?” or “What are they thinking?” used to crop up all the time when I was offering tarot readings on TikTok. And I get it. These are the questions that feel the most urgent in the moment. We want certainty, we want answers, and we want to know what’s happening in someone else’s head.
But here’s the problem: those questions rarely give you what you’re actually looking for. They often lead to vague answers, false hope, or leave you feeling more confused than when you started. The good news is there’s one simple shift that changes everything. One question that turns a tarot reading into something useful, ethical, and genuinely transformative.
Why Most Tarot Questions Fall Flat
The Future Trap
Asking “what will happen?” can sound like the most obvious question in the world. But the truth is, the future isn’t set in stone. When we treat tarot as a fortune-telling tool, we end up expecting it to deliver an exact outcome, like a spoiler for a TV show. That’s not how it works. Life is made up of choices, circumstances, and surprises. Tarot can give you insight into patterns and direction, but it can’t hand you a guaranteed script.
The issue with future-focused questions is that they take you out of the driver’s seat. Instead of looking at what you can do or how you can respond, you’re waiting around for an external event to arrive. That often leads to frustration. Tarot works best when it’s helping you navigate change, not when it’s treated like a prediction machine.
Reading Other People’s Minds
Another common question is “What do they think about me?” It’s human nature to want to know what’s going on in someone else’s head. But here’s the catch: tarot isn’t about snooping on other people’s private thoughts. Not only is that a bit unethical, it’s also unreliable. What someone thinks can change by the hour, and no card pull is going to give you a permanent answer.
Even when the cards seem to reflect what another person might be feeling, it’s only ever through your perspective. The risk is that you end up building your choices on assumptions instead of reality. Rather than playing detective on someone else’s inner world, tarot works far better when the focus is on you: your clarity, your actions, and your growth.
Before we even get to the cards, if a client asks one of those future-focused or mind-reading style questions, I’ll often pause and reframe it with them. That way, we’re both clear that the reading will be ethical, focused on what actually helps, and centred on their empowerment. This gentle shift before shuffling sets the tone for the whole session.
The One Question That Changes Everything
From Prediction to Guidance
The question that transforms any tarot reading is simple: “What do I need to hear about this situation/person/event?” It takes the pressure off the cards to deliver a fixed prediction and instead turns them into a mirror. Suddenly, you’re not asking the deck to make promises about the future or read someone else’s mind. You’re asking for insight that can help you right now.
This small reframe makes a huge difference. Instead of “Will they come back?” the question becomes “What do I need to hear about this relationship?” Instead of “Will I get the job?” it’s “What do I need to hear about this opportunity?” The reading shifts from passive to active, from guesswork to guidance.
Putting You Back at the Centre
When you ask, “What do I need to hear?”, the spotlight comes back to you. You’re no longer waiting around for fate or other people to decide your next move. The reading becomes about your perspective, your options, and your power to act. It’s about clarity, not control.
This question is powerful because it reminds you that tarot isn’t about outsourcing your choices. It’s about equipping you to make them with confidence. You walk away from the reading not with a fixed outcome to obsess over, but with grounded insight you can actually use. That’s what makes it transformative.
Examples in Action
Love and Relationships
Take relationships, for example. Someone might ask, “Will they come back?” The problem with that question is that it puts everything on the other person. You’re left waiting, powerless, and tied to someone else’s choices.
When you shift the question to “What do I need to hear about this relationship?”, suddenly the focus is back on you. The cards can highlight what’s healthy, what’s draining, and where your boundaries lie. That’s far more useful than sitting around hoping for a yes or no answer.
Career and Life Decisions
Another classic is “Should I take this job?” That sounds like a straightforward yes or no, but careers are rarely that simple. There are pros, cons, timing, and your own gut feelings to consider.
Ask instead: “What do I need to hear about this opportunity?” Now the reading can show you the bigger picture. Maybe it highlights how the job could grow your skills, but also drain your energy. Maybe it reflects how this move aligns (or clashes) with your long-term goals. You leave with information that helps you choose, not just a coin-flip answer.
Life Changes and Transitions
Big transitions such as moving house, changing city, or starting over somewhere new often spark the question “Will it go smoothly?” Again, the problem is that this frames the move as something happening to you, not something you’re actively shaping.
Switch it to “What do I need to hear about this move?” and the reading becomes more practical and grounding. It might highlight where you’ll need extra support, or where excitement and growth are waiting. Instead of guessing whether things will be good or bad, you get insight that helps you prepare, settle, and thrive.
Health and Wellbeing
Health questions are a delicate matter. People sometimes ask, “Will I get better?” which is a heavy thing to put onto a tarot deck. Tarot is not a medical tool, and it should never replace professional advice. But it can be a supportive companion alongside that care.
Reframing to “What do I need to hear about my health right now?” creates space for a gentler kind of guidance. The cards might point towards rest, boundaries, or emotional support you’ve been neglecting. It’s not about diagnosing or predicting, but about showing you where your focus could go to support your wellbeing.
Why This Approach is Ethical
Respecting Boundaries
One of the reasons I stick with this reframed question is that it keeps tarot ethical. It avoids the sticky territory of trying to peek into someone else’s thoughts or making promises about a future that isn’t set. A good tarot reading respects privacy, choice, and uncertainty.
By keeping the focus on what you need to hear, the reading stays clean. It gives you something constructive without crossing boundaries or offering false certainty. That matters to me because tarot should be about support, not manipulation.
Empowering You to Act
The ethical side links directly to empowerment. When the question is framed around you, the answers are actionable. You’re not left waiting for a person to text back or a job offer to magically appear. You’re given insight you can apply immediately.
That’s the beauty of it: tarot becomes a tool you can actually use. It stops being about fate and starts being about agency. That’s where real transformation happens.
Take This Into Your Next Reading
A Simple Reframe
If you remember just one thing, let it be this: next time you’re tempted to ask “what will happen?” or “what do they think?”, try switching it to “What do I need to hear about this?” It’s a small shift, but it can change the whole experience of the reading.
This reframe doesn’t shut down your curiosity; it sharpens it. Instead of vague answers, you get clarity. Instead of passivity, you get guidance. It’s an easy way to make sure tarot is working for you, not against you.
Work With a Reader Who Gets It
If you want a tarot reading that cuts through the noise, respects your boundaries, and actually gives you something useful to walk away with, book a session with me. I don’t deal in fortune-telling gimmicks or empty promises. I work with you to uncover the insight that matters right now, so you can move forward with confidence.
Tarot is meant to be a tool for clarity, not confusion. The one question that can transform any tarot reading is waiting for you. Let’s sit down with the cards and find out what you most need to hear today.
