Man, I remember the first time I really paid attention to how I was asking for guidance. It wasn’t because I suddenly got enlightened or read some fancy book on metaphysics. It was pure desperation. I had hit a wall, a seriously thick one, and I needed an exit strategy fast.
I was knee-deep in this ridiculous, ill-advised startup idea I had tried to launch right after my youngest kid was born. I’d poured savings into it, borrowed money from my sister, and basically promised my partner we’d be retired in two years. Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen. The whole thing imploded. I mean, absolutely crashed and burned. We were left scrambling, not knowing if we should sell the house, pull the kids out of private school, or just flee the country and start over.
I was paralyzed. I couldn’t make a decision to save my life. That’s when I finally caved and booked a pricey, hour-long reading with this well-known reader everyone raved about online. I drove an hour and a half just to get there. I sat down, heart pounding, deck spread out, and what did I do? I asked the stupidest, most beginner questions imaginable.
How I Messed Up My First Serious Reading (And Why I Started Taking Notes)
I went in there and asked stuff like, “Will my financial situation get better next month?” or “Will my business partner come back and apologize?” Just straight-up ‘yes/no’ stuff, or questions asking for certain outcomes that were completely out of my control. I wanted fate delivered on a silver platter. I didn’t want homework. I didn’t want choices. I just wanted the future handed to me.
The reader tried her best, bless her heart. She pulled the Tower, then the 5 of Pentacles, then the 8 of Swords. She was telling me, look, you’re stuck, you’re experiencing ruin, and you feel isolated. And I sat there thinking, thanks, captain obvious. I already knew that! What I wanted was the magic solution. I kept pushing, asking, “But what’s going to happen next year?”
That reading cost me $150, and I walked out feeling emptier than when I arrived. I was furious. I felt ripped off. I spent the drive home raging at the reader, at the cards, at the whole stupid universe. But then, about halfway home, stuck in traffic on the highway, it hit me.
The cards don’t tell you the future in a vacuum. They respond to the input. If your input is garbage, your output is going to be vague, frustrating nonsense that just confirms what you already know. I hadn’t asked an actionable question. I hadn’t asked for guidance on how to proceed. I just demanded a prophecy.
That frustration, that pure financial waste combined with emotional turmoil, forced my hand. I decided I would never waste time or money on a reading again. I had to figure out how to frame future questions so they actually gave me something I could use, something I could do.
The Project: Documenting Actionable Future Questions
I immediately went home, dug out three different journals, and started my own little research project. My goal was simple: to compile a list of questions that shifted the focus from passive prediction to active planning. I spent the next six weeks testing questions on myself, using simple three-card spreads (Situation, Action, Outcome) and diligently documenting the clarity of the ‘Action’ card.
I grabbed every vague question I’d ever asked and flipped the script. Instead of “Will I get that new job?”, I started asking, “What steps should I take this week to make myself the strongest candidate for the new job?” Instead of “Is my relationship going to survive?”, I asked, “What is the key emotional hurdle I need to address right now to strengthen my connection?”
I literally sat there for hours, cross-referencing my old readings with my new ones. I was comparing the results of reactive questions versus proactive questions. The difference was night and day. When I asked a passive question, the cards often gave me frustratingly passive energy back—the Hanged Man, the 4 of Swords. When I introduced agency—a verb, a path, a choice—the cards responded with powerful direction—Strength, the Chariot, the Magician.
I started noticing patterns. The most effective future questions weren’t about what would happen, but about what should be my strategy. I distilled everything down, chucked out the fluff, and what was left was a solid core of seven fundamental question types that every beginner needs to master before they lay down a single card for predictive work. This is my survival guide, built on wasted money and terrible anxiety. Use it so you don’t make the same dumb mistakes I did.
My Top 7 Future-Focused Questions That Actually Work
These are the questions I use now. They force clarity and demand an actionable response from the cards, which is exactly what we need when we feel stuck or anxious about tomorrow.
- The “Strategy” Question: “What is the most effective approach I can take right now to influence [Specific Goal]?” (Forces the cards to give you a method, not just a result.)
- The “Pivot” Question: “If I continue down this current path (A), what external factor should I be aware of that might derail me?” (Identifies blind spots.)
- The “Preparation” Question: “What internal shift or skill do I need to develop in the next month to prepare for the changes coming in [Area]?” (Makes the guidance about internal growth, not external luck.)
- The “Alternative Path” Question: “What is the unforeseen opportunity I might miss if I focus solely on Path B?” (Opens your eyes to options you didn’t see.)
- The “Worst Case Mitigation” Question: “If the outcome I fear most occurs, what is the best way to handle the immediate fallout with integrity?” (Prepares you for emotional resilience.)
- The “Next Step Clarity” Question: “Regarding my long-term goal of X, what is the single most important action I need to execute this week?” (Breaks down big goals into tiny, achievable steps.)
- The “Motivation” Question: “What is the hidden truth about my current situation that I need to face to regain my motivation?” (Focuses on the psychological blockages preventing future movement.)
I share this list because I spent months feeling like a total failure, watching my life go sideways, and then making things worse by asking questions that gave me zero power to change anything. Now, I use my readings. I treat the cards like a business consultant, not a crystal ball. And that, folks, is the only way to get real value out of looking into what’s next.
