Advice on why negative cards are appearing in positions that are supposed to be helpful?

[Tcatt]

I am just getting back into reading again after many years and am having some difficulty in comprehending a few things. The problem I am stumbling upon is that I am continually receiving "negative cards" such as the 9 of swords in positions in spreads that are supposed to be things that will help, or things that will guide you, or cause improvement.
It is hard to read a sense of despair, loss, etc. as being something helpful, or at least for me it currently is?
I might add that at this point one of the msjor issues concerned is relationships, which tends to be spoken of regardless of whether it is asked about or not.
Would anyone be willing to offer a little insight?
Thank you in advance.

[George]

I am just getting back into reading again after many years and am having some difficulty in comprehending a few things. The problem I am stumbling upon is that I am continually receiving "negative cards" such as the 9 of swords in positions in spreads that are supposed to be things that will help, or things that will guide you, or cause improvement.
It is hard to read a sense of despair, loss, etc. as being something helpful, or at least for me it currently is?
I might add that at this point one of the msjor issues concerned is relationships, which tends to be spoken of regardless of whether it is asked about or not.
Would anyone be willing to offer a little insight?
Thank you in advance.

i never tend to think any of the cards are negative and i know that is odd to say.  it's just that they reflect life and yes that can be negative but its more how to work through that and not focusing on what is bad.  sometimes outcomes will be bad no matter what you do.
now keep in mind that the of cards have different meanings in a real reading but overall if i got the ix of swords it would most likely indicate  a negative state of mind.  something that they have to work out in their mind, and or life etc. and that isn't necessary a negative.

[Rhutobello]

Since any "Reading" in any "Trade" don't tell the truth as in TRUTHFULLY, we must take everything as suggestions how to proceed in life.

Since life never can be only happiness, we need to be aware of hindering or thing that might happen if we don't look out for them, and try to change our path to the better.

This is what much of the negative cards is trying to tell us.

If we don't have this in mind, then we might predict havoc on a Seeker for no reason.....when you have got a negative card...no one stop you to try to figure out a solution or to ask the cards further, so we get an clarification.

This is normal in any conversation where we ask for advice, why not also in a Reading Trade, it shall be a very experienced Reader to get the whole picture on the first layout.

So my advice is NEVER pronounce havoc...always look for solutions...Tarot is used to help people....not to make them afraid or to put them down

[sweetsunray]

A card like the 9 of swords in a "helpful" or "advice" position is more like a pull on the alarm bell to say "hey, this is an atttude you're carrying and it's not helping you at all, it might be better to resolve it." By hinting where a problematic pattern of acting or thinking is, by identifying a block, the tarot helps the querent in showing they need to deal with it in order to solve the overall issue.

[cedars]

I get the sense of what Tcat is saying - not that the previous contributors to this thread did not get the sense of it!
Tcat is saying almost the opposite of getting a positive card in a spread where it is supposed to be an Obstacle or a stumbling point.

With a little bit of objective thinking we can always see that a positive card such as 9 of Cups, 10 of Pentacles, 2 of Cups, 10 of Cups, you name it, when they fall under Obstacles or Negative Influences, by slightly broadening our point of view, we can see how these positive cards can be acting adversely to our cause or situation.

Similarly, a negative-sounding-and-looking card like the 9 of swords when fallen under a section which is supposed to be the Advice or even the Future section of a spread, does present initially a sense of awe if not disappointment.

Tcat, like the positive cards falling under the obstacle position, it is the same concept as the above contributors have commented, that your attention is drawn to them but first and foremost to remove your blinkers and see things as they are - black and white.

You have raised a valid point as a reader and by thinking out of the box and going a bit beyond the clinical meaning of the card, you can see why they have come under that spot.

[Tcatt]

I can't thank you all enough for sharing your views, I aprreciate it so much!
I must admit I had considered what you have all said before posting, it's just that it is a little harder to "wrap your mind around it" in that way when we tend to be so used to thinking of "positive" as always positive or "negative" as always negative for the most part in our day to day life. I must remember to keep in mind that the tarot does not always comply to the same definitions that the average person on any average day may deem sensible. Again thank you so much for your insight, I am still very "rusty" and am in need of a lot of practice and pointers.
Tcatt (Tracy)

[pirbid]

Hi, Ttcat, and sorry for butting in on your thread. I clicked on it because you certainly posed a very interesting question which had me very puzzled when I first began, so thank you for raising it. Since it has been amply answered, I will refrain from adding more on the subject.

Then I saw... George is back in the forum!!!!  :smt039 Hi, George, we missed you! You must have been really busy, as I have been myself in the past year or so.

I posted my greetings here in the hope that your are still hooked to this thread and will get a notice by mail.

Welcome back!  :)

[Payewacker]

Hi Tcatt,

I've been "away" for a while, I did see your posting, but did not run around too much.

Another point you need to consider is the road taken in 1-10, each number, apart from a numeric value als has a significant influence.

In this sense we see nines being completion, and tens--attainment. As has been said, it has a message in it and you need to broaden your view. If you place your 10 of swords next to it, you will see that all the swords point to ten. This is symbolism you need to consider. In effect nines and tens are connected to a large extend. When opening ten of swords, you will see a sunrise.

My interpretation would be, considering the lay in the CC. Stop dwelling on the hurt you now experience, although you are going through a tough time, you can overcome this obstacle. There is light in the tunnel. Have a good look at ten 10 of swords. You will see, the right hand of the man is in the same position as on the Hierophant. His right hand is the blessing and his left is martyrdom. The left hand of the man on 10 of swords is not visible. His right hand, is pointing to 9 of Swords.

Don't always stare blindly at the face of the card, find the symbolism and then you can connect. Nines are ruled by the Hermit---contemplation, which way is the light and his arm pointing?

Blessed be

[cedars]

I would have thought that the man in the Ten of Swords would have pointed towards the sun on the horizon with his left hand/arm indicating hope and that it is not a dead-end. The yellow sun in the horizon rising and taking over the dark clouds is a very hopeful sign for the ten of swords.

As for his right hand pointing towards the swords - hmmmmm, am not so sure about this. Is it self pity, victim attitude or just saying, Oh, look at those ten swords piercing on my back.....?

[Scott Dodson]

I have not read through all of the reply to this post, and like you, I have not done reading for about ten years. Rusty isn't the word for me right now, lol. But, I once did reading for a living and a certified pro Astrologer and Tarot reader, though my memory of everything has not quite kicked in, I would like to give some thoughts on your question. Hopefully every little thing will help, we all have some knowledge that others don't have, and it is nice that we can help each other here.

That said, I definitely agree with another reply I seen that a "negative" card in a positive position is giving advice. What I see here is the number of the card, and the suit is all directed towards thought, with the swords, these are always "self limiting beliefs" that are creating our problems and issues, we are able to work through them using logical, rational thought.

Another very strong aspect in dealing with Swords is the fact that they are "thoughts," and our thoughts are our reality. The outcome of the position that it is in will happen as long as your thought of whatever it is in that particular position is directed towards. This meaning, if you are thinking, negatively about that particular thing, you will create it and make it negative. It is up to you to change it, and since the tarot is never wrong, it is guiding you with helpful info, look at it in different ways and you will see many things come out. look at all the different meanings of the cards that are coming up for you such as the suit, the number, and so on.

All this said, all in all, the entire spread is what makes the cards have a positive, or negative (for lack of better words) meaning. There may be other cards in the spread that oppose, or reinforce the meaning, along with the positions they are in. I am sure you know this, along with the positions working together. I was always a huge fan of the Celtic Cross spread myself, it has a huge amount of info available, and each position pretty much connects with at least two other positions to help give a better look at what the cards and positions are trying to tell you.

I hope that my thoughts are helpful to you, the last thing I would want is to hinder anyone, lol, not my thing, guess that's why i like tarot reading, to help people.

Good luck.

[pirbid]

Hello, Scott, and welcome to the thread.

Your comments about swords and the way we project our thoughts into reality are very 'pointed'  :smt002  
In fact, one field in which this principle is easily seen is in dreams. At least I often find that my dreams change according to my thoughts, usually for the worse. I am so familiar with the sequence that I often find myself thinking 'Why did I have to go and get suspicious when things were going so well? Now I'll have to deal with this suspicious character...'.