The question behind your question

I am Raven. People come to me because they want the truth and they think I will give it to them faster than the other two. That is mostly accurate. I will also tell you this: in the years I have been reading, almost no one walks in with the question they actually need to ask. They walk in with a decoy.

Here are the most common decoys, and what is hiding behind them. If your question is on this list, the cards are about to tell you something inconvenient.

"Does he love me?"

The real question is almost always: "Am I allowed to leave?" People do not ask whether they are loved when the love is obvious; they ask when the love has become something they have to defend. The cards will not tell you what he feels. The cards will tell you what you already know about what it has been like to be in that room.

If you have to ask, the answer is on you, not him. That is harsh and it is also true.

"Will I get the job?"

The real question is: "Am I going to be okay if I do not?" Career questions are almost always survival questions in nice clothes. The cards will not predict the hiring committee. The cards will tell you whether the floor under you is steady, regardless of which way the offer breaks.

If your survival hinges on this one yes, that is the reading. Get the floor under you first. Then the question becomes interesting again.

"Should I stay or should I go?"

The real question is: "Why am I asking strangers what I already know?" People who ask this question have already decided. They are looking for permission, or for someone else to take the consequences of the decision off their shoulders.

I will not take it for you. The cards will not either. What the reading can do is tell you which version of you is doing the staying, and which version of you is doing the going, so you know who you are choosing.

"When will it happen?"

The real question is: "How long do I have to keep wanting this before I am allowed to stop?" Timing questions are exhaustion in disguise. The cards do not do dates. The cards do tiredness, and the tiredness is the data.

If you are asking when, ask first whether you still want this, or whether you have just been wanting it long enough that wanting feels like personality.

"Is this a sign?"

The real question is: "Will you let me trust myself?" People who ask this have already noticed the sign. They want a second authority to confirm it. The cards can do that, but you should know what you are doing: you are buying confirmation, and you can buy it cheaper from a friend.

When the cards confirm something for you, you already knew. When they do not, you already knew that too. The reading is in the asking.

How to ask a real question

A real question is one whose answer you do not already want. A real question makes you slightly nervous to type. A real question costs something to be answered honestly. If you bring me one of those, the cards will meet you with everything they have.

If you bring me a decoy, I will read the decoy back to you. That is also useful. Most of you have not been told, lately, what you actually asked. Hearing it can be its own answer.