A New Way To Think About Old Ideas
If you think of tarot cards and the images of fortune tellers and magic come to mind, you are not alone. Many cultural and spiritual practices employ tarot cards as a form of divination, and pop culture has no shortage of allusions to the more mystical properties of tarot.
Did you know a regular pack of 52 playing cards was the forerunner to the modern tarot deck?
But what if we chose to use tarot cards as a tool in our therapeutic “backpack” of skills? Instead of trying to scry the future, we can use the cards and their meanings as prompts, as ways to engage with parts of our personality we may not normally think about or give enough attention to.
Breaking Down The Deck
When you get past the mystery, bias, and maybe even fear surrounding tarot cards, the idea behind them is pretty simple. They call on our ancient shared mind and tell a story, first named by the Greeks, of the Hero’s Journey and the archetypes. These stories and archetypes are actually deeply rooted within the study of psychology as described by Psychologist Carl Jung.
The story told with 22 cards of the Major Arcana cards begins with a person (The Fool) starting out in life on their own. As we progress through the story, each card represents a major life event. This includes the development of our relationship with nature and spirituality, the acquisition of wisdom, the push and pull of external forces, falling in love, and many more pivotal developmental moments leading to the ultimate completion of the journey and life.
The remaining cards, the Minor Arcana, are typically more reminiscent in appearance to the modern deck of playing cards we are used to. Unlike the broad archetypal themes of the Major Arcana, this section of the deck asks us to examine the day to day tasks of life. These cards allow us a way to investigate people, relationships, and decisions in a more micro sense.
Therapeutic Tarot
Now that we have a basic understanding of what stories make up the deck, let’s give it a try as if we were in session. We would begin with a relaxation exercise as the cards were shuffled and you calmed and prepared your mind, giving yourself permission to be as introspective as your wish. Then, (drumroll) I would ask you to draw three cards. The three cards that turn up are the Three of Swords, The Empress, and the Five of Coins.
The Empress is all about allowing oneself to embrace the riches of life: Comfort, Love, and Generosity. Knowing this, we can begin by discussing riches of life we are already aware of and thankful for. We could continue to expanding that world view to include new people, situations, and events that are part of our therapeutic story. Further, we could discuss any schemas that might make you hold back from accepting the comfort, love, and generosity of others. And those are just a few jumping off points for one single card. The possibilities are endless. We would continue to do the same exercise for the next two cards.
Star Wars, The Matrix and The Wizard of OZ are all examples of The Hero’s Journey.
When we take a moment to challenge our assumptions, anything is possible. Therapeutic tools are all around us, we just have to see them. If you’re interested in learning more, or you’d like to book a session with Stan, click here.
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