Awakening the Inner Healer: Using Tarot Imagery for Transformation

Image, the root of the word “imagination,” is the mother language of the unconscious. Imagery allows us to reflect upon this deeper intelligence within us. The use of imagery and symbolism in psychotherapy accesses unconscious material, opens deep conversation, and stimulates our creative imagination for insight and problem-solving.

I originally trained in hypnotherapy, specifically in the work of Milton Erikson, who seemed as much a magician as a psychiatrist and family therapist. With the client in a trance state, Milton Erikson would tell a carefully constructed story with embedded metaphors that targeted the client’s unconscious, negative thought patterns. The art of storytelling captured the client’s attention while subliminal messages untangled any faulty wiring in the unconscious. Through the careful use of metaphor, new connections were made in the circuitry. The client would then have a miraculous breakthrough and cessation of symptoms. 

I soon discovered that my innovative practice of Tarotpy® (tarot therapy) incorporates similar principles as hypnotherapy and produces comparable benefits.  I use tarot therapy to stimulate imagination that may be otherwise blocked—for example, with individuals who do not remember dreams or whose doorway into their unconscious appears to be locked, often due to depression or trauma. This method of working with imagery has great regenerative power. As the image comes alive with a sense of meaning, it vivifies the client’s unconscious and brings nuanced colors out from a darkened state of mind. 

Breaking through Blocks to Creative Solutions

By the time most clients seek therapy, they have mulled over a problem in their minds ad infinitum without finding a solution. The problem has become fixed in their minds and trying to solve it rationally only increases their sense of blockage and frustration. Like hypnotherapy, tarot therapy breaks through blocks without engaging resistance. By shuffling the deck a few times, the client induces him/herself into a trance-like state. Using imagery as a medium relaxes the vigilant ego and bypasses the logical frame of mind. The client shifts attention away from his/her preoccupation with the problem to focus on the images at hand. Conversation about the images inducts the client into a non-rational state of inquiry and engages the creative unconscious for problem-solving.

Imagery acts as a conduit for unconscious material and intuition to flow between therapist and client. As the client and I reflect on the images, metaphors arise spontaneously from the visual material. By reflecting upon the imagery together, we co-construct a narrative that reveals entrenched beliefs which are not supportive of personal growth. The imagery and constructed narrative seed the unconscious with new ideas for coping more effectively. Solutions emerge organically out of the client’s inner wellspring. 

Tarot Imagery Fosters Insight and Inspiration

Susan, who was in her early fifties, came into therapy after being fired from a job. This had never happened to her before, and she felt inadequate and hopeless. As we talked, it became apparent that in addition to being fired, Susan had suffered huge losses with the death of several close relatives during the previous two years. She hadn’t recognized that grief was an unaccounted factor underlying her sense of failure. 

I then invited Susan to try tarot therapy as a way of further exploring her feelings and the roots of her low self-esteem. 

Susan randomly chose the King of Air card from the Paris Tarot deck. 

I immediately noticed the checkerboard floor and game pieces. I asked Susan if she had any personal association with chess. She told me her dad had taught chess to her and her siblings. When asked about the figure of Napoleon, Susan said that her father was a dictator. Every evening he would return from a job he hated and begin to drink. Then, drunk at the dinner table, he silenced the children by yelling at them. He repeatedly told Susan she was stupid.  

Unconsciously, Susan carried her father’s critical voice in her head throughout her childhood and into her adult life. Years of her father’s belittling became the invisible driver behind her perfectionism at work. 

With the shock of being fired from a job, the burdensome feelings of low self-worth had finally overwhelmed her. Susan had to admit that she had not created a satisfying life or meaningful relationships outside of her work. She had internalized the messages from her father that are common in alcoholic families: don’t talk, don’t feel, and don’t trust. The lack of intimate communication with her family or friends regarding several tragic losses made her feel disassociated, helpless, and invisible. 

This projective approach to the images enabled Susan to explore and identify feelings that had long been buried. 

Susan picked the next card, the Ace of Air, to represent “family and connection.” 

The symbols on the card evoked in Susan a spontaneous healing response. She felt immediately uplifted by the image of a radiant crown atop the Eiffel Tower. I pointed out the hands holding a caduceus – a symbol of the healing profession - in the upper corners of the card: the image of snakes climbing up the staff derives from Hermes, the Greek messenger of the Gods. His primary gift is communication and his wand entwined with snakes represents renewal and regeneration. The symbolic images were revitalizing, helping Susan to come out of the low energy and fog that had overtaken her life. 

I gave Susan a photocopy of the Ace of Air card and prescribed that she reflect on the images for a couple of minutes daily. She arrived at our next session elated. By contemplating the images on her own, Susan discovered her own remedies. For example, in reflecting on the interconnecting metal pieces that gave the tower its structure and strength, Susan realized that connectivity was essential to her sense of wellness and stability. Susan began to reach out to family and friends to repair the communication and intimacy.

Susan had the insight that if she focused on one small piece at a time regarding health, work, and relationships, she could recover at her own pace. She took up regular exercise and adopted a healthier diet. The image of the interconnecting steel bars motivated her to contact previous employers to thank them for their support. By reconnecting with colleagues and prior bosses, she got a new job in a more nurturing environment. The image of the Eiffel Tower continued to have an empowering, curative effect throughout the next three months of her treatment. Piece by piece, Susan rebuilt a more satisfying and sustainable life for herself. 

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As we move into the realm of image and imagination, something magical happens. By way of images, we glimpse the creative and regenerative nature of the unconscious; and our inner capacity for healing is reflected back to us. Especially where there is depression or little emotional affect, tarot therapy can stimulate the emergence of a renewed life force. For example, the crown on top of the Eiffel Tower spontaneously ignited a feeling of hope for Susan. What began with one image and a glimmer of hope blossomed into excitement, more reflection, epiphanies, and motivation to transform her life. 

I have observed that tarot therapy can accelerate the course of psychotherapy, sometimes reducing treatment to a few brief depth sessions. Individuals who use Tarotpy as a personal contemplative practice (between sessions or on their own) report gaining valuable guidance and significant breakthroughs as new perspectives and solutions are revealed from the wisdom of their unconscious.