Dreaming with Eyes Open: The Wisdom and Power of Tarotpy

It is long known that dreams open a window into your deepest Self, offering important information and inspiration to fulfill your unique purpose in life. Tarotpy allows you to access that same wisdom and healing capacity of the dreaming mind with eyes wide open.

For twenty-five years, I have facilitated dream groups for psychotherapists and laypeople. A group will generally meet once a month for several hours. Each participant has an opportunity to share intimately about what is going on in their life, and to seek insight and guidance by way of dreams. When a group member does not recall a dream, I invite them to use Tarotpy. The archetypal imagery of tarot cards, SoulCards, Oracle cards, and other imagery decks comes from the same psychic pool as dreams. Thus, a deep intelligence comes through the random selection of images just as it does in dreams.

You do not have to know anything about tarot or symbolism to do this practice. Instead, you can approach symbolic imagery without preconceived definitions and meet images as you would a stranger, being open to discover their perspective. With curiosity and attention, the image comes to life to provide insights and guidance. Borrowing from dreamwork practices, I use various approaches such as projection, association, amplification and active imagination.  to encourage an individual to reflect on how specific details are personally meaningful.

The Meaning is in the Details

Lucy was a member of a monthly ongoing dream group for training therapists. Because she did not recall a dream, I invited Lucy to do a Tarotpy layout. I invited Lucy to select from a multitude of decks which increases the possibility that the selected images will be remarkably specific and relevant to the client and her query.

Lucy chose to work with the Neuzeit Tarot deck. I asked her how many cards she needed to see and a number arose in her mind: seven. She then randomly selected seven cards, and laid them out in the shape of a body, placing one card for the head, two for the arms and legs, and one in the center of the layout, which she called “the heart center.” Lucy focused her attention on the card at the center: King of Swords. 

I have compared the card Lucy drew (above left) with the corresponding card from the more traditional Rider-Waite deck (above right). This is to show that the King of Swords is typically portrayed as a patriarchal figure dressed in robes from the Renaissance period, holding a sword, a typical weapon from that time period. But the king Lucy had randomly selected from the Neuzeit Tarot deck is high-tech: he holds modern missiles and wears a state-of-the-art headset; on the pedestal below are the words “Nuclear” and “Atom.” 

Looking at this archetypal figure of an older patriarch, the group asked about Lucy’s father and whether he had a strong influence in her life. Lucy affirmed that her dad was her role model and ‘close to her heart.’  Lucy then shared with the group that her father was in fact a nuclear scientist who studied the atom.

Lucy explored what was meaningful about her father showing up as a king in the center of her layout. While her father was very supportive, Lucy reflected that he approached the world with a rational, scientific mind. Lucy had learned from her father to value intellect over emotions as the dominant mode of encountering the world. However, as a training psychotherapist, Lucy needed to trust her heart and emotional intelligence as much as her brilliant intellect. I asked if she wanted to move her father away from the placement of the heart center. Sometimes, we can have a shift in perspective simply by shifting the cards of the table. Lucy said, “No.”  Yet, tarot therapy often stimulates vivid dreaming and dream recall. Following that group session, Lucy had a series of dreams in which her father moved next door. Lucy recognized that she was developing a more balanced relationship with her dad, and between mind and heart.