How Tarot Helps in Counseling

Tarot cards are tools for counseling and psychotherapy. Tarot images depict essential patterns in life that are universal and exist in all people in all cultures at all periods of history.

These patterns could involve entering a new phase of life, leaving the comfort of the maternal womb, whether this is at a physical or psychological level. It can also involve passing through profound physical and emotional stages, moving from an essentially childish and naive way of viewing things to a full embracing of life. Virtually all patterns in life are captured in the colorful images of the Tarot.

Thus, Tarot cards and our experiences have a shared meaning. As a mirror of our psyche, the Tarot strikes hidden, unconscious chords that bring out unknown knowledge or insight to a situation.

Tarot cards cannot predict a fixed and fated future. It is our choices in the past that led us to the present moment or situation; just as situations in the future ensue from our responses to the moment at hand. We need to understand how the situation came about. This will affect how we respond to life, and define what the next moment will bring.

Sensitivity and awareness of the patterns or energies at work in life, as reflected by the images on the cards are essential to Tarot reading, not"clairvoyance" or "psychic" powers.

A counselor-reader, through the Tarot, can help reveal, bringing forth from our unconscious, a deeper insight and greater possibilities of response and choice for a situation.