You can work with Tarot cards yourself

“Tarot cards can be used as a tool in independent work with different life situations: the problem of choice, finding solutions, communication difficulties, as well as for self-knowledge: to explore your emotional state, to clarify your desires, to determine your values ​​and your destiny. It is not necessary to know the generally accepted interpretation of the cards for this — you can understand their message by deciphering the symbols in accordance with the individual meaning that they have for you. The fact is that the images presented in the cards are universal (for example, a mountain, water, a flower, a ruler), but at the same time, each of us fills them with our own meaning with many shades. And this meaning changes depending on the question we ask and the situation in which we find ourselves. For example, on the map of the Empress, at one moment our attention will be attracted by a wheat field, at another — by the woman’s free posture, at the third — by the trees behind her or the yellow color of the background. Moreover, someone can see on the same map not ripe wheat, but blossoming daffodils — and then he can work with what daffodils mean to him.

Where to start?

For independent work you will need: a notebook, a pen and a deck of Tarot cards. I usually work with the Rider-Waite deck, because in this deck all 78 cards have plot drawings and it was this deck that served as the basis for most modern decks. But you can take the one you like best, especially if you intend to work only with the Major Arcana.¹that have images in any deck.

You will need a notebook and pen to write down questions and answers. I am often asked why you can’t just memorize them. I know from experience that when working with cards, we are immersed in a symbolic world, in a special state of consciousness, which is akin to a waking dream. In this state, both questions and answers are easily forgotten, and we find ourselves at a loss if, having received an answer, we can no longer remember what it refers to. Also, our notes will help us in the future to restore the course of events when we need a hint or if we want to turn to a psychotherapist for a more detailed study of personal material (painful memories, conflicting feelings …) that could come up during our independent work.

Make sure that no one bothers you and nothing distracts you. It is better to turn off your mobile phone, and not only because it will interfere, but also because during such work you should not talk to people who are in a different environment: it is very likely that you will be too immersed in your experiences to adequately respond to their requests.

It is good if the room where you will work has two chairs or enough space to move from one place to another.

And now, when you have stocked up with all this, you can begin.

10 steps to solve the problem

1. Formulate your question and write it down.
2. Shuffle the major arcana or the entire deck of cards and place the cards in a row or several rows in front of you with the images up.
3. Close your eyes and speak your question, silently or out loud, referring to the cards as wise advisers. For example: “What is the best thing for me to do in my situation?” or “I have a feeling of confusion in my relationship with my mother (boss, friend …). Help me understand: what exactly is my condition connected with?
4. Open your eyes and look at the cards. Choose the card that you think will answer your question. This is usually the first card that draws you in. It is important to turn off the mind and trust intuition. Many at this moment have the feeling that they are not looking at the map, but the map is beckoning them with its appearance. The selection usually takes a few seconds. Take the chosen card, and the rest can now be put aside.
5. Look closely at your card. What symbols catch your eye that grabs your attention first? Anything is suitable here, it can be either the image of the Moon on the map of the same name, or, for example, the top of the mountain on the Shut map. If two symbols catch your eye at once and you cannot choose which one is more significant, fine, work with two. You can make a note in notepad about which characters you have chosen.
6. Extend your hand with the card in front of you and focus on the symbol that caught your attention. Addressing him directly, repeat your question, out loud or to yourself, speaking slowly and clearly.
7. Place a chair around where your hand with the card was just now. Move to this chair. If there is no chair, then take a step in that direction and turn around to face the place where you were sitting before.
8. Imagine that you have become a symbol on a map that looks at the questioner. Now you are that symbol. Feel like the Moon, Mountain or Empress, enter this role. Try to feel the energy of this symbol. Just be it. Some find it easier to associate themselves with a map element when they look at it, while others find it easier to close their eyes and see themselves as that image. You can try several options. Take 5-10 seconds to enter the role.
9. Now imagine how you, as a symbol, hear a question addressed to you from the place where you originally sat. Listen to yourself — and an inner answer will come to you. That is, what do you, as the Moon, Horus or Empress, answer to the questioner? Usually the first answer is the correct one. Here again, it is important not to analyze the incoming information, but simply to capture what comes.
10. Now go back to your place and hear the answer from the selected symbol again. Record this message. If this answer is not enough and you want to clarify something, formulate the question again and repeat the procedure. Continue until the dialogue has exhausted itself: until you feel that you have received an answer that is understandable and satisfying to you. Typically, 3 to 7 role changes are required. If at first you chose two symbols, then repeat the same algorithm with the second element on the map.

• Psychodrama

You now have a short recorded dialogue that you can reread, which contains the full or partial answer to your question. If you didn’t manage to hear the answer, then this is not a question that you can work with alone. Independent work comes to a standstill when the internal conflict is too emotionally charged or too traumatic. In these cases, specialist assistance is required. But in most cases, it is possible to get at least a little closer to understanding the disturbing topic or even find a solution.

How does this work?

I will explain this with a metaphor. Let’s imagine that our unconscious is a huge ocean, and consciousness is a ship sailing on it. There are various living creatures in the ocean: fish, shellfish, crabs and so on. These are the various symbols that we can observe in dreams and fantasies. When we experience for any reason, then exactly that symbolic “living creature” that is related to our internal conflict or state emerges closer to the surface of the water. In the daytime, from the ship, we can see the movement of symbols in the depths. Let’s say that dolphins symbolize the theme of loneliness. And when we experience loneliness, dolphins begin to approach the surface of the water. But often they remain at such a distance that we cannot see from our ship whether they are dolphins, sharks or rays. We see only a blurry silhouette. And it is likely that we will want to take a closer look at them in order to understand who is there. How to lure them? To do this, we must know their habits. And suppose we know that each species of this fabulous fauna reacts only to those similar to itself. And we have a lot of animal posters aboard the ship. Knowing this law of similarity, we hang images of marine life of all kinds along the sides. And now we can notice how a dolphin jumps out of the water to the picture with a dolphin — our symbol of loneliness, which we can now see in all its glory and will not be confused with anyone else.

Tarot cards work like those posters on the ship. The drawings on them have an attractive ability for the contents of our unconscious, and when we experience this or that state, our internal symbols seem to recognize their own kind in the elements of the cards. When we play the role of this fragment of any map, we have the opportunity to translate it from the “dolphin” language into human.”

• Where are the metaphors taking us?

¹ The first 22 Tarot cards are called the Major Arcana, each of which has its own name (Jester, Magician, Priestess, and so on), unlike the rest, which have a serial number and belong to one of the four suits.