Tarot As A Therapy Tool

Another Friday, and another question that has been spawned from the Q&A site Quora. In this day and age there are so many different ways that people can get guidance, but have you ever considered tarot as a therapy tool? Keep reading for more on this out of the box approach.

Tarot can be a really useful TOOL in therapy but is NOT an alternative to seeing a licensed professional. However you will find that more and more psychologists are adding tarot cards (and oracle cards) to their toolbox to connect with clients. Tarot works as a tool in that it

1. Gives the client a fresh perspective. Sometimes we get so stuck in a rut, even with our way of thinking that it needs a good nudge to look at things from another angle.
2. Harnesses the power of metaphors. Metaphors are powerful when it comes to being able to explain things in a way that is pretty universally recognized.
3. Empowers the client. The cards, and the things that they depict can help people to take an active role in their therapy sessions. I have known people that have gone and just sat the entire hour not saying a word, because they felt helpless and uncomfortable. Tarot can knock down those barriers for some.
4. Is a unique way to connect with those who struggle with verbalizing how they feel. Sometimes those images, and explaining what they stand for can be enough to open up the floodgates and encourage people to talk.
5. Is neutral. The cards don’t have an agenda. They can connect with you no matter your age, sex, religion or spiritual beliefs. The ideas behind each card are universal.

​Psychoanalyst Carl Jung once explained that tarot cards are an easy way to “represent the archetypes of mankind” - universal traits like strength, passion, ambition, etc…


​Consider the Chariot card:

We can see here that the two horses are pulling in opposite directions, one dark and the other light. A good therapy question for this card might be “Are you moving forward, or do you you only look like you are moving forward? What is really preventing you from making progress?”

Sometimes seeing your fears and hopes laid out in pictures makes them more obvious and less intimidating.

If you are really curious as to how tarot as a therapy tool might look on a more organic level I highly encourage you to check out Jessica Dore on Twitter (and I believe she recently started an Instagram account too) and you'll get to see gems like this on a regular basis: 

At the end of the day using tarot as a tool in therapy isn’t going to HURT you, can probably help you even. People in therapy are there it understand themselves better, and this is a great starting point.

​Just remember that is just a part of the puzzle and shouldn’t be used as the only part of therapy, or worse as a replacement for the advice and guidance of a licensed professional.