Here is a summary of the essential differences between more traditional [Tarot] readings, and therapeutic intuitive counseling – the latter being the type of counseling I practice (and advocate!). These guidelines are not limited to intuitive work with Tarot, but are generally applicable to all sorts of intuitive work, such as astrology.
The lunar symbols on the High Priestess’s crown and at her feet reflect an ancient association with the moon and psychic receptivity. By psychic, I refer not only to abilities such as ESP and clairvoyance. Psychic means “of the soul.”
-Paul Quinn
The High Priestess is the quintessential archetype pointing us in the direction of the soul. Her knowledge comes not so much from her clairvoyant extra-sensory ability, as it comes from her deeper understanding of the fundamental laws of life – the type of knowledge held within our soul consciousness.
The High Priestess sits at the gateway to the soul – she is the presence within us that knows our reasons for coming into a human body, she is the presence within us that knows the specific things we have come to accomplish, she is the presence within us that is fully aware of our other lifetimes and dimensional connections. She has within her possession a draft of our Life Plan – the life plan carefully crafted by our souls – not our incarnating personalities.
The High Priestess as an archetype embodies the understanding that it is the soul that has the answers we seek. She embodies a curious paradox of the human experience: we each have the answers that we seek within us, but we also stand guard, preventing access to these answers. The conscious mind stands guard as it firmly situates our awareness in our present, physical, time-space reality. The conscious mind is the mechanism that keeps us occupied here, while our super-conscious mind and soul stand quiet behind the scenes, situated in other dimensional realities.
Truly therapeutic work carried out within the archetypal framework of the High Priestess is based on the following premises: i) the person seeking therapy has their own High Priestess within them, and therefore has the answers, ii) because the person seeking therapy has the answers within them, they are their own healers, iii) all therapeutic interventions therefore amount to self-healing whether or not a facilitator guides this process, iv) for therapy to be effective – the High Priestess must let us pass her veil, even just a little – we must reach for insights that lie beneath the surface, somewhere below the conscious mind. We must access deeper levels of perception that lie beyond our normal, waking consciousness or usual ways of thinking about an event, or situation. We must cross the bridge between conscious and unconscious.
My readings are really focused on therapeutic insight (insight and information that has therapeutic value), meaningful guidance, helping the person I work with get some perspective on their situation, and helping my clients come away with more clarity and a sense of being empowered to effectively approach their lives.
In my books, information and insight are distinct from each other. You can leave a reading with information, but fail to come away with insight. Insight is designed to offer you deeper, and new perspectives of what is happening in your life. Therapeutic insight takes insight a little further: it takes insight from something that is just intellectual, and turns into an embodied experience. Meaning, the insight gained helps you to release and heal on an emotional/energetic level, and helps you feel better.
I work best with people who need to: i) understand their situations more deeply, ii) shift their perspective iii) start the process of emotional healing iv) integrate spiritual and life lessons v) reveal and connect with their own internal wisdom and vi) participate purposefully and consciously with their own power to create the outcomes that they want.
If you are looking for someone to tell you what will happen and what you want to hear (as opposed to what you need to hear), then I am not the right match. Sessions with me often challenge your perspective, and they work best with people who would like to take more responsibility for their lives, thoughts and beliefs.
The Moon archetype in the Tarot helps us to understand our individual and collective relationship with the Shadow: the Moon cues us into the location of our shadow material – where we can find it, and how it makes itself known. Much like the crayfish emerging from the water on the Moon card, the shadow is psychic material, rising from the pool of our subconscious to be integrated. The Moon archetype and the Devil archetype in the Tarot work together to paint a picture of the shadow: destructive, negative and limiting belief patterns and programming which rise up from the psychic pool of our subconscious, and which hold us in the illusion of separation from our Source and from the pure, positive creativity energy at our disposal, waiting to be purposefully directed.
Two Sundays ago my stepdad called to say that his dear friend, a woman whom I had known only for a few short months, passed away on Good Friday. He was shocked by the sudden news of her passing, but I was not.
Last week (it looks like my blog posts are increasingly inspired by the interactions I am having!) I met someone who asked how “specific” I was as a reader, and whether I would be able to identify whether someone had “cancer.” I proceeded to explain to him that identifying details such as “cancer” or “leukaemia” is not the focus of my readings – that my sessions are really spiritually focused therapeutic sessions, and I use the Tarot to intuitively tune into the (very specific!) messages and insights that are in my clients’ best interest to know and to understand.
Last week I attended an event and met someone who said to me that she was reticent about tarot readings because of an experience she had: she had a reading, and nothing the reader predicted “came true.” Because of her experience she was not only disappointed, but skeptical about the value a Tarot reading could really provide. My answer to her concerns took full shape at about 5 o’clock the following morning when I woke up and furiously scribbled notes about the nature of the relationship between tarot and “the future”, and how we can adopt a perspective of this relationship that empowers us, rather than disappoints us.
I think that collectively we have a very skewed understanding of what a so-called “prediction” actually is. Predictions, or projections (I prefer the latter), whether enunciated by a tarot reader, a clairvoyant, an intuitive, and everything in between, all have the same basic structure: they are statements which reflect the nature of the individual’s current ‘magnetic point of attraction’. Predictions or projections are really saying this: “Based on the energetic matrix of your intentions, thought patterns and emotions with respect to a particular thing, this is the path that you are on, and this is what you are likely to experience going forward. This is the direction in which you are headed.”
Readings on relationships are one of the most significant kinds of readings a Tarot practitioner performs. Catalysts of our evolution, development and awakening, romantic intimate relationships cannot but be paid the highest attention in the human collective experience.
I decided to brainstorm the ways in which the Tarot can help us improve our experience of our romantic intimate relationships. This list is by no means exhaustive.
Working with the Tarot can help you to:
Here’s the thing: your Inner Being/Higher Self/Higher Mind/Spiritual Entourage calls the shots during the course of your Tarot reading. Your Inner Being has one single priority: to communicate the message that you MOST need to understand and assimilate at the time of your reading. Sometimes your own idea of what is most important and relevant for you to know will be fundamentally at variance with what your Inner Being would like to draw your attention to.
It has been my absolute pleasure to get to know Ashley Oppon, of Dreadlock Tarot. Based in New Jersey, Ashley is an intuitive counselor who works with the Tarot, Lenormand, and Spiritual Response Therapy (SRT). (I was also really intrigued by Ashley’s cool way of naming her Tarot reading offers). We got to chatting in December, sharing our thoughts on our precious and loved tool, the Tarot. You can find part one of our conversation in which Ashley interviews me, here. Today we continue our chat, with me finding out more about Ashley’s tarot practice!
