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Chaos and the Psychological Symbolism of the Tarotby Gerald Schueler, Ph.D. © 1997

Abstract.

The Tarot deck contains archetypal symbols that can be related to the analyticalpsychology of the Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung. The Tarot deck, especially the majorarcana or trump cards, can be used effectively in therapy. The client, with theassistance of the therapist, conducts a reading or uses several cards to tell a storyand then discusses possible meanings of the symbols in his or her own words. Thetherapist then relates the symbolic meanings given by the client to the client'sproblem in much the same manner as in Jungian dream analysis. This therapeuticprocess can be explained by using a chaos model. Using a chaos model of therapy,a period of psychic instability is deliberately induced by the therapist throughstimulation of the imagination via the Tarot symbols. Concentration on the Tarotsymbols induces bifurcation points that the therapist then uses to direct changetoward desired attractors. This is similar to the well-known techniques of paradoxicalcommunication, paradoxical intervention, and prescribing the symptom, all of whichinduce a temporary condition of psychic instability that is required for a bifurcation.

Introduction

Loye and Eisler (1987) see the roots of modern chaos theory, as it pertains to socialscience, extending all the way back to the ancient Chinese Book of Changes or IChing. The I Ching, the oldest oracle still in use today, (Bannister, 1988) was usedto make predictions by casting stalks, straws, or sticks. Today, this is usually doneby throwing coins (Cleary, 1986). In the West, the oldest oracle still in use today isthe Tarot card deck.

The Tarot is a deck of cards which can be used for meditation, psychic stimulation, ordivination. It also can be used as a psychological tool to look inside the unconscious(Bannister, 1988; Nichols, 1984). The Tarot is medieval man's equivalent of today'shighly respected Rorschach and Thematic Apperception tests (Schueler & Schueler,1994). Wang (1978) describes the Tarot as "a system accepted by many respectablesources such as the school of Carl Jung, which views the Tarot images as agreeingperfectly with the archetypes of the collective unconsciousness" (p. 8).

The Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, saw all of the Tarot images as "descended fromthe archetypes of transformation" (Jung, 1959/1990, p. 38). These archetypesinclude several of the primary archetypes that are encountered during Jung'sindividuation process, a process of psychological maturation similar in nature to theaging of the physical body (Jacobi, 1942/1973). These include the shadow, theanima and animus, and the wise old man. The Tarot also contains symbolsrepresenting other important archetypes of transformative processes such as thehero, the sacrifice, rebirth, the mother, and the Self. In Jung's analytical psychology,these archetypes comprise the major dynamical components of the unconsciouswhich affect the human psyche in many different ways.

Modern chaos theory addresses complex systems, which are systems with a largenumber of interrelated parts. It also addresses dynamic systems. Every complexsystem, and especially every living system (living systems are usually referred to asself-organizing systems), is also a dissipative structure. Ilya Prigogine won the NobelPrize for chemistry in 1977 for his work on dissipative structures, which he defined asany structure that takes on and dissipates energy as it interacts with its environment.A dissipative system, unlike one that conserves energy, gives rise to irreversibleprocesses such as the growth of organisms (Nicolis & Prigogine, 1989). All systemsthat exhibit disequilibrium and self-organization are dissipative and have adissipative structure (Briggs & Peat, 1989, p. 138). Dissipative systems are thosewhich are able to maintain identity only because they are open to flows of energy,matter, or information from their environments (Prigogine & Stengers, 1984).

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Six Principles of Magic

1. Every magician has abeautiful vision for theworld. 2. Every system of magicis a single artists tool,used to reshape reality. 3. If you believe, it shallexist. 4. When you call, theywill answer. 5. Success and failure, isone and the same:ignorance anddepression is theenemy. 6. Be like all equally,and you shall unite;refuse and separate.

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Mythology of THOTH

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THOTH

Not only is our body a dissipative system, but our psyche as well. Jung designatedthe ego as an ego-complex, because of the numerous components and processeswith which it is comprised, and taught that the ego was one of many complexes thatexist in the psyche. "The psyche is a self-regulating system that maintains itsequilibrium just as the body does" (Jung, 1954/1985, p. 152). Designating thepsyche to be a self-regulating system, Jung (1968) states that "Dreams are thenatural reaction of the self-regulating psychic system" ( p. 124). By assuming thepsyche to be a complex dynamic system, as well as a dissipative system, we canlook at it through the lens of modern chaos theory.

Chaos, as an archetype, is well known in the Tarot where it is depicted fully in card16, a trump ca rd titled the Lightening Struck Tower. According to Wanless (1986),this card represents transformation. Jung taught that we can become conscious ofthe unconscious contents in our psyche by examining the symbols that come to us inour dreams. He details many of these archetypal symbols in his Symbols ofTransformation (1956).

The Tarot

The traditional Tarot is a deck of 78 cards which are divided into two main sections: amajor arcana and a minor arcana. The major arcana is a set of 22 picture cards whichare also called the greater arcana, trumps, atouts (from the Egyptian atennu (WallisBudge, 1920) meaning a book or part of a book), or triumphs. These cards arepictorial representations of various cosmic forces such as Death, Justice, Strength,and so on, and contain archetypal symbolism. Fifty-six cards of the minor arcana aredivided into court and suit cards. The sixteen court cards are comprised of a King, aQueen, a Knight, and a Knave (or Page) for each of the four suits of the deck. Theremaining forty cards are divided into the four suits called: Pentacles (also known asdeniers, coins, or disks), Cups (coupes), Swords (epees), and Wands (batons orscepters). The French terminology stems from the famous Marseilles deck whichoriginated in the late fifteenth century (Giles, 1992). The suit cards are numberedfrom 1 (ace) to 10 for each of the four suits. The suit cards represent specificopportunities and lessons (Wanless, 1986). The minor arcana cards are used torepresent people, relationships, finances, action, energies, and forces (Schueler &Schueler, 1987).

The Tarot has been called the oldest book known to man (Papus, 1970). Accordingto legend, (Schueler & Schueler, 1994) the original cards comprised "chapters" in abook known as The Book of Thoth. Thoth was the ibis-headed god of wisdom andknowledge of the ancient Egyptians. At the founding of Egypt, unknown centuriesago, he is said to have given man the knowledge of medicine, astrology, language,art, and various sciences such as mathematics and engineering. The originalchapters of The Book of the Dead are said to have been written by Thoth.

After several thousands of years, the Egyptian empire began to crumble. As thingsbegan to fall apart, the god Thoth again intervened. He desired to keep alive theknowledge and wisdom that he had provided his people. To save his contribution tomankind, he summarized all of the accumulated wisdom of the Egyptian empire ontoa series of 22 tablets. He did this by using symbols and pictures instead of words.These tablets became known as The Book of Thoth. As the empire decayed intoignorance, the tablets found their way into a band of roving people later known asgypsies. The gypsies copied the symbols of the tablets onto cards which became themajor arcana of the Tarot deck (Crowley, 1944; Papus, 1970; Schueler & Schueler,1989).

Although several colorful theories exist today, there is no historical evidence tosupport any of them, and the true history of the Tarot is largely unknown. Whateverthe actual origin of the Tarot deck may be, it is known that a deck of fortune tellingcards were mentioned by a Swiss monk in 1377 AD (Giles, 1992). It is also knownthat Girilamo Gargagli wrote in 1572 about tarochhi cards being used to designatepsychological types (Giles, 1992).

The Tarot later found its way into the Hebrew Kabbalah, probably because the 22cards of the major arcana could be shown to correspond with the 22 letters of theHebrew alphabet. During the nineteenth century, many occultists tried todemonstrate a higher use for the cards than divination (Papus, 1970; Levi, 1896).Eliphas Levi (1896) tried to show that the cards of the major arcana were connectedto the Qabalistic Tree of Life. This idea was further carried out by a secret occultgroup in England known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Wang, 1978;Crowley, 1944; Regardie, 1937).

Aleister Crowley was initiated as a member of the Golden Dawn in 1898. He left it in1907 to form his own magical organization. In 1944 his Tarot deck, illustrated byFrieda Harris, together with his explanatory book titled The Book of Thoth werepublished.

According to Wanless, (1986) a well-known expert on the Tarot deck, "The ThothDeck by Aleister Crowley is a classic tarot symbology ... Its symbolism is Egyptian,Greek, Christian, and Eastern. It is more useful than many contemporary deckswhich represent a particular cultural or philosophical point of view" (p. 1). He alsopoints out the multi-dimensionality of the deck's symbolism, which has associations

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with the Hebrew Kabbalah as well as astrology, and credits the 22 major arcana ortrump cards as representing "universal principles of life and 'archetypal' personalitytypes" (p. 2). Giles (1994) says that the Thoth deck has "swirling backgrounds andhaunting images" which "create a unique impression; those drawn to the deck find ita very powerful reading instrument" (p. 191). She points out that while many decksexist, with a myriad of minor variations, the Tarot has "core images" that are part ofa "mental structure" that is fairly consistent across the different deck designs.Wanless (1986) notes that "The strength of tarot is that its symbolism is subject toconstant redefinition and evolution" (p. 1). In short, the Tarot images can change orevolve over time, but otherwise they are quite consistent. This is in agreement withJung's (1959/1990) concept of the archetypes of the collective unconscious which areconsistent across humanity while slowly evolving with the body over time.

Jungian Dream Analysis

Jung (1956/1976) taught that dream images must be understood symbolically.Furthermore, the instinctual basis of these symbols are "primitive or archaic thought-forms" (p. 28). Jung differentiated a sign from a symbol. A true symbol can never befully explained, while a sign can be fully explained insofar as the conscious ego isconcerned. Symbols themselves are archetypal, and they are expressed verbally interms of signs. We can say, then, that a sign is an individual's interpretation of anarchetypal symbol.

"Symbols are the language of dreams. In dreams, the unconscious is revealed insymbols, and the key to understanding a dream is knowledge of the symbol" (Boa,1992, p. 42). The color of a symbol is also important. Jung believed that thecorrelation between colors and functions varies between cultures and even betweenindividuals. With Europeans, for example, blue is the color of thought, while red isthe color of emotion, green is the color of sensation, and yellow is the color of theintuition (Jacobi, 1942/1973). Von Frantz notes that "dreams generally point to ourblind spot" (Boa, 1992, p. 15). They seldom tell us what we already know. Tounderstand a dream, she divides the dream content into thirds:

We compare the dream to a drama and examine it under three structural headings:first, the introduction or exposition -- the setting of the dream and the naming ofthe problem; second, the peripeteia--that would be the ups and downs of the story;and finally, the lysis--the end solution or, perhaps catastrophe. (Boa, 1992, pp. 33-34)

Jung (1968) states that "In our dreams we are just as many-sided as in our dailylife, and just as you cannot form a theory about those many aspects of theconscious personality, you cannot make a general theory of dreams" (p. 124). Hethen points out that while personal dream symbolism varies with the dreamer,universal dream symbolism is possible of interpretation. "On the collective level ofdreams, there is practically no difference in human beings, while there is all thedifference on the personal level" (Jung, 1968, p. 124). When analyzing a dream,Jung (1954/1985) suggests that we "renounce all preconceived opinions, howeverknowing they make us feel, and try to discover what things mean for the patient" (p.157). We must take into consideration the patient's personal philosophy, religion,and moral convictions whenever we discuss dream symbolism.

Jung (1953/1977) treats dream symbolism on two separate levels: the objectivelevel and the subjective level. The first level is analytic. On this level, the dreamcontent can be broken up into memory-complexes that refer to external situations.The second level is synthetic. In these situations, the dream contents are detachedfrom external causes and must be treated in terms of archetypal symbols.

Nichols (1984) says that "The pictures on the Tarot Trumps tell a symbolic story. Likeour dreams, they come to us from a level beyond the reach of consciousness and farremoved from our intellectual understanding" (p. 7). According to this view, the TarotTrump cards can be interpreted in the same manner as Jungian dream analysis.

A Chaotic Systems Model of Therapy

Therapy can be defined as "a systematic and intentional attempt, using a specificcluster of interpersonal skills, to assist another person to make self-determinedimprovements in behavior, affect, and/or cognitions" (Kottler & Brown, 1985, p. 44).Egan (1975/1990) describes a Helping Model of the therapeutic process whichemphasizes action that leads to valued outcomes through a nine-stage process.

Goals must be the client's goals, strategies must be the client's strategies, andaction plans must be the client's plans. The helper's job is to stimulate the client'simagination and to help him or her in the search for incentives. (p. 49)

A chaotic systems model is one that uses the findings of modern chaos theory. Sucha model can be used to describe the therapeutic process. The chaos theory ofsensitive dependence on initial conditions, for example, describes how small stimulican evoke massive responses. This finding has been used to explain the functioningof the olfactory system wherein a very small amount of stimuli, received by theolfactory bulb, is detected and magnified until it can be interpreted by the brain as adistinct smell (Freeman, 1991). Furthermore, testing food smells on rabbits has

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demonstrated that undergoing new experiences can actually change memory of olderexperiences. These two findings have led to a new understanding of the EyeMovement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment (Flint, 1994).

The methodology used in EMDR is straightforward and relatively simplistic. Thepatient holds his or her attention on a particular trauma or bodily sensation whilewatching the therapist's fingers moving in a back-and-forth motion. About 20 to 40back-and-forth motions constitute one repetition of the technique. After severalrepetitions, the pain of a trauma or sensation is often lessened dramatically.Theoretically, the memory of a painful traumatic experience causes a unique patternof neurological activity in the brain. Watching a moving finger, while in the relativesafety of a therapeutic environment changes, or modifies the pattern, producing alessening of the associated pain in many cases.

In chaos theory, the behavior of a complex system can be shown graphically on aplot called phase space. Each point on this plot represents the state space or specificcondition of the system using primary system parameters (the main parameters thatdescribe a system's behavior). When a time history is used (when time is plottedalong the x-axis), each point along the y-axis represents the state of the system ata given time. These plots are called trajectories and their shapes can tell us a lotabout the behavior of the system. Sometimes several possible trajectories of asystem will converge toward a point or region. Such points and regions are calledattractors because they appear to attract a systems's trajectory. The surroundingregion of an attractor is called a basin.

Using the chaos theory of attractors, we can define neurological responses in thebrain as attractors which give rise to particular behaviors (Flint, 1994). In a complexsystem such as the psyche, many attractors can be found, some in series with eachother, and some giving rise to bifurcations (changes in one's world view followingperiods of indecision). In a theraputic environment, these can be observed by thetherapist in terms of their evoked sensory and motor responses.

In this model, we can define motivation, for example, as the state space of thepsyche that exists within a specific environmental situation, in which the brain isdestablized enough to evoke the low-level background activity of its neural networksor basins which correspond to previously learned activity that is meaningful in thecurrent situation. In this state space, or phase space of the psyche, a small stimuluscan generate a massive response resulting in information going out to all regions ofthe brain. In turn, this usually results in some kind of corresponding behavioralresponse. When the behavior results in beneficial situations (e.g., those thatenhance survivability or that lead to pleasant or desired situations), the strength ofthe attractors is proportionally increased.

In this model, the client would describe one or more specific behavioral problems tothe therapist who, in turn, would work with the client to form specific goals to worktoward and measurable plans to reach those goals. These goals would become thedesire attractors, and intermediate goals would be agreed upon as basins. The taskof the therapist would then be to help guide the client from existing attractors to thedesired ones through suitable bifurcations.

One of the tools that could be used in this process is the symbol. Tarot symbols, forexample, can be used to stimulate the imagination of the client. During the shortperiods of instability (points of possible bifurcation) due to imaginative stimulation,small suggestions by the therapist would help drive the client toward the desiredattractors. This is similar to the well-known therapeutic techniques used in familycounseling described by Goldenberg & Goldenberg (1980/1991) of paradoxicalcommunication, paradoxical intervention, and prescribing the symptom. All of thesetechniques use the paradox to induce periods of psychic instability in the client.However, the intended outcome of these interventions is not to create periods ofuncertainty, but rather to allow for win-win outcomes for the client. Using the chaosmodel, the uncertainty can be used to perturb the patient's psyche into the basin ofthe desired attractor.

Tarot Symbolism

The primary symbolism within the major arcana is as follows:

1. The Fool. The Marseilles deck shows the fool as a court jester holding a baton andstanding near a cliff. This symbolism suggests silliness, but perhaps a deliberatesilliness. The popular Waite deck is more complex. It shows a young wandererholding a rose and a walking stick, to which a bag is tied, walking off a cliff. A dogromps at his side. This suggests a happy and carefree attitude that could bedangerous. The Golden Dawn deck shows a naked child holding the reins of a wolfwhile plucking fruit from a tree. This symbolism suggests that the fool is innocence,and that pure innocence can check animal passions while surviving quite nicely onwhat nature provides. In the Deck of Thoth, the fool is shown in a green suit andgold shoes. A crystal is between his horns, and he is falling. He holds A Wand in hisright hand (power) and a flaming pine cone in his left hand (purity). The card showsa tiger, a dove, a vulture, a butterfly, a rainbow, children, flowers, grapes, acrocodile, and ivy. This card portrays Jung's archetype of the divine child such as theinfant Christ. The imagery also suggests the archetypal eternal youth or Peter Pan.

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Nichols (1984) calls the symbolism of the fool, the archetypal wanderer.

2. The Juggler or Magus. This is the Magician, the divine Messenger, Mercury,Hermes, and Thoth. The Marseilles deck shows a parlor magician going through amagic act of some kind with various `tools of the trade' on a table. This is thepopular view of the magician -- one who does sleight of hand, and who employsgimmickery. The Waite and Golden Dawn decks are more sophisticated. They bothshow a magician in robes, with his four traditional weapons: a sword, a wand, a cup,and a pentacle. The Thoth deck shows him with a naked golden body, smiling, withwinged feet standing in front of a large caduceus. In his right hand he hold a styleand in his left hand, a papyrus. The card shows a monkey, swords, cup, wand, andpentacle. This card represents the will. The imagery portrays the archetype of themagician as described by Moore and Gillette (1993). It also suggests the archetypeof the trickster.

3. The High Priestess. This is usually the goddess Isis or Artemis, the huntress. TheMarseilles deck shows the goddess Junon (Juno), wife of the god Jupiter and apeacock. The symbols here are lunar and suggest a lunar vision (for example, theintuition as opposed to common sense). In the Thoth deck, she is shown naked,clothed only in a white Veil of Light, and seated on a throne. Her bow rests in herlap. Also shown are arrows, four crystals, a net (symbolic of the Egyptian goddess,Neith), a camel, flowers, and fruit. This card represents the intuition and the imagerysuggests the archetypes of the unconscious in a general sense and the anima in aspecific sense. Nichols (1984) calls the symbolism in this card, the archetype of thevirgin.

4. The Empress. Most all decks agree that this card is symbolized by a maturewoman wearing a crown and seated on a throne. This suggests the feminine side ofthe psyche or any strong feminine authority. She is the ultimate feminine creatorand provider. In the Thoth deck she is shown clothed in a pink blouse, a long greenskirt, a Zodiac belt, and a gold crown. She sits on a lunar throne holding a lotus inher right hand. Beneath her is a tapestry with fleurs-de-lys and fishes. Also shownare birds, bees, a shield, showing a white eagle, a mother pelican with her young,and revolving moons. Behind her is a door. This card represents nature. The imagerysuggests Jung's archetype of the mother.

5. The Emperor. Most all decks agree that this card is symbolized by a mature manwearing a crown and seated on a throne. This suggests the masculine side of thepsyche or any strong masculine authority. He is the ultimate masculine creator andprovider. In the Thoth deck, he sits on a throne with right leg crossed over left. Hisarms and head form an upright triangle, while his legs form a cross. He holds ascepter (power) in his left hand and an orb, with a Maltese cross, in his right hand.The main color is red. The card shows a ram, a shield with a two-headed eagle, aflag, a lamb, coins, and bees on his blouse. The imagery of this card suggestsJung's archetype of the father as well as the hero.

6. The Hierophant. Like the Emperor, this card is usually shown as a mature manwearing a crown and seated on a throne. The Marseilles deck shows the god Jupiter.Some decks show this as the Pope or some other religious leader which clearlydistinguishes the difference between the Hierophant and the Emperor; the former isreligious while the latter is civil or social. In the Thoth deck, he is shown fully clothedsitting on a throne holding a wand with three circles. A priestess is shown standingbefore him together with a child dancing within a pentagram within a hexagram. Alsoshown is a five-petalled rose encircled by a snake, elephants, a bird, and the fourfixed signs of the Zodiac. Nine nails are shown at the top. This card represents theconscience. The imagery suggests the archetype of the religious teacher or Christ. Italso suggests the archetype of the king as described by Moore and Gillette(1990/1991). Nichols (1984) says that this card, as well as that of the Hermit,represent Jung's archetype of the wise old man.

7. The Lovers, or Twins, or Brothers. The Marseilles deck shows Cupid about to shootone of his famous arrows into a young couple. All decks show a man and womantogether, and the general theme is love. This card suggests the union of opposites,especially masculinity and femininity, anima and animus. Cupid is the symbol ofromance, but one that is usually governed more by emotions than by rationalthought. The Thoth deck shows the union of male/Leo/fire with female/Scorpio/waterrepresented by a king and queen as well as a white child and a black child. TheHermit is shown blessing the couples. Cupid is shown symbolizing blind love. Alsoshown is a cup, a sword, an Orphic egg with snake, an eagle, a lion, Eve, and Lilith.Bars are shown in the background. This card represents what Jung called the soul.The imagery suggests the archetype of the lover (Moore & Gillette, 1990/1991).

8. The Chariot. Most decks agree that the main symbol of this card is a chariot.Usually a charioteer is also shown. The theme is powerful deliberate motion toward afixed goal and thus a victory over space. The card symbolism suggests the spiritualimpulse which sooner or later will drive man to seek his true nature. In the Thothdeck the canopy of the Chariot is the blue of the feminine Sephirah, Binah. Thepillars are the four pillars of the universe. The scarlet wheels are fiery creativeenergy. The Chariot is pulled by four sphinxes (the four Cherubs). The charioteerwears amber-colored armor and he holds a Holy Grail of amethyst. On his head is acrab, and on his armor are ten stars. This card represents Jung's persona. The

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imagery suggests the archetype of the warrior (Moore & Gillette, 1990/1991).

9. Justice or Adjustment. The main symbol for this card is a balance or scale used formeasuring weight. The scale is held by a goddess who holds an upright sword. Thesymbolism represents the law of cause and effect; those natural forces which seek abalance or moderation in all things. The figure shown in the Thoth deck is thefeminine complement of the Fool, a young and slender woman. She is poised on hertoes and crowned with the feathers of Maat, the goddess of justice. On her foreheadis the Uraeus serpent. She is masked (Harlequin) and holds a magic Swords in bothhands between her thighs. She is wrapped in a Cloak of Mystery. Before her is alarge two-pan balance. This card represents the conscience. The imagery suggeststhe archetypes of justice, fairness, and balance.

10. The Hermit. Almost all decks agree that the symbolism of the Hermit is an olderman in a robe holding a staff in one hand and a lamp in the other. The lamp is asymbol of the inner light of truth. The theme here is the wise old sage, the innerguiding light of conscience illumined by the intuition. In the Thoth deck he is shownin the shape of the Hebrew letter Yod. He wears a cloak the color of Binah. He holdsa lamp whose center is the sun. Before him is an Orphic egg with coiled snake. Thebackground is a field of wheat. Also shown is a spermatozoon in the form of aserpent wand, and Cerberus the three-headed dog. This card represents withdrawand meditation. The imagery of this card suggests Jung's archetype of the wise oldman (Nichols, 1984).

11. The Wheel of Fortune. The main symbol of this card is a wheel. The wheel is asymbol for cycles, and the card represents the law of cyclic manifestation. Theoriginal symbols of this card were probably meant to portray the doctrine ofreincarnation, as well as other cyclic processes. In the Thoth deck stars line the topof the card through which lightning strikes into a mass of blue and violet plumes. Inthe center is a wheel with 10 spokes. On the wheel are a sworded sphinx (sulphur),Hermanubis (mercury), and Typhon (salt). The wheel is the Eye of Shiva. This cardrepresents evolution and the imagery suggests the archetypes of fate and destiny.

12. Strength or Lust. Most decks use the symbol of the lion in this card. The lion, asthe "king of beasts," is a traditional symbol for strength. Some cards also show aman, while others show a woman, who is controlling the lion in some way. The themehere is controlled strength, or inner resolve that is directed toward a goal. The Thothdeck shows a naked young woman riding on the back of a seven-headed lion. She isovercome with ecstasy. She hoLds the reins in her left hand and the Holy Grail in herright hand. In the background are the bloodless images of all of the saints. Alongthe top are shown ten serpents. This card represents courage and inner strength.The imagery suggests the archetypes of goodness and endurance.

13. The Hanged Man. The Hanged Man is just that, a man hanging upside downfrom a wooden scaffold of some kind, usually in the form of a cross. Most cards showthe man with his left leg bent to form a cross with his legs. The cross is thetraditional symbol for sacrifice. The theme here is the deliberate undergoing of aselfless sacrifice, usually for the purpose of helping others. The Thoth deck shows anaked man hanging upside down with his right leg crossed over his left to form across. His arms are outstretched to form an equilateral triangle. A green Disk is ateach of his five extremities. He is suspended from an Egyptian ankh (symbol of life)and a serpent is wrapped around his left foot. The background is green air overgreen water shot with white rays from Kether. Beneath the man sleeps a coils snake.The imagery of this card portrays the archetypes of sacrifice and initiation. It alsosuggests the archetype of the dying gods such as Christ.

14. Death. This card symbolizes death by a human skeleton. Sometimes theskeleton is shown holding a sickle to suggest that death levels all living beings. Thetheme is the process of death, which is an ending or completion of something thatwe have known. Death also implies change of some kind, a transformation. TheThoth deck shows death as a dancing skeleton bearing a scythe. He wears the Crownof Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead and is shown in the waters of Amenti, anEgyptian after-death state. The sweep of his scythe creates bubbles which containthe seeds of new life. Shown is a snake, a fish, a scorpion, a lily, and an onion. Thiscard represents death and sudden change. The imagery suggests Jung's archetypeof rebirth.

15. Temperance or Art. This card is usually depicted by an angel who is pouring waterfrom one vase into another. The water is the "water of life" and its being pouredsuggests that a necessary change of some kind is taking place. The imagery of thiscard not only imply the skill or ability that is required to 'get through' unwantedexperiences, but those needed to turn such experiences to your advantage in someway. The Thoth deck shows Diana the Huntress, the Great Mother of Fertility, and theMany-Breasted. She wears a golden crown with a silver band and is shown split intotwo halves. Her left hand pours white gluten from a cup while her right hand holds alance/torch dripping blood. The alchemical symbols of blood and gluten mix in acauldron. At her feet are a white lion and a red eagle. This card portrays thearchetype of the union of opposites as defined in Jung's Mysterium Coniunctionis(1963/1989).

16. The Devil. The main symbol here is a devil. The Marseilles deck shows a

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stereotyped, middle-age Christian concept of Satan complete with horns and aforked tail. The Waite deck is much more refined, showing the stereotyped versionof a devilish black magician. Most cards also show a naked man and woman chainedto a block. The theme is Black Magic and the card represents slavery or confinement.The imagery of this card suggests the wrongness of an overinflated ego. The Thothdeck shows a goat with large spiral horns and a third eye in his forehead who is thegod Pan Pangenetor, the All-Begetter. Behind him is the trunk of a tree. Before himis a staff topped with a winged Horus. Below him are two globes each containingdancing human figures. The globes and tree together form a large phallus. Thisimagery here also represents bondage, and suggests the archetype of the libido orpsychic energy, including sexual energy in the Freudian sense.

17. The Lightening Struck Tower. Almost all decks agree on the basic theme of thiscard. A stone tower is shown being struck by a bolt of lightening with two peoplefalling from the destruction. The card suggests bad luck of all kinds, but especiallydestruction and ruination. In at least one sense, the card represents the Fall of Man,because the lightening bolt is a symbol of an "act of God" that forces man to fallfrom his protective tower, itself a symbol of a spiritual environment, into mortality.The Thoth deck shows the destruction of a tower by fire. Broken figures fall from thetower. At the bottom of the card is the destruction of the old by lightning and fire. Inthe bottom right corner are the jaws of a fire-breathing dragon. At the top is the Eyeof Horus/Shiva. Also shown are a dove with olive branch, and the lion-headed Gnosticgod, Abrasax. This card represents catastrophe. The imagery of this card suggeststhe archetype of chaos.

18. The Star. The main symbol here is a star. One or more stars is shown over thehead of a goddess who is pouring water from two vases into a pool. The goddess isusually shown naked, although the Marseilles deck shows her partially clothed. She isIsis, the goddess of nature, and the waters are the Waters of Life. She is shownreturning individual water into a collective pool, thus indicating that nothing in life isever lost. The theme here is one of hope. The Thoth deck shows the naked Egyptiangoddess Nut. Her right hand is held high, and she pours water from a gold cup ontoher head. Her left hand is held low, and she pours the immortal liquor of life from asilver cup onto the junction of land and water. Behind her is a celestial globe onwhich is a seven-pointed Star of Venus. In the left-hand corner is a seven-pointedStar of Babalon. This card represents hope and promise. The imagery suggestsJung's archetype of the star. According to von Franz (Boa, 1992) Jung taught that thestar symbolizes that part of the personality that survives death; the spiritual part ofthe psyche.

19. The Moon. The main symbol here is the moon, and the cards of all decksamplify the lunar theme with various symbols usually associated with the moon. Mostcards show two towers with a stream running between them to illustrate the idea ofrelationships. A scorpion, lobster, crayfish, or scarab, is often included to representthe forces of regeneration. One or two dogs or jackals are often shown to suggestthe idea of the subconscious and the underworld. The theme here is the astral worldof the Kabbalists, the realm of illusions and dreams. The Thoth deck shows aGateway of Resurrection. The bottom of the card shows the beetle-headed Kheperapushing the sun upward through the waters. Above stands dual Anubis-gods whoguard the path that is a stream of serum tinged with blood. They stand before blacktowers at the threshold of life and death. At the path's end are nine drops of impureblood each in the shape of the Hebrew letter Yod. This card represents the instincts.The imagery suggests the archetypes of dreams and the irrational as well as Jung'sarchetype of the moon. According to von Franz, the moon is an archetypal symbol forthe anima (Boa, 1992).

20. The Sun. The main symbol of this card is the sun which is almost always shownwith extending rays, and sometimes with a face to suggest solar intelligence. TheMarseilles deck shows a young couple together under a sun. The Waite deck shows anaked child riding a horse under a sun. The Golden Dawn deck shows two nakedchildren holding hands under a sun. The sun, as the generator of light and heat, isthe symbol for life and the forces of conscious creativity. The Thoth deck shows agreen mound beneath a flaming 12-rayed yellow sun. Two winged children dancetogether on the mound, but a wall prevents them from the summit. At the feet ofeach child is a rose and cross. Around the card are the signs of the Zodiac. Theimagery of this card suggests the archetypes of growth, success, and abundance aswell as Jung's archetype of the sun.

21. Judgement. Most decks represent Judgement with an angel blowing a hornabove a group of people. The heralding of a trumpet call, as an act of divinejudgement, is suggested here. The Waite deck shows people standing in coffin-likeboxes which suggest that an after-death judgement is implied. The Golden Dawncard shows people chest-deep in water implying a renewal or regeneration. In theThoth deck, around the top of the card is the body of the goddess Nut, the stargoddess. The child-god Harpocrates stands beneath her in outline, and Horus isshown sitting on a throne. A winged globe is shown below him. At the bottom of thecard is the Hebrew letter Shin containing three human figures. The imagery of thiscard suggests the archetypes of evaluation, reward, and completion.

22. The Universe. The last card of the major arcana includes the symbolism of thefour animals of the Apocalypse and of the vision of Ezekiel. These are the bull, the

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lion, the eagle, and man. A naked woman stands within a circular wreath. In theMarseilles deck, this woman is the fourth animal, but in most decks she stands apartas a central figure. Her symbolism as the mother of the universe is clearly suggestedin the Golden Dawn deck where the wreath is a ring of twelve globes which areobviously the twelve constellations of the Zodiac. In the Thoth deck, the universe issymbolized by a naked dancing maiden at the center of the card. Her handsmanipulate a spiral active/passive force. In each corner is one of the four Kerubim.About the maiden is an ellipse of 72 circles. In the lower center is the House ofMatter. Her right foot stands on the head of a snake. The card suggests a wheel oflight within a yoni (a Hindu feminine symbol). The imagery of this card suggests thearchetypes of wholeness, synthesis, and perfection.

Summary

The Tarot deck contains archetypal symbols that can be related to Jung's analyticalpsychology. Use of the Tarot in therapy can be effective by having the client conducta reading under the guidance of the therapist, or tell a story based on the imageryof several trump cards drawn at random. Then the therapist encourages the client todiscuss possible meanings of the symbols in his or her own words. The therapist canthen relate the symbolic meanings to the client's problem in much the same manneras in Jungian dream analysis. Nichols (1984) suggests that the sensory nature of theimagery can be improved by coloring the pictures. To do this, the therapist wouldprovide colorless images of the cards (a Xerox copy, for example) and crayons orcolored pencils. The client could then color in the pictures as they tell their story.

The therapeutic process can also be improved by using a chaos model approach inwhich periods of psychic instability are deliberately induced through stimulation of theimagination via the Tarot symbols. The Tarot symbols are so rich that one or moreare likely to produce archetypal stimulation in the client's psyche; a "drawing up fromthe depths" (Jung, 1956/1976, p. 234). Such previously unconscious contents cantake the form of either attractors or repellors. In this way, concentration on Tarotsymbols can induce psychic bifurcation points that the therapist can then use todirect behavioral changes toward mutually agreed upon attractors. Small stimuli bythe therapist at such points can cause large changes in later behavior.

References

Atkins, P. W. (1984). The Second Law. New York: Scientific American Library.

Bannister, R. (1988). Untitled essay on Tarot used in Jungian psychotherapy.Downloaded from CompuServe.

Boa, F. (1994). The way of the dream: Conversations on Jungian dreaminterpretation with Marie-Louise von Franz. Boston: Shambala.

Cleary, T. (Trans). (1986). The Taoist I Ching. Boston: Shambala.

Crowley, A. (1944/1985). The Book of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of theEgyptians. York Beach, MA: Samuel Wiser.

Egan, G. (1975/1990). The skilled helper: A systematic approach to effectivehelping. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Flint, G.A. (1994). A chaos model of the brain applied to EMDR. Psychoscience, 1 (2),pp. 119-130.

Freeman, W.J. (1991). The physiology of perception. Scientific American. (264), pp.78-85.

Giles, C. (1992/1994). The Tarot: History, mystery, and lore. New York: ParagonHouse.

Goldenberg, I. & Goldenberg, H. (1980/1991). Family therapy: An overview. 3rd ed.Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Jacobi, J. (1942/1973). The psychology of C.G. Jung: An introduction withillustrations. Manheim, R. (Trans). New Haven, CN: Yale University Press.

Jung, C.G. (1954/1991). The development of personality: Papers on childpsychology, education, and related subjects. Hull, R.F.C. (Trans). Bollingen SeriesXX: The Collected Works of C.G. Jung. 17. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Jung, C.G. (1954/1966). The practice of psychotherapy: Essays on the psychology ofthe transference and other subjects. Hull, R.F.C. (Trans). Bollingen Series XX. TheCollected Works of C.G. Jung. 16. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Jung, C.G. (1956/1976). Symbols of Transformation. Hull, R.F.C. (Trans). BollingenSeries XX The Collected Works of C.G. Jung. 5. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UniversityPress.

Jung, C.G. (1959/1990). The archetypes and the collective unconscious. Hull, R.F.C.

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(Trans). Bollingen Series XX. The Collected Works of C.G. Jung. 9 (Part 1). Princeton,NJ: Princeton University Press.

Jung, C. G. (1963/1989). Mysterium coniunctionis. Hull, R.F.C. (Trans). BollingenSeries XX. The Collected Works of C.G. Jung. 14. Princeton University Press.

Jung, C.G. (1968). Analytical psychology: Its theory and practice, the Tavistocklectures. New York: Vintage Books.

Kottler, A. & Brown, R.W. (1985). Introduction to therapeutic counseling. PacificGrove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Loye, D. & Eisler, R. (1987). Chaos and transformation: Implications ofnonequilibrium theory for social science and society. Behavioral Science, 32, pp. 53-65.

Levi, E. (1896/1990). Transcendental magic: Its doctrine and ritual. Waite, A.E.(Trans). York Beach, MA: Weiser.

Moore, R. & Gillette, D. (1993). The magician within: Accessing the shaman in themale psyche. New York: Avon.

Moore, R. & Gillette, D. (1990/1991). King, warrior, magician, lover: Rediscoveringthe archetypes of the mature masculine. New York: HarperSanFrancisco.

Nichols, S. (1980/1984). Jung and tarot: An archetypal journey. York Beach, MA:Samuel Weiser.

Nicolis G. & Prigogine, I. (1989). Exploring complexity: An introduction. New York:W.H. Freeman and Co.

Papus. (1970 ed). The Tarot of the Bohemians: Most ancient book in the world.Morton, A.P. (Trans). Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Book Co. Regardie, I. (1937/1988).The golden dawn: A complete course in practical ceremonial magic. St. Paul, MN:Llewellyn.

Schueler, G. & Schueler, B. (1989). Enochian Tarot. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn.

Schueler, G. & Schueler, B. (1994). The truth about Enochian Tarot. St. Paul, MN:Llewellyn.

Waite, A.E. (1959). The pictorial key to the Tarot: Being fragments of a secrettradition under the veil of divination. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press.

Wallis Budge, E.A. (1920/1978). An Egyptian hieroglyphic dictionary in two volumes.New York: Dover.

Wang, R. (1978). An introduction to the Golden Dawn Tarot. York Beach, MA:Samuel Weiser.

Wanless, J. (1986). New age Tarot: Guide to the Thoth deck. Carmel, CA: Merrill-West.

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