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Tarot Shadow Work:
Using the Dark Symbols to Heal
Going Out-of-Print / POD Option
Llewellyn Publications, 2000
Where is there height without depth, and how can there be light that throws no shadow? C.G. Jung
On this page...
What Is Shadow Work?
Joy In the Shadows
The Fullness of Shadow Work
Feeding the Wolf: Apache Indian Wisdom
Read More at Llewellyn
E-mail Christine
NOTE: The Fullness of Shadow Work is not in the original manuscript, but it expands upon the shadow work theme by using the entire deck of tarot cards. I hope you enjoy it!
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WHAT IS SHADOW WORK?
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In order to understand shadow work, I need to first describe the shadow. Tarot Shadow Work is based on the work of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. He once told a friend that he would rather be whole than wholly good. Learning to be whole, warts and all, is what the book is about.
In his theory of depth psychology, he proposed that there was a collective unconscious, or an aspect of the unconscious, that was shared by all human beings, with archetypes that were instantly recognizable to all human beings regardless of culture.
These archetypes represented the negative and positive qualities within us and were an essential part of our awareness. Common examples of archetypes are found in literature and myth: hero, villain, wicked stepmother, princess, vamp, vampire, Mother, Father. We can't quite put them into words but we know what they are.
The central archetype is the self, the unifying force at the core of our awareness pushing us towards wholeness. Other archetypes include the anima and animus, feminine/masculine qualities.
The most powerful archetype is the shadow: the darker aspects of our personalities that appear in behavior as saboteur, victim, martyr, sadist, masochist, tyrant and addict. They represent undeveloped feelings, desires and ideas that remain hidden from us.
I personally define shadow as unresolved inner conflicts and unexpressed emotions.© If neglected, our shadow (or unresolved conflicts and emotions) will rule us.
But the shadow is also those talents and abilities that have never been realized. Those yearnings of "what might have been…" Any ability or creative urge we have not developed can produce the same unresolved conflicts and negative emotions. I call these undeveloped talents "the lost parts of ourselves" and recovering the lost parts of ourselves is the essence of shadow work.
Unresolved conflicts and unexpressed emotions (the shadow) divide us against ourselves. If left unattended, the sense of self is weakened. The efforts to uncover and understand the shadow (or attend to the self) are called shadow work. Or, as Jung, would say, shadow work is making an inner situation conscious so it does not appear outside of us as our fate.
Shadow work is about acceptance, not rejection, of the shadow. We change ourselves with self-love, forgiveness and compassion, not self-hatred, condemnation and blame. Reclaiming the shadow frees us to make responsible choices.
By taking responsibility for our behavior, instead of being passive victims of it, we gain control of our life and are in a position of power to change the direction of it through conscious choice. We reclaim our rightful place as the authors and architects of our own lives instead of being shackled to the past of blame and shame.
Shadow work asks us to toil on all levels-spiritual, emotional, psychological and mental. It is the combined effort that produces results. The goal of shadow work is integration, not rejection, of the shadow. Understanding and accepting the shadow will give us wisdom, choice, freedom, power, compassion and hope for the future.
So what does any of this have to do with the tarot cards? Tapping into the unconscious mind is the key to discovering the shadow. Through pictures and images, symbols tap information stored in our unconscious. Dreams, art and creative play open a pathway from the everyday (or conscious) mind to the deeper parts of ourselves (or unconscious) mind. So can playing with the tarot cards.
The tarot cards are laden with instantly recognizable symbolism and convey information about our deeper selves through their color, activity, scene, people or attitude. The book explores the dark and uncharted territory of the unconscious through working with tarot symbolism, journaling, meditation, dream work and creative visualization. All these activities open a dialogue between you everyday mind (the conscious) and your higher self. (the unconscious)
Because I approach the tarot as a “portable art gallery” of the unconscious, no prior knowledge of the tarot is needed to use my book. A word of caution: Shadow work can be very painful and I urge my readers to seek professional counseling if needed.
Shadow work is putting the past to rest, with all its pain, sorrow, loss or regret, so we can get on with our lives and learn to live joyfully. I like to think of Tarot Shadow Work as mystical therapy or a grief workbook. Because I borrow heavily from 12-Step programs, it is also a book of recovery. As with all my work, psychology and mysticism peacefully coexist. Whatever works, works.
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JOY IN THE SHADOWS ©2002:
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Many readers commented on Tarot Shadow Work after its release in 2000. The one remark that echoes most in my mind is, “This is heavy duty stuff.”
Yes, shadow work can be painful, but its whole purpose is to recover a sense of joy. We are put on earth to create and the shortest road to happiness is to claim (or reclaim) our creative birthright.
Any creative talent that we have not developed, or fantasy of what might have been, is called the Bright Shadow—the lost parts of ourselves. Our potential talents seek to live and need an outlet.
Unexpressed creativity will tolerate repression for just so long. Eventually these stuffed creative impulses will appear as irritability, depression or fatigue, until they are given attention and some form of expression.
As we work with the shadow, we dig ourselves out of denial and a wonderful thing happens—we discover anew that we are creative beings. We learn to trust our intuition, skill and desire. We see where our creativity takes us as we paint, write, sing, play a musical instrument, audition or get messy.
We examine our definition of creativity and find that hobbies are essential to our happiness. Hobbies lead to creative breakthroughs in all areas of our lives and give us a sense of expansive joy.
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To find creative magic in your own life, try this: Write “My Wildest Fantasy” at the top of a piece of paper. What have you always wanted to try?
If you have trouble starting, begin with “When I was a kid I wanted to be _______ when I grew up” or “I have always enjoyed _______, but I have no time for it anymore.” Another tack is “People have told me I have talent and should _________.” You are beginning to recover lost parts of yourself.
If you always wanted to be a writer, painter, musician or equine specialist, write it down. Of all the things you listed, what is the one thing you most want? If you are unsure, put “Discovering my true talent” at the top of the page.
Now shuffle the twenty-two cards of tarot’s Major Arcana. (0 – 21) Randomly select a card face down. Place it on top of your coveted wildest fantasy and turn it over. The card symbolizes the shadow that prevents you from expressing your talents and creativity—your bright shadow.
Using Appendix A of Tarot Shadow Work, look up the shadow meaning of your card. Better yet, trust what your intuition is telling you about the card's meaning. What is holding you back from experiencing your joyful, creative self? Make an entry in your journal.
Remember, with shadow work, gifts hide in the dark, so in this exercise, you stay with your Bright Shadow card in order to learn how to release its gifts.
Let’s say you list ‘writing a novel’ as your wildest fantasy and The Fool turns up as your Bright Shadow. After meditating with the card, you decide that your Bright Shadow is fear of the unknown.
What would happen if you read the gift of The Fool’s shadow as: “Being willing to take a leap of faith into the unknown?” Absolutely nothing, if you did so without intention.
But what if you visualize The Fool’s gifts with great intention, as a way of shaping your reality? An idle gesture of playing with the tarot cards becomes a deliberate act of will—it becomes an act of magic.
Focused will remains the core of magic. Your bright shadow card can help you train and exercise your will as you engage the magic of self-discovery.
As you focus your will and visualize your goal, send yourself down into the card to release its specific energy into the universe. (In the above example, writing a novel is your creative goal and being willing to take risks is the energy needed to reach your goal.)
Let go of the outcome because the Universe may have something in store for you that is grander than anything you can imagine on your own. Be sure to include: “This, or something better, is manifesting for me now, for the Good of All, according to free will, harming none.” (Your own words work best here according to your spiritual tradition!)
Leave your Bright Shadow card out for a while to strengthen the connection between you and your creative, magical intention. And for goodness sake, think of one concrete action you can take today that brings you closer to your own wildest fantasy such as signing up for a class or buying art supplies—and then resolve to do it!
Yes, the shadow contains our dark side, but it also holds energy, vitality and imagination. Creativity begins in the shadows and mystery is at its heart. As creative channels, we learn to trust the darkness.
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GOING OUT-OF-PRINT / POD OPTION
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My books are going out-of-print. The Llewellyn page will remain as long as it has copies to sell. Also available through online used bookstores. If you live in Ohio, the public libraries of Lakewood (Cleveland area), Cincinnati and Newark carry all of my titles.
2008 UPDATE: Llewellyn now offers my books on its site at deep discount prices. Once all the warehouse copies are gone, Llewellyn may consider a print-on-demand (POD) option where the traditional paper books are produced one at a time as single orders come in. Please check back for details as they unfold throughout the year.
Or, call Llewellyn toll-free:
1-800-THE-MOON
NOTE: All of my books came out a few years ago and web sites come and go at a dizzying pace. Unfortunately, a lot of my web references are no longer in existence, especially in the shadow book. Hopefully, the book itself is still useful, but you will now find many obsolete web addresses. Drats...
Thank you for your interest in my work!
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THE FULLNESS OF SHADOW WORK©:
USING AN ENTIRE DECK OF TAROT CARDS
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When I finished the manuscript for Tarot Shadow Work in 1999, I didn’t believe I could write one more thing about tarot and the shadow. I was wrong. I originally wrote that I used only the twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana because shadow work is a spiritual endeavor.
While this is true, the concept of using seventy-eight cards eluded me in the beginning. A few years later, I figured out how to use an entire tarot deck when doing shadow work.
Taking my cue from astrology, the Major Arcana cards represent the WHAT of shadow work, a description of the shadow and what its challenges and gifts entail.
The Court Cards are the HOW and WHO of shadow work—how the shadow presents itself in personality development and whom we draw to us for our life lessons.
The Minor Arcana depict the WHERE of shadow work, or in what department of life the shadow is operating.
*THE MAJOR ARCANA
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The Major Arcana (Numbers 0-21), The Fool through the World, speak to you of both life lessons and life wisdom: those qualities being tested and developed, your gifts and challenges, karma and the reasons you are here.
The twenty-two cards symbolize spiritual development and help you understand your place in the world. The "Greater Secrets" will point to the higher overview of life and give you insights into the "big picture."
They will also hint at your healing potential and what lies in the shadows. See the appendix in Tarot Shadow Work for more information.
*THE MINOR ARCANA
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The Minor Arcana, or "lesser secrets", offer information along the planes of existence: Wands, spiritual creativity in everyday life; Cups, emotions and feelings; Swords, psychological well being/the mind; and, Pentacles, physical reality and the body.
When the different suits shows up in a reading, ask yourself: What action can I take? (Wands) What am I feeling or dreaming about? (Cups) What am I thinking or what decision needs to be made? (Swords) Because Pentacles explore issues of food, housing, money, work, the body and physical health, ask yourself: What do I value?
In life, there is no separation between body, emotion, mind and spirit. It is impossible for something to happen to us without all four levels of existence being affected.
It is likewise impossible to change without attending to these same four levels of being. Life does not fall neatly into categories. Because stress or concerns at any level affect all levels, the lines sometimes blur.
*THE COURT CARDS
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No other cards in the tarot deck have more interpretations than the Court Cards. Just pick up any three tarot books and compare. It’s mind-boggling.
We all have qualities that are traditionally associated with masculine and feminine ways of being. For instance, a woman can be competitive and a man can be nurturing.
Be aware that the King and Knight can represent a woman and the Queen can symbolize a man. The gender or "occupation" of the court card is less important than the qualities it describes.
Pages can represent a child, but they also introduce the element of their suit, the willingness to change, risk or learn something new. Pages can symbolize the catalyst needed for change and the child within us all.
Pages also carry messages related to their suit: Telephone calls or significant e-mail (Page of Wands); important dreams (Page of Cups); written warnings (Page of Swords); and, messages from your body, especially in the form of illness: What is your body trying to tell you? (Page of Pentacles)
Knights represent young adults or someone starting over, focusing on a specific task through their suit, be it creative (Wands), emotional (Cups), psychological (Swords) or physical (Pentacles).
Our "knightly" qualities include being energetic, daring, headstrong and goal oriented. Knights show movement and action through their suits.
Queens are mature. They take their understanding of life inward and use this life wisdom to nurture others and encourage self-development through their specific suit.
For example, the Queen of Cups nurtures the emotions. Because they are the embodiment of the feminine tradition of healing, Queens often represent healing in relationship to their suit. An example of this is the Queen of Pentacles symbolizing a natural healer.
Our "queenly" qualities include sensitivity, fullness of expression, empathy and personal, inner control.
Kings are also mature, but they project their maturity outward in the form of leadership through their suit. They take charge and give advice:
Creative or spiritual advice (King of Wands); emotional advice (King of Cups); psychological or intellectual advice (King of Swords); and, practical advice about the everyday world (King of Pentacles, especially in the area of finances or work.)
Our "kingly" qualities include being capable and in control, with an air of authority, leadership and worldliness.
SO HOW DO YOU USE THE ENTIRE DECK IN SHADOW WORK?
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Back to beginning of this article
It’s simple. Separate your deck into three stacks: the twenty-two Majors, forty Minors and sixteen Court Cards. Do a star layout, or any other tarot activity in Tarot Shadow Work using Majors only, as described in the book.
Look at your shadow layout or activity and select one card that puzzles or bothers you, or one that you especially like. Pull that card out of the layout.
Now think of the Minor and Court Cards as the cards to use for more information. Shuffle your Minor Card stack. As you shuffle, concentrate on WHERE, or what department of life, this particular Major card is operating.
For example, you have chosen The Fool from the shadow layout because you know you allow others to take advantage of you and have decided this most needs work now. The minor card that turns up is the Ten of Wands.
You first decide if the Ten of Wands describes the challenge of the shadow or the gift of the shadow. In other words, does the card feel negative or positive?
Hint: If you like the card, it probably represents a gift of shadow work, something to keep and nurture. If it feels negative, for instance being reversed, it means it is a lesson to be learned, something to improve or work on.
You realize that it depicts the challenge of the shadow: others take advantage of you because you are unable to say no and you take on too much responsibility as a result.
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As you shuffle the Court Card stack, concentrate on HOW the shadow presents itself in your personality. You can also think about the people in your life and why they might be there.
Remember, the Court Cards are always a reflection of you—you draw the people to you that you need for your life wisdom. So it doesn’t matter if the Court Card describes someone else. The card is still about you and your need to have those qualities in your life for good or ill.
Randomly select one Court Card. First decide if it represents the shadow’s challenge or the shadow’s gift. Does it feel negative or positive to you?
Continuing with our example, you have drawn the Queen of Pentacles. At first you think, oh, great, the smothering mother card. After some thought, you decide she symbolizes the shadow’s gift after all:
Yes, you have been taken advantage of because of your need to nurture (rescue) others; but the answer is still in the Queen of Pentacles—if you start saying no and allow others to learn self-responsibility. Then they are able to find their own way, and you are free of the martyr’s shadow.
You can use the Minor and Court Cards for more information on any shadow star layout, single card in a layout, or any tarot activity in the book. Using the entire deck helps pinpoint both strengths and challenges of doing shadow work.
Think of it as your magnifying mirror for a better reflection of you. And for goodness sake, trust your intuition when deciding if a card feels negative or positive. Only you can know that.
To review, ask the following questions when doing shadow work with the entire deck:
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For Major Arcana cards: WHAT shadow is this card describing? Does this card symbolize the challenge of shadow work or the reward for facing the shadow, the gift of shadow work?
For Minor Arcana Cards: WHERE or in what department of life is this card operating? (Physical, financial, emotional, psychological, legal, creative or spiritual pursuits, etc., according to its suit.) Is this card a challenge (something that needs work) or something to keep and nurture—my strength or talent?
For Court Cards: HOW does the shadow present itself in my personality development? HOW do other people see me? HOW do I see myself? WHO have I drawn into my life for soul development? Does this card describe the shadow’s challenge or gift?
For me, shadow work and its resultant soul development are meaningless if not viewed through the lens of everyday living. Divinity lies in the details of life. The magic of shadow work doesn’t come from the tarot cards—the magic comes from our willingness to change.
If we ascribe to the philosophy of “as above, so below,” then who we are and what we do is spirituality in action—not “out there” somewhere, but in us, here and now. May you find joy in the shadows.
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EEDING THE WOLF:
Shadow Wisdom From Apache Indian Lore
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As legend goes, an Elder of the Apache Indian tribe was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A terrible fight is going on inside of me, and it is a struggle between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, hatred, intolerance, self-pity, false pride, regret and resentment.
The other wolf symbolizes peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, tolerance, courage, empathy, generosity, truth, forgiveness and compassion. The same fight is going on inside you, my children, and inside every other person, too."
The grandchildren thought about the story for a while. Finally, one child asked, "Which wolf will win, Grandfather?"
The old man simply replied, "The one you feed."
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My E-mail: FindingTheMuse@aol.com
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When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as our fate. C.J. Jung
© Copyright 2001-2008 Christine Jette. All rights reserved.
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