Your Guide On: What's Tarot Got To Do With It?
How tarot intersects with mental health, from one who’s been there
Image Credit @sensaysha
By Sophia Somerville
Pop Culture has experienced an influx of witchiness over the past couple years. We’ve seen it in the worlds of fashion, tv, makeup, even bath brands. Tarot? I am very much here for it: fun, feminist and aesthetically on-point. The media’s seeming love affair with the occult is actually opening up some refreshing conversations around mental health - specifically, the use of magical tools as access points to addressing mental illness and wellness.
Up top, tarot is not a substitute for medical advice, taking medication or seeking any kind of professional help. After having been in talk therapy for six years and taking medication for my anxiety, I also consult alternative modalities like Tarot. Although tarot is not the foundation of my self-care, it’s such a great tool to addressing the present and releasing the control of trying to predict the future.
Tarot is an opening. An invitation to a deeper understanding of who I am, what I struggle with and what I am manifesting next in life.Pulling cards from the deck is one way I perform regular self-check ins and create space for clarity through my thoughts and emotions.
Here are some ways I use Tarot to address my personal mental health concerns and conjure inspiration on the daily.
In times of trouble— pull a card.
Whenever I feel triggered or fronted with discomfort,I pull a card. Here’s a lil’ tidbit— I started a new job this week, and on my first day I experienced intense bouts of anxiety, which manifested as a shitload of shallow breath and swallowed tears. On my lunch break, I searched for my tarot deck, (safely tucked away in a pencil case in my backpack) and pulled the Emperor card. This moment symbolized that I have the right to both take up and own my space in whatever environment I find myself in. Here, I was able to focus on something outside of myself, all the while still nurturing my needs. Go to your deck when you feel dirty, disheartened and fucked up (or all the above.) This is how you develop a sense of trust and intimacy with your deck. Oh, and throwaway this belief that one must be in a ‘good’ or ‘high-vibe’ state to use tarot cards, or any esoteric tool for that matter. If you are looking to purchase your first (or fifth) Tarot deck, look no further than The Hoodwitch.
Showcase cards you wish to embody.
Every month, I place one or two Tarot cards on a shelf in my home. These cards in particular, are the cards that I want to mirror and integrate through my daily life. The Magician, ‘the resourceful manifester’ is my card for December. Committing to my writing, trusting that I have all that I need to create, and using the resources that I have in front of me to manifest my ideas are themes this archetype is helping me embody. In the face of uncertainty, self-doubt and anxiety, I look to cards in my humble abode to remind me that I have everything I need to move forward.
Try a Past, Present and Future spread.
Pocket this, just in case. Pull three cards and lay them out next to each other. The card to the left represents the past incarnation of your situation, in the middle is your present circumstance, and to the right is your potential future. This spread gets me out of that icky, false and all-too-familiar ‘This-Is-Going-To-Last-Forever’ feeling and broadens my awareness to the fundamental truth that ‘Everything Is Temporary’. This spread can provide hope, comfort, relief, confirmation and an alternative perspective or something else entirely. Even if the ‘future’ positioned card is an uninviting or unwanted one - it nonetheless serves as a reminder of your own free will as you move forward, and the reality of every moment being a choice.
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Tarot does not prescribe a set future, it merely opens up options for us as individuals to ponder and choose. Simply put, you can use the Tarot to get out of your own head, and identify less with your thoughts and more with the observation of those thoughts. It is something to help focus the eye and occupy the mind. It is a chance to start over. And over.
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For more information on how Tarot intersects with mental health, check out this episode of Lindsay Mack’s Tarot for the Wild Soul podcast.