UESTION

How can the Tarot be used with healing, either as a practitioner or for self-healing?

NSWER

Excellent question and one that opens up a new "view" of tarot. In fact, there is a growing number of professionals, called "Tarot Therapists" who do just this - use the tarot as a tool to diagnose, plan a treatment course, and help people to move through emotional-mental-/physical-spiritual blocks to true health and wellness. Tarot Therapy applies the cards to explore the underlying energy that makes people who they are and shapes what they experience. Often, unresolved issues block the natural flow of our multi-faceted energy. Therapists use the Tarot to identify the condition of these energy levels of the self. Working with the client, they combine this with guided imagery work and healing practices to cause a shift in this energy that can restore balance and well-being to the soul. Once this shift has occurred any blockage that has been preventing health, understanding, progress or realisation is removed and clients are enabled and empowered to make any changes necessary in themselves and their lives.

Tarot Therapy is often used to:

• promote vital physical health
• achieve emotional balance
• help to reach mental understanding
• restore spiritual peace and well-being

Spirit Seekers in the U.K. offers an online course called Introduction to Tarot Therapy to help people learn the basics of combining tarot interpretation with complementary healing modalities for self and loved ones. They also offer more professional programs at the Certificate and Diploma levels

Nina Lee Braden wrote interesting song lyrics, set to Cat Steven's song "Morning Has Broken" that ties the Major Arcana with each card's individual healing qualities. For instance, Verse 1 addresses the qualities of the Fool card:

"Fool is our guide through detours and problems,
He heals all trav’lers who walk the road,
He heals through dancing, dancing and frolic,
Let's all be Fool-ish and dance along."

You can read all of these lyrics on her site page, called Healing Tarot Song.

Christine Jette, a registered nurse, professional tarot consultant, therapeutic touch practitioner, and writing consultant/teacher has also written a popular book called, The Healing Heart Tarot. She offers directions online on how to conduct the Healer Within Spread along with some excerpts from her book and an online Support Group.

Tarot Insights also offers an interesting Tarot Card Spread, intended for healers and healees, called the The Healing Star Spread. Later this week, I will introduce one of my own custom spreads for healing - Stay Tuned!


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