Tarot Isn't Therapy (and that's why it works!)

 

Tarot isn't therapy. And pretending that it is causes actual harm.

Did you know it is illegal for therapists or other mental health practitioners to incorporate fortune-telling tarot reading in their practice here in the United States? You cannot call yourself a "tarotpist" and give readings. Most tarot readers don't have education beyond high school psychology. Some do not have counseling skills, and the degree to back up their knowledge. Instead, they pay thousands of dollars to become a certified life coach, if that. Being a life coach is not a therapist. 

Novice and intermediate tarot readers who try to blend therapy and tarot readings together always reference Carl Jung. Carl Jung did not predict the future with his clients; however. He used the tarot symbolically. Not for prediction, not to diagnose, and certainly not as treatment!

If you are a therapist or a counselor, you may use tarot as a projective tool, similar to inkblot tests. Or you can use tarot for self-reflection with a client.  Tarot can be a suitable tool to foster deep reflection and promote personal and spiritual growth.

Another thing that really makes me pissed off is when tarot readers call everyone's ex-boyfriend or girlfriend a narcissist or call their client an empath. Can we please get rid of those two terms in our readings? Not everyone is a narcissist and not everyone is an empath. In fact, narcissism isn't even on the rise. People are just becoming more selfish. Selfishness does not always equal narcissism. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, narcissistic personality disorder affects 0% to 6.2% of the population, meaning not everyone who is "difficult" is a true narcissist.

As for empaths, there isn't a statistic for empaths because it is not a condition. Instead, people consider empaths to be highly sensitive people, agreeable, neurotic, or to have trauma-adapted hypervigilance.  All of those are real; none of them require a mystical label.

The next thing that "tarotpists" do is use platitudes such as "everything happens for a reason" or "your soul agreed to this when you came to Earth." That is spiritual bypassing, and real therapy does not let you spiritual bypass. And being told that you agreed to your shitty circumstances before you came to Earth helps no one. I don't care if your astrology chart says otherwise, no one agrees to the shitty stuff that happens to them in their life. Bad things happen to good people, and it sucks. That's it. There is no lesson, no blessing. Not everything has to be a reason, lesson, or blessing. Spiritual bypassing is causing widespread fatigue. It doesn't mean they are any less spiritual than a yoga teacher doing downward dog on a beach in Malibu.

Some professional tarot readers also believe that tarot will solve *all* of your problems or that the tarot doesn't lie. While tarot cards can reveal truths, biased opinions and a reader's personal connection to the situation can also mislead people or skew their interpretation. Sometimes you don't have all the answers doing a tarot reading, and that's okay. We are not meant to know some things at the moment or ever. And sometimes, tarot just upsets the client more than helps them.

Tarot, instead, can name patterns, reflect truth, and cut through delusions. As a tarot reader, I can tell you that you might be unreasonable, that you could be self-sabotaging your efforts, or I can point out a pattern if you are a repeat client. Tarot does not replace a good mental health therapist or counselor. Tarot is mainly just food for thought and, of course, for entertainment. People take tarot so literally sometimes that it ends up hurting them instead of empowering them.  Tarot readings can cause harm such as creating a dependency, anxiety spiraling, or becoming obsessed with readings. Tarot empowers, enlightens, and clarifies. It does not want you to give away your power to the cards. Tarot is freewill.

There is a reason I quit using therapy-speak in my practice. And it's because I do not have the knowledge of a therapist who went to school for years. I also quit trying to play therapist and approach my sessions like I'm meeting with an old friend who wants clarity, empowerment, insights, or confirmation. 

Tarot readings are not therapy sessions, and people should not use them in place of real mental health care. "Tarotpists" need to stay in their own lane.