Carl Jung and the Tarot

A Brief Explanation of the Use of the Tarot in Analytical Psychology

Feb 5, 2009

According to the theories of Carl Jung, tarot cards, particularly the Major Arcana (the first 22 cards of the deck) can be used during psychological analysis.

While considered unscientific by most, Jung believed the symbolism contained within the Tarot could be extremely useful to followers of analytical psychology. By using a selection of the cards to create a story, the symbols can be related to the problem being discussed.

Jung's ArchetypesIn psychological terms, an archetype can be broadly described as a model of a type of person or behaviour that can be used in an interpretive manner. Jung identified five main archetypes, these were:

There are endless archetypes but the above five together with a small amount of others tend to be the most prevalent. For example, The Mother, The Child, The Wise Man are all archetypes which recur regularly. Archetypes relating to behaviour include that of endurance and sacrifice, related to Strength and The Hanged Man cards respectively.

The Major Arcana

The first 22 cards in a Tarot deck are picture cards of images such as The Lovers, Strength and perhaps most famously, Death. During a reading, these cards are generally related to a situation or person within the life of the reader.

The Empress card, for example, is representative of fertility and nature, this could be related to a mother figure in the reader’s life or indicate that someone (or aspect of life, such as a creative side) needs to be nurtured.

Archetypes in the Tarot

Of the 22 cards comprising the Major Arcana, many can be immediately identified with Jung's archetypes (for a comprehensive list of how each card relates to a archetype, see my article Archetypes of the Tarot).

The example cited above, The Empress, with her swollen belly and nature imagery is easily identified as The Mother, while The Hierophant and The Hermit can simultaneously be identified as Wise Men as both relate to wisdom and knowledge.

The Minor ArcanaFurther to attributing archetypes to the Major Arcana, Jung also attributed certain functions of the mind to corresponding suites of the Minor Arcana:

This article provides a very basic introduction to this fascinating subject, for more in depth explanations, read Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey by Sallie Nichols or Tarot as a Way of Life: A Jungian Approach to the Tarot by Karen Hamaker-Zondag.

The copyright of the article Carl Jung and the Tarot in Analytical Psychology is owned by Graidi Taylor-Rose. Permission to republish Carl Jung and the Tarot in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.