Tarot — Relax, it’s only a portal into your soul

If you were staying at a spooky old mansion for the weekend and you found a condemned tarot deck in the basement that definitely looked haunted… would you read from the deck? Or would you run?

I guess your answer depends on the power you believe that a deck of cards can have. Because even the non-believers — even those who think that tarot cards are fake and just a bunch of hocus pocus — even they seem scared to sit down and watch their fate unfold in front of them. If it’s not real, what are you so afraid of?

On today's episode, we're going to talk about Tarot (2024) and its portrayal of the cards as a mirror into the deepest, darkest places of our psyches.

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Sources:

Order The Horror Concierge: A Mental Health and Horror Tarot Readings + Film Reco. Order yours HERE.

Podcast artwork by Chloe Hurst at Contempomint.

Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey by Sallie Nichols

‘Tarot’ Movie Co-Director Details How New Horror Thriller Deals Fresh Hand To Audiences by Tim Lammers

Jungian Perspective on the Tarot by Ken James

Modalities of Psychotherapy, CRPO 

Transcript

Welcome ghouls to today’s episode of Mental Health is Horrifying. I’m your Horror Barbie host of darkness — Candis Green— Psychotherapist and all around spooky bitch podcasting from my bat-filled cave in Toronto, Canada. 

If you were staying at a spooky old manor for the weekend (because that’s what you do) and you found a condemned tarot deck in the basement that definitely looked haunted… would you read from the deck? Or would you run?

If you’re like me, I’m reading from that deck so fast and giving all my friends readings too and if we all get possessed or monsters come after us, well then at least we had a lovely weekend didn’t we?

But I guess it depends on the power you believe that a deck of cards can have. Because even the non-believers, even those who think that tarot cards are fake and just a bunch of hocus pocus, even they seem scared to sit down and watch their fate unfold in front of them. If it’s not real, what are you so afraid of?

On today’s episode, we’re going to shuffle the deck and talk about 2024 occult flick Tarot. Being a psychotherapists who incorporates tarot cards into my work, I of course have studied and practiced with the cards and understand their incredible psychotherapeutic benefits and I get really excited whenever I see mainstream representations of Tarot. Because this is an amazing tool that can be deeply misunderstood so I’m glad more people are learning about it and I’m taking this opportunity to get on my soapbox and sing Tarot’s praises for its incredible mental health benefits. 

Okay — so let’s get right into it. Let’s talk about Tarot (2024) and its portrayal of the cards as a mirror into the deepest, darkest places of our psyches.

Movie synopsis:

A group of friends - Haley, Grant, Paxton, Paige, Madeline, Lucas, and Elise - rent a mansion in the Catskills for Elise's birthday. With tension in the group following Haley and Grant's recent breakup, they decide to distract themselves by having Haley read their horoscopes with a box of spooky tarot cards discovered in the basement. Despite having reservation, Elise convinces Haley to proceed with the readings, going through each person’s horoscope and pulling cards that have ominous messages including the High Priestess, the Hermit, the Hanged Man, the Magician, The Fool, the Tower, the Devil and Death. 

Haley confesses to Paige that she began reading Tarot when her mother was sick and dying, but the cards always foretold her death, and she felt there was nothing she could do to change fate. 

In the days following the readings, the group of friends is each attacked by major arcana cards that appeared prominently in their tarot readings, in ways aligned with the messages the cards wanted to deliver to them. Like for example, Elise receives a reading featuring the High Priestess and a warning that she will have an opportunity to climb a ladder (perhaps corporate) but that she should consider slowing down. And then after investigating a strange noise in the attic as one does in horror movies, Elise is attacked by The High Priestess who is not chill and wise, but scary and evil and who bludgeons her to death with the ladder leading to the attic. Guess she didn’t slow down eh.

Lucas is later attacked by The Hermit in a train station and is killed by a speeding train while attempting to flee. I wonder what the Hermit was doing out in the first place… Haley notices each death corresponds to the tarot readings and the group suspects something is amiss with the deck, though Grant is openly skeptical.

The group is like okay something is up and decides to visit Alma Astron, a spooky old witch who lives in the woods who I hope to be one day. She identifies the cards as belonging to an astrologer who, in the late 18th century, served a Hungarian Count and would predict the future for him. After a reading predicted that his pregnant wife and child would die in childbirth came true, the grief-stricken Count ordered his men to kill the Astrologer's daughter as though it were her fault. The astrologer, enraged with grief, did a reading for the Count and his close friends, dooming them to death, then killed herself and cursed the deck to kill anyone who used the cards. Alma reveals the cards are responsible for several tarot reading group massacres, including an incident in London that she narrowly survived and that these are the very cards that this group of friends has been messing around with. Alma urges the group to destroy the deck if they want a chance at survival, which is still at the mansion.

While driving there, their car breaks down and they are attacked by The Hanged Man, who kills Madeline, while she is trying to run, making Haley's prediction from her reading come true. Terrified, Paxton leaves the others and returns to campus, but is stalked by The Fool and eventually cornered in an elevator. Meanwhile, Haley, Grant, and Paige return to the mansion, but are unable to burn the cards and request Alma's assistance. She attempts to contact the astrologer's spirit. After summoning her, Alma is killed by the six of swords as the astrologer reads for her. Paige tried to hide in the basement but she is sawed in half by The Magician. Upstairs, Grant and Haley talk about how to undo the curse and Haley decides that if she reads the astrologer's horoscope, this all might end. Just then they get attacked by The Devil and Death respectively.

As Grant is dragged away by The Devil, Haley gives the astrologer a reading with her deck, giving her Death. Haley sees that all her cards are in reverse and she's in a lot of pain, and subsequently releases her and her curse from the deck which bursts into flames alongside the evil deck. Haley and Grant start to make their way home and on their reunite with Paxton, who was NOT murdered by the Fool thanks to his roommate. Way to go, Paxton. 

Movie background info:

Tarot is based on a 1992 YA book called Horrorscope by Nicholas Adams, which was adapted for the screen by writer-director duo Anna Halberg and Spenser Cohen. The movie stars Jacob Batalon, Avantika (who was the best part of the new Mean Girls reboot btw), Harriet Slater, Aiden Bradley, Humberly González, Wolfgang Novogratz and Larsen Thompson.

Halberg and Cohen actually began writing the script during the scary lockdown times of 2020, and channeled the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic and people’s desire to look for some sort of otherworldly guidance in a freaky time of isolation and desperation. When they were initially approached by Sony about the project, it was to do a horror movie strictly about astrology, but neither Halberg nor Cohen found astrology itself particularly scary, but tarot cards? Those they found scary and in particular, the belief that tarot cards have the ominous ability to predict the future and that they challenge notions of fate vs free will, which is a central theme in the movie.

And they’re totally right about tarot’s popularity skyrocketing during the pandemic. It seemed that everyone was turning to the cards to try and make some meaning out of what felt like a deep, dark hole. And it’s perhaps this jump in popularity that both introduced the cards to a whole new wave of people, while also potentially serving to spread misconceptions about the cards and give rise to charlatans looking to take advantage of vulnerable people.

When Tarot was coming out in theaters, I noticed a definite *feeling* within the tarot community of suspicious surrounding this movie. Many did not want to see it because they worried it perpetuated some already negative and incorrect stereotypes about tarot cards and that they are evil, and they like open a portal to hell or something, or even that they have the ability to curse you with a negative fortune. And while the movie certainty does take some liberties with what the cards are able to do – ummmm hello it’s a horror movie of course it’s going to have fantastical elements in it! I mean, aren’t most of our favourite horror movies about supernatural characters like vampires and werewolves and ghosts who haunt Victorian estates?

For me, I really loved the way that this movie really immersed the audience in the artwork and archetypes of tarot, like the whole movie sort of took place inside a haunted deck. As a total tarot lover, I actually felt very seen by this movie like — look! They’re doing that thing that I like! And I can talk about it with people! What a wonderful opportunity to talk about this amazing tool as a way to know yourself better. 

What are Tarot cards?

So what even are tarot cards?

The earliest known tarot-like cards were created in Italy and were used to play a game called tarocchi, which was similar to bridge. These early tarot decks were hand-painted and commissioned by wealthy families as a symbol of their status. Due to their lineage in Europe, you will notice that many modern tarot decks continue to echo themes and imagery that is Judeo-Christian in nature. 

The Tarot is a deck of 78 cards, each with its own imagery, symbolism and story. The 22 Major Arcana cards represent life's major karmic and spiritual lessons, and the 56 Minor Arcana cards reflect the trials and tribulations that we experience on a daily basis. There are four suits in the the minor arcana – cups, swords, wands, and pentacles – and even more than that because artists have created tarot decks that play off those major suits, and even the archetypes of the major arcana. For example, I have a universal monsters tarot deck and the suits are candles, crypts, claws, and castles. 

While tarot cards were initially used for playing games and as a status symbol, their association with the occult and divination practices began to emerge in the late 18th century. French occultist Jean-Baptiste Alliette, also known as Etteilla, published the first definitive guide to tarot card reading, which laid the foundation for using tarot as a tool for spiritual and personal growth.

And it is here where we find the major theme of our movie — fate vs free will — and where it appears that most of our modern anxiety around tarot lies. This can be such an interesting axis to lean into when navigating issues in our lives. For many, tarot poses the age old existential question of – is it the chicken or the egg? Is it fate, or is fate really just my own free will? 

For me, the most interesting question that tarot poses is not necessary of fate vs free will, but of our very own emotions. How am I feeling today? What do I need to know about this situation? What am I not seeing that I need to consider? In this sense, tarot is an extraordinary mirror into ourselves, revealing what is often already there, and inviting us to explore a world otherwise left untravelled – that is, the deepest parts of our psyches.

Here’s the thing – tarot cards can be used in a thousand different ways. No one way is right or wrong, and each holds its own merit. Do you want to hire a tarot reader to tell fortunes and set a spooky vibe at your next Halloween party? Amazing. Do you like to look at the pictures and create your own stories? I love that. Do you want to get in touch with your own mixed up feelings so you can gain more clarity as to what is going on for you? What a great idea. Tarot cards are a glorious tool that can be used countless different ways but I’m going to tell you how I see the cards, and how I use them as a psychotherapist. 

Tarot and the Psyche

Tarot is a portal into the unconscious; reflecting, mirroring, and illuminating parts of ourselves that we often overlook, repress, or ignore in our day to day lives. 

The cards mirror and reflect the various aspects of the human psyche, ranging from our conscious parts like our egos and personas, to our personal unconscious parts like our shadows, archetypes, and complexes, to our collective unconscious which deals with the symbols and archetypes from which we derive narratives of the human experience. 

Psyche is also the Greek word for soul, which is significant in the context of work that seeks to unveil fields of psychic terrain. In engaging with work that deals with the psyche like psychotherapy, dream work or tarot work, we are effectively meeting our own souls.

So when we pull tarot cards, their value is not fixed. The cards are alive and in motion, reflecting and responding to the person they have been pulled for. A tarot spread that I do for myself will have an entirely different meaning than if you were to pull those exact same cards for yourself because their meaning is informed by the individual engaging with them, their story, their shadows, their narratives. 

I actually really like the way Haley does her tarot readings in this movie because she does them in quite a dynamic way, which reflect the individuality of each person. By incorporating their astrological placements in their readings, they become dynamic and alive… okay well maybe a little bit too alive because then the cards hunt them down and kill most of them so we definitely don’t want that to happen. But like, METAPHORICALLY speaking, it’s an interesting angle, right? Like if the tarot reflects archetypes that live inside all of us it’s like… what if our internal archetypes become manifest out on the conscious plane? 

So for example, an element of the human psyche that is portrayed in the Tarot quite prominently is the shadow, which can be seen in cards like the Devil, Death, or perhaps the Hermit. Again, we all have a shadow – it forms out of our attempts to adapt to cultural norms and expectations. It contains all of the things that are unacceptable not only to society, but also to one's own personal morals and values. It might include things such as envy, greed, prejudice, hate, and aggression.

This archetype is often described as the darker side of the psyche, representing wildness, chaos, and the unknown. These latent dispositions are present in all of us, although people sometimes deny this element of their own psyche and instead project it onto others.

So think about it… what would happen if you were doing your little reading and you pulled the devil, and it invited you to consider your own personal relationship to your shadow. And then like hocus pocus… your shadow, as portrayed by the devil, was suddenly standing right in front of you, sort of like what happened with Grant in the movie? What would happen? I know that many people are afraid of the devil card – they view him as someone repressive and evil, so perhaps this would be absolutely terrifying for you. But on the other hand, if you’re an darkness loving creature of the night like me, or you’ve done a lot of deep psychoanalytical work, or engaged with your shadow side quite a bit, the devil might be your friend! He is an invitation to free your mind of expectations, and judgements. The devil wants you to be happy and enjoy your life! So maybe if the devil was standing right in front of you, he would give you the courage you had been looking for to go for that promotion, talk to that hunky Chad at the gym, hand you a drink with a comically large umbrella in it, put some Britney Spears on and you would party! 

I think it’s safe to say that based on the interactions the characters in this movie have with the tarot archetypes that come to life that they don’t have deep, positive relationships with those parts of themselves due to all the death and dismembering and so forth. 

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Spooky bitches can visit my website manymoonstherapy.com and visit the Tarot Horror Dreamwork tab to learn more about The Horror Concierge.

Please note that while The Horror Concierge may feel therapeutic, it is not psychotherapy and is for entertainment purposes only.

Stay spooky!

Tarot and your emotions

While not only showing you the inside of your own soul/psyche, tarot can help to clarify your emotional terrain. In general, humans seek answers outside ourselves so often. What is the right answer here, what should I be doing, what does this person think I should do and so I like working with tarot because just for a moment, you can invite the world to shut up for a minute so you can tune into yourself. Some might call the tarot police on me, but I tend to favour an intuitive approach to working with tarot cards rather than a by the book approach. Meaning – yes, it’s great to know what the cards mean. What each suit represents and what element they are connected to, what the messages of the major arcana are, even what astrological correspondences are relevant to each card – and then kind of throw those strict meanings out the window when you’re working with the cards and listen to what’s inside your heart instead. Because the answers will, in fact, not be found in a textbook or a strict set of guidelines. The answers will be found when you search for them inside yourself. Someone can help facilitate that process of self-discovery for you like a therapist, spiritual leader, friend, family member, or trusted tarot reader, but in the end, they cannot tell you what your story is. Only you can know that for sure.

Haley experiences a sense of powerlessness in the movie following her mother’s death. She had no ability to control or prevent her mother’s death due to cancer and this is the time when she began reading tarot. Similarly to the creation of this movie during Covid lockdown when people felt positively lost and hopeless, this is when Haley turned to find something greater than herself to make sense of a world that felt out of control. And while she could not control the inevitability of her mother’s death, she did find that the cards help her to find a sense of resiliency and resourcing within herself when faced with an ancient forest witch who tried to curse her and her group of friends to untimely and incredibly violent deaths! She said no! I will not succumb to helplessness and lay down and let death take me with his horse that stomps on people’s heads! I will tap into my own abilities for problem solving, relationship building, and curse-breaking to end this reign of terror and get back together with my cute boyfriend who I also saved from a horrible death! Tarot helped her realize all that! 

This is why tarot is such an excellent tool for self-reflection and discovery. It’s really an exercise in mindfulness where for that moment, it’s just you and the cards, and tuning into what they are reflecting from deep inside your guts. 

How I Use Tarot

I don’t think we’ll ever get around this, but people just love to dunk on tarot. And hoooo boy do randos love to dunk on it when you try to talk about it within the context of psychotherapy and mental health! People have lots of reasons to hate things and that’s fine – but in this case, I really think it has a lot to do with again – connections in the collective unconscious about women, witches – and most of all, a fear of their own feelings. But you might actually be surprised to know that tarot cards are a recognized and highly regarded tool in many psychotherapeutic modalities. Where I live in the province of Ontario, psychotherapy is what’s called a controlled act, meaning only those who have received the proper education, twelve million hours of training, exams, supervision, blood sacrifices, and endless credentialng are allowed to practice it. And “it” can be defined under five broad categories of psychotherapeutic modalities, which contain even more categories of modalities that speak directly about the benefits of tarot card usage including:

• Jungian analysis
• Existential psychotherapy
• Spiritually integrated psychotherapy
• Play therapy
• Narrative therapy, and
• Art therapy!

Tarot is a visual medium used to unveil the human psyche. Using tarot cards as a visual tool invites the client into self reflection about feelings and experiences that the cards are evoking during a psychotherapy session. This facilitates what is called a transcendent function – where the Self may be achieved through the unification of the conscious and personal unconscious. 

So this is how I tend to use tarot cards in my therapy sessions. First, I let clients know that absolutely no experience with tarot is required at all. I use rorshak as an example to illustrate how we can work with the cards. You know the rorshach? Those inkblots that can look like anything depending on what your unconscious sees. Tarot cards can sort of be like that. We’ll go through our session, moving naturally through the talk therapy space and if there comes a point when we decide that there is something here – something interesting, something deeper, something more than wants to be known being what we can say with words, or know with our conscious minds, we will decide collaborative to pull some cards. Maybe it will be one, maybe a little spread, or maybe we will build a storyboard with cards. But as we pull them out and consider them together, sharing whatever thoughts, feelings, or experiences that are being evoked through the tarot’s imagery and archetypes. And of course – we can always bring in universal tarot meanings because that can help too – representations from the collective unconscious – but like in all psychotherapeutic processes, if we’ve gone wide, we must then go deep. We take universal meanings, and then see how they apply to the personal. I care very little about your ability to draw upon the “correct” card meanings, and i care more about what these cards mean to you right now.

In working with dreams as well, tarot cards can be incredibly illuminating. Think of them as picture metaphors for dream scenes or sequences. They are a portal into a liminal space, like when we dream, and can help bring to light the often coded meanings contained with our rich dream material. Like the tarot, dreams reflect material from both the personal and collective unconscious (from our inner worlds, and from the world we interact with), and so exploring a dream through cards can help to deepen this connection and understanding. 

Conclusion

I get that this might all sound a little overwhelming and like huuuh? But literally the most important part of all of this, as the devil tries to remind us, is FREE YOUR MIND. If I’ld like you to have one takeaway from how tarot can help you engage with your mental health and psychic processes it’s that the traditional meanings matter so much less or literally maybe even not at all. What is most important is that you are using them as a tool to listen to yourself. Our world is filled with rules and restrictions and shoulds. Tarot is a portal that invites you to be free, if even just for a moment. 

Outro:

And that my ghouls is the story of Tarot. I could just not be happier that this movie got made and even though they were all evil and scary, I thought the movie versions of our major arcana fave were so cool! Like the Fool is usually this cute, innocent little angel but in this movie? He was a freaky clown sent to kill you in an elevator! And the Hermit was not at home reading books of wisdom or whatever. He was out there straight murdering. 

Mental Health is Horrifying is entirely researched, written, edited, and produced by me, Candis Green, Registered (and spooky) Psychotherapist, with artwork by the ghoulishly talented Chloe Hurst. If you like this podcast, please consider rating and reviewing on your preferred listening platform. It really helps the show to reach all the other spooky ghouls out there and I will be eternally grateful – and an eternity is a very long time for a vampire, okay? 

Visit my website manymoonstherapy.com to order The Horror Concierge — A Mental Health and Horror Tarot Reading and Film Reco. If you live in Ontario and are interested in psychotherapy with me, I offer talk therapy mixed with the magic of tarot, and I also offer dreamwork sessions.  You can follow me on Instagram at @manymoonstherapy and you can also learn more about me and my services through my website manymoonstherapy.com.

OR you can also howl at the moon and I will hear your call.

Bright blessings.