“Know Thyself”
The First Step in Higher Consciousness
By Geraldine Amaral
If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us. - Hermann Hesse
Projection is an embarrassing but effective way to learn about yourself.- Aylward
YOUR TAROT DECK wears many hats. You probably already know that the Tarot can be used a tool for prediction and "fortune-telling." But did you know that those who use it solely to peer into the future are enjoying only a fraction of the Tarot’s gifts? The Tarot can also help you brainstorm solutions to a problem; it can validate your thoughts and feelings; it can help you visualize what you are seeking and help draw that to you. It can help you develop and trust your intuition. It can motivate you, transforming some seed idea into an action plan. In short, it is a potent tool for introspection, transformation, insight, self-awareness and yes, it may even spur you on to taking action. These are some of the Tarot’s internal gifts – elucidating the processes of the unconscious mind and the internal dynamics influencing the present moment. It shows how the future is likely to be affected by our thought patterns.
The inscription on the ancient Temple of Apollo at Delphi says "Know thyself." Socrates and Plato also held this concept as a cardinal principle in their philosophies. But what is self-knowledge? How does one obtain self-knowledge and perhaps more importantly, what should be done with it? Let’s look at how esoteric tools like the Tarot help in the quest for self-knowledge. The command "Know thyself" may reflect a desire to bring that which is unconscious to consciousness.
The process of knowing oneself, and of bringing information out of the unconscious, is the foundation of "personality psychology." Personality psychologists say that we all have a variety of different faces that we wear that correspond to the many roles we play in our lives. They call these various personalities the "persona" (a Latin word meaning mask). This mask is the impression we make on others and it determines how we feel about ourselves as well as how others view us. Therefore, this daily persona has a huge impact on our lives: How we "act" out our lives is central to our happiness and well-being. Have you ever thought about specifically identifying the various roles that you play in your life?
In the Tarot system, the Court Cards represent the various personae that a person could adopt during the course of his or her life. There are a total of 16 Court cards in the tarot deck: a Queen, King, Knight and Page for each of the four suits (cups, wands, pentacles and swords) and each permutation can represent the persona in some way. For example, the King of Swords might be the personality we adopt when we are trying to be rational, analytical and unemotional. We might adopt a King of Swords persona when we are negotiating a raise with our boss or explaining the details of an important project. The Queen of Cups might represent the face that we wear of kindness and compassion. We might adopt this persona when we are caring for small children, or visiting an elderly grandparent or speaking with someone who has just suffered a loss of some kind. The Knight of Pentacles might be who we are when we are actively and energetically working to produce tangible results such as gathering resources for a large sale or working to increase inventory. The Page of Wands might be the persona we adopt when we are feeling charming, innocent, flirtatious and full of enthusiasm. A young man or woman might assume this mask when meeting a potential boyfriend or girlfriend for the first time.
Identifying the external roles we play is an excellent first step in the quest for self-knowledge, but the Tarot can take us even deeper into ourselves if we choose to forge ahead on the path. Have you ever wondered who you really are beyond the roles you play from day to day? One way to dig into the core of who we are – the existence of our personality – is by becoming conscious of the energies that our behaviors put forth into the world and the inner beliefs and patterns that operate in our lives. It’s not possible to directly know or observed these energies and patterns, yet many of us seem to know that they exist. How can we link our behavior to the unconscious factors that generate it? The good news is that even though we can’t directly see the unconscious, we can choose to see how it affects our life, and, from that, infer its existence. Psychological tests like the Rorschach inkblot test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) help verify the existence of the unconscious and show us how it is operating in our lives. The Rorschach inkblot test involves viewing a series of cards that show complex inkblots and then describing the images we see, thus revealing the unconscious aspects of the personality. That is, because the inkblots have no particular or specific meaning, anything an individual says about them is shaped by the unconscious. Psychologists can determine personality traits and various emotional and intellectual states by what the subject "sees" in the inkblots. In the TAT, subjects are shown pictures of people in ordinary situations and are asked to describe what is transpiring in the story. Because the images are designed to be neutral, the subject’s response to the pictures is similarly shaped by the unconscious. The Rorschach and TAT are examples of what psychologists call "projective tests." The Tarot can also function as a projective test. The Tarot's archetypal images can be used in place of the ink blots or storytelling pictures to stimulate associations or to act as mirrors of our unconscious as we project our own thoughts and feelings onto the images. The symbols and images of the Tarot are powerful tools for exploring this inner terrain and getting to know ourselves at a deeper level. For example, if several people were asked to describe the Hermit card, each might focus on a different aspect of the imagery. One might focus on the stark, snow-filled terrain, another might describe the Hermit's wizened expression and white hair, while another might focus on the bright light radiating from the lantern. Whatever aspect of the image a person notices probably relates to an aspect of their own lives. Therefore, like the random ink blots, the Tarot's deliberate images can lead you into yourself to explore aspects of the deeper mind which is ordinarily kept hidden by your conscious mind. As you project aspects of your "self" into the symbols, you will likely contact some deeper layers of you personality. Like the inkblots, the Tarot's images can teach you about yourself and can shed light on hidden aspects of yourself.
Just as contemplating an individual Tarot card can identify the external part of ourselves and the various roles we play, there are cards and spreads that could help us go beyond that exterior and show us the deepest parts of ourselves. For example, there is a short introspective exercise you can do with the Tarot to help you come more conscious of yourself, your beliefs and energies. In this exercise, we are using the Tarot is as a "projective receptacle," in which we allow the mind to put forth parts of itself onto the Tarot images. Like the Rorschach, seeing yourself in a tarot image is a form of projection.
According to Simon Sheppard, projection is "a defense mechanism in which the individual attributes to other people impulses and traits that he himself has but cannot accept. It is especially likely to occur when the person lacks insight into his own impulses and traits . . . the externalization of internal unconscious wishes, desires or emotions on to other people. So, for example, someone who feels subconsciously that they have a powerful latent homosexual drive may not acknowledge this consciously, but it may show in their readiness to suspect others of being homosexual. Attributing one's own undesirable traits to other people or agencies, e.g., an aggressive man accuses other people of being hostile . . . . the cheat is sure that everyone else is dishonest. The would-be adulterer accuses his wife of infidelity. People attribute their own undesirable traits onto others. An individual who unconsciously recognizes his or her aggressive tendencies may then see other people acting in an excessively aggressive way."
In the exercise that follows, you will be using the process of projection to understand yourself, to look into the mirror of your psyche. The Tarot images in this spread will help you understand our inner ideas, motivations, fears, likes, dislikes and many similar internal dynamics. You will need a tarot deck for this exercise, preferably one with which you are not familiar so you will be able to view the images from a fresh perspective.
Hold the deck in your hands for a moment, close your eyes and take some deep breaths. Focus on your inner self, the true and real self within. Now flip through the deck, looking briefly at each card. Place the cards in two different piles, one stack for those cards to which you have a very strong reaction (either negative or positive reaction) and the other stack is for those cards to which you have a minimal reaction or no reaction at all. In other words, if you really love it or if you really hate the image on the card, place it in the first stack. But if you simply "like" it or "dislike" it, it goes into the second stack. Remember: don't think about what the cards mean and choose cards that trigger strong emotions for your first stack. Let your instinct direct you. Now that you have the two stacks of cards, take the "reactive" pile and go through it another time, narrowing the field down to the 10 most reactive cards in that pile. Now take a look at these cards and think about why they, and not the others, are causing you to react. What images, messages, energies, values, fears, strengths do these cards call forth in you? Are the cards you selected primarily positive? Negative? Brightly colored or darkly colored? Energetic or passive? Now take these 10 cards and narrow them down again, this time to the three most reactive cards. Can you figure out what part of you they represent? Now choose the card that reminds you the most of yourself. Place the cards in a horizontal row with the card that represents you in the center with the other two cards on either side. What does that configuration show you? You can call the card in the center the present and the card on the left the past and the card on the right the future. Now what do the cards tell you or show you? How has the past influenced you now? Can you imagine what the future card portrays?
Past Present Future
Once you have thought about this spread and its message, you can take the same exact cards and place them in a vertical column. You can place them in the column consciously, or you can turn the cards over, shuffle them and let the wisdom of the Tarot choose the order of the placement. In this case, the designation of the cards would be as follows:
Transpersonal
Conscious
Unconscious
The bottom card represents influences from the unconscious and therefore factors that are unknown to you. The second card portrays your conscious awareness and shows you what you can know. The third card is the transpersonal. The transpersonal goes beyond your understanding and your own conscious awareness. You can think of it as the view of Spirit, the advice from the gods or the supranatural viewpoint. Again, take some time with the cards in this new position. See what this configuration stirs up and what new self-awareness and insights come to you. You may want to read up about these 3 cards to see if others’ interpretations of these cards add any awareness or insight. You might want to make a note of these three cards and write out your thoughts and feelings about them.
These two small spreads are only an introduction to the myriad ways that you can use the Tarot as a Rorschach. These "random" patterns in the cards have become meaningful. The tarot images are psychic keys to the inner self -- unlocking the way to discovering the innermost self. Projection is the first step towards consciousness. The beauty of this process if that you can use it at anytime or regarding any issue and you don’t need to know anything about the Tarot. It is a great way to break in a new deck and you can use the process repeatedly to gain insight as to how your own inner dynamics might be contributing to a problem you are experiencing in your life. Ideally, this process has expanded your consciousness of who you are by providing a glimpse of how your mind works. Many Tarot experts believe that there is an inherent "wisdom of the Tarot." If you continue to use the Tarot, you will become more confident of its guidance and more in tune with your own inherent wisdom.
Footnotes: Introduction to Psychology, Ernest R. Hilgard and Richard C. Atkinson, Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1967. www.heretical.org, Sam Sheppard, Basic Psychological Mechanisms: Neurosis and Projection, the Heretical Press, Yorkshire, England Tarot Images:
Temperance is from the Susan Hudes Tarot