–In describing the path of Individuation as put forth by C.G. Jung, almost the entire structure of Jungian psychology is elaborated. This is the structure upon which I primarily base my tarot readings. In the first half of life our task is to build a strong ego. Here ego simply means our personality that is conscious and interacts with the world around us. Strengthening the ego usually entails getting an education, building a career and learning how to successfully navigate the world. Once this has been established, such a person can undertake the more existential questions in life: what does it mean? Why am I here? You become less concerned with what society wants for you and more concerned with what you want for yourself. Having a strong ego first is essential so that these destabilizing inquiries can be undertaken without putting yourself at risk of being homeless or insane. Essentially, the process of individuation is making that which is unconscious, conscious, thereby expanding the personality and fulfilling your innate potential. Individuation also includes being in touch with that which is beyond your ego: the Self. We do the work of individuation through practices such as self-reflection, dream-analysis, shadow work, and even going through Jungian analysis with a trained analyst. Because my approach to tarot is a Jungian approach, I use the framework of individuation and I interpret the cards as revealing the messages of the psyche, in particular, of the unconscious. The tarot is one more method to add to our toolbox of individuation practices.
Further reading:
Jung, C. G. 1959. Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self. Vol. 9ii of The Collected Works of C. G. Jung. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
Stein, Murray. 1998. Jung’s Map of the Soul: An Introduction. Chicago: Open Court
von Franz, Marie-Louise. 1993. Psychotherapy: The Practice of Jungian Psychology. Boston: Shambhala