“Relativizing the Ego: A Jungian Approach to Tarot Practice”

In the practice of tarot, I intentionally evoke a moment of synchronicity to receive disclosures from the unconscious. Tarot serves as a method for relativizing the ego and facilitating the process of individuation. It invites openness to non-rational sources of guidance—offering access to alternative ways of knowing and helping to temper the dominance of the ego.

Jung believed the ego is not a consistent or central aspect of the psyche; rather, it often aligns with “the Self,” the part of the psyche that connects us to everything and represents the totality of who we are. The Self is transpersonal—extending beyond the individual—and signifies the integration of consciousness and unconsciousness. This integration is reflected in one’s growing capacity to hold the tension of opposites: the conscious and unconscious, the individual and the collective, the “I” and the “Thou.”

In this light, the practice of tarot suggests that more than just my ego contributes to the unfolding project of “Kara.” This personal project includes both conscious and unconscious elements that guide me toward a fuller understanding of who I am—with the ultimate aim of relating more authentically to others. This is a vital endeavor. We are all interconnected, and tarot reminds me that working toward personal wholeness is a necessary step toward shifting my energy in service of the collective.

I often envision the unconscious as a mysterious, largely unexplored world—one that holds essential truths about myself, waiting to be uncovered. Yet the unconscious is not separate from me; it is an integral part of me, a source of innate wisdom.

My tarot practice evokes what Mary Greer once borrowed from psychoanalyst Margaret Arden, who described her role in analysis as “the midwife of the soul.” I find this metaphor fitting, as tarot has helped me give birth to new understandings of self—understandings that have fostered genuine, transformative change.