Shadow Work with Tarot

Shadow Work with Tarot

Carl Jung described the "shadow" as the parts of ourselves we've suppressed, denied, or refused to acknowledge — not necessarily "bad" qualities, but unconscious ones. Tarot is uniquely suited for shadow work because it bypasses the defensive mind.

The Shadow Spread

1. What I present to the world — My conscious self-image
2. What I hide — The shadow; qualities I suppress
3. Why I hide it — The wound or fear beneath the suppression
4. The gift in this shadow — What integrating this quality would give me

The "difficult" cards — The Devil, The Tower, Five of Swords — are often the most revealing in shadow work. They point precisely at what we avoid.