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When Cathy was a little girl: the

healing praxis of Tarot images
a
Inna Semetsky
a
The University of Newcastle , NSW, Australia
Published online: 23 Mar 2010.

To cite this article: Inna Semetsky (2010) When Cathy was a little girl: the healing
praxis of Tarot images, International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 15:1, 59-72, DOI:
10.1080/13644360903565623

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 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality
Vol. 15, No. 1, February 2010, 59–72

When Cathy was a little girl: the healing praxis of Tarot images
Inna Semetsky*

The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

(Received November 2009; final version received January 2010)
Taylor and Francis
CIJC_A_457038.sgm

International
10.1080/13644360903565623
1364-436X
Original
Taylor
102010
15
inna.semetsky@newcastle.edu.au
InnaSemetsky
00000February
&Article
Francis
(print)/1469-8455
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(online)
Spirituality

This paper is a sequel to an earlier article that presented an argument for Tarot
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symbolic system functioning as a techne that can serve as a valuable educational

aid. The present paper shifts the focus from techne to praxis as a practical art of
interpreting images and creating imaginative narratives in the context of
counselling and therapy. This praxis can heal human psyche and lift human spirit.
The paper presents a documented empirical case study as an example of an
unfolding narrative for ‘Cathy’ who consented to making her reading public for
educational purposes. The process of reading and interpretation as grounded in the
‘art of memory’ can empower us with an ability to understand the meaning of
some traumatic events that may have occurred in our lives but remain dormant at
the level of the unconscious. We become able to resolve problematic situations and
to grow spiritually from these experiences.
Keywords: care; confirmation; counselling; Dewey; experience; Jung and Tarot;
memory; consciousness and the unconscious

Introduction
Techne, as distinguished from episteme, or scientific knowledge, is etymologically
derived from the Greek word τ έ χνη often translated as craftsmanship, handicraft, or
skill; the products of techne are artecrafts. In the article ‘Transforming ourselves/
transforming curriculum: Spiritual education and Tarot symbolism’ (Semetsky 2009),
the images on Tarot pictures were presented as artistic productions; the prints
mastered by a human skill inspired in turn by the designers’ creative imagination. In
its function as a techne, Tarot symbolic system can be considered to be a potentially
valuable educational aid, especially when we approach education holistically as
including moral and spiritual dimensions. Importantly, the printed artificial pictures
symbolically (or indirectly) represent, or stand for, many real collective human expe-
riences, both actual and potential, as embodied in the array of images. The symbolic
art of Tarot as a means for understanding the deep meanings of diverse experiences
and events abound in life is grounded in the ancient maxim ‘Know Thyself’ which
was inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
This paper shifts the focus to another level: from techne to praxis, which is defined
as the process of putting theoretical knowledge into practice. Contrary to techne,
which is ‘normatively neutral’ (Schnack 2009, 16), praxis is embedded in actions,

*Email: inna.semetsky@newcastle.edu.au

ISSN 1364-436X print/ISSN 1469-8455 online

© 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/13644360903565623
http://www.informaworld.com
 60 I. Semetsky

relationships, and experiences that by definition have to have an ethical or moral

dimension. Indeed, the conclusion of my earlier paper was as follows:

Reading and interpreting these pictorial stories constitutes a practical art that can and
should contribute to an enhanced capacity for all people to make intelligent connections
to the spiritual realm … as well as to discover in practice the deeper meanings of our
individual and collective experiences, which thus serve as our existential and moral
lessons.

Using this assertion as a point of departure for the present paper, I will proceed to
describe one real-life unfolding pictorial story for Cathy (not her real name) who
consented to making her Tarot reading public for educational purposes.1 Cathy’s
narrative is one of the documented case-studies in which readings were integrated into
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counselling sessions (Semetsky 2005; 2006a) with the focus on Tarot symbolism in
terms of its therapeutic, healing function. Cathy’s experience is an example of what
Carl Jung called the process of individuation, the aim of which is the integration of
the conscious and unconscious aspects of one’s life for the purpose of healing the
psyche and achieving a ‘greater personality’ (Jung Collected Works [CW] 7, 136).2
In Greek mythology, Praxis is also another name for Aphrodite, the goddess of
love who was instrumental in the story of Eros and Psyche (cf. Neville 2005). It is only
through love and compassion for the often suffering human spirit that an expert Tarot
reader can intuit, understand, and narrate the subtle meanings encoded in the symbol-
ism of the pictures. Working as a counsellor, such a reader would have been applying
in practice the necessary qualities as articulated yet by Carl Rogers: congruence,
unconditional positive regard, and empathy. Without emphatic understanding it would
be impossible to delve into the very depth of the psyche full of latent meanings
implicit in the unconscious feelings, fears, hopes, and desires ‘located’ at the
archetypal level of the Jungian collective unconscious (Jung 1959).
The essential identity of human experiences reflected in worldwide myths and
folklore led Jung to postulate the existence of the collective unconscious as objective
psyche, which is shared at a deeper level by all members of humankind and manifests
itself through the archetypal, symbolic and latent, images. Jung called the deepest
level psychoid and asserted that it is at this level where, in a holistic manner, body and
mind, physis and psyche, become united as two different aspects of one world, Unus
Mundus.
The profound relationship of the soul of the world, Anima Mundi, with an individ-
ual human consciousness remained a great mystery for Jung. In addition to dream
interpretation and active imagination as the methods employed in Jungian analysis, it
is the Tarot symbolism – the universal language of signs (Semetsky 2006b) – that can
establish an unorthodox connection between the conscious mind and the unconscious.
An expert reader translates the pictorial language of symbols and signs into a spoken
word thus creating a narrative for the subject of the reading who is seeking Tarot
council. Many typical life experiences are represented in the patterns that appear and
can be discerned when the pictures are being spread in this or that layout, and a person
can learn from experience when it is being unfolded in front of their eyes in the array
of images. Respectively, the latent meaning of experience becomes available to
human consciousness, and a person can discover in practice a deeper, spiritual, dimen-
sion of experience.
The pictures are called Arcana, and the word Arcana derives from Latin arca as a
chest – arcere as a verb means to shut or to close – symbolically, Arcanum (singular)
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 61

is a tightly-shut treasure chest holding a secret: its implicit meaning. In reference to

Greek etymology, Arcana relate to arce that means origin or inception. Indeed the
archetypes of the collective unconscious were conceived by Jung as original, primor-
dial images engraved in our psychic constitution. In the process of narrating the
hidden meanings, ‘the im-plicit is made ex-plicit; what was unconsciously assumed is
exposed to the light of the day’ (Dewey 1991, 214) leading to the emergence of
themes in the course of a reading. This material is therapeutic: it contributes to the
healing of one’s psyche as it provides the much-sought guidance toward solving, even
if partially, a variety of problems abound in real life or clarifying an ambiguous
situation.
In terms of its archetypal dynamics, Tarot – despite being traditionally considered
irrational and illogical – helps us achieve a much wider scope of awareness than ratio-
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nal thinking alone, in terms of reasoning from premise to conclusion, is capable of

providing. Tarot symbols hold together contents that consciousness alone is incapable
of and, by bringing to awareness many initially unperceived, unconscious and latent,
meanings, a reading performs what in Jungian analysis is called amplification.
According to Jung’s depth psychology, the unconscious ‘archetypes [as] … structural
elements of the psyche … possess a certain autonomy and specific energy which
enables them to attract, out of the conscious mind, those contents which are better
suited to themselves’ (Jung CW 5, 232). The meanings, even if implicit, are nonethe-
less highly structured or organised, and a Tarot layout amplifies the unconscious
contents of the archetypal images via their representation in the material medium of
the pictures.
It is an interpretation as amplification that ‘can convert the … situation from the
obscure into the clear and luminous’ (Dewey 1934/1980, 266) thus creating new
understanding. Learning and applying in praxis the expressive language of images
will have enabled us to construct a symbolic bridge between the material and spiritual
worlds (Semetsky 2006b). Tapping into the spiritual realm is possible because of what
Dewey called ‘an imaginative projection’ (Dewey 1934/1980, in Hickman and
Alexander 1998, 1, 407). Tarot images, projected into a spread or layout (Semetsky
2006a), may be considered a representation of the Memoria, posited long ago by
St. Augustine. A pagan turned Christian, St. Augustine described in his Confessions,
‘the fields and spacious places of memory (campos et lata praetoria memoria), where
are the treasures (thesauri) of innumerable images’ (quoted in Yates 1996, 46).
Frances Yates (1996) describes the art of memory via its relation to the psyche and
affirms that it is the very aim of memory to be able to unite intellect and psyche by
means of the organisation of significant images. Jungian psychologist James Hillman
calls for the rescue of images; he believes that the art of memory serves as a method
for presenting the organisation of the collective unconscious (Hillman 1972). Jung
himself was adamant that the ‘symbolic process is an experience in images and of
images’ (Jung CW 8i, 82).
A little excursion back in history might be of interest: for Plotinus, the soul’s
memories could be either in words or in images. Giordano Bruno, continuing the
Neo-Platonic tradition during the Renaissance, took the revival of Gnosticism and
Hermeticism even further: for him, the mind worked solely through archetypal
images, the latter reflecting the whole universe in the human mind. Yates notices that
the ‘great forward movements of the Renaissance … derive their vigour … from
looking backwards’ (1964, 1) to the Hellenic Golden Age and the Hermetic writings.
The Greek god of communication, the messenger Hermes, has been identified with
 62 I. Semetsky

the Egyptian mystical god Thoth; the latter is said to having ‘given’ his name to a
popular deck of Tarot pictures known as the Book of Thoth.
Some contemporary post-Jungians indeed explore the Tarot symbolism. Andrew
Samuels mentions, even if in passing, ‘systems such as that of the I Ching, Tarot and
astrology’ (1985, 123). Jung’s biographer Laurens van der Post notices the contribu-
tion made to analytical psychology by Sallie Nichols, who was Jung’s student, in her
book ‘Jung and Tarot: an Archetypal Journey’ (Nichols 1980) in terms of her
illuminating investigation of Tarot as a means for expanding the field of human
perceptions. Irene Gad connected Tarot images with the Jungian process of individu-
ation and considered their archetypal images ‘to be … trigger symbols, appearing and
disappearing throughout history in times of transition and need’ (Gad 1994, xxxiv).
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Imagination and memory

Because of the amplifying, synthesising, nature of symbols the meanings expressed in
the multitude of images ‘hiding’ in the unconscious can be elucidated, interpreted,
narrated, and potentially integrated into consciousness. The plurality of evolving
meanings finds their expression in symbols that act as transformers capable of raising
the unconscious contents to the level of consciousness therefore ultimately performing
what Jung called the transcendent function that becomes embedded in Tarot by virtue
of creating a symbolic bridge between the realm of numinous Spirit and the physical
world of earthly phenomena and human experiences. The implicit meanings become
explicit by virtue of ‘becoming conscious and by being perceived’ (Jung in Pauli
1994, 159). Synthetic method reflects the dynamical and evolutionary approach to
knowledge and, for Jung, a ‘psychological fact … as a living phenomenon … is
always indissolubly bound up with the continuity of the vital process, so that it is not
only something evolved but also continually evolving and creative’ (Jung CW 6, 717).
In other words, an expert Tarot reader creates an imaginative narrative3, which
empowers the subject of the reading to self-reflectively access the unconscious
contents of her own mind projected in the array of pictures. Imagination functions so
as to create a vision of realities ‘that cannot be exhibited under existing conditions of
sense-perception’ (Dewey 1991, 224). When embodied in the medium of the pictures,
however, this spiritual realm acquires corporeality. Experience is embodied in the
creative and artistic expressive medium, and ‘the connection between a medium and
the act of expression is intrinsic. … On the side of the self, elements that issue from
prior experience are stirred into action in fresh desires, impulsions and images. These
proceed from the subconscious’ (Dewey 1934/1980, 64–5).
For Dewey, we give way in our mind, to some impulse; we try, in our mind, some
plan. Following its development through various steps, we find ourselves in the pres-
ence of the consequences that would follow. Hence a reading creates a circle of
knowledge (see note 1) and performs a prospective, prognostic function in addition to
the symptomatic, or diagnostic, quite in accord with Dewey comparing the process of
reflective thinking with the task of a doctor, a physician who has to make not only a
diagnosis but also a prognosis as a forecast of the probable future course of the
disease. For Jung too, the collective unconscious encompasses future possibilities, and
‘[a] purposively interpreted [image], seems like a symbol, seeking to characterise a
definite goal with the help of the material at hand, or trace out a line of future psycho-
logical development’ (Jung CW 6. 720). Thus ‘gazing into the future’ is not an occult
phenomenon but a feature of any creative, imaginative, recursive practice summarised
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 63

by Dewey as the ‘look into the future, … an anticipation, or a prediction … of some

possible future experiences’ (Dewey 1933, in Hickman and Alexander 1998, 2, 143).
Due to the flavour of anticipation new meanings find their way into the here-and-
now of the present experience so that ‘we are carried out beyond ourselves to find
ourselves’ (Dewey 1934/1980, 195). The synthesis of the past-present-and-the-
possible-future is seen in the typical layout historically called ‘The Celtic Cross’ that
comprises 10 positions as shown in Figure 1.
These positions do have specific therapeutic connotations (Semetsky 2005) there-
Figure 1. The Celtic Cross spread.

fore constituting a rich context within which each particular Arcanum that ‘falls out’
in this or that position is to be read and interpreted. In brief, the semantics of ten
positions is as follows:
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(1) The subject’s presenting problem as an area of a particular concern to the

subject of the reading.
(2) The influence, such as impulses, feelings, traits, or behavioural patterns (not
necessarily the subject’s own), or some other ‘sign’ that may strengthen or
weaken the problem the subject is concerned with, as per position 1. Quite
often, this position signifies some, possibly as yet unperceived, obstacles.
(3) Some past unconscious factors that contributed to the present situation. The
‘roots’ of the matter in question, which are deeply embedded in the uncon-
scious and may appear, quite often, in the subject’s dreams.

Figure 1. The Celtic Cross spread.

 64 I. Semetsky

(4) A significant moment in the subject’s past history that still affects the present
situation and whose implications are so strong that they might continue to
show up in the subject’s future dynamics. Even if the subject did not pay
particular attention to it and almost ‘forgot’ it, this memory, if significant,
comes out in a reading.
(5) A potential, or coming into being, future. Perhaps some motivations, even if
outside of the subject’s conscious intent, have contributed to this develop-
ment, which thereby shows it presence, even if only as a trace of ‘the memory
of the future’.
(6) The further development of the situation as it unfolds in the immediate future.
(7) The subject’s current state of mind comprising thoughts, accompanied by
affects, shows up in this position. The subject’s own perceptions may be quite
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overwhelming to him/her, or even obsessional.

(8) The subject’s immediate environment, that is, home, support system (or the
lack thereof), family, friends, partners, relatives, business associates; in short
people representing significant others for the subject in relation to her
presenting problem.
(9) The subject’s hopes and wishes, aspirations and ideals, are shown here. They
are often accompanied by fears or anxiety.
(10) A possible outcome of the current dynamics as it envelops all contributing
and hindering factors represented by the pictures that will have occupied each
position. It is never an impending fate but rather a visible end-in-view (as
Dewey would have called it) to be meditated upon and taken into consider-
ation by the subject of the reading in her subsequent decision making, and
choosing the course of action.

As such, the positions in the spread signify the dimension of time; that’s why there
can be a peculiar feeling of gazing into the future and revisiting the past during read-
ings. As embodying multiple archetypal images, a Tarot spread confirms Jung’s posi-
tion as future-oriented and prospective in his saying that ‘the archetype determines the
nature of the configurational process and the course it will follow, with seeming fore-
knowledge, or as if it were already in a possession of the goal’ (Jung CW 8, 411). Such
metaphysics of time implies a timeless coexistence of past, present, and possible
future events. David Bohm, a physicist, has posited all events as enfolded in the time-
less implicate order. In the physical world they unfold into explicate order thereby
adding time as an extra, fourth, dimension to our physical reality of three-dimensional
space. Irish philosopher and monk, Mark Patrick Hederman, in his book Tarot:
Talisman or Taboo? Reading the World as Symbol, quotes Bohm as saying:

When people dream of accidents correctly and do not take the plane and ship, it is not
the actual future that they were seeing. It was merely something in the present which is
implicate and moving toward making this future. In fact the future they saw differed from
the actual future because they altered it. Therefore I think it’s more plausible to say that,
if these phenomena exist, there’s an anticipation of the future in the implicate order in
the present. (Bohm in Hederman 2003, 43–44)

During readings, when the pictures are being spread in a layout that comprises posi-
tions signifying all three aspects of time simultaneously, human perception not only
encompasses the past but also anticipates ‘the memory of the future’ (Semetsky 2006b)
compressed in the here-and-now of each reading. This subtle and tacit ‘knowledge’,
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 65

perhaps just a gut feeling, would have let people act on its basis therefore possibly, as
Bohm said, altering their actual future.

Cathy’s story
In a Deweyan sense, the process of Tarot readings discovers ‘the connection of things’
(Dewey 1916/1924, 164) enabling us to learn from experience. Cathy (not her real
name) consented to her situation being made public for educational purposes. She was
a college student and wanted to have a reading for the reason of personal and profes-
sional problems. The reading was offered in the framework of a counselling session.
Cathy hoped to gain insight into herself as well as into the past-present-future. She
further wanted to analyse feelings, to clarify issues and to simply find out more about
Tarot. Prior to the reading she mentioned that she was curious as she ‘heard about
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Tarot and wanted to try’. Such was the only information provided by Cathy.
Her layout is shown in Figure 2:

Figure 2. Cathy’s layout.4

 66 I. Semetsky
Figure 2. Cathy’s layout.4

The first picture representing the core of Cathy’s problem in the centre of the
Celtic Cross spread was the King of Swords. It described male energy that had a nega-
tive effect on Cathy’s psyche. The imagery indicated the presence of an aggressive
and controlling person in her life that could be either a boyfriend or father, or both.
Compassion happened to be an affect unknown to such a personality and accordingly,
absent for Cathy. Was there anybody in her life who ever said that he was here for
her? It did not look so from the spread of the images on the pictures, and Cathy said
at that point, ‘True’.
The card in the second position, however, with its image of the Knight of Wands
– crossing over the first card – provided a positive counterpart to the negative influ-
ence of the King of Swords. Symbolising a creative energy, this Knight indicated that
Cathy was about to move out, to seek a new place of residence for herself. When I
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asked Cathy if this indeed was the case, she said she was constantly thinking about
moving out and changing her living situation.
Still, the unconscious motivation of maintaining the status quo (the four of penta-
cles in the third position) was an anchor pulling Cathy back versus the driving pushing
force of the Knight of Wands. At the subconscious level Cathy desperately tried to
keep what was her only family with its shallow stability and security (the 10 of penta-
cles in the fifth position). Cathy’s deeply engraved belief in her inability to take even
the slightest risk enmeshed with the feeling that it is better to have than have not.
She did not realise though that the family’s fragile homeostasis was based on such
a precarious foundation as her being the victim in this situation; quite possibly the
victim of abuse. Cathy interjected here saying that she has indeed been in therapy for
the last four years.
I wondered if in the past she did try to leave, to walk off – as the eight of cups in
the forth position unequivocally suggested. Cathy answered ‘yes’. According to the
imagery of the eight of cups, she had tried to leave her situation behind, because the
feeling that it was not right persisted. However the feeling of what IS right was not
there either, and Cathy remained confused, her confusion leading to the vicious circle
of feeling more and more depressed up to the point of immersing herself in the dark
night of the soul (the 10 of swords).
The cycle of depression, though, was just about to end, as depicted by this very
image of the 10 of swords in the sixth position: the 10 of swords indicating that very
soon Cathy will have started seeing her situation in a new light. However this would
be conditional on Cathy, as influenced by the positive constructive energy of the
Knight of Wands, having made a decision to move out and on with her life. At this
point Cathy said that her therapist kept telling her exactly the same.
Well, perhaps she was not ready before, but right now the collective unconscious
identified Cathy with the Page of Wands (in the overall, extra, position), who carried
a message of optimism and vitality. The image of the Page of Wands was encouraging
Cathy that she has had those qualities within herself, even if not yet actually but
potentially.
Cathy’s state of mind, though, as per the constellation of the three cards in the
seventh position, reflected the severity of mental blocks and the presence of inhibi-
tions. The major Arcanum ‘Judgement’ (Figure 3) was of particular significance:
Figure 3. Judgement.5

In a Tarot deck this Arcanum immediately follows ‘The Sun’, the symbol of
Rebirth as a precondition for Wholeness. ‘Judgement’ is a symbol that brings into
being the possibility for self-renewal, vivification of life, and the integration into the
world. Symbolically, integration is always related to resurrection; or, as famous
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 67
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Figure 3. Judgement.5

Jungian psychologist Marie-Louise von Franz put it, one’s waking up from Hades
and standing up from the grave. Even though von Franz was not making any refer-
ence to this particular Arcanum, the symbolic meaning of, and the poetic language
for, narrating the image appear the same. Existential psychologist Rollo May, reflect-
ing on the history of humankind, insisted that only by going through (symbolic) hell
does one acquire a chance of ever reaching (symbolic) heaven. Irene Gad refers to the
Judgement card specifically in the context of resurrection as formulated by Jung:
‘…we can easily understand the central importance of the resurrection idea: we are
not completely subjected to the powers of annihilation because our psychic totality
reaches beyond the barrier of space and time’ (Jung CW 18, 1572 quoted in Gad
1994, 297).
The imagery of ‘Judgement’ conveys a call for action. Although Judgement indi-
cated that Cathy has ‘heard the call of the trumpet’ aiming to have awakened her
consciousness from the state of deep sleep akin to being buried alive, her desire to
finally have a peace of mind and to achieve emotional stability and security (the nine
of cups) was sabotaged by the presence of the six of cups in the same position.
Unconsciously, Cathy was fighting her own development and her own growth by
resisting the possibility of re-entry into an authentic existence as per Judgement
imagery.
Importantly, the image of the six of cups ‘located’ in the seventh position in the
context of mental fixation carried a message that Cathy has been blocking her child-
hood memories. That is, to get rid of self-recrimination and low self-esteem, to gain
confidence in herself in order to be able to get ‘up and going’ was only possible
through recovering of Cathy’s memories.
When Cathy heard the interpretation of the images at this point, she said that she
went to hypnotherapy, engaged in workshops, but she did not have any childhood
memories at all, neither good or bad. So Cathy knew that she needed to recover her
memory, didn’t she? How then Cathy became aware about the importance of recover-
ing her memories, I asked. Cathy said that her therapist, after four years in therapy,
told her that she has had all the symptoms of having been sexually abused as a child,
and Cathy’s lack of childhood memories was an issue of concern and indeed discussed
in her therapy.
 68 I. Semetsky

That is why the collective unconscious was persistently attracting our attention to
this theme: even as a specifically sexual abuse was not explicit in the layout, the issues
of an overall emotional abuse and persistent neglect were overwhelming in the
images. The image of the Judgement was invoking the Jungian ‘inferior’ function of
feeling as a complement to the superior rational thinking; the latter perhaps the only
function available to Cathy in her – quite likely, of cognitive-behavioural orientation
– traditional therapy! No wonder that four years spent in therapy did not bring in the
desired results. The activated archetype of Judgement, however, was making it impos-
sible for Cathy to continue in her present state. Nichols associated the ‘Judgement’
Arcanum with ‘a very precise value judgement based on how one feels … rather than
what he might think about it’ (1980, 340; my emphasis).
The reality of physical or emotional abuse and neglect in the past as well as, quite
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likely, in the present was reflected in the constellation of 11th, 12th and 13th cards
(added to the usual 10 for the purpose of gaining some insight into events of extremely
high impact).6 The Chariot indicated that whenever Cathy had the quality of energy
to be able and determined to fight for a desired goal and was prepared to direct her
actions for self-assertion, not only she did not have any support in her pursuits, but she
was punished, scolded, felt abandoned, and was constantly reminded about how bad,
useless, and distructive she was (the five of cups). Worse, her mother practically
turned her back onto her (as symbolised by The Queen of Swords as a partner to the
very first picture of the King of Swords in the position of Cathy’s presenting problem).
At this point Cathy said that her parents always call her names, call her crazy, tell
her she did not earn enough money, etc. This was a clear case of a continuous
emotional abuse. The past has been repeating itself in the present as Cathy’s psyche
made an enormous effort to suppress her memories. Therefore having subconsciously
jeopardised her own personal development was the only possible survival mechanism
for her in her immediate environment.
The nine of wands, however, in the position of hopes suggested that despite Cathy
feeling as though she came to the end of her ability to protect her interests, there was
still strength and determination in reserve. The old wound hurt, but victory would be
achieved through endurance.
The three of pentacles as the ‘outcome’ card in the tenth position suggested a
strong probability for Cathy to make a first step towards her growth and personal/spir-
itual development. A long awaited feeling of self-worth, being respected and achiev-
ing the recognition from others would be Cathy’s reward provided she steps up and
out of the oppressive environment. She would not be without a support system either.
The Page of Pentacles in the eighth position indicated not only Cathy getting a degree,
but her college environment becoming a supportive environment for her, where she
would gain all due respect in accordance with her being hard-working and diligent.
Once again, the major influence of the imagery of the Judgement as a calling, ‘a
vocation’ (Nichols 1980, 341), was obvious.
At this point Cathy said that she realised the necessity to move out, but how to
recover her memories? She wanted the guidance of the collective unconscious and
pulled out the card that happened to be ‘The Fool’. New, happy life cycle would begin
should Cathy make a choice of taking a fresh start. Cathy commented that her thera-
pist also kept telling her that she was the one to make a decision in this respect.
Surrounded by the same walls, so to speak, Cathy would be unable to recollect the
past as it would be too painful for her. Moving out, though, and expanding the world
of experiences around her (as conveyed by the Fool imagery) would provide Cathy
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 69

with the ability of feeling safe – something she lacked in the family. It would be safe
to remember, and the inner child in Cathy would be born again, this time feeling
happy, safe, and secure.
I handed over a questionnaire to Cathy after we finished this reading/counselling
session as it was part of the study design to have my subjects answer some follow-up
questions in lieu of their free reading. Cathy answered ‘yes’ to the question whether
this reading contributed to achieving her individual purpose and explained her answer
as follows: ‘I was a little skeptical but now I believe more [in Tarot] because it was
true for me. My situation was in the cards’. She added: ‘I live with my parents and my
boyfriend. My father and boyfriend are verbally abusive and my mom usually agrees
with them. She does not do anything except what my dad wants her to do’.
Cathy was not sure if she needed a consequent session as she ‘just did not know
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what it would entail’. She said that this reading was significant and meaningful and
added that ‘it verified what [she] had been told by [her] therapist’.

Conclusion
This reading and the interpretation of images and symbols as the projections of the
inner archetypal imagery in Cathy’s psyche (in which the archetypes of the collective
unconscious are interjected, according to Jung) contributed to her starting to learn
from her experiences and stepping on the road to individuation. Although her experi-
ence was traumatic, it was confirmed for her and, reciprocally, she was confirmed by
the array of symbolic representations of her experience. Confirmation is one of the
pillars of Nel Noddings’s ethics of care in education. Initially belonging to Hasidic
philosopher Martin Buber, the idea of confirmation refers to an act of affirming and
encouraging the very best in somebody’s action even if such a better Self is present
only potentially. Confirmation sustains a continuous connection – a healing relation –
between the two people, as well as between ourselves and the objects in the world.
Jung insisted that it is ‘through the progressive integration of the unconscious
[that] we have a reasonable chance to make experiences of an archetypal nature
providing us with the feeling of continuity before and after our existence. The better
we understand the archetype, the more we participate in its life and the more we
realise its eternity or timelessness’ (Jung CW 18, 1572). We are able to get the arche-
typal guidance because of the glimpse into the boundless and timeless spiritual reality
manifesting itself in symbols and images. It is by means of connecting with the realm
of Spirit in practice and actively participating in such symbolic communication that
Cathy was becoming aware of where she stood on her road to individuation. It is the
dialogic communication via the symbolism of the pictures and beginning to under-
stand the meaning of her personal experience embedded in the imaginative narrative
of Cathy’s reading that brought the ‘background of organised meanings’ (Dewey
1934/1980, 266) implicit in the spiritual realm into the very foreground. The notion of
connecting with the Spirit leads us again to St. Augustine who said:

Whoever…is able to understand a word, not only before it is uttered in sound, but also
before the images of its sounds are considered in thought… is able now to see through
this glass and in this enigma some likeness of that Word of whom it is said, ‘In the begin-
ning was the Word…’ For of necessity …there is born from the knowledge itself which
the memory retains, a word that is altogether of the same kind with that knowledge from
which it is born. … And the true word then comes into being…. (cited in Clarke 1990,
26–28)
 70 I. Semetsky

This expanded circle of knowledge breaks through the narrow boundaries of

Cartesian res cogitanz and literally becomes res extensa in its embodied, symbolic,
form. What Dewey called an affective thought acquired a body and life via the
medium of images thus contributing to the healing of Cathy’s psyche damaged by
continuing traumatic experiences. The images that are full of affective qualities do
have ‘an efficiency of operation which it is impossible for thought to match’ (Dewey
1925/1958, 299). These qualities are inscribed in ‘the “subconscious” of human
thinking’ (Dewey 1925/1958, 299).
As such, reading and interpreting Cathy’s experience as expressed in her pictorial
story became a process of Dewey’s ‘dramatic rehearsal’ (Dewey 1922/1988, 132)
during which an affective thought ‘runs ahead and foresees outcomes, and thereby
avoids having to await the instructions of actual failure and disaster’ (Dewey 1922/
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1988, 133). The reason is that such an expansive, Gnostic, mode of knowledge is
capable of containing in its present phase also ‘affairs remote in space and in time’
(Dewey 1925/1958, 279). The layout of archetypal images representing Cathy’s life-
story demonstrated a subtle ‘feeling of the direction and end of various lines of behav-
iour [as] … the feeling of habits working below direct consciousness’ (Dewey 1922/
1988, 26); still learning from and undergoing, in a Deweyan sense, such an educative
experience has empowered Cathy with the possibility of getting out of – transforming
– her outlived habits.
Symbols act as transformers, as we said earlier, and by transforming her particular
problematic situation embedded in the layout of images Cathy became able to feel the
long-awaited (the Judgement card!) ‘reward of that … transformation’ (Dewey 1934/
1980, 22). Cathy’s experience became the learning experience (what Jim Garrison
would call a teachable moment), empowering her with the ability to begin choosing
actions that appeared earlier frightening and unthinkable. Cathy’s layout represents
what Dewey called ‘the drawing of a ground-plan of human experience’ (Dewey
1934/1980, 22), and it is because of the transformation undergone in her very experi-
ence that Cathy’s personal ‘feelings are no longer just felt. They have and they make
sense’ (Dewey 1925/1958, 258): her experience acquires meaning.
Cathy’s individual case did not provide enough data to explore ‘where to from
now’. We can only guess that encountering and reclaiming her inner child in the
present may lead to shaping her spirituality in the future and, subsequently, to further
influence the dynamics of her relationships at both personal and professional levels.
As a pre-service early childhood teacher, Cathy may develop more confidence in
exploring spiritual aspects in her own practice. Should she have encountered the spir-
itual realm via Tarot earlier in life, her story might have been different. But the broad
variety of epistemic modalities (might, should, and would) rarely helps in real life.
Did she block out the memories of her painful childhood in order to basically survive
amidst her hostile environment or was this ‘forgetfulness’ an elongated symbolic
sleep, a dark night of Cathy’s soul, preceding the morning of the awakened Spirit
(‘Judgement’)? Have her early traumatic experiences jeopardised her emotional and
spiritual maturity? Or, just the opposite, have they served a significant role of being
the necessary, even if dark, precursors for her to eventually appreciate the values
implicit in spiritual realm?
Self-fulfilment and the ability to heal one’s painful traumas is traditionally
identified not with personal physical values like, for example, one’s biological or
physiological needs, not even with social and communitarian values, but with values
identified as spiritual. Well-known real-life human experiences come to mind: Victor
 International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 71

Frankl’s powerful account of his life in a concentration camp gives an example of

surviving under extreme conditions contingent on one’s commitment to, first of all,
keeping alive a sense of the higher meaning in life. Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s descrip-
tion of just one day in the life of a common Russian man in a Siberian labour camp
became an improvised textbook that the next generation learned from. The lesson
implied in the book was how one’s self-fulfilment among the quotidian routines
brings an inner freedom despite oppressive conditions, the latter in fact providing the
challenge on which spiritual awakening is contingent.
The praxis of interpreting Tarot images helps in discovering the deepest level of
meanings implicit in the Memoria; subsequently, an intensification of consciousness
due to the integration of the unconscious becomes a step towards enlivening human
spirit and healing the psyche. Cathy’s undergoing symbolic resurrection was possible
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because of connecting in practice with the boundless, eternal and timeless, world of
Spirit of which our human finite life is an integral part: an always ‘already a part-of-
a-whole [and] a condition of the full determination of the latter [the whole]’ (Dewey
1925/1958, 65) within the process of individuation toward ‘The World’ as a symbol
of an authentic, integrated, Self.
Tarot images, as Sallie Nichols reminds us, ‘were conceived deep in the guts of
human experience, at the most profound level of the human psyche. It is to this level
in ourselves that they will speak’ (Nichols 1980, 5) hence delivering a spiritual lesson,
which – even while located outside formal educational settings – will have enabled us
to make decisions and chose actions in harmony with the Jungian Unus Mundus.

Notes
1. Cathy’s case was discussed in my presentation ‘Education as human development: putting
theory into practice’ at the Chaos and Complexity SIG at the American Educational
Research Association 2009 Annual Meeting ‘Disciplined Inquiry: Education Research in
the Circle of Knowledge’, San Diego, CA, 13–17 April 2009. Together with other 14 cases,
it will appear in the book Resymbolization of the self: Human development and Tarot
hermeneutic (working title), which is currently a work-in-progress to be published with
Sense Publishers, The Netherlands, in their book series ‘Transgressions: Cultural studies
and education’.
2. Cathy is not a child but her emotional maturity, as will be seen below, has been delayed
due to specific childhood experiences. It may appear that adult spiritual development and
exploration (as the reviewers indeed pointed out) has little to do with children’s spirituality
as the focus of this journal. Yet Cathy, at the time I met her, was in college, enrolled in a
teacher preparation/human development programme studying to become an early child-
hood educator. Never mind when in her life she has had her own first encounter with the
spiritual domain, this experience would have proved significant in her working with young
children later.
3. As I indicated in Semetsky (2009), imaginative narrative belongs to the methodologies of
the cutting edge interdisciplinary scientific programme of Futures Studies. Among other
methods of Futures Studies are scenario planning, anticipatory decision making, forecast-
ing, backcasting, and strategic foresight for shaping alternative futures; and an analysis of
signs and symbols ‘articulating’ transformations and changes. Incidentally, Futures Studies
employ a term ‘wild card’ for an event of apparently low probability but very high impact.
Please refer to Cathy’s story.
4. This layout comprises more positions as compared to the standard 10 only positions in the
Celtic Cross spread in Figure 1; thus it potentially provides some additional information.
5. All illustrations are from Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, known also as the Rider Tarot and the
Waite Tarot. Reproduced by permission of US Games Systems Inc., Stamford, CT 06902,
USA. Copyright 1971 by US Games Systems, Inc. Further reproduction prohibited.
6. Wild cards? See note 3 above.
 72 I. Semetsky

Notes on contributor
Inna Semetsky is a research academic, Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle,
Australia. She completed her PhD in philosophy of education in 2002 at Columbia University,
New York, under the advisement of Professor Nel Noddings. In 2005–07 she was a postdoctoral
research fellow with the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. Among her
publications are Deleuze, education and becoming (2006) and an edited volume, Nomadic
education: Variations on a theme by Deleuze and Guattari (2008). Her book Resymbolization
of the self: Human development and Tarot hermeneutic is forthcoming with SENSE Publishers,
Rotterdam. She is presently guest-editing a special issue ‘The Jungian currents in education’ of
the journal Educational philosophy and theory. She is on the editorial boards of several journals
including The European legacy: Towards new paradigms and Complicity: An International
Journal of Complexity and Education. Please visit www.innasense.org.
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