Jungian Adventure Spreads

Hello Friend,

I’m so excited…over the past week I’ve been geeking out on Jungian psychology! I love it so much…I truly feel it brings us clarity of how to manage the contents of our mind more wisely, and this affects everything in our world.

So here I’ve broken it down for you into 7 tarot spreads. Fun fact- “7” in numerology is the number of personal quests and secret knowledge. So I hope this collection serves you in that way!

I’m putting these out there for free. If you get something out of it and want to give back, you can buy me a coffee here or send a donation to my venmo: Tara-Kimes

Much Love,

Tara

Persona

The persona is like a social mask we wear or a role we play in public, but sometimes it becomes unhealthy when we get stuck in it and mistake it for our whole identity. Carl Jung believed that the persona was useful if we keep it flexible. I agree with him…a persona is protective and builds self-esteem if you are using it consciously. Last year I played with a provocative ‘empress’ persona, this year I’m taking it off and wearing one that feels more like ‘the fool.’ This spread clarifies the most healthy persona for you. This may change each time you revisit it:

Shadow

The shadow is anything you judge as ‘unacceptable’ and refuse to extend your love to. Most people try to deny the shadow or try to defeat it. But really compassion is the only way to unlock the vital energy stored there. Carl Jung believed we all have a dark shadow and a golden shadow. The dark shadow is all the intense emotions we believe we’re not allowed to feel because we will be punished. The golden shadow is all the joy and brilliance we believe we’re not allowed to express because it would be too challenging for people to witness. The 2 spreads below invite you to see what’s actually in your dark and golden shadow:

Projection

Projection is when we react disproportionately to someone while perceiving their behavior. We may not understand why we’re triggered, but it’s actually that we’re outsourcing our dark shadow or our golden shadow onto that person. If we can’t stand that they are hyper-critical, we’ve not allowed ourself to be critical at all. If we worship them for being confident, we’ve outsourced our own confidence. Projection can stir up intense jealousy or longing, worship, or hatred/ disgust. I’ve been jealous of women who had big creative success; eventually I had to learn to unleash my own audacity to enjoy creative success. Projection is a signal that you need to examine the person’s triggering quality within yourself.

This spread helps you understand where you might be projecting:

Anima/ Animus

The anima/ animus is your ‘opposite’- your missing half…any qualities that are underdeveloped in you. Rather than admire these lost qualities in another person and thinking that person completes you, you need to restore connection to these qualities in yourself. Carl Jung originally described the anima as the ‘feminine’ side of men, and the animus as the ‘masculine’ side of women. If you like eastern wisdom you could say the ‘yin’ in men, and the ‘yang’ in women. (Yin= intuition, feeling, relating. Yang= direction, focus, structure.) Often we overcompensate one side and neglect the other. To reclaim the anima/ animus is to begin the journey of inner union. This spread assists with that:

The Self

The Self is what comes alive when you achieve inner union. It perceives reality beyond persona, ego, shadow, projections, and roles. Whereas the ego is the center of consciousness, the Self is the center of BOTH the conscious and unconscious. The ego is exclusive, and the Self is INCLUSIVE. Ego tries to attain perfection, but the self is more about wholeness, acceptance, and paradox. This spread helps clarity what’s real about you:

Individuation

Individuation is a lifetime journey of remembering and returning to your true self so much that your outer life reflects it back to you. It’s your natural expression that doesn’t need to prove anything or ‘improve’ itself. Individuation happens by building a healthy ego, owning your persona and shadow, withdrawing projections, integrating inner opposites, and living from the Self. This spread helps you become an individual in the truest sense: