A Study on the Use of the Tarot Major Arcana as a Guide in Individuation Counseling
Korean Association of Figure Therapy October 31, 2025 Myungsook Ahn
The 22 cards of the Tarot Major Arcana can serve as a symbolic tool for self-exploration in counseling, grounded in Carl Jung's theory of individuation—the psychological journey toward integrating the ego and the Self. The sequential progression of the Major Arcana parallels the stages of individuation: ego separation, confronting the shadow, ego dissolution and reconstruction, and self-realization. Based on this framework, the counseling process is restructured into five stages: departure, initiation, collapse, recovery, and integration. The Major Arcana may thus function as a guiding symbolic system that facilitates inner integration and symbolic transformation within counseling.