Helping with a phobia of dogs?

I have tried searching through the list of tarot spreads available, with no luck, so I'm asking here. My other half has an extreme phobia of dogs. He was bitten as a child, and now, even if a dog is behind a fence, he gets absolutely terrified. Recently we visited a friend, who owns a dog, and my other half was almost paralysed with fear. It's really proving debillitating for him, and I would appreciate a spread which could indicate ways for him to overcome this fear of his.

There is, I'll admit, a selfish side to this as well - I'm completely animal mad, and have always wanted to rescue dogs. I accept that this isn't going to happen if this phobia continues, and if there is no way to cure him of this phobia, my other half is more important than dogs will ever be. I'd like to try something though.

I wonder if this spread (from the AT list in this forum) might help?

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=45200

Thank you Marcia! Hopefully that will give us some help with this issue. It's a good sign that this phobia is the only issue that's arisen between us though.

I found this spread over in a guide at Amazon. The author says that it was adapted from a spread that is included with the Crowley-Thoth deck.

15-11-7--------------5-9-13

-----------2-1-3-----------

14-10-6--------------4-8-12


Cards 1, 2, 3 - the question, what the reading is about.
Cards 4, 8, 12 - events occurring right now that affect the question.
Cards 5, 9, 13 - how things may turn out given the way things are going.
Cards 14, 10, 6 - actions you may take to alter the future.
Cards 15, 11, 7 - how the future might turn out if you act to change it.

This method does not use different “reversed” or upside-down meanings. Instead, it depends on the relationships of nearby cards. Wands and swords strengthen each other, as do cups and disks. Swords and disks weaken each other, as do wands and cups. So a 10 of cups with wands or swords on either side of it is trouble in the making, while a sword surrounded by cups gets mellowed, and surrounded by disks gets buried. Major Arcana cards often indicate important events or changes, the details of which may be suggested by the surrounding cards.

Thank you for that spread, Glass Owl! We were at a party last night and this came up, the phobia, and he admitted that he feels really bad, because he knows how much dogs have always meant to me. What a darling.

I understand where your other half is coming from. I had a bad experience as a child with dogs and it seems to have left its print on me. I would much rather fight a snake with my hands than a dog with a sword (not that I would want to hurt dogs intentionally, just showing I'd rather deal with something far more dangerous and it not be a dog.)

Hope all goes well on that front, and good luck!

Not to take away from what the tarot can do but, you may want to look into a procedure known as EMDR. It is for past trauma. I had it done, it's similar to talk therapy, and my issue went completely away.

He shouldn't have to live with it. If you want more info feel free to pm me.

NLP & Hypnotherapy

Hi there

I'd also recommend trying NLP & Hypnotherapy. They can be very effective for phobia work and reasonably brief in treatment times. I'm a volunteer therapist with the National Phobics Society (they're now called Anxiety UK) and have worked for several years in private practice with clients, and have found NLP & Hypnotherapy very useful tools.

Marcus Katz

I was mauled by a sled dog as a very young child. He grabbed me by my face and shook me. It did not, however, make me fearful of dogs. But, I am a seriously odd person sometimes! I am a complete dog nut! My sister was bitten (not seriously) by a poodle and was fearful for many years.

Is it all dogs or just ones that are similar to the one that bit him? Perhaps if he were able to interact with dogs that are trained to be calm (therapy dogs, etc.) he might be able to become less fearful. Or maybe volunteer to help with orphaned puppies.

Also, and I know this sounds strange, but there is a book and a video by Turid Rugaas. It is very informative about the body language of dogs. If you can find the video or the book, I recommend it highly. I have found that increasing understanding of something can sometimes help with relieving some of the fear.

I wish you both luck in finding peace with this fear.