Books about Tarot and Jung

Teheuti

There are a couple of posts on my blog giving the only references Jung is known to have made to Tarot - there's not much although he acknowledged the archetypal potential there. The best book, IMHO, is the one by Sallie Nichols in that she was a Jungian and aptly demonstrates how a Jungian approaches these images. Hajo Banzahf's book is helpful for pointing out archetypal connections. If you are looking for a summary of Jung's theory of the psyche as it relates to Tarot then any of the books mentioned will give you some bits and pieces. One of the simplest and most direct is Alfred Douglas' book The Tarot. My recommendation is to read Man and His Symbols by Jung (and others). Written not long before he died, it contains Jung's own succinct overview of his core ideas (beautifully expressed for the layperson), plus essays by other Jungians chosen by Jung himself - from which you can get an idea why Sallie Nichols' book fits so well into the corpus.

Richard

I haven't seen Irene Gad's Tarot and Individuation mentioned. Individuation is a process of incorporating unconscious contents of the mind into consciousness. It was the foundation of Carl Jung's method of psychotherapy. The theory is that repressed traumas and such can impact our moods and behavior, and we have little or no control over this as long as the underlying cause remains unconscious.

Jung actually seemed more interested in I Ching divination than tarot, largely due to the masterful translation of Chinese texts related thereto by his good friend Richard Wilhelm.

daphne

Teheuti said:
There are a couple of posts on my blog giving the only references Jung is known to have made to Tarot - there's not much although he acknowledged the archetypal potential there. The best book, IMHO, is the one by Sallie Nichols in that she was a Jungian and aptly demonstrates how a Jungian approaches these images. Hajo Banzahf's book is helpful for pointing out archetypal connections. If you are looking for a summary of Jung's theory of the psyche as it relates to Tarot then any of the books mentioned will give you some bits and pieces. One of the simplest and most direct is Alfred Douglas' book The Tarot. My recommendation is to read Man and His Symbols by Jung (and others). Written not long before he died, it contains Jung's own succinct overview of his core ideas (beautifully expressed for the layperson), plus essays by other Jungians chosen by Jung himself - from which you can get an idea why Sallie Nichols' book fits so well into the corpus.

Thank you so much for explanation! This is exactly what I was looking for.
I will read the book of Sallie Nichols and the one of Jung himself.

daphne

LRichard said:
I haven't seen Irene Gad's Tarot and Individuation mentioned. Individuation is a process of incorporating unconscious contents of the mind into consciousness.

This is very interesting. Is this the "shadow work"? I will look up this book too.

Richard

daphne said:
This is very interesting. Is this the "shadow work"? I will look up this book too.

Yes, I believe that "shadow work" is related to this. I think it is good for us to realize that we may not be as squeaky clean on the inside as we may think.

Teheuti

The Shadow is one part of the psyche. It is a term used by Jungians to indicate an aspect of the unconscious self that is repressed, denied, and unactualized and that goes unrecognized by the conscious mind. Shadow qualities are often projected onto others and may be “bright” or desired qualities, as well as “dark” or disliked ones.

Individuation is the process of becoming a self-aware human being, expanding the boundaries of what we can experience and our ability to make conscious choices. In other words, the process of personality development which leads to the fullest possible actualization of the archetypal potential of an individual.

So, yes, shadow-work is one part of the *process* of individuation.

Sandalwood

Is "Tarot as a way of life", from Karen-Hamaker Zondag on your list yet?

Just reading about Jung's work, the concepts & symbolism may help you to see the connection to the tarot for yourself and/or help you develop your concept of this.

daphne

Sandalwood said:
Is "Tarot as a way of life", from Karen-Hamaker Zondag on your list yet?
Just reading about Jung's work, the concepts & symbolism may help you to see the connection to the tarot for yourself and/or help you develop your concept of this.

No, it is not on the list yet. I will look it up.

daphne

Teheuti said:
So, yes, shadow-work is one part of the *process* of individuation.

There are more parts? I would find these in the book by Sallie Nichols (I just bough it)?

Teheuti

daphne said:
There are more parts? I would find these in the book by Sallie Nichols (I just bought it)?

Sallie Nichols probably talks about the Shadow when discussing the Devil card. (Can't go look it up right now.)

There are many parts to the Psyche - Ego, Persona, Anima or Animus, etc.

The Process of Individuation is quite involved - in fact, it takes a lifetime to really learn about it. Alfred Douglas does a great job of describing it simply in terms of the Tarot in his book, The Tarot.

The basic elements of Jung's core ideas are described in Jung's book Man and His Symbols. If you are serious about making the connections between Jung and Tarot, then reading at least his own essay in this book is essential (and also the essay by Marie-Louise von Franz).

All the other books mentioned are okay - each in their own way. The fact is, if you want a Jungian approach to Tarot, you just can't get around studying Jung and other Jungians. I highly recommend Marie-Louise von Franz.