The Hero’s Journey | A Tarot Template

I’ve been using tarot cards for about 25 years now, and up until 3 years ago, I only used them for divination purposes.  Using the tarot as a template for self examination was very, very new to me.  I first saw tarot being used for self development about 4 years ago, and I did not resonate with it AT ALL.  I was like, “How in the heck do they do work with all of that?!”.

But because of curiosity, I kept looking into it anyway to find out just what the heck was going on lol.  I think it was in early 2017 that I came across Kelly-Ann Maddox’s youtube channel, and her instruction, and videos on Shadow Work.  They ended up having a very big impact on my understanding of this new way of interpretating of the cards.  I came to understand they were just using the tool of Tarot in a different way.

I’m sure others have probably used the cards in the way I am about to describe, but this was so eye opening for me, I really wanted to share it just in case.  So let’s get down to it…

—

My niece and I were having a discussion about this idea.  We had just watched the movie Booksmart.  I showed her how the movie was an excellent example of the use of the hero’s journey template.

• At the start of the movie, the girls believe some truth about the way the world works, and how best to succeed within that system.
• They then receive some information that casts doubt on their beliefs.
• They eventually decide to set out on an adventure having made a decision about their beliefs.
• The events that ensue because of that decision lead them to ending up in a place where things did not go any way near what they’d originally planned.  But in the end, they come out with an experience that has changed themselves, their world, and the people around them.

That’s basically it.

So, like I wrote above, some type of this form of narrative plays out in virtually all aspects of our lives.  From our jobs to our relationships to our social lives…  there is always some story going on (whether we’re aware of it or not).  Being aware of this becomes extremely helpful when we are actively trying to change how we act in certain situations.  We can then watch how we progress in individual specific areas, or in the scope of broader overall changes.

This is how the cards spoke to me:

• The Major Arcana cards represent the umbrella everything else is happening under.
• The Minor Arcana cards are the themes that are occurring under the umbrella of the specific Major Arcana card, that you have chosen, to represent your spot on your Hero’s Journey.
• The minor’s are the steps you will need to work your way through to get to the next major.
• When you recognize you have advanced to the next major, the process repeats all over again.  However, you will now apply the work of the minors to this new major’s stage.
• You can now assess where you need to start the new work, by investigating the minors under the new umbrella of your new major.  This gives you a solid reference to see where you are at in the process.

The minors can be interpreted like this:

• Swords represent mental processes.
• Wands represent actions taken and not taken.
• Cups represent how you process, or don’t process your emotions.
• Pentacles represent physical manifestations of all the other cards…  what you put out into the world.

So let’s say you see you are stuck at The Fool card, always beginning a certain project, but not ever quite getting it off the ground.  Using this method, you’d easily be able to see what your next logical step would be.  You could see that there’s a need to move yourself into The Magician and claim your personal power.

• Your mental processes may be stuck at the 5 of Swords.  This is where you just can’t seem to figure out how to get everything to work together.  Maybe some type of inner conflict is what’s making you give up.  We can see the next card is what might help with this.  The image on the 6 of Swords might be telling you, to take what you DO have figured out.   Take that, and set out with what you have.
• Your actions may be at the 2 of Wands, where you can see what you need to do, but you just can’t seem to take that step out.  The next card, the 3 of Wands, might be telling you that you need to get serious.  Pack your bags and head out to the “edge of town”.  Be courageous, and start that journey.
• Your emotions might be 4 of Cups and you just can’t seem to get excited about any of your options.  The 5 of cups could be pointing to the fact that you have not been able to cut your emotional ties to some ideas that have run their course.  You may be so focused on the ideas that have not worked, you have turned your back on the ones that might.
• And physically you’ve produced nothing of substance, because you are constant juggling ideas, and losing focus like the juggler in the 2 of Pentacles.  The 3 of Pentacles may be showing you to just produce something, and take your “wares” out there, and let others tell you if it’s good or not.

The relationship between the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana seem to be one of pushing and pulling.  We can see in the previous example, that what’s happening in the minors might be because of a lack of mastery of one’s personal power.  We can then focus our efforts on becoming, or moving into our role as The Magician within our own lives.  In doing so, it shows up in the positive effects of what’s going on in the realm of the minors.

And as we make our way through the levels of the majors, we are able to apply what is experientially gained from the events that have been playing out as we walk through the minors.

My interpretations have a lot to do with my years of experience working with the cards.  However, most of it is intuitive, since you are dealing with specific areas of YOUR life.  I like to use Rider Waite cards for this, but you can use what ever you feel called to.

If you have not worked with tarot before, or are just starting out, I’d recommend going through the cards without the traditional definitions first.  Examine the images, take note of any feelings or insights, and write them down.  Then go back and integrate your thoughts with the traditional meanings.

Keep it simple and fluid, but remember the magic is already baked in.  Work with, and stay with the progression that’s already been built into the system of The Tarot.

There are many free resources out there for tarot card definitions.  You can even just google the cards, and a definition will pop up in your search request.  You can also download free cheat sheets and pdfs.

Here are two links that I think are good:

The Tarot Lady | Tarot Card Meanings

The Secret of The Tarot

[Note: the links below are my Amazon Affiliate Links. Please go here for my full disclosure.]

Tarot 101: Mastering The Art of Reading The Cards by Kim Huggens

—

I hope this helps someone who may need it.

All The Best,
Tru