looking for cards for healing

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 21 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

mostly water	21 May 2003
Dear Tarot Readers, I am at the very, very beginning of learning the cards. (I just got the Nigel Jackson this week.) Anyway, I want to make a piece of art for a friend of mine based on a tarot card. She was molested as a child, and has a lot of depression/health issues because of this. She has a lot of problems forming both friendly and intimate relationships. I was wondering if you could recommend specific cards I could work with/create with to make a piece of art that would be healing for her. And I was also curious if there are cards to work with for healing depression and anxiety. Thank you so much!

Astraea	21 May 2003
What a lovely, lovely idea this is. Of course, in deciding which card(s) to base your artwork on, much would depend upon your friend's responses to particular symbols -- but it seems to me that the Empress might be a healing choice, since she embraces all creation and stands for relationship, itself. In terms of cards associated specifically with healing, I think that would depend on what kinds of situations need to be addressed; for example, healing of a relationship might be stimulated by the Lovers card, but probably not in the case of someone who has been molested. Your friend is fortunate to have someone as caring and sensitive as you in her life. (The Nigel Jackson deck is one of my favorites -- enjoy it.)

DeLani	21 May 2003
I've always understood the Star as healing, specifically inner, spiritual healing. I think the Star would be just right for this kind of thing. What a wonderful idea.

Belladonna	21 May 2003
I think you may find the Princess/Page of Cups to be helpful particularly with depression. This card, to me, embodies nurturing oneself, exploring and caring for ones own emotions and a necessary step before learning anew the art of relationship. The Ace of Cups could be helpful too, with bringing joy, happiness and love to the beginning of a healing journey.

DarkElectric	21 May 2003
Definitely The Star. That was the first card which came to my mind. What a sweet and beautiful idea this is :) I would also possibly add the 6 of swords~ moving away from an horrible situation, and the Ace of Cups~ beginning of new happiness.

MeeWah	21 May 2003
Mostly Water: Welcome to Talking Tarot! Temperance is a card I associate with healing. It pertains to appropriate action & understanding. (Has your friend tried counselling? She needs to understand that what happened is not her fault.) The Sun is a good card to address depression (as its lesser quality can relate to same). It can represent a new day; a new life; a beginning; looking at the bright side or optimism; good health, success, so on.

Alex	21 May 2003
The Emperor. It's a card of taking responsibility for oneself, for the life that is ahead. Unfortunately, modern psychoterapy stresses a lot on the issue of abuse and tries to "cure" people from within, often letting them totally helpless to take charge of their own lives. Don't take me wrong, for I've been there. Tell your friend to spring from any kind of psychoterapy that is not Gestalt or cognitive/ oriented, otherwise she'll spend the rest of her life taking care of her "inner child" and trying to "heal", and when she sees it, more than half of her life is past her. Alex.

RedWood	21 May 2003
Strength would be a good one also...well for the obvious reason.. :)

galadrial	21 May 2003
One of my best friends, and one of the few people I do readings for, was molested as a child. She is most attracted to the Ace of Cups, the Sun, and the Magician (which she finds very empowering). I'm sure your piece of art will be cherished.

truthsayer	22 May 2003
as a sexual abuse survivor well into recovery, the first card that popped into my mind was the high priestess. she is the guardian of secrets and can be called upon to learn whether it is necessary to keep the secret any longer and whom it is safe to tell the secret to. my second choice is justice. i was extremely angry for many years b/c i felt my abusers escaped justice. by working thru my strong need for justice, i also learned about forgiveness for myself as well as the perpetrators. i could take hours describing the need for justice but just trust me. justice is of paramount importance to sexual abuse survivors. in the early years of healing, i felt like i lived with the hanged man, death, and the tower. i was angry with the hierophant as i saw that card as the failure of god to protect me. the empress was the mother who failed to protect me. i saw the emporer as the authority of men to repress me and having the power to hurt me. i no longer feel negatively towards the hierophant, empress, and the emporer but imho they aren't very safe cards to use for a survivor unless s/he specifically names those cards. now that i am in the latter stages of healing, i am more able to relate to temperance and the star. when i think of the sun, i think of getting too close to emotional pain and being burned. i perceive the world as complete healing. judgement for my perps i reserve for my higher power to dispense. i think the ace, three and ten of cups would be good healing cards in the minor arcana.

scorpio	22 May 2003
one of the books by christine jette might be of interest to you and possibly your friend to aid you with your lovely idea of a visual meditation of hope and empowerment. but of her books the title of the one im thinking of escapesme but i think it is tarot for the healing heart- its in my library system and since it is a popular llewellyn title maybe you could find it if interested.

truthsayer	22 May 2003
one of christine jette's book is called "tarot for the healing heart" and the other is "tarot shadow work". i like healing heart best. tarot for self-discovery is nice for healing work, too.

The looking for cards for healing thread was originally posted on 21 May 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.