Welcome to the first session of a new series exploring the individual cards of the Tarot and how they speak to us and our clients. These sessions are short and fun yet full of mystery and beauty.
In this first session, we will explore the fascinating figure of The Fool in a therapeutic context. The Fool is a mysterious being in the Tarot; assigned the number-no-number of 0, he exists outside of the main sequence of the Major Arcana. Some say he is journeying through the other cards, placing him before card number 1 – The Magician. Others insist that he should be placed after the final card, number 21 – The World. Often he can be found with a little animal clawing or biting at his ankles, with a tiny bag of belongings: he might be a wanderer, a joker, a representation of freedom or the embodiment of consciousness itself.
Whether he appears in your personal tarot readings or your therapeutic work with clients, what might it mean to be The Fool?
Join this fascinating one-hour session to learn a little about The Fool in his various guises before meeting the Fool through creative work and guided visualisation. You can also practise a simple tarot reading approach that places this card at the centre of the reading.
You do not need to own a deck of tarot cards to attend this workshop, but if you have one, please bring it with you.
These sessions are standalone and open to everyone: you do not need to attend every session to benefit and it is fine to attend this session even if you don’t plan to attend others in this series. It is open to experienced Tarot practitioners and complete beginners.
More about this series
Tarot cards are used all over the world for a variety of reasons: divination, self-support, journaling, creativity, and more. In recent years, their powerful, archetypal images – which depict the human condition so powerfully – have become popular as a therapeutic tool, both for self-reflection and for use in professional therapeutic work.
The Tarot is a deck of cards which was probably created in the 15th Century in Italy. Initially used as a gaming device – or perhaps for personal contemplation – these mysterious cards quickly spread all over the world and eventually became associated with occult practices and divination.
The images of the tarot are imbued with archetypal images; they depict a human journey towards enlightenment – or perhaps, from a counselling perspective, a journey towards individuation or the actualising tendency. It has an uncanny ability to reflect important insights about our lives to us – but only if we are willing and open enough to work with it.
It doesn’t matter if you see this process as a spiritual one or a psychological one: Tarot has the power to heal, and that in itself is significant. The cards can represent experiences that words sometimes fail to capture, making them a powerful tool for expressing difficult feelings and experiences. It can also offer us fresh perspectives on our lives, helping us to break old habits, as well as being a wonderful tool for meditation and creative inspiration.
During this series, counsellor, eco-therapist and tarot reader Stephen McCabe will introduce one card per session; we will delve into the card’s symbolism and explore how we might interpret this card in an open, person-centred way for ourselves or for others (if we would like to bring Tarot into our client work).
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
- To learn a new and creative way of working with clients with a visual prompt.
- To learn how the Tarot can support a personal wellbeing practice.
- To learn about the history and symbolism of this Tarot card.
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
- This workshop is appropriate for everyone with an interest in Tarot; experts and beginners alike.
How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?
- The workshop will introduce a visual and spiritual tool for wellbeing that can be easily used in client work as well as for personal support.
Course Content
Presenter
Stephen McCabe is an ecotherapist, tarot reader, counsellor and ordained Zen Buddhist. His work includes tutoring for the Ten Directions ecotherapy training programme, facilitating nature groups in Scotland, Tarot Therapy work and running wellbeing groups based on myth and folklore. He is currently working on his first (nature-infused) novel.
