Tarot for anxiety.

How Tarot Helped Me Stop Worrying

Holding the tarot in your hand is like holding all of life. It’s kind of placating to know that life’s themes, be they past, present or future, can be summed up in just so many cards.

There are a few themes and cards that have really helped me cope with anxiety. It’s interesting to note that these are not new concepts—far from it.

Tarot has helped me discover forever truths about purpose and balance in a very relaxed and focused setting. The combo of mindfulness and repetition  (as coach used to say, repetition deepens the impression) has helped so many things click for me.

It’s funny to note that I have also gone through CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, and a lot of the lessons that I learned then were not cemented until I began learning tarot.

Anyway, here they are…

First, everything happens in cycles.

You are start as nothing & nowhere, then you are born, then you live, then you die. That’s the grand loop of our lives. What tarot has helped me see is that life is comprised of many loops. For example, we tend to take after our parents, letting their mistakes dictate the ones we make. Then the same happens with your kids.

There’s a card dedicated to this concept called The Wheel of Fortune. I love the metaphor of a wheel to symbolize life—it’s always rolling along and there’s no side you’re more likely to get.

This idea of everything happening in cycles helps me to let go. If it’s gonna be random, might as well enjoy the ride. (Besides, another turn is coming up soon.)

Nothing is good or bad, not really.

One question you always get when you’re reading for other people is…

Is that bad?

But there is no good or bad in tarot! Or at least—there’s no state that’s more valuable than another. Similar to the point above, there’s highs and there’s lows. While the lows can genuinely suck and be miserable, they’re very rarely everything. Your life keeps on going.

Death shows us that to make room for the new, we must get rid of the old. This process can be painful, but out of that pain can come something beautiful. I know it and you know it too.

There’s no “there.”

The first time I read a spread, I was surprised to see my life laid out in front of me. Some parts were positive, others were not where I wanted them to be. Regardless, I saw that day after day (and month after month) the theme continued.

I realized that life will never be perfect. Even if all my dreams come true and I’m top of The World as exactly the person I want to be, those victories will bring new struggles.

It’s true, bad comes out of good and vice-versa. Every part of our lives are important. I try to appreciate the present moment instead of yearning for a “brighter” future now.

I am in command.

Although anxiety can sometimes get the better of me, I have learned from tarot that if there’s anything I can control, it’s my actions.

The Strength card really drives this home for me. It features a lion, because it’s about honoring and mastering animal nature. Though the wild can be terrifying, the fact that it is unruly makes it truly powerless.

I have learned to bring anxiety to heel. I see it for what it is now—irrationality standing on weak legs—and I tend to it rather than being upset at it.