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Tarot and Psychological Projection

When doing a Tarot reading about two individuals and the relationship between them, we may have a tendency to separate these individuals and attributing distinctive traits to them. On the surface, they may differ through their manner of expression, their status, or their appearance. But if these people end up meeting, it is because on an energetic level, they are alike. We attract to us what we are. We attract the situations and people we need to grow and evolve.

We may not embody the same traits on the same degrees because after all, we are our own person, and we are following our own path. But if we end up meeting and merging, it's because generally, we possess a quality that the other wants to acquire, or a flaw that the other has but refuses to see.

This is due to the psychological projection phenomena.

We attribute what Robert A. Johnson calls the Inner Gold to other people. The Gold is made all of the qualities that we possess deep down and that may allow us to elevate to our Higher Self. The problem is, most of us refuse to embody our Gold, because it would ask us to challenge ourselves and change. Because of that fear, we end up admiring individuals who own the traits that we wish we had, and we put them on a pedestal.

Inversely, the Shadow, a term that was first coined by Carl G. Jung, represents another unconscious attribute that we reject as it is composed of the traits that people close to us or society deem negative. It is a set of behaviors that we find particularly repulsive in others, which make us deeply uncomfortable because we also possess them. Criticizing someone else's attitude is easier than recognizing that we are not perfect and that there is inner work to be done.

Basically, not integrating our Gold or Shadow means staying in our comfort zone. Which will eventually make us dissatisfied with ourselves.

The good news is, the Tarot can help us discover what and how we can transform through our relationships. Let's see how.

Let's say you meet someone and want to know what energy each of you are bringing to the table. You draw the Magician for yourself, and the King of Wands for that person.

This would mean that as the Magician, you are a person that has really big dreams, and the will necessary to make them come true. Your curiosity and open-mindedness have allowed you to gather a great number of disparate ressources. These ressources can be mental, material, emotional, or spiritual. They might appear absurd or obsolete to others, but as the Magician, you have been gifted with a creative and innovative spirit. You have a strong capacity for utilizing your ressources, and translating vast and complex pieces of knowledge in a language understandable by anyone.

The other person is represented as the Knight of Wands. This arcana can represent an authority figure in real life. They are a strong, proud and determined leader towards whom we turn to reach a definite goal. Deeply interested in accomplishment and status, they want to be admired for what they have managed to achieve.

The Magician believes in his capacities and in a Higher Power. He is not afraid of taking risks, because he trusts everything will work out somehow. He knows he was given all of these gifts for a reason. However, his boundless curiosity and adaptability can pull him in too many directions, so much so that he forgets what his vision actually was. His spiritual nature can also make him passive and push him to go with the flow. The King of Wands, the embodiment of willpower, can (consciously or unconsciously) teach him to be more focused and decisive, which would help the Magician bring his projects to completion and remind him to go after what he wants.

Inversely, the King has a thing or two to learn from the Magician. As the ultimate power and authority figure, the King makes sure that he has control to provide security both to himself and the people he protects. His desire for stability encourages him to follow a conformist path that can be repetitive and void of meaning, consequently betraying his inherent creativity and desire for growth. The Magician will show him that authenticity and success can coexist. The King will learn how to let go of his need for control and believe in something that is greater than him.

So that was one way of getting to know your unconscious traits and someone else's. I don't think you need to be a Tarot expert to read into the Arcana. Knowing the symbolism can help, but the most important thing lies in having the ability to see yourself and others in the cards. You must ask yourself : "How am I/are they like this figure?" "What is their purpose and how is it like mine?" "Why did I manifest this person into my life and why did they manifest me?"

heyyy, reblogging with a note: pls be aware that 16personalities.com is based on the big 5/OCEAN model, rather than what MBTI was originally - based on Jungian personality typing. Enneagram may be helpful to you too as it's more about nurture (rather than nature, which MBTI is attempting to dissesct) and ways we respond to fears, and how we can grow as individuals

Personality typing like MBTI, OCEAN and enneagram is pseudo-science, but can still be helpful :)

I had to look up what infj-a was, but when I read it, I felt seen. It’s kind of scary the way it picks apart my personality and how much injustice really makes me upset. I’m an academic as well, and an artist, so a lot of that makes sense.

I'm glad you felt seen! Welcome to the rarest of personality groups. It's a bit of a blessing and a curse, imho.

For most of my life, I've wondered, "Am I the only one who feels/sees/experiences/thinks this way?" As I've gotten older and have interacted with more people, I realize that most people don't quite experience or think about things the way I do. I feel intensely and think deeply, and I wish I could turn it all off some days.....but I can't. I JUST FEEL SO DAMN MUCH. At times, it consumes me and it's something I am constantly working on.

So the next best thing has been for me to explore behaviors, personality traits, psychosocial influences, etc. to better understand what shapes us. And that's where the INFJ-A typing kicked in and resonated with me. I'm well aware that there have been raging debates about the scientific validity of MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), but anecdotally, I've found the personality typing to be personally helpful. They are more like theories of personalities to me...things you can use to guide and help you structure your thinking.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me! I really enjoy hearing about these things from others!