Freud & The Tarot
Sigmund Freud introduced his theory of personality in the early 20th century, but he described parts of the human experience that have been known far longer. Tarot cards, a deck of playing cards from the 15th century that are now commonly used for more intuitive purposes, refer to the same parts of the human mind. Let’s look at the parallels between Freud’s theory and the expression of the human mind through the pictorial language of tarot.
In Freud’s theory, the human personality is composed of the id, the ego, and the superego. The Id is the pleasure-seeking part of the mind. It knows what it wants, and it wants it now. It may be impulsive, selfish, or short-sighted. This part of the mind is tempered with the reasoning skills of the ego. The ego may hear the desire of the id and check if it’s possible to achieve, or safe to do so. It might pull the brakes on the plan if certain conditions make it imprudent. Lastly, the superego is the third part of the mind that strives towards higher ideals. It is the part of the mind that would donate to charity and be selfless.
In tarot, the Major Arcana cards represent immutable aspects or innate components of a person. There is a Major card that correlates to each of these three aspects of the mind. The Id is the Devil archetype. The Devil represents a craving to indulge. It’s a card motivated by carnal interests and base desires. This can be a very healthy expression when we need to release emotional energy from the day or express our needs honestly. It can be unhealthy when repeated indulgence becomes attachment or, in the worst case scenario, addiction.
The Justice card correlates well with the Ego. This is the reasoning quality of the conscious mind. The archetype of Justice is the decision-making part of our mind that weighs facts and rules that have been agreed upon. It’s not going to into the subconscious to find feelings or intuition – it seeks evidence and clarity to make the best decision possible.
Finally, the Superego parallels perfectly with the Judgement card. “Judgement” refers to the Judeo-Christian story of the second coming of Christ. Its message is “to awaken” and begin a new life with higher ideals. It encourages us to become better versions of ourselves and to ascend to the next level. Often this is expressed by distancing ourselves from toxic situations, making a selfless decision, and living more purposefully.
I have walked many clients through a process of identifying where their decision-making was sourced. Freud’s theory is a great asset while having these conversations! Humans are remarkably complex creatures, but there are many ways to understand the human experience. The more vocabulary we have to express ourselves, the more we can examine our behavior and make conscious efforts to be the person we want to be in this life.
