Archetypal tarot is an approach to tarot that understands the cards not as tools for prediction, but as symbolic expressions of universal psychological patterns—archetypes—that shape human experience.

 

Drawing largely from Jungian psychology, archetypal tarot views the Major Arcana as representations of core stages and forces in the psyche (such as the Self, Shadow, Anima/Animus, transformation, death–rebirth), while the Minor Arcana reflect everyday expressions of these deeper patterns in emotion, thought, action, and material life.
 

In this framework, a tarot reading becomes a dialogue with the unconscious. The cards mirror inner dynamics, developmental tasks, conflicts, and potentials that are already active in the individual or collective psyche. Meaning emerges through symbolic resonance, personal association, and mythic imagery rather than fixed interpretations or fortune-telling.

 

At its core, archetypal tarot is a reflective and integrative practice—used for self-understanding, psychological insight, creative exploration, and spiritual growth—helping individuals locate their lived experiences within larger, timeless human narratives.