This week on⁠ The Tarot Diagnosis⁠, we’re getting delightfully nerdy. Inspired by a conversation with a dear friend, I explore tarot through the lens of developmental psychology, focusing specifically on Donald Winnicott’s concept of transitional objects, transitional space, and transitional phenomena.

Traditionally, transitional objects are things like blankets, stuffed animals, or toys that help children move from total dependence to early independence by offering emotional regulation and symbolic comfort. But what happens when we grow up? We don’t stop needing comfort. It turns out our transitional objects just evolve…

Enter tarot.

In this episode, we explore how tarot functions as an transitional object, or what psychologist Mark Brenner refers to as a “sacred keepsake” that helps us self-soothe, regulate, and bridge our inner world with our external world. Drawing from both developmental theory and therapeutic principles, I unpack the psychological richness of the cards as mirrors, containers, and transitional phenomena.

I also guide you through an experiential three-card “Container Spread” designed to help you hold and process what feels too heavy using the archetypes as emotional containers. For the collective, I pull…

Card One – What feels too heavy right now? → Eight of Swords

Card Two – What archetype can hold that heaviness? → Queen of Swords

Card Three – What can I do while this is being held? → Nine of Wands

Deck Used: Pagan Otherworlds

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Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Deep Resonance Sound⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Music by Timmoor from Pixabay