Introduction: Why the Major Arcana?
If you’ve ever felt drawn to tarot for personal growth but weren’t sure how to go beyond simple readings, the Major Arcana offers a structured path. These 22 cards represent universal human experiences, making them a powerful tool for shadow work—the process of uncovering and integrating the hidden parts of yourself.
Psychologists like Carl Jung and modern therapeutic models like Internal Family Systems (IFS) suggest that our unconscious mind holds aspects of ourselves that we reject, suppress, or misunderstand. Tarot mirrors this journey, with the Major Arcana guiding us through our fears, wounds, and transformations.
This article will help you use the Major Arcana as a shadow work roadmap. Each section will explore:
- How each card reflects an aspect of the shadow self
- How it relates to psychological theories like Jungian archetypes and IFS
- A tarot exercise or spread for personal exploration
This is a deep dive, so take your time, reflect, and let the cards reveal what needs to be seen.
Step 1: The First Encounters with the Shadow (The Fool to The Chariot)
The first seven cards of the Major Arcana represent the initial stages of self-discovery. At this point, we often don’t recognize our shadow yet—but it starts to appear through challenges, fears, and inner conflicts.
0 – The Fool: The Unconscious Self
Shadow Themes: Naivety, denial, ignoring past wounds, resistance to self-awareness.
The Fool begins the journey unaware of what lies beneath the surface. If we resist shadow work, we might act recklessly, avoid introspection, or convince ourselves that \”everything is fine\” even when we feel disconnected.
🔹 IFS Connection: The Fool can represent a dissociated part—a part of you that avoids pain by staying in a state of unawareness.
🔹 Tarot Exercise: Ask your deck: What am I blind to right now? Draw a card and journal about the answer.
I – The Magician: Hidden Power & Shadow Control
Shadow Themes: Manipulation, deceit, self-sabotage, fear of one’s own power.
The Magician symbolizes personal power, but in shadow work, it reveals how we may manipulate situations—either to control others or to avoid vulnerability.
🔹 IFS Connection: A protector part that controls situations to prevent deeper pain.
🔹 Example:
- A person raised in emotional neglect (CEN) might use charm or intellect to mask their emotions, afraid to be seen as weak.
- Another might “fake confidence” to avoid dealing with self-doubt.
🔹 Tarot Exercise: Draw a card asking, What hidden strength am I afraid to use?
II – The High Priestess: Suppressed Intuition
Shadow Themes: Avoidance of inner wisdom, distrust of emotions, secrecy.
The High Priestess holds deep knowledge, but shadow work reveals what we refuse to acknowledge. This card often appears when we suppress emotions or ignore our gut feelings.
🔹 IFS Connection: A protector part that disconnects you from intuition due to past hurt.
🔹 Example:
- Someone with childhood emotional neglect (CEN) may have learned to distrust their instincts because their emotions were dismissed growing up.
- This leads to ignoring warning signs in relationships or feeling disconnected from their true desires.
🔹 Tarot Exercise: Pull a card and journal: What truth am I avoiding?
III – The Empress: Fear of Nurturing & Self-Worth
Shadow Themes: Fear of intimacy, neglecting self-care, mother wounds.
The Empress is about nurturing and abundance, but in shadow work, it can expose wounds related to love and care—especially when self-worth is tied to external validation.
🔹 IFS Connection: Could indicate an exiled part that feels unloved or unworthy.
🔹 Example:
- Someone who never received emotional warmth as a child might struggle to nurture themselves, leading to overworking or people-pleasing.
- Fear of being a burden may cause rejection of care from others.
🔹 Tarot Exercise: Ask: How do I reject nurturing? Reflect on how this shows up in your relationships.
IV – The Emperor: Control, Authority, and Fear of Vulnerability
Shadow Themes: Rigid control, fear of emotions, authority struggles.
The Emperor represents structure and discipline, but in shadow work, it may highlight an over-reliance on control to avoid emotional depth.
🔹 IFS Connection: A protector part that creates strict boundaries to prevent vulnerability.
🔹 Example:
- A person who grew up in an unstable household may develop rigid routines or a need for absolute control to feel safe.
- This can manifest as difficulty trusting others or resisting emotional openness.
🔹 Tarot Exercise: Journal: Where in my life am I overly controlling? What am I afraid would happen if I let go?
V – The Hierophant: Internalized Beliefs & Conditioning
Shadow Themes: Blind adherence to rules, unexamined beliefs, rejection of individuality.
The Hierophant represents tradition and learning, but in shadow work, it calls us to question the belief systems we’ve inherited—especially those that limit our self-expression.
🔹 Example:
- Someone raised with rigid moral or religious beliefs may struggle with guilt over normal desires.
- Fear of breaking family expectations can lead to self-denial.
🔹 Tarot Exercise: Ask: What inherited belief is no longer serving me?
VI – The Lovers: Fear of True Connection
Shadow Themes: Fear of intimacy, avoidance of emotional depth, self-rejection.
The Lovers represents deep relationships, but in shadow work, it highlights fears around vulnerability and connection.
🔹 IFS Connection: Exiled parts related to rejection and attachment wounds (fearful-avoidant attachment).
🔹 Example:
- Someone with CEN may push partners away when they get too close out of fear of abandonment.
- They may self-sabotage relationships due to low self-worth.
🔹 Tarot Exercise: Journal: How do I avoid intimacy? What would it feel like to be truly seen?
VII – The Chariot: Pushing Forward vs. Avoidance
Shadow Themes: Overworking to escape emotions, avoidance of stillness, burnout.
The Chariot is about willpower and movement, but in shadow work, it reveals when we push forward to avoid feeling emotions.
🔹 Example:
- A person who never learned how to sit with emotions might focus obsessively on goals, mistaking movement for growth.
- Fear of stillness can lead to burnout and exhaustion.
🔹 Tarot Exercise: Ask: What am I running from?
This first stage of the Major Arcana journey shows how we begin encountering the shadow—often through denial, avoidance, or control. The next part will explore cards VIII–XIV, where we start actively working with the shadow.
Step 2: Facing the Shadow (Strength to Temperance)
At this stage, the shadow can no longer be ignored. It shows up in emotions, relationships, and life events, pushing us toward transformation.
VIII – Strength: Learning to Work with the Shadow
Shadow Themes: Suppressed emotions, self-criticism, forcing control over feelings.
Strength isn’t about overpowering the shadow—it’s about taming it with compassion. This card reveals where we might try to repress anger, fear, or sadness instead of working with them.
🔹 IFS Connection: Strength represents the Self, the calm center that can befriend wounded parts instead of fighting them.
🔹 Example:
- Someone raised to believe that anger is “bad” might push it down—only for it to explode in unexpected ways.
- Another might see sadness as weakness, leading to emotional shutdown.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Pull a card asking: What emotion am I suppressing? How can I work with it?
IX – The Hermit: Confronting the Self in Solitude
Shadow Themes: Avoidance of introspection, loneliness vs. true solitude, fear of silence.
The Hermit calls us to look inward, but for some, this can be terrifying. True shadow work requires solitude, yet many fear what they’ll find when distractions are removed.
🔹 Example:
- Someone who always stays busy may do so to avoid painful self-reflection.
- Fearful-avoidant attachment may cause deep loneliness even when alone.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Spend 15 minutes in complete silence and then pull a card: What truth is waiting for me in stillness?
X – The Wheel of Fortune: Cycles of Repeating Patterns
Shadow Themes: Resistance to change, victim mindset, unconscious repetition of past wounds.
The Wheel of Fortune reveals life’s cycles, but in shadow work, it highlights repeated patterns—especially painful ones.
🔹 Example:
- Someone who keeps attracting emotionally unavailable partners might be repeating a childhood dynamic.
- Another might feel stuck in the same job struggles, unaware of deeper fears of success or failure.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Ask: What cycle am I unconsciously repeating? Then pull a clarifying card for how to break it.
XI – Justice: The Truth We Don’t Want to See
Shadow Themes: Self-deception, blaming others, avoiding responsibility for personal patterns.
Justice brings clarity, but in shadow work, it forces us to see what we’d rather ignore. This could be rationalizations, projections, or excuses we make for our own actions.
🔹 Example:
- Someone who constantly blames external circumstances for their unhappiness might need to confront their own choices.
- A person who prides themselves on being “good” might struggle to accept their own flaws.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Pull a card asking: What truth am I resisting? Then journal about how you react to the answer.
XII – The Hanged Man: Surrendering to the Shadow
Shadow Themes: Fear of letting go, avoiding discomfort, attachment to control.
The Hanged Man teaches surrender, but in shadow work, this is often the hardest lesson. It asks us to sit with discomfort, to pause instead of react.
🔹 IFS Connection: This card represents the moment before transformation, when protectors must step aside for deeper healing to begin.
🔹 Example:
- Someone who always tries to “fix” their emotions may struggle with simply feeling them.
- Fearful-avoidant types might resist sitting with uncertainty in relationships.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Ask: What do I need to surrender to right now? Pull a card and meditate on its message.
XIII – Death: Shadow Work’s Transformation
Shadow Themes: Fear of endings, resistance to personal growth, clinging to the old self.
Despite its reputation, Death isn’t about physical loss—it’s about deep, personal transformation. In shadow work, this card often appears when we resist letting go of outdated identities, beliefs, or relationships.
🔹 Example:
- Someone who always saw themselves as a caretaker may struggle with setting boundaries.
- Another might resist outgrowing old friendships out of guilt.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Journal: What part of myself am I afraid to let go of? Pull a card for insight.
XIV – Temperance: Integration of the Shadow
Shadow Themes: Struggling with balance, swinging between extremes, difficulty in self-acceptance.
Temperance represents harmony, but in shadow work, it challenges us to integrate both light and dark. Many people struggle with either over-identifying with their wounds or trying to completely reject their past.
🔹 Example:
- Someone deep in healing may become overly focused on their wounds, feeling stuck in the past.
- Another might push healing too quickly, avoiding deep emotional work.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Pull two cards: One for your light self, one for your shadow self. Reflect on how they coexist.
This phase of the Major Arcana represents the hardest part of shadow work—the moment when you truly face yourself. Many people resist this stage, but if you’re here, you’re already doing the work.
In the next part, we’ll explore The Devil through The World, the final stage of integrating the shadow into a whole, authentic self.
🔹 Jungian Connection: Shadow work is not about eliminating the shadow—it’s about embracing it as part of your whole self.
🔹 IFS Connection: In Internal Family Systems (IFS), true healing happens when wounded parts of the self feel safe enough to integrate.
Step 3: Embracing the Shadow (The Devil to The World)
At this stage, we stop fighting the shadow and begin to accept, integrate, and work with it. This is not about eliminating “bad” parts of yourself but finding balance between light and dark.
XV – The Devil: Facing Our Deepest Fears and Addictions
Shadow Themes: Self-sabotage, toxic patterns, unconscious coping mechanisms.
The Devil represents being trapped, but in shadow work, the trap is often self-imposed. This card asks: What unhealthy behaviors or beliefs keep me stuck?
🔹 Example:
- Someone with fearful-avoidant attachment might sabotage relationships out of fear of vulnerability.
- Another might use constant busyness as an unconscious escape from emotions.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Pull a card asking: What unhealthy pattern am I holding onto? Then another asking: What would it take to release it?
XVI – The Tower: Ego Death and Radical Transformation
Shadow Themes: Fear of sudden change, emotional breakdowns, loss of identity.
The Tower is the breaking point—when the false structures we built collapse. In shadow work, this often happens when we realize a core belief or identity no longer serves us.
🔹 Example:
- Someone who was taught to suppress emotions might suddenly experience overwhelming grief.
- A person who always identified as a caretaker may feel lost when they finally set boundaries.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Journal: What belief about myself is crumbling? Pull a card for insight.
XVII – The Star: Hope After Darkness
Shadow Themes: Rebuilding self-trust, vulnerability, fear of being seen.
After The Tower’s destruction, The Star brings healing. However, this stage of shadow work often involves learning to trust yourself again after breaking old patterns.
🔹 Example:
- Someone who spent years in self-denial may struggle to believe their emotions are valid.
- A person who has been deeply wounded might feel hopeful but afraid to open up again.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Pull a card asking: What part of me is ready to heal?
XVIII – The Moon: Navigating the Unknown
Shadow Themes: Fear of uncertainty, unconscious fears, self-deception.
The Moon represents the mystery of the subconscious, where shadow work cannot be logically controlled. It asks us to sit with discomfort, rather than rush toward solutions.
🔹 Example:
- Someone used to rationalizing emotions might struggle with deep, irrational fears surfacing.
- A person confronting childhood wounds may feel lost without clear answers.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Try a stream-of-consciousness journaling session after pulling a card for What is my shadow trying to tell me?
XIX – The Sun: The Light of Self-Acceptance
Shadow Themes: Fear of being fully seen, struggling to accept joy, self-criticism.
Many assume shadow work is only about darkness, but true integration also means accepting our right to happiness. The Sun reminds us: Healing is not just about pain—it’s about rediscovering joy.
🔹 Example:
- Someone raised to minimize their own needs may feel guilty enjoying success or love.
- A person who spent years in survival mode might struggle with relaxing into happiness.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Ask: Where am I blocking joy? Pull a card for insight.
XX – Judgment: The Moment of Full Awareness
Shadow Themes: Self-reflection, fear of past mistakes, resistance to transformation.
Judgment represents the final reckoning before true integration—it asks us to accept everything we have learned.
🔹 Example:
- Someone deep in healing might resist fully letting go of their old self.
- Another might struggle with self-forgiveness for past actions.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Pull a card asking: What part of me is ready to rise into wholeness?
XXI – The World: Full Integration of the Shadow
Shadow Themes: Accepting the self as whole, ending an old chapter, embracing personal power.
The World is the completion of the journey—where you no longer see your shadow as an enemy, but as a part of you.
🔹 Example:
- Someone who feared being “too much” finally embraces their depth.
- A person who struggled with self-worth begins to truly value themselves.
🔹 Tarot Exercise:
Reflect on your shadow work journey and pull one final card: What have I integrated?
Conclusion: The Major Arcana as a Map for Shadow Work
The journey through the Major Arcana reflects the entire process of shadow work—from unconscious patterns (The Fool) to self-exploration (The Magician to The Hanged Man), through confrontation (Death to The Tower), and finally to integration and wholeness (The Star to The World).
Shadow work is not a one-time event but a lifelong practice. Each time we cycle through these archetypes, we deepen our understanding of ourselves.
Key Takeaways:
✔ Your shadow is not your enemy—it is a part of you that needs acknowledgment and integration.
✔ The Major Arcana provides a psychological map for self-exploration, helping you understand different stages of healing.
✔ Shadow work is not just about uncovering wounds—it’s about learning to live in balance with yourself.
✨ In the next article, we will explore how to use the Minor Arcana for everyday shadow work. Read: Tarot for Shadow Work: the Minor Arcana as a Mirror for everyday struggles.
📥 Download the Tarot Shadow Work Integration Journal to apply what you’ve learned!
🗨 Which Major Arcana card resonates with your personal shadow journey? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Leave a Reply