Tarot Shadow Work: Using the Dark Symbols to Heal [Paperback]

Christine Jette (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 2000

Through Tarot work, journalling meditation, creative visualization, and dream work, you can free yourself from the shackles of the unbridled, unconscious power of your shadow self. This book is ideal for those who are in recovery from a serious addiction or illness, as well as any person seeking a deeper understanding of his or her true self.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hats off to Christine Jette--she has something new to say--and she says it cogently, with depth, passion, and compassion." -- Diane Wilkes

"I would recommend her book to anyone... on a spiritual journey, to anyone interested in learning more about themselves..." -- Lori Vallis, Host, Bella Online Tarot

From the Author

Spring 2006

Shadow work is putting the past to rest, with all its pain, sorrow, loss or regret, so we can get on with our lives and learn to live joyfully. I like to think of the shadow book as mystical therapy or a grief workbook. Because I borrow heavily from 12-Step programs, it is also a book of recovery. As with all my work, practical advice, psychology and mysticism peacefully coexist.

The phrase 'new age' is an umbrella term used to denote a whole range of interests including health and well-being, many forms of therapy and self-help, esoteric practices such as astrology and tarot, nontraditional religions and spirituality, concern for the environment, respect for nature and feminine wisdom. To some, it is synonymous with fluffy, feel-good nonsense. To others, it offers another way to look at the world. I am disheartened when reviewers feel the need to bash beliefs that differ from their own.

Llewellyn is a niche publisher of new age books. Tarot Shadow Work was published by Llewellyn, therefore it is a new age book produced by a new age press. Please do not buy my Llewellyn books if you are searching for mainstream treatment of the subject matter. I am always disappointed when reviewers find no value in my work. I can only hope that Mr. Frost returned the shadow book for a full refund.

Amazon does not allow personal web site information in the commentary. For a link to my web site, go to Llewellyn, click authors, and my name. My site carries expansions on all of my books, including how to use an entire deck of tarot cards for shadow work.

Thank you for your continued interest! CJ

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (October 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567184081
• ISBN-13: 978-1567184082
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique way to recovery or self-assessment using the Tarot, November 26, 2000

By 

Barbara A. Bolek - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tarot Shadow Work: Using the Dark Symbols to Heal (Paperback)

I think I was expecting something else when I picked up this book. There are just so many ways of working with shadow energy. But I am not at all disappointed (even though my copy apparently had a few printing errors, fuzzy pages, etc.) This book fills a little gap in my Tarot library.

Author Jette provides readers with a little-explored area of working with Tarot Cards. It involves using the Tarot to release yourself from the grips of your shadow, be it an addiction, bad habit, an illness, or unresolved feelings or conflicts. The first thing to mention is that Jette only utilizes the 22 Major Arcana cards, noting that they symbolize the spiritual journey, and shadow work itself is a spiritual endeavor.

Jette provides some primer information on the tarot -- background, Jung and the Tarot, the care and use of the cards and setting the proper tone and atmosphere (meditating, grounding, etc) for the readings. She also spends plenty of space discussing the shadow and shadow work, including, for example, how to prepare for shadow work, building a shadow altar and forgiveness as part of the letting go process.

What is truly inspired are the readings you follow along, and do in sequence, as you make your way through the book. They all use a star-patterned spread design. The "Star of Discovery" spread is about uncovering exactly what you need to know about your shadow. The "Star of Recovery" spread examines, in greater detail, one of the cards from the first reading that troubled the reader the most, in order to focus in on what may be in need of healing or coming to terms with. The next spread, "Star of Illumination", reveals the gifts of working with the shadow -- the positive energy you receive through self-acceptance and awareness. It again involves one of the cards from the first spread. The "Star of Hope", the final spread, allows you to plan and visualize a possible future, one of hope.

There are even more exercises, affirmations, meditations, etc. provided for seekers, and an appendix of Major Arcana meanings -- the shadow meaning and the shadow gift interpretation of each card.

The author is an RN, health educator, and theraputic touch practitioner who has 25 years experience in working with and studying the Tarot. This is a wonderful book for those seeking healing and recovery, or for anyone looking for methods of deeper self exploration.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring the darkness, June 14, 2001

By 

Sarah "mawkinberd" (Ruston, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tarot Shadow Work: Using the Dark Symbols to Heal (Paperback)

As a sometime explorer of the shadows in my life, I have found this book to be uniquely helpful. One of the interesting things about this book is that the exercises become more and more helpful as you look at them retrospectively. In her simplicity of message, she has reached a depth that is often unmet in other books that deal with these issues. Very inspiring.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keys to the kingdom..., October 16, 2002

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Tarot Shadow Work: Using the Dark Symbols to Heal (Paperback)

In TAROT SHADOW WORK Christine Jette suggests there are many ways to encounter and deal with the shadow side of the psyche. What is the shadow, and why should one care if the shadow knows or thinks it knows? According to the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and his onetime associate Sigmund Freud, the persona or face we present to the outside world is not the sum of what we are. Even the conscious thoughts we hide from others are not the sum of a psyche. Much of what transpires throughout the course of a lifetime is hidden from consciousness--repressed, projected, denied, or dealt with via other ego defenses designed to shield one from unpleasant truths.

Ever wonder why you form an instant and apparently irrational dislike for someone, or why you scream in rage over the most trivial happening, or why you experience a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you hear a certain song or smell a certain perfume? In a more reflective mood and under the right circumstances you can access the unconscious processes that affect these reactions. "Tarot Shadow Work" is the opposite of analysis-i.e. it is art not science, and as far as I am concerned, the perfect way to approach and use information hiding in the irrational unconscious.

Jung suggested the Tarot deck as a way to tap the unconscious. Each of the 22 cards of the Major Arcana corresponds to an archetype, a universal symbol recognized by the unconscious. For example, the Empress represents fertility, motherhood, nurturance. Each of us reacts to those notions differently. If you were nurtured as a child, the Empress might evoke feelings of warmth and contentment. If you are a harried mother with six kids, you might not have the same reaction to the Empress, no matter how much your mother loved you.

Each archetype has a light (yang) and dark (yin) side. Jette has developed an assortment of techniques and approaches using the Tarot to facilitate contact with the unconscious and the light (higher self) and dark (shadow self) that lie within. Contact with the unconscious allows one to address grief, anger, and loss that generally underlie unsocial behavior and/or obstruct the individual from becoming all he or she can be. The unconscious can reveal hidden talents, desires, and needs.

Jette is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, and much of her text is peppered with information from the Big Book and other 12-step literature as well as the writings of Jung and a variety of new age healers. If you're poised to work a fourth step inventory or using the tenth step on a daily basis, you will find much useful information in TAROT SHADOW WORK.