JohnsTarot

Stranded in the Mountains, broken car, what to do? What I did

visit https://www.johnstarot.net contact john@johnstarot.net

Welcome to John’s Tarot. This week, John reflects on a simple but profound question that emerged after a trip to Los Angeles: Why do some people overcome chaotic beginnings and build meaningful lives, while others continue to struggle? Drawing from his own experience growing up in an alcoholic family, decades of recovery, Buddhist practice, nursing, and spiritual exploration, John examines the rol...

In the final episode of the Sophia Trilogy, we explore what it means to activate the Sophia archetype in our lives and what that activation may mean for our personal, spiritual, and collective future. Sophia—the ancient embodiment of Divine Wisdom—has appeared throughout human history in many forms. From Athena and her sacred owl, to Isis, to the Wisdom traditions of the ancient world, this archet...

In Episode 2 of the Sophia Trilogy, we move beyond the original encounter and explore a deeper question: What if Sophia is not merely a figure from mythology, religion, or personal experience, but an archetype that lives within the human psyche? Drawing upon Jungian psychology, Tarot symbolism, Gnostic traditions, and my own experience, we examine Sophia as the embodiment of Divine Wisdom and Divi...

Several years ago, I had an experience that profoundly changed the course of my spiritual journey. During an altered-state experience in the mountains, I encountered an entity that identified itself as Sophia—the ancient embodiment of Divine Wisdom. At the time, I knew very little about Sophia. Yet after the experience, I discovered references stretching back thousands of years through Greek philo...

Hero's Journey: The Return What was all the struggle for? Why do we endure hardship, face uncertainty, and push through life's most difficult transitions? In the final installment of the Hero's Journey series, we explore Joseph Campbell's powerful concept of The Return—the stage where the hero comes home carrying a gift earned through experience. The journey changes the person. The return changes...

🎙️ Hero's Journey: Crossing the Threshold What happens after the call to change? In the second installment of the Hero's Journey series, we explore one of the most important stages of transformation: Crossing the Threshold. The old world has been left behind, but the new world is not yet understood. This stage is often marked by uncertainty, fear, confusion, and doubt. Yet it is also the point whe...

What is a spiritual awakening? Is it a single event, a mystical experience, or something much deeper? In this episode of the Soul Awakens Series, I explore awakening as a process of transformation rather than a moment of enlightenment. Drawing from my own journey through addiction recovery, Carl Jung's concept of individuation, and Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, we examine how profound change o...

Symbolic Containers | How Meaning Emerges from Symbolic Systems Why do symbolic systems work? Why do Tarot, mythology, sacred geometry, archetypes, and ancient wisdom traditions continue to resonate across cultures and throughout history? In this episode of the Soul Awakens Series, I explore the concept of the Symbolic Container—a structured space where meaning can emerge through symbols, attentio...

How Tarot Works: Cause and Effect, Synchronicity, and Universal Archetypes One of the most common questions I am asked is simple: How does Tarot actually work? In this episode of the Soul Awakens Series, I explore several possible ways of understanding Tarot through the lenses of psychology, symbolic systems, cause and effect, synchronicity, and universal archetypes. Rather than viewing Tarot as f...

Is there a connection between the Fool's Journey in Tarot and Carl Jung's process of individuation? In this episode of the Soul Awakens Series, I explore one of the most fascinating parallels between symbolic systems and psychology. Beginning with the Fool and moving through the Major Arcana, we examine how Tarot can be understood as a symbolic map of human development, transformation, and the sea...

  Transend the Ego, the false self. The path to higher consciousness. Inner freedom and the higher self Visit https://www.johnstarot.net contact john@johnstarot.net Visit https://www.johnstarot.net contact john@johnstarot.net

I discuss CG Jungs contribution to the 12 steps. Its more facinating then you once knew Visit https://www.johnstarot.net contact john@johnstarot.net

What hidden forces shape our thoughts, emotions, fears, and decisions? In this episode of the Soul Awakens Series, I explore the role of the subconscious mind and its connection to individuation, self-awareness, recovery, and personal transformation. Much of human behavior emerges from patterns we do not fully see: unconscious fears emotional conditioning shadow material unresolved experiences and...

What does it mean to become whole? In this episode, I explore the Jungian concept of individuation — the lifelong process of integrating the different parts of ourselves into a more conscious and authentic life. This is not an academic lecture on Carl Jung. It is a reflection on: lived experience recovery transformation and the human search for meaning and wholeness I discuss: how I first encounte...

Periods of political turmoil do more than disrupt systems. They reveal them. In this episode, I explore the deeper lessons that may emerge during times of collective uncertainty through a reflective tarot reading focused on: awareness division fear reaction and the search for clarity inside unstable systems This is not a political endorsement or attack. It is an exploration of: ➡️ how human beings...

What happens when medical reality, personal belief, and human dignity meet at the bedside? In this episode, I reflect on the experience of treating a Jehovah’s Witness patient in the clinical setting through the framework of: Threshold — recognizing the moment where difficult choices emerge Map — understanding the deeper human and ethical dynamics beneath the situation Integration — finding the ne...

There are moments in life when you realize: ➡️ things will never be the same again. In this episode, I reflect on the moment I treated my first Covid patient and recognized that I was standing at a threshold—not only personally, but collectively. This is not a political discussion. It is a firsthand reflection on: uncertainty fear rapid systemic change and what it feels like to recognize that the...

What if forcing a solution is sometimes the very thing preventing it? In this episode, I explore the Taoist concept of Wu Wei — often translated as “effortless action” — through something surprisingly practical: ➡️ fixing a computer problem. This is not a technical tutorial. It’s a reflection on: problem solving frustration systems under stress and the importance of stepping back when force stops...

Some moments in life change you permanently. Not because someone explained something to you… but because you lived through it directly. In this episode, I reflect on my experiences working around the ambulance and emergency response environment, using the framework of: Threshold — recognizing the moment where life changes Map — learning to see the deeper pattern unfolding Integration — determining...

There are times in life when things are shifting… but not yet clear. In those moments, we often look for answers. But what if the goal isn’t certainty… but orientation? In this episode, I explore the I Ching not as a tool for prediction, but as a way of seeing change as it unfolds. Drawing from personal experience, historical context, and symbolic understanding, we look at: Why systems like the I...

In this final episode of the three-part series, we look at what happens when a system is disrupted. Not the surface events… but the pattern underneath them. Systems don’t collapse randomly. They come under pressure… they begin to distort… and eventually something enters the field that exposes what can no longer be sustained. This is what I refer to as a perturbation. It may appear as: an investiga...

Systems don’t just end… they transform, fragment, or persist. In this episode, we explore what happens when a system—especially a family system—comes under pressure. The patterns don’t disappear. They continue… until something interrupts them. That interruption is often awareness. We break down: • Why systems persist across generations • What causes instability and collapse • The moment clarity ch...

In this episode, we begin exploring a different way of seeing. Not prediction. Not belief. But reflection. Using symbolic systems like Tarot, I look at how we can better understand where we are—especially in times of uncertainty, transition, or change. These systems are not here to tell us what will happen. They are tools that help us see more clearly… what is already present. This is about learni...