The Tarot Diagnosis

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I’m unpacking why “just think positive” advice often backfires and offering a more sustainable approach rooted in both Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and tarot. Together, we’ll explore why lasting change doesn’t start with your thoughts, and why it actually starts with your actions. I’ll walk you through how trauma wires the brain to anticipate harm,...

[TW: Discussion of death, grief, suicide.] This week on The Tarot Diagnosis , I sit down with the Five of Cups and a whole host of other cards, but not in the way we usually expect. Instead of offering a clinical take or a tidy metaphor, this episode is more of a free-flowing love letter to the messiness of grief: the kind that arrives with dreams, dead batteries, wildflower fields, and the unshak...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis , I had every intention of doing a neat little compare-and-contrast between the Five and Seven of Swords. But in true Swords fashion, what began as a tidy intellectual exploration turned into something much more raw, spiraling, and unexpectedly revealing. In this episode, I invite you into a descent through the second half of the Suit of Swords: from the Five throu...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I’m unpacking the emotional aftermath of the Summer Solstice Summit and diving deep into one of the most powerful psychological and tarot-based concepts I explored there - the Golden Shadow, which I expand on as a type of abandoned archetype. I begin by reflecting on the special magick that unfolded during the Summer Solstice Summit and how a weekend mean...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I’m diving into the nuanced and often-confused archetypes of Judgment and Justice (especially for newer readers). Plus, these are two major arcana cards that are especially relevant given the state of the world. Fun fact: this episode was inspired by a listener request, and I went full nerd-mode by pulling out lots of books I thought had unique perspectiv...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I’m sitting down with the Two of Cups , but not in the romanticized way we often think about with this card. Sure, this card speaks to connection, mutual care, and being seen, but in this episode, I’m more interested in what is hiding underneath all that sweet relational imagery. Inspired by a lively (and opinionated!) book club discussion inside The Symp...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I invite you to step away from your Eight of Pentacles bench of productivity and join me on the stone slab with the Four of Swords - a card I kept circling back to while creating a workshop on the architecture of stability. After pulling the Eight of Pentacles (yet again) I realized this card that’s been following me around for two months now was in despe...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I have a timely and tender conversation with my friend and favorite financial educator Mimi Cirbusova to explore what it means to find stability when the world feels like it’s crumbling. Whether it’s rising rent, global uncertainty, or emotional exhaustion, we’re all navigating something right now. This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and reim...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I’m stepping back into my music-journalist roots (yes, I share a tidbit of my personal lore in this episode haha) and I’m leaning hard on my therapist brain to do something I’ve been dying to do: a Jungian-tarot psychoanalysis of Sleep Token’s new single, “Damocles.” Beyond dissecting the song itself, this episode journeys into the artist’s mind and unpac...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I’m continuing my monthly Tarot Therapy series by exploring a topic I’ve been wanting to discuss for ages: How tarot and witchcraft function as Psychodrama . Specifically, I explore how tarot and witchcraft can be understood and practiced through the lens of psychodrama, a powerful therapeutic method developed by Dr. Jacob Moreno. Psychodrama is essential...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast I’m exploring a delicate identity that many people carry without ever naming: the wounded caretaker . Inspired by a social media trend that says, “I probably just needed a hug, so I became a therapist,” this episode takes a deep dive into the lifelong emotional patterns that develop when we’re asked to care for others before we’re ready…and before we've...

This week on ⁠ The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast ⁠ , I’m discussing a tender and often overlooked habit many of us carry: over-explaining. In this episode, I explore the psychological roots of this behavior through the lens of the Page of Swords , an archetype that is curious, alert, and sometimes altered  by experiences of gaslighting or a lack of conflict resolution. We’ll unpack how early experiences...

I’m doing something a little different this week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast ! I’m re-releasing an episode from a few years ago on Tarot and Parts Work, where I get nerdy about the therapeutic model of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Jungian Depth Psychology through the lens of tarot. I have a few reasons for this: First, there’s been a surge of interest in this intersection, so I want to bri...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I’m continuing the new Tarot Therapy series, where I explore tarot through the lens of therapeutic theories and modalities. In this episode, I’m nerding out about Motivational Interviewing (MI) and the Suit of Wands and uncovering how the fiery energy of Wands aligns perfectly with the psychology of change, motivation, and burnout. At its core, Motivation...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I explore how the brain’s dopamine system drives us to feel intoxicated by toxic relationships. Inspired by conversations with clients, I discuss the science behind intermittent reinforcement and how tarot cards like The Devil and the Two of Swords reversed perfectly mirror these psychological patterns.  Join me as I walk you through the neurobiological a...

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast , I’m wading into the intersection of tarot and cognition with Dr. Thomas Brooks, a research psychologist, educator, and tarot enthusiast. Together, we explore how tarot fosters cognitive flexibility, promotes self-reflection, and helps us hold complex dualities. We discuss the power of projection, the role of archetypes like The Emperor, and how pattern re...

This week on ⁠The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast⁠ , I am nerding out! I explore the concept of Tarot by Omission: what it means when a particular suit or archetype is missing from a reading, and how that absence can guide deeper self-exploration.  To bring this concept to life, I introduce a fictional, therapeutic case study, analyzing a tarot spread where Cups and Swords are absent, revealing deeper emo...

This week on ⁠The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast⁠ , I am introducing a brand-new series— Tarot Therapy ! In this series, I’m returning to the foundation of my work, where I explore tarot through the lens of psycho-therapeutic models and theory. Each episode in this series will dive into a different psychological theory and/ or therapeutic model , blending them with tarot to deepen self-awareness and of c...

This week on ⁠The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast⁠ , I’m exploring the collective and personal energy of 2025, a year ruled by The Hermit . From a numerological perspective, 2025 reduces to 9, aligning us with the wisdom, solitude, and introspection of this archetype.  In this episode, I reflect on key elements of The Hermit —the lantern, staff, cloak, and the path they walk—all offering us unique insight...

This week on ⁠The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast⁠ , I’m reflecting on the last year and my personal relationship to vulnerability. A few weeks ago, we reached the 150th episode of this podcast, and I’ve been quietly contemplating the journey that brought us here. To those of you who have been with me since the beginning, and to the newer listeners who’ve joined along the way—thank you. Your support and e...

This week on ⁠The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast⁠ , I sit down with one of my favorite creators, Chelsey Pippin-Mizzi, to explore her latest book, Tarot for Creativity . Chelsey and I discuss how this book is more than just a tool for creativity, but a guide for personal curiosity and self-exploration. Listen in as we both work through a spread and get nerdy about the Death card and the Eight of Pentacle...

This week on ⁠The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast⁠ , I am sitting down with Brigit Esselmont, the founder of Biddy Tarot and the best-selling author of Everyday Tarot . Brigit just released her latest book, Intuitive Manifesting , a practical guide to using your intuition to supercharge your manifestations. In this episode, Brigit and I spend time exploring the intersection of manifestation, intuition, an...

This week on ⁠The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast⁠ , I am highlighting the hidden narratives that shape our lives: the unspoken family stories and ancestral shadows that influence us in ways we might not even realize. Inspired by my clinical work (especially during the holiday season), the collection of essays What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About , and my recent workshop on ancestral shadows (available f...

This week on ⁠The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast⁠ , I felt compelled to approach the podcast a bit differently. Like many of you, I’ve been sitting with a deep sense of grief and uncertainty, and I knew it didn’t feel right to just dive into a typical episode without acknowledging that shared weight. So today, I’m letting tarot guide the conversation.  I pulled three powerful and pertinent cards: The Whe...

This week on ⁠The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast⁠ , I explore how the Pages of the tarot function as symbols of childhood and early adolescence—key stages when our shadows first form. This episode highlights how each Page represents different childhood experiences and shadow traits. I also walk listeners through an interactive exercise called “Pages of the Past.” Plus, I share a clinical anecdote about u...