The Tarot Diagnosis

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast we decided to spend with a topic that we tackle A LOT in our clinical practices: negative thinking. Some very smart people who came before us did us all the favor of studying and categorizing different types of negative thinking. The few we are exploring this week include: mental filtering, personalizing, catastrophizing and polarizing. Having this way of thinking and talking about the ideas in our brains makes it so much easier to notice them, and potentially make changes. Throw a little tarot in the mix- and you get one heck of a conversation! Actually - throw a bunch of tarot in, because we pulled cards galore in this episode! Want to know what Two of Wands has got do with personalization, Reverse Ace of Wands with catastrophizing, Four of Cups with mental filtering or Queen of Wands with mental filtering?  We got you. There’s a ton of cards, and a ton of information in this episodes that can help just about anyone (because, come on, don’t you fall into negative thinking from time to time?) Don't forget to subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis we boldly tackle a topic that we’ve been thinking of discussing for a while but honesty kept avoiding: To Parent or Not to Parent. We had a listener reach out and ask us to explore their feelings of needing to create something - but they weren't sure if that was a human life with their partner or something else. From the get-go, we just could not find common ground on this topic… and that was really unusual for us, and pretty interesting. Eventually we were able to just call it out - that our own experiences and views, both as human beings and as therapists, differed. We spend the rest of the episode figuring out what to do with this realization, which eventually lead us to finding a space of commonality- but in some ways we think this is actually the most interesting part of this episode. It’s a real journey to listen to two people who really love each other and normally are totally aligned fall out of step and then listen to them recover the conversation in a way that could honor each voice, while still holding fast to the relationship. So, this is in many ways two episodes in one. It’s an episode about deciding to be a parent (or not), and it’s also an episode about how to have uncomfortable conversations. Oh, and there’s also a bunch of tarot - And probably not the cards you might expect! Don't forget to subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast we tackle a topic that has been on our “to talk about” list for quite a while now. It’s a topic that is often dominating social media: Narcissism. We love to talk about the narcissists, don’t we? We love to call them out and talk about how toxic they are. But we must ask - what are we really talking about? Are we trying to understand a phenomenon, or are we trying to protect ourselves? Perhaps both. Which is how we begin this not-to-be-missed conversation that dives deep both in terms of what narcissism is (and isn't) and what it looks like, and also what we can and should do when faced with it in our daily lives. The Two of Pentacles and Nine of Swords are the cards that show up first, and they guide us through a host of others to help us better consider and navigate living in a world with some very difficult people. Shannon takes a risk by using The Jungian Tarot, a deck she never uses, but finds cloaked in shadows – perfect for a discussion on Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Luna’s deck offers mostly the minor arcana, which ends up being a nice balance to the multiple majors that show up from Shannon’s pulls. Join us as we get real about this very popular topic and even explore how society's fascination with the term narcissist is actually detrimental and furthers the stigma associated with mental health. Don't forget to subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay

We’re back! It feels like it’s been forever since we released a new episode, but it’s really only been two weeks. During that time we launched our very own, private membership community: The Symposium and have been thrilled and overwhelmed at the response. Keep an eye on your emails for when we open this community to new members later in the year! Now, on to podcast news. . . This week on The Tarot Diagnosis we are talking about magical thinking. This is a term used often in the therapy and psychology world and when a listener heard it mentioned on a previous episode, they wrote in to request an episode on the topic. The question was so good, we couldn’t wait to dive in. The listener asked, “Where is the line between spirituality and cognitive distortion? Does all religion inherently involve some level of cognitive distortion? I’m curious about how to gauge magical thinking vs. spiritual engagement.” We dive right in with Shannon pulling The Magician alongside the Queen of Swords. Luna helps us explore the important role of The High Priestess, which then takes us on quite a journey as we discuss Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD), manifestation, call out fake gurus, and nod to Harry Potter. We then meander through some nerdy talk about developmental psychologist, Jean Piaget, and make a few pit stops with the Four of Cups, Knight of Pentacles, Three, Nine, and Seven of Swords, The Hermit, Reversed Hierophant, and the Seven of Cups. The King of Pentacles emerges and may essentially solve the dilemma laden question posed by the listener. It's quite the adventure and we are grateful to the listener whose question inspired such a fun and meaningful discussion highlighting two important aspects of the human experience. So, come join us as we walk a tight rope in-between the world of “woo” and the world of Psychology. *Side Note: We had a minor audio hiccup, so the audio might sound slightly different.* Don't forget to subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis we continue to explore the idea of identity and self-conceptualization as we did last week in our episode on career identity- but ton a much larger scale. This week, we talk about “The Labels We Choose” and really dive deep into the idea of the ways in which our labels can serve us… and when they hinder us. The first cards we pulled instantly let us know that this week’s topic was a heavy hitter: Death, The Tower and Judgement.  No big deal . . .But honestly, the conversation was really hopeful- joyful even, in spite of it all. Join us as we explore the ideas of personal labels, how we choose them, and how we sometimes abuse them, as well as how to manage the expectations of others when it comes to these labels.  It’s both a practical and philosophical conversation that you won’t want to miss! Don't forget to subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis we explore a topic that comes up for both of us A LOT in our private therapy practices - work identity. Right now, so many people are struggling with their thoughts about their relationship with work, and many are finding that their own sense of personal identity is deeply enmeshed in their work – which is kind of a problem for many people. We start with Ace of Wands and Nine of Cups reversed, which frankly we could have just used these cards for the entire episode… but of course, we don’t. Knight of Pentacles and Knight of Cups dance around for a while, along with Seven of Pentacles (no surprises there), Hierophant, and Four of Wands. Then Shannon brilliantly walks us through three different card reversals that you will for sure want to hear and Luna offers some helpful, practical tips on how (and how not to) take those free career assessments you see online. We also throw in some really interesting therapeutic theory along the way. Get ready to redefine how you think about yourself and your own work identity as you listen in on this thought-provoking conversation. Don't forget to subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis we tackle a typical topic, in a very unusual way and explore the shadow side of empathy. Empathy is a word that we use a lot in today's world, and having, exploring, and encouraging empathy is a very good thing – there’s no doubt about that. But… can there be too much of a good thing? We start with Four of Cups and Page of Pentacles, and from there go on a dynamic linguistic trek over the difference between sympathy and empathy (and why we need both), then we hop onto a tight rope walk about where the lines of boundaries should be before we mentally visit an art gallery that allows us to engage with the emotional experiences of others. We also explore the term "empath" and why this identifier can be positive and negative. You are not going to want to miss this episode, where we pull what seems like all of the cards, and Luna offers up her own true confessions about the positive side of what she considers being a “master manipulator.” It’s a fascinating revelation. Don't forget to subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay

This week on The Tarot Diagnosis, we decide to tackle a totally cliche and hackneyed topic for this time of year and see if we could turn it on its head.  Get ready for Goal Setting from the Inside Out. We know that this is topic everyone is talking about.  It’s also a topic a lot of people are talking about hating how much people talk about it (hello crazy sounding sentence).  But for us this isn’t a seasonal topic- it’s what we do all year long.  We just call it something different. Come listen in on this very frank and personally revealing conversation about how as therapists we invoke change in people, both internally and externally.  Because setting goals is not just about changing behaviors- first and foremost it has to be about understanding what you really want.  And that, is sometimes actually really hard to figure out and surprising. Sneak peek- Shannon gives us another awesome tarot exercise that you’ll want to play with as soon as you’re done listening, and Luna dishes the dirt on her own goals and how she obtained them (hint- it’s not what you would expect). From Five of Swords, to The Empress, to (of course) Two of Cups, and the dichotomy between Ten of Cups and Ten of Pentacles, this episode is one not to be missed as we blend the emotional and behavioral aspects of setting goals for ourselves. We also want to take a moment to point out that we have a challenge up on Instagram right now to ring in the new year and as a countdown to the launch of our exciting new online community, The Symposium. Each week we are exploring a different psychological theory, starting off with a spread based on that theory, and followed by daily prompts that also reflect that framework.  We’d love to have you join in! And, we know many of you have already joined our waitlist for The Symposium and are getting our emails with more details.  If you have not done so, and are interested in joining this very special community, please click here to sign up. You will only be able to join The Symposium for a few days before we close the doors- so make sure you don’t miss out! Don't forget to subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay

We were inspired by last week’s episode of The Tarot Diagnosis with the idea for this week’s topic: Reparenting. Both us share our surprise by the…colorful (yeah, let’s say colorful) history behind this idea, but nevertheless, it’s a concept we both use (in modified form) in our own therapy practices pretty frequently, and one that we think ties in beautifully with a personal tarot practice. Here’s the basic idea: even the most wonderful parents in the world are bound to miss things or do things wrong. In our adult form, we can go back and take care of the younger parts of ourselves who have unmet needs. Cue the tarot cards. Of course, we dive into all the cards you might expect: Six of Cups, The Emperor and The Empress, but take some unexpected turns along the way including a massive streak of Cups cards and Shannon modeling some great reparenting techniques on Luna to help her see Eight of Wands in a more positive light (yes, we did this before – but it takes a while for things to sink in). What we discover is that reparenting is much like parenting itself. It never ends, it just evolves. And we were delighted to discover that is the essence of The Fool’s journey. Join us as we talk though Reversed Two or Cups, Ten of Wands and The Hierophant, and hear some true confessions about our own lives along the way. Subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay

[CW: Some profanity] This week on The Tarot Diagnosis, we tackle a topic that’s near and dear to both of us - The Art of F*cking Up. This has been on our list for a long time, and that’s because it’s something we’ve both struggled with in our own lives, and it’s also something we work with our clients on pretty much every day. We begin the episode with Four of Cups, The Sun, and Five of Cups - and from there we go through card after card exploring why so many of us are afraid of failure and how to heal from what can often feel like mistake paralysis. All the fours and all the sixes seem to make their presence known throughout this episode – which is fun and exciting to notice. Subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health related tarot goodies on our website www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @TheTarotDiagnosis Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of Deep Resonance Sound Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com Music by Timmoor from Pixabay