What are psychonautics?

Psychonautics (psyche; the mind or soul, and nautes; sailor or explorer) are practices and substances used to alter and explore consciousness. Their roots trace back to the early days of shamanism and the Mystery traditions of Antiquity.

These primeval practices of inner exploration aimed to unravel the mysteries of consciousness and unite the individual and the community with the spiritual and metaphysical realms through a direct and felt experience.

In our current times, psychonautics take on new secular or eclectic forms, often involving the self-directed use of psychedelics and exploration of various meditative practices in or outside of spiritual and religious contexts, to delve into the psyche and uncover profound insights and wisdom.

But modern psychonauts often find themselves in need of guidance, which is often lacking in our societies.

To aid in this pursuit, I believe that psychonauts can learn to employ an instrument with roots deeply entwined in the archetypal and esoteric traditions of our world: the Tarot.

Why the Tarot?

A set of 78 intricate cards with deep symbolism, the Tarot has a history as enigmatic and non-linear as the psychonautic journey itself.

Most current historians tend to agree that this type of cards evolved through a long process of trans-cultural transformation and modifications since its first appearance in Milan of 15th-century Europe. 

First emerging as a personalized adaptation of common playing cards under the orders of Duke Visconti of Milan and his son-in-law Francesco Sforza, the Tarot gradually became a set of archetypal images to which people from all walks of life could relate. 

These cards became associated with mysticism during the mystical Egyptomania of the 19th century, due to their links to Egyptian playing cards, the Egyptian origins of Hermetic thought, and the general mysticism surrounding the region at the time. 

Modern European esotericists, such as Antoine Court de Gébelin, Eliphas Levi and Papus, then worked to further deepen the occult and archetypal aspects of the tarot by linking it to a wide number of traditions, including the Kabbalah, astrology, and Hermeticism.

Although it is mostly associated with fortune-telling and divination in today’s mainstream culture, some scholars and readers, such as Inna Semetsky and Alejandro Jodorowsky, present the Tarot as a projective and introspective tool. 

In this perspective, the cards provide archetypes and symbols that can be interpreted in relation to each other in the metaphorical container that is the spread, and provide a jumping-board for inner exploration and a concrete way to gain perspective on a situation.

In my mind, this does not mean that the cards predict the future or hold an absolute truth, but that their primordial symbolism can provide guidance or help people look at specific questions (or themselves) under a new perspective. 

The goal of this post is therefore to inspire fellow psychonauts to use the tarot to relate to their experiences of altered consciousness under a different light.

5 ways the Tarot can assist psychonautic exploration

The Tarot can offer both experienced and novice psychonauts a universal and symbolic framework to explore the depths of consciousness and connect to a timeless source of archetypal wisdom. 

Let’s now explore five areas in which the Tarot can help psychonauts in their journeys. For each of these five areas, you will find five prompts to help you invent ways to apply the ideas presented.

I. Clarifying Your Set & Setting

Most psychonauts know the importance of the set (mindset) and the (setting) in shaping psychonautic experiences. 

One’s current state of mind, the intention underlying the experience, the location and the people involved, are part of a myriad of factors that will be amplified and transformed during states of altered consciousness. 

The set and setting is clearly controlled in shamanic, therapeutic and research settings, but it can be challenging to do so individually as no clear standard exists. 

In this context, the archetypal images of the tarot could help psychonauts in a number of ways:

• Checking-in: Consult the cards to reflect on your mental and emotional state before a psychonautic journey, helping you set the right intentions.
• Intention setting: Use the cards to clarify your intentions for the journey, helping you focus on a specific direction while staying open to what the experience brings.
• Party selection: Use the cards to think about the people you want with you during the experience.
• Setting clarification 1: Brainstorm the location and time of your experience and the people who will accompany you.
• Setting clarification 2: Brainstorm the activities and practices that you could take part in, during your experience.

II. Connecting to Meaningful Archetypes

Popularized by psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, archetypes (arkho=primordial, and tupos=model) are universal representations of human values, patterns of thought and action. 

From myths, to art, rituals and human psychology, these timeless images show us the path to our inner potentials and connect us to the wisdom of the ages. Archetypes can be presented as characters, symbols, and even stories. 

Inspired by Jung’s ideas, mythologist Joseph Campbell expanded on the Hero’s Journey, or the archetypal narrative structure underlying world mythology and stories. 

This universal monomyth can be transposed to the Major Arcana of the Tarot as the Fool’s Journey through the 22 cards. 

As such, it is possible to join the Fool on this universal journey of self-discovery, and use the cards to relate psychonautic experiences to archetypal wisdom.

• Inner mapping: The tarot is a structured system of archetypes, allowing you to map your inner landscape prior or during altered states to prepare or guide your experiences.
• Archetypal emergence: Find tarot cards that relate to the archetypal patterns that might emerge during your experiences to deepen their meaning to you.
• Reframing: As you draw cards, the symbols and imagery may help you ascribe a different meaning to your experience, providing a bridge between your conscious and subconscious mind.
• De-repression: The archetypes in tarot can help bring hidden themes and issues to the surface, aiding in self-awareness and exploration.
• Archetypal focusing: By invoking and meditating on specific archetypes from the cards, you could deepen your mystical experiences and access profound insights.

III. Navigating Challenging Experiences

One way or another, every psychonaut will have difficult experiences, may they encounter the existential reality of mortality, repressed or painful memories, or simply feel nervous. 

This is not dangerous, and is to be expected. 

But approaching these challenges with a sense of surrender and meaning-making can help work through those difficult moments, and even grow as a result. 

It is not uncommon for challenging experiences to transform into beautiful moments once the psychonaut works through their message. 

Here are a few way in which the tarot could help catalyze this process:

• Roadmap through the Abyss: When faced with challenging or overwhelming experiences, the tarot can offer guidance by providing a symbolic roadmap through the Abyss of the Hero’s Journey.
• Emotional processing: Tarot cards can help you manage intense emotions by offering a structured approach to understanding and processing them (rather than avoiding them).
• Perspective-taking: Drawn cards may represent alternative viewpoints or paths, helping you adopt a new perspective on the challenging experience and find a way through it.
• Agency: Tarot can empower you to make conscious choices during the journey, reducing feelings of helplessness.
• Validation: Tarot cards can also offer you a way to explore and validate your reaction to the experience, helping you approach it with non-judgement and mindfulness.

IV. Extracting Insights from Your Experience

Psychonautic experiences can be moving and carry meaningful messages, but not every experience holds the same message, and some may not be that important either. 

It is therefore crucial for psychonauts to discern the significant insights of their experiences from the noise, and to clarify their meaning after the fact so as to be able to gradually integrate them into their lives. 

Tarot can assist this process in a number of ways:

• Symbols of the ineffable: Tarot cards act as a symbolic language that can help you express and make sense of ineffable or transcendent experiences.
• Meaning-making: After your journey, tarot can aid in the interpretation of your experiences, allowing you to extract deeper insights and meaning when applicable.
• Contrasts: Use the cards to map out themes to pay attention to versus the “noise” of the experience, either through a symmetrical spread or by watching out for reversals.
• Synchronicities: Tarot may reveal synchronicities between your journey experiences and card interpretations, shedding light on interconnected aspects of your life.
• Repetition: Incorporating tarot into your post-journey reflections can encourage a continual exploration of the insights from your experiences under different symbols, promoting openness in your journey of personal growth.

V. Clarifying Your Path for Integration

It is crucial for psychonauts to work on integrating insights that were gained. 

Integrating insights means bringing about concrete changes in your perspective of life or your actions and habits in alignment with valid and important lessons gained during your journeys. 

This is not an easy task, and requires accountability and commitment, which can be difficult to provide in our fast-paced modern world. 

The tarot can provide an oasis where you can come back and connect to your journey once again.

• Planning integration: Tarot can help you plan out how to apply the lessons that you have gained during and after your experience.
• Goal setting: Use tarot to set specific integration goals and track your progress in aligning your life with the insights gained during psychonautic experiences.
• Daily readings: Daily tarot readings, card draws and journaling can serve as a tool for holding yourself accountable in your integration process, promoting personal development.
• Archetypal guidance: Reconnecting to meaningful archetypal symbols in the tarot can guide or offer further inspiration to your integration journey, and ensure that the lessons from your experiences continue to influence your path.
• Recalibration: Use the tarot to re-align yourself with your integration process if you feel like you have stagnated in this journey.

Closing Words

The symbolic language and archetypal imagery of the tarot offers a universal lens through which one can explore and understand the complexities of the various alterations of the mind.

Remember to approach the tarot as a flexible guide rather than rigid doctrine or a strict predictor of your actions. Let the cards inspire and provoke your imagination and wisdom, adapting their meanings to your personal beliefs, needs and experiences.

Stay tuned for our custom tarot spreads to help you put these points into practice.

Safe travels.