Somatic Therapy: Embodying Tarot Archetypes

3 gennaio 2026

BY NICOLE LAU

"I know I should feel strong, but I don't."

The client sits slumped in her chair, shoulders rounded, chest collapsed. We've been talking about her strength for weeks—all the evidence of her resilience, her survival, her courage. But the words aren't landing. They're just concepts, floating in her head, disconnected from her body.

I pull the Strength card from the deck and place it in front of her.

"Stand up," I say. "Show me what Strength looks like in your body."

She hesitates, then slowly rises. She looks at the card—a woman gently holding a lion's jaws, calm and powerful.

"How would she stand?" I ask.

She straightens her spine. Drops her shoulders back. Lifts her chin. Plants her feet.

"How does that feel?" I ask.

"Different," she says, surprised. "I feel... taller. More solid."

"That's Strength," I say. "Not just an idea. A felt experience in your body."

This is somatic therapy with Tarot—using archetypal images to access, explore, and transform embodied experience.

This article explores integrating Tarot with body-centered psychotherapy:

Somatic therapy fundamentals and the body's wisdom
Why archetypes must be embodied, not just understood
Techniques for embodying Tarot cards
Tracking sensation, movement, and energy
Releasing trauma through archetypal embodiment
Clinical applications and case examples
Integration with Somatic Experiencing and other body therapies

Note: This article is for licensed mental health professionals trained in somatic/body-centered therapy. Tarot enhances but does not replace somatic methodology.

Somatic Therapy Fundamentals

The Body Keeps the Score

Core Principle: Trauma, emotion, and experience are stored in the body, not just the mind.

Van der Kolk (2014): "The body keeps the score"—what the mind forgets, the body remembers.

Key Concepts:

1. The Body Has Wisdom

Body sensations carry information
Gut feelings, tension, energy shifts are data
Body knows truth before mind articulates it

2. Trauma Lives in the Body

Traumatic memory encoded somatically
Freeze response, bracing, collapse stored in nervous system
Talking alone doesn't release it

3. Healing Requires Embodiment

Can't think your way out of body-based trauma
Must work with sensation, movement, breath
Integration happens through body, not just mind

4. The Window of Tolerance

Optimal arousal zone where processing happens
Hyperarousal (too activated) → anxiety, panic
Hypoarousal (too shut down) → dissociation, numbness
Somatic work keeps client in window

Somatic Experiencing (Levine, 1997)

Core Method: Track and release incomplete survival responses

Key Techniques:

1. Pendulation

Move between activation and settling
Touch trauma, return to resource
Rhythm of expansion and contraction

2. Titration

Small doses of activation
Don't flood the nervous system
Gradual, gentle exposure

3. Tracking

Notice body sensations moment-to-moment
"What do you notice in your body right now?"
Breath, temperature, tension, energy, movement impulses

4. Resourcing

Identify what brings regulation
Internal resources (breath, strength) and external (safe place, support)
Anchor in resource before touching trauma

5. Discharge

Complete the interrupted survival response
Trembling, shaking, deep breath = nervous system releasing
Allow natural discharge without forcing

Why Archetypes Must Be Embodied

The Problem with Cognitive-Only Work

Scenario: Client intellectually understands they're strong, but doesn't feel strong

Why: Strength is a concept in the mind, not an experience in the body

Result: Knowledge without transformation

The Power of Embodied Archetypes

Jung: Archetypes aren't just ideas—they're psychosomatic patterns that live in body and psyche

When You Embody an Archetype:

1. It Becomes Real

Not just "I understand Strength"
But "I am Strength—I feel it in my spine, my breath, my stance"

2. It Bypasses Cognitive Defenses

Mind can argue with concepts
Body can't argue with sensation
Embodiment is undeniable

3. It Creates Lasting Change

Body memory is deeper than cognitive memory
Once you've felt Strength in your body, you can return to it
Muscle memory of archetype

4. It Integrates Psyche and Soma

Mind and body aligned
Thought matches feeling matches posture
Wholeness

Techniques for Embodying Tarot Cards

Technique 1: Archetypal Posture

Process:

Step 1: Select Card

Therapist: "What quality do you need right now? Find a card."

Client pulls: Strength

Step 2: Observe the Image

Therapist: "Look at Strength. How is she standing? What's her posture? Her energy?"

Client: "She's... upright. Calm. Grounded. Gentle but powerful."

Step 3: Embody the Posture

Therapist: "Stand up. Show me Strength in your body. How would she stand?"

Client: [Stands, adjusts posture—spine straight, shoulders back, feet planted, hands relaxed]

Step 4: Track Sensation

Therapist: "What do you notice in your body when you stand like Strength?"

Client: "I feel... taller. My chest is open. I can breathe deeper. There's a warmth in my core."

Step 5: Anchor the Experience

Therapist: "Take a breath here. Let your body remember this. This is Strength—not just an idea, but a felt experience. You can return to this posture anytime."

Benefit: Client has somatic anchor for Strength—can recreate the posture and access the quality

Technique 2: Movement Exploration

Process:

Step 1: Select Card

Client pulls: The Fool - "I need to take a risk, try something new"

Step 2: Explore Movement

Therapist: "The Fool is about to step off the cliff. If your body could move like The Fool, what would that look like? Don't think—just move."

Client: [Begins to move—tentative steps, arms reaching, body leaning forward, then pulling back]

Step 3: Track the Movement

Therapist: "What do you notice? What wants to happen?"

Client: "Part of me wants to leap forward, but another part keeps pulling me back. There's tension."

Step 4: Dialogue with the Movement

Therapist: "Stay with that. Let the forward movement speak. What does it want?"

Client: "Freedom. Adventure. To just go for it."

Therapist: "And the pulling back?"

Client: "Safety. It's scared I'll fall."

Step 5: Integration

Therapist: "Can you find a movement that honors both? The leap and the caution?"

Client: [Moves with more fluidity—stepping forward with awareness, grounded but adventurous]

Benefit: Client discovers embodied wisdom—can take risks (Fool) while staying grounded

Technique 3: Breath and Energy

Process:

Step 1: Select Card

Client pulls: Temperance - "I need balance, I'm overwhelmed"

Step 2: Notice Current State

Therapist: "Close your eyes. Notice your breath. What's the quality right now?"

Client: "Shallow. Fast. Tight in my chest."

Step 3: Invite Archetypal Breath

Therapist: "Look at Temperance. She's pouring water between cups—fluid, balanced, patient. If she were breathing, how would she breathe?"

Client: "Slowly. Deeply. Evenly."

Therapist: "Can you breathe like Temperance? Let your breath be slow, deep, even—like water pouring."

Client: [Breath slows, deepens, becomes rhythmic]

Step 4: Track Shift

Therapist: "What's changing?"

Client: "My chest is opening. The tightness is releasing. I feel... calmer. More balanced."

Benefit: Client learns to regulate nervous system through archetypal breath pattern

Technique 4: Somatic Resourcing

Purpose: Build internal resources through embodied archetypes

Process:

Step 1: Identify Need

Therapist: "What does your body need right now to feel safe/strong/calm?"

Client: "I need to feel protected. Safe."

Step 2: Find Resource Card

Client pulls: The Emperor - "Protection, boundaries, strength"

Step 3: Embody the Resource

Therapist: "Stand like The Emperor. Feel his solid stance, his boundaries, his protection. Where do you feel that in your body?"

Client: "In my legs—grounded. In my core—solid. Like I have a shield."

Step 4: Anchor the Resource

Therapist: "This is your Emperor resource. When you feel unsafe, you can return to this stance, this feeling. Your body knows how to be The Emperor."

Benefit: Client has somatic resource to access when dysregulated

Cards for Somatic States

Grounding and Stability

The Emperor: Solid Boundaries

Somatic Quality: Grounded, stable, protected
Body Experience: Feet planted, core solid, spine straight
When to Use: Feeling ungrounded, unsafe, boundary-less

Four of Pentacles: Holding Center

Somatic Quality: Contained, centered, self-holding
Body Experience: Arms around self, core engaged, held
When to Use: Feeling scattered, need self-soothing

Expansion and Opening

The Star: Open and Receptive

Somatic Quality: Expansive, open, flowing
Body Experience: Chest open, arms wide, breath deep
When to Use: Feeling closed, defended, constricted

The Sun: Radiant Energy

Somatic Quality: Vibrant, alive, joyful
Body Experience: Energy radiating from core, lightness, warmth
When to Use: Feeling depleted, heavy, dark

Strength and Power

Strength: Gentle Power

Somatic Quality: Strong yet soft, powerful yet calm
Body Experience: Spine long, shoulders relaxed, core engaged
When to Use: Need courage, facing challenge

The Chariot: Directed Force

Somatic Quality: Focused, driven, controlled power
Body Experience: Forward momentum, muscles engaged, determined
When to Use: Need to push through, take action

Rest and Restoration

Four of Swords: Deep Rest

Somatic Quality: Still, quiet, restorative
Body Experience: Lying down, muscles released, breath slow
When to Use: Exhausted, need to restore

Temperance: Balanced Flow

Somatic Quality: Fluid, balanced, harmonious
Body Experience: Gentle movement, even breath, centered
When to Use: Feeling imbalanced, need regulation

Release and Letting Go

The Hanged Man: Surrender

Somatic Quality: Suspended, letting go, releasing control
Body Experience: Softening, releasing tension, exhaling
When to Use: Holding too tight, need to surrender

Death: Complete Release

Somatic Quality: Emptying, shedding, transformation
Body Experience: Deep exhale, collapse (safe), letting go
When to Use: Need to release old patterns, grief

Trauma Release Through Embodiment

The Freeze Response and The Hanged Man

Trauma Pattern: Freeze—immobilization, collapse, shutdown

Somatic Signature: Held breath, muscle bracing, numbness

Archetypal Card: The Hanged Man (suspended, stuck)

Release Process:

Step 1: Acknowledge the Freeze

Therapist: "You pulled The Hanged Man. Where do you feel suspended or frozen in your body?"

Client: "My chest. It's tight, like I can't breathe fully."

Step 2: Titrate the Sensation

Therapist: "Just notice that tightness. Don't try to change it. What else do you notice?"

Client: "My shoulders are up by my ears. I'm bracing."

Step 3: Invite Movement Impulse

Therapist: "If that bracing could move, what would it want to do?"

Client: "Push away. My arms want to push."

Step 4: Complete the Response

Therapist: "Let them. Push against my hands. Complete that impulse."

Client: [Pushes, breath releases, shoulders drop]

Step 5: Discharge

Therapist: "What's happening now?"

Client: "I'm shaking. My whole body is trembling."

Therapist: "Good. That's your nervous system releasing. Let it happen."

Step 6: New Archetype

Therapist: "The Hanged Man is releasing. What card wants to come now?"

Client pulls: The Star - "I feel... open. Free. Like I can breathe again."

Clinical Case Example

Case: Complex Trauma with Chronic Freeze

Client: "David," 45, childhood abuse, chronic dissociation, feels "numb and disconnected"

Presenting Issue: "I don't feel anything. I'm just... frozen."

Intervention: Somatic Tarot Work

Session 8 Excerpt:

Therapist: "Find a card for how your body feels right now."

David: [Pulls The Hanged Man] "This. Suspended. Stuck. Can't move."

Therapist: "Where do you feel The Hanged Man in your body?"

David: "Everywhere. My whole body is frozen."

Therapist: "Let's start small. Just notice your feet. Can you feel them on the floor?"

David: "Barely. They're... far away."

Therapist: "Press your feet into the floor. Just a little. What happens?"

David: "I feel them more. There's... sensation."

Therapist: "Good. You're coming back into your body. Now, if The Hanged Man could move—even just a tiny movement—what would it be?"

David: "My hands. They want to... unclench."

Therapist: "Let them. Slowly. Notice what happens."

David: [Hands slowly open, breath deepens] "I'm breathing. I haven't been breathing."

Therapist: "Yes. The freeze is releasing. What card wants to come now?"

David: [Pulls Strength] "This. I feel... something. Not numb. Alive."

Therapist: "Stand like Strength. Show me what alive feels like."

David: [Stands, spine straightens, chest opens] "I feel... here. Present. In my body."

Outcome: Over 6 months of somatic Tarot work, David learned to track sensation, release freeze responses, and embody resourced states (Strength, The Emperor, The Star). Dissociation decreased 70%, body awareness increased significantly.

Integration with Somatic Modalities

Tarot + Somatic Experiencing (SE)

SE Principle: Track sensation, pendulate between activation and resource

Tarot Integration:

Use cards to identify activation (The Tower, Nine of Swords)
Use cards to identify resources (Strength, The Emperor)
Pendulate between cards: "Feel The Tower (activation), now return to Strength (resource)"

Tarot + Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

SP Principle: Work with movement, posture, and procedural memory

Tarot Integration:

Cards provide archetypal postures to explore
Movement experiments based on card imagery
"Move like The Fool, now like The Emperor—what shifts?"

Tarot + Hakomi

Hakomi Principle: Mindful awareness of present experience

Tarot Integration:

Use cards as "probes" to evoke experience
"As you look at Strength, what do you notice in your body?"
Track micro-movements, breath changes, energy shifts

Session Structure and Protocols

Somatic Tarot Session (50-60 min)

Grounding (5 min): Arrive in body, notice sensation
Check-in (5 min): What's present today?
Card Selection (5 min): Pull card for current state or needed quality
Embodiment Work (30 min):
- Explore posture, movement, breath of archetype
- Track sensation and energy shifts
- Pendulate between activation and resource
- Allow discharge if it arises
Integration (10 min): What did body learn? How to access this again?
Closing (5 min): Ground, orient to room, transition out

Safety Protocols

Window of Tolerance:

Monitor for hyperarousal (too activated) or hypoarousal (too shut down)
If client leaves window, return to resource card
Never push through—titrate, go slow

Contraindications:

Acute trauma (within 3 months—stabilize first)
Severe dissociation (needs specialized treatment)
Client uncomfortable with body work
Therapist not trained in somatic therapy

Conclusion: The Body Knows

You can understand Strength intellectually. You can talk about it for hours. But until you stand like Strength, breathe like Strength, feel Strength in your spine and your core and your stance—it's just a concept.

Tarot gives us archetypal images. Somatic therapy gives us the body. Together, they create embodied transformation:

The Hanged Man becomes the felt experience of surrender
Strength becomes the sensation of gentle power
The Star becomes the breath of hope

This is not visualization. This is not imagination. This is embodiment—making the archetype real in flesh, breath, and bone.

And when an archetype lives in your body, it transforms you. Not through understanding, but through being.

Your body knows what your mind has forgotten. It knows how to be strong (Strength). It knows how to rest (Four of Swords). It knows how to let go (The Hanged Man). The archetypes aren't just images on cards—they're patterns encoded in your soma, waiting to be remembered. When you stand like The Emperor, your body remembers sovereignty. When you breathe like Temperance, your nervous system remembers balance. This is not metaphor. This is somatic truth. The body keeps the score. And the body, through archetypal embodiment, can heal the score.