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The Tarot Diagnosis

The Tarot Diagnosis

By: Shannon Knight
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About this listen

 Hey there! I'm Shannon - a licensed psychotherapist in private practice who also happens to love tarot. Each episode I work to demystify tarot and explore its connections to mental and emotional health while implementing its inherently helpful tools to better understand ourselves and those around us. Join me as I unravel common struggles related to our behavior, thought patterns, emotions, and relationships while pulling cards to facilitate growth and to help create the life and relationships we all desire.Shannon Knight Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • The Truth Behind the Two of Cups

    The Truth Behind the Two of Cups
    Jun 1 2025

    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 Symposium, I revisit Jessica Dore’s take in Tarot for Change, where she explores the Two of Cups as a mirror - one that reflects not just the other person, but all of our unconscious projections, unmet needs, and early attachment wiring. Spoiler alert: we had a lot to say about her interpretation.


    I also spend time honoring Paul Quinn’s more relational lens from Tarot for Life, and some attachment theory to explore how this card hits differently when you're someone with a dismissive-avoidant style. We talk about the storylines we pick, as Esther Perel says, when we pick a partner - and how intimacy can feel like a high-stakes negotiation when we’re secretly wondering if our cup will be too heavy for someone else to hold.


    There’s a big through-line in this discussion around how intimacy and autonomy often feel like opposing forces, but they don’t have to be. Eventually, I explore the Devil and Temperance cards (because of course I do) as well as ALL of the cups as a progression of this dynamic. And we end with a beautiful appearance from the Page of Cups, who offers us a gentle reminder that curiosity can be the antidote to defensiveness.


    This episode is for anyone who’s ever felt the ache of wanting to be close to someone, but fearing what it might cost them. We talk childhood attachment wounds, projections, survival strategies, and how tarot can be a tool for navigating all of it…with softness, insight, and just the right amount of therapeutic nerdiness.


    Books referenced:

    • Tarot for Change by Jessica Dore

    • Tarot for Life by Paul Quinn

    • Esther Perel


    Join me in unpacking what it really means to offer your cup, and what it takes to believe someone might actually want to hold it.


    🌙 Stay Connected With Me:

    💌 Follow me on Instagram: @thetarotdiagnosis

    🧠 Sign up for my newsletter at thetarotdiagnosis.com

    👥 Join The Symposium — my tarot & psychology membership community


    If you love The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast, please consider leaving a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a super easy and FREE way to support my work. Plus, it helps more people discover the podcast. I appreciate you all so much!


    Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Deep Resonance Sound⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com

    Music by Timmoor from Pixabay
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    36 mins
  • Lazy or Liberated? The Four of Swords & Eight of Pentacles go to Therapy

    Lazy or Liberated? The Four of Swords & Eight of Pentacles go to Therapy
    May 18 2025
    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 desperate need for a session on the couch. So, I paired these two cards and asked: Why does pressing pause feel so threatening? And what happens when relentless mastery meets restorative stillness? I also brought the Eight of Wands into the mix because I know we have all experienced a sense of urgency when it comes to creating, checking off a to-do list, or simply just by existing.In this episode I touch on:Why rest feels unsafe. First we look at the knight in the Four of Swords with three blades suspended overhead and one tucked beneath him. I talk about how many of us lie down “at the ready,” never fully releasing vigilance. Polyvagal Theory helps us name that jumpy nervous-system state and identify the ventral vagal calm we’re craving.How hustle culture rewires worth. Drawing on Juliet Schor’s research and Devon Price’s Laziness Does Not Exist, we trace the way late-stage capitalism elevates exhaustion to a status symbol, turning the Eight of Pentacles into a bit of a warning sign.The shame spiral of speed. Brené Brown’s work on perfectionism meets the Eight of Wands, highlighting our belief that value = how much we accomplish and how fast we deliver. Spoiler: that metric is unsustainable.A values check-in. I share a quick exercise I use with clients comparing an “ideal day” with a so-called “lazy day” to expose how easily we mislabel restoration as failure.Practical invitations. From booking bodywork to choosing a new setting (nature, a quiet room, etc.), I offer ways to step outside the urgent grind and let your nervous system soften into safety.The takeaway: the Four of Swords isn’t laziness; it’s necessary maintenance. And until our Eight of Pentacles selves learn to lay down the hammer (even briefly) true stability will stay out of reach.Reference material and further reading:Devon Price, PhD — Laziness Does Not ExistBook page (Simon & Schuster): https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Laziness-Does-Not-Exist/Devon-Price/9781797120591 Simon & SchusterAuthor hub / articles: https://devonprice.medium.com/ MediumJuliet Schor, PhD — The Overworked AmericanBook page (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Overworked-American-Juliet-Schor/dp/046505434X AmazonFaculty bio (Boston College): https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/morrissey/departments/sociology/people/faculty-directory/juliet-schor.html Boston CollegeBrené Brown, PhD, LMSW — The Gifts of ImperfectionBook page: https://brenebrown.com/book/the-gifts-of-imperfection/ Brené BrownOfficial site: https://brenebrown.comStephen W. Porges, PhD — The Polyvagal Theory Book page (W.W. Norton): https://www.amazon.com/Polyvagal-Theory-Neurophysiological-Communication-Self-regulation/dp/0393707008 Amazon Official site: https://www.stephenporges.com/ 🎧 Listen now on your favorite podcast platform or YouTube! Want to find out all of the ways you can connect with me live this month? Join us inside⁠ The Symposium⁠! If you love The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast, please consider leaving a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This helps more people discover the show and is a great way to support my work <3Don't forget to subscribe to our email list to get all kinds of free mental health and tarot goodies on our website, as well as access to our private membership community ⁠The Symposium⁠!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.TheTarotDiagnosis.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow The Tarot Diagnosis on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TheTarotDiagnosis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Deep Resonance Sound⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.comMusic by Timmoor from Pixabay
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    27 mins
  • Architecture of Stability: Tarot and Financial Wellness with Mimi Cirbusova

    Architecture of Stability: Tarot and Financial Wellness with Mimi Cirbusova
    May 4 2025

    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 reimagine what stability looks like for you.



    Mimi walks us through her Money Mountain framework, and together we explore how tarot (especially the Fours) can help us ground ourselves, soften financial shame, and build emotional resilience in real, accessible ways.



    ✨ In This Conversation, We Explore:

    • Why “stability” looks different than it used to and how to meet yourself where you are

    • How the nervous system and financial anxiety are deeply connected

    • The symbolic (and somatic) energy of the Four of Swords

    • The tension between the Four of Pentacles and Four of Wands (survival vs. joy)

    • Reframing saving, spending, and celebrating through a trauma-informed lens

    • How tarot can soothe money shame and create space for gentler decision-making

    • Why community is essential for both emotional and financial well-being

    🔮 Cards We Explore Together:

    • Four of Swords

    • Four of Pentacles

    • Four of Wands

    • Four of Cups

    • King of Wands

    • Two of Pentacles

    • The Tower, The Star, The Sun, and the Wheel of Fortune



    🧘 Final Reflections: If you're feeling the weight of the world, I hope this episode reminds you that you’re not alone. Stability isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about giving yourself permission to rest, connect, and redefine what support means for you today. Let’s pull some cards, take a breath, and remember that we don’t have to do this alone.



    💡 More from Mimi:

    🎧 Listen to the Meadow Sweet Money podcast

    🌐 Visit meadowsweetmoney.com

    📰 Subscribe to her Substack for new + full moon reflections 💞 Join her Patreon for tarot-infused financial accountability



    🌙 Stay Connected With Me:

    💌 Follow me on Instagram: @thetarotdiagnosis

    🧠 Sign up for my newsletter at thetarotdiagnosis.com

    👥 Join The Symposium — my tarot & psychology membership community



    If you love The Tarot Diagnosis Podcast, please consider leaving a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a super easy and FREE way to support my work. Plus, it helps more people discover the podcast. I appreciate you all so much!



    Audio Edited by Anthony DiGiacomo of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Deep Resonance Sound⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Contact: DeepResonanceSound@gmail.com

    Music by Timmoor from Pixabay
    Show more Show less
    48 mins
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