“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” — Carl Jung
When we want to improve an area of our lives—whether it’s our finances, our fitness, or our relationships—our immediate instinct is to look for a quick fix. We buy a new planner, download a workout app, or pick up a book on goal-setting. We try to force our way into a new life through sheer willpower.
But more often than not, the excitement fades within a few weeks, and we slide right back into our old patterns.
Why is creating lasting change so difficult? Because when we try to change our external life without addressing our internal wounds, we are trying to fight a monster with a small pocket knife.
True, permanent transformation isn’t about forcing external results; it is about psychological healing. If an area of your life feels permanently blocked, it usually means that area is emotionally scarred. Until you heal the underlying subconscious blueprint, your brain will continue to sabotage your best efforts.
The Tarot as a Manual for the Soul
This fascination with life’s inevitable cycles is what inspired my recent writing on spiritual awakening through the lens of the Major Arcana. Through my work, I aim to spread awareness about the powerful teachings the ancients left behind for us within the Tarot.
Far from being just a tool for fortune-telling, I see the Tarot as a complete blueprint and an ancient manual full of psychological and spiritual wisdom. Unfolding this manual provides us with a practical roadmap for deep shadow work and conscious awakening, concepts I explore extensively through www.cariabellaesoterics.com.
To break the cycle of self-sabotage, we must look at the Five Levels of Emotional Healing that govern human behavior and learn how to rewrite them from the inside out using the unique wisdom of the Major Arcana.
The 5 Levels of the Mind
To understand how these levels interact, let’s look at a common example: a person who desperately wants to find a loving partner but holds a lifelong subconscious belief that they are fundamentally “unwanted” or “unattractive” due to their weight.
Here is how that internal scar trickles down through their entire life, mapped across the Major Arcana:
1. Identity (Who we believe we are)
This is the core blueprint imprinted on our subconscious mind from childhood. If you were constantly told you weren’t good enough, “unwanted” becomes part of your identity.
- The Tarot Connection: This deep-seated programming is stored within The Empress (our subconscious) and accessed through the intuitive waters of The High Priestess.
2. Feeling (Our emotional baseline)
The automatic emotions that trigger every time we think about our problem area (e.g., shame, anxiety, or loneliness).
- The Tarot Connection: This is expressed by The Wheel of Fortune as it spins, dictating our emotional highs and lows based on unconscious programming.
3. Belief (How we think the world works)
The rigid rules we build to justify our wounded identity. For instance: “No one will ever love me unless I look perfectly fit.”
- The Tarot Connection: This state of self-imposed bondage and toxic programming is perfectly personified by The Devil.
4. Attitude (How we approach situations)
The defense mechanisms we use to survive. This often looks like avoiding dating entirely or numbing the emotional pain with distractions.
- The Tarot Connection: This is represented by Justice, which in its shadow form represents the rigid, hyper-rational strategies we use to protect ourselves from being hurt.
5. Behavior (What we physically do)
The final external action. In this case, forcing a strict diet as the desperate, singular solution to fixing a broken love life.
- The Tarot Connection: This is the realm of Death—the forced endings and aggressive physical overhauls we attempt out of desperation.
The Trajectory of Failure: Why Level 5 Doesn’t Work Alone
Most personal development advice tells you to focus entirely on Level 5: Behavior.
But what happens when our hypothetical person tries to force a strict fitness routine while their Level 1: Identity still firmly whispers, “You are unwanted”?
The internal conflict becomes exhausting. The subconscious mind always wins, eventually causing them to abandon the diet and return to familiar safety. Your behavior is actually the least powerful lever for long-term change. Your subconscious identity is the most important—but it is also the hardest to change directly.
This is exactly why willpower alone fails us, and it is where a dedication to working through the shadow process becomes an essential tool for healing. By confronting the hidden, wounded parts of ourselves, we can finally dismantle these blocks at the root. (You can explore this further and begin your own journey with The Three-Row Blueprint: Mapping the Major Arcana for Spiritual Awakening https://www.cariabellaesoterics.com/the-major-arcana
The 3-Step Shortcut to Rewire Your Identity
You don’t have to tackle all five levels at once. The most efficient way to heal a broken area of your life is to focus intensely on just three mid-level areas: Feelings, Beliefs, and Attitudes. When you consciously shift these three, your core Identity and your daily Behaviors will naturally transform as a result.
(I explore this framework deeply in my guide, “The Three-Row Blueprint: Mapping the Major Arcana for Spiritual Awakening.”)
Here is how to practically apply this three-tier shift to rewrite your inner narrative:
Step 1: Elevate the Feeling
Feelings act like a laser pen that can actually rewrite the subconscious mind. You cannot intellectualize your way out of an emotional scar; you have to feel the shift. Practice actively generating a feeling of self-worth and appreciation for your body right now, exactly as it is.
- The Shift: We move away from the chaotic spin of The Wheel of Fortune, and as we master our emotional baseline, we become The Magician—consciously directing our reality.
Step 2: Interrogate the Belief
Challenge the rigid rules you’ve built around your life. Replace the old, limiting belief with an empowering, universal truth. Shift your mindset from: “I am only worthy of love if I am thin,” to: “I am deeply worthy of love, respect, and connection exactly as I am today.”
- The Shift: This confrontation begins with Justice (seeing things clearly), requires the pause and perspective of The Hanged Man, and ultimately breaks the chains of The Devil.
Step 3: Align the Attitude
Change your daily approach from a place of self-punishment to a place of self-care. Instead of forcing yourself to exercise because you hate your body, choose to eat nutritious meals, dress elegantly, and move your body because you respect yourself.
- The Shift: This requires the deep ego dismantling of Death and The Tower, clearing the path for the healing, hopeful inspiration of The Star.
The Ripple Effect
When you dedicate your energy to healing your feelings, beliefs, and attitudes, the remaining levels automatically align:
- Your Identity automatically shifts: Your core self-image upgrades to: “I am a beautiful, capable, and desirable person.” The primary cards reflecting this sovereign, healed state are The Empress and The Emperor.
- Your Behavior naturally follows: You stop using junk food to numb your emotions, and regular exercise stops feeling like a chore—it becomes a natural extension of who you are. This victorious alignment is expressed perfectly by The Chariot and Strength.
Stop trying to fix your life from the outside in. Shift your focus to internal healing, change the script of your subconscious mind, and watch how effortlessly your external world follows suit.
About the Author
Cariabella is a spiritual teacher, mindset coach, and author dedicated to helping others navigate the journey of personal transformation. Since 2018, she has combined holistic healing practices with psychological frameworks to help clients break through subconscious blocks and reclaim their inner power. She is the author of five books and the founder of Cariabella Esoterics, an online space dedicated to personal growth and spiritual awakening.
