My Spaces and Sanctuaries

About the deck

A deck about the place a person hides in, and about whether it still protects them or has begun to hold them.

The deck holds 128 metaphorical associative cards with images of spaces: from the closed and cramped to the open and widening, from the light and resourcing to the dark and oppressive.

The cards hold both cosy corners that give safety and spaces that speak of isolation or of a need for boundaries. It can be a place of rest, a zone of personal strength, a field of action, a room for watching yourself, or a sanctuary in a moment of crisis.

The meaning of each card depends on the question, the state and the stage of a person’s life, so the deck lets you explore both the obvious and the hidden sides of how space is felt, outer and inner alike.

It works with deep feelings: with the need for safety and steadiness, or, on the contrary, with the need to widen, to move and to step beyond the usual limits.

The deck can be used as a deep diagnostic, clarifying, deepening, resourcing and supporting tool in counseling, therapy and psychological transformation games.

With the “My Spaces and Sanctuaries” deck you can

• diagnose a person’s current state
• understand why the urge to hide arises
• see which event sets off the retreat into a sanctuary
• understand what this particular kind of space is for
• determine whether it gives the protection a person counts on
• see what in the image serves as a support
• uncover the fears that drive someone to seek isolation
• tell a temporary sanctuary from a comfort zone that holds growth back
• notice how the sanctuary is tied to childhood experience
• explore the wish to stay in this space or to leave it

Questions to ask the deck

Work starts from these questions. Choose one, the one that speaks to you more strongly than the rest, and work with it, because only one space is opened up well in a single session.

1. Which space am I in now?
2. Where do I feel safe?
3. What am I hiding from?
4. What gives me a sense of protection?
5. Does my sanctuary protect me or already hold me?
6. What am I missing in my space?
7. What keeps me from stepping outside?
8. Which space do I need to create in my life?
9. Where can I be myself?
10. What happens when I am left alone?
11. Which space did I have in childhood?
12. Where do I want to go but do not dare?

The whole series

“Inner World” is 10 decks that work as a single system: the weather inside, states, boundaries, needs, spaces, relationships, resource and motivation, supports, opportunities and freedom.

See the whole series →