The Addiction and Recovery Spread
Addiction is not a moral failing but a complex response to pain, disconnection, and unmet needs. This spread approaches addiction and recovery with radical compassion and complete honesty. Seven cards explore the need the substance or behavior was originally meeting, the cost that has accumulated, what is in the way of recovery right now, the strength already present in you, the support most available, what you are recovering toward rather than just away from, and the vision of yourself free and whole. It is designed to work alongside a formal recovery program, not as a substitute for one.
Step 1: Instructions
Use when you are actively engaged in a recovery program and want spiritual support for the journey, when you are in the contemplation stage and considering seeking help, or when you are a person supporting a loved one through addiction and want to understand the dynamic more clearly. Never use as a replacement for evidence-based addiction treatment.
Step 2: Card Positions
- #1The need the addiction was originally meeting
- #2The cost that has accumulated
- #3What is standing between you and recovery right now
- #4The strength already present in you
- #5The support most available to you
- #6What you are recovering toward (not just away from)
- #7The vision of yourself free and whole
Step 3: Interpretation Advice
Position six — what you are recovering toward — is often the most neglected aspect of recovery conversations, which tend to focus exclusively on stopping the harmful behavior. A recovery that has a 'toward' is more sustainable than one that is purely 'away from.' The Ace of Cups or the Star in position six are profoundly hopeful draws.
The Addiction and Recovery Spread
Total Cards
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