JG writes: “My friends really believe in the use of SoulCollage cards and refer to them to better understand themselves and to guide them before making any major decisions in their lives. What are these cards and is it okay for Christians to use them?”

The short answer to this question is – no. The best place to go for self-discovery and guidance is Jesus Christ, who is not only willing to guide us through life and help us discover who we are, but is also able to heal and strengthen us for the journey – something that no set of picture cards can do.

For those who have never heard of a soul collage, this is the invention of Seena B. Frost (1938-2016), a married mother of four from California who was a psychotherapy clinician for over 30 years. She claimed to have used the healing modalities of two popular New Age figures such as Carl G. Jung and Fritz Perls (Gestalt Therapy) during her practice.The collage consists of cards that a person assembles by cutting out pictures from magazines that appeal to them and gluing them onto backing paper.

“Don’t become too left-brained or intentional,” she says in this video explanation which appears on her website. “Just leaf through a magazine and let that unconscious part of you reach out and grab an image – one you love – then just tear it out.”

These images can be anything that attracts us, a face, a landscape, a person. In the video, she shows off one of her favorites which she decorated with images of her “heart chakra” – a lion.

The object is to assemble a stack of these cards and then “use the collage cards intuitively to answer life’s questions and participate in self-discovery,” the site explains. “Joyfully deepen your understanding of the relationships between your personality parts, you and your family/community/world, and you and your dreams, symbols, and Spirit.”

While using the cards, “You will find that you have inner wisdom that comes from these cards,” Frost says. “When they speak to you they come from a place that no one can tell you – a therapist can’t tell you what this wisdom is – a book can’t tell you, a sermon can’t tell you . . . only your own inner image will tell you what these images will tell you.”

She claims the idea first came to her in the late 1980s while attending a program led by New Age pioneer Jean Houston. “It was a time when I was immersed in world myths and archetypal psychology, and also I was exploring various spiritual paths,” Frost writes on her site.

“I was also practicing psychotherapy in my professional practice. The card-making process evolved over time with the aid of many women in my therapy groups. As they made their powerful, personal cards, shared them with each other and consulted them, we discovered the transforming possibilities of these images.”

Over the course of several years, Frost developed a structure for the cards and a style of doing intuitive readings.

“Originally, it was named the ‘Neter Card’ process,” she explains. “Neters were, in ancient Egyptian lore, the gods and goddesses that came forth from the One Neter, or Source, to help or challenge humans. The word ‘Neter’ continues to be used in SoulCollage® to indicate each of the many guides and allies and challengers depicted in the images on our SoulCollage® cards.”

In 2001, she published a book, SoulCollage: An Intuitive Process for Individuals and Groups.

Over the years she has also developed a network of facilitators or trainers who teach people how to make and use a SoulCollage®, many of whom are Reiki Masters and yoga instructors.

I could go on and on, but I think this is enough to reveal everything a discerning Christian needs to know about the thoroughly New Age thinking behind the SoulCollage.

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