SoulCollage® — An Inspirational and Revelatory Tool for Writers

A way to access the deep wellspring of our subconscious mind

Why SoulCollge®?

Our souls speak to us in the language of images.

Have you ever been drawn to an image or a scene and not known why? You’re just riveted. It may be a delightful image. Or it may be horrific. But something calls or compels you to pay attention. Like the eyes on the cat above.

Something bubbling up from deep within.

This is your soul finally getting your attention.

Some of us are so intuitive we feel deep soul connections already. But there could be deeper depths to plunge. SoulCollage® offers ways to create and discern these messages. It’s worth exploring, whether you use it to support and enhance your writing or your life.

What is SoulCollage®?

SoulCollage® is a process of allowing our souls to select and arrange images into collages, typically on 5 X 8-inch matt boards. It’s like creating our personal Tarot or oracle deck. In addition to being ‘read’ when created, we can do readings with one or more cards to answer specific questions.

How did it come into being?

SoulCollage® is the brain and heart child of visionary art and psychotherapist, Seena B. Frost. She lived and taught in Santa Cruz, California, where I trained with her.

Like threads on a tapestry, SoulCollage® evolved from several strands of Seena’s life. She’s a Jungian therapist with a Master of Divinity from Yale.

SoulCollage® bubbled up in her while attending a program led by Dr. Jean Houston in the late 1980s. Seena describes that time as an incubating womb that immersed [her] in the world of myth, archetypal psychology, and various spiritual practices. The work with collaged cards evolved over time in the context of [her] ongoing therapy groups.

How I discovered SoulCollage®

A friend of mine once showed me her Voyager Tarot Deck. I’m not all that into the Tarot, but each card in this deck is collaged. And I grok collage. I’ve collaged journal covers, greeting cards, and posters for years.

One day, I Googled collage on my old 9’ screen Macintosh Apple computer.

The very first listing that came up was soulcollage.com,

I clicked over and read:

Your SoulCollage® Deck is the Story of You! Create a unique deck of colorful, collaged SoulCollage® cards with deep personal meaning. Consult your cards, discover your inner wisdom and find answers to life’s questions. Anyone can enjoy this fun, powerful and satisfying method.

I jumped out of my chair, and ran naked through the town, shouting Eureka! Okay, I kept my clothes on, but I really was that excited.

Getting Started

So I started right away, even before reading the first edition of Seena’s book, updated and now called Soul Collage Evolving.

Amassing piles of magazines–National Geographic, Oprah, and whatever else I could get my hands on–was easy. I think they multiply by osmosis and take over like mint or nasturtiums.

In SoulCollage® we browse, usually without an agenda. We select images that compel us–what we like or what scares, angers, or repels us. All are rich. Then we let our soul or inner child guide us as we arrange the images on cards and glue them in place, again, with no preconceived plan.

My first card depicted an underwater scene lush with starfish and sea anemones. Into that mix, I pasted a Baille Folklorico dancer swinging her bright yellow skirt.

This card, I came to learn, had a message of pure joy and vitality for me, which continues to uplift my spirits to this day.

My second card was rather ominous. But needed to be made.

This was not long after an incident at my church when I was a teen group facilitator. One of the mothers got physical with a teen who had left the building during our Youth Sunday celebration.

When I tried to scream STOP! nothing came out. I’d lost my voice and couldn’t even squeak. I sat frozen, a deer in the headlights, which brings up shame to this day.

I made a card showing a baby crying near a shark’s gaping jaws and an empty red chair where help should have been. The image captured how powerless and scared I felt. It didn’t need to have people on it to do that.

My original version did not have those eyes staring out from the maw. Boy, do they pop, adding a layer of creepiness that goes deep into how I felt at the time.

Shortly after starting, I joined a SoulCollage® group. That’s where I learned to ‘read’ my cards.

Together we make cards, and then clear the table and read them. That’s when we get quiet and maybe even light a candle in preparation for going deeper. We take turns asking each other questions. Someone writes down what we say in our journals.

The first question is who are you? We gaze at our cards while we respond. The answer begins I am the one who… and we fill in the rest as if we were our card or our soul speaking back to us.

My baby/shark soul card told me: I am the one who unintentionally hurt another by losing my voice and not speaking up. I am the one who still carries fear from childhood when I was not safe around a rageaholic dad. I am the one who is now willing and able to heal this way of being that no longer serves.

We also ask Do you have a message for me?

Again my card spoke: The message I have for you is that beating yourself up does not help. Shame keeps you immobilized. Guilt empowers. So take responsibility for your role in this. Make any amends you can. Reclaim the power of your voice. You are stronger than you think you are.

Adapting SoulCollage® for writers

There are many ways SoulCollage® can support us as writers. This is just an overview. There’s more to come. But let me leave you with a few ideas:

Writing Process: We can make cards honoring our inner critic and writer’s block. The intention here is to get those energies on the table where they can talk to us more and mess with us less.

Inspiration: We can make cards featuring images of our muse or muses. Cards depicting our favorite writers. I’ve got one with Pat Conroy and Annie Proulx chatting over a backyard fence.

Going the Distance: When writing a book-length project, we can make a card that conveys its energy to us. It doesn’t have to be literal. But having an evocative image can take us deeper into our writing zone the way a beloved piece of music can, while being specific to the story. What mood does the soul card at the top of this post convey?

Characters and Settings: We can make cards for characters and settings. We don’t need to find exact models of them, which would be hard to do. Though if we find a fitting image, great. The point is to evoke the mood or feeling tone we want to express.

Or use this process to create characters from scratch. Who wants to write about my mad masked madam up top? Is she the villain? Or a funky, spunky heroine? And why isn’t the cat laughing?

The excitement of this process goes beyond the fun of making our soul cards. It’s when something gets revealed to us through them that our conscious left brains might never have figured out on their own. What a great way to track our soul and heart’s journey.

Those eureka moments. That’s the magic and mystery of this mystical process. So stay tuned!

Here are additional resources for SoulCollage® and writing.

Marilyn Flower’s the author of Creative Blogging: Ninja Writers Guide to Character Development and Bucket Listers, Get Your Brave On. Clowning and improvisation strengthen her resolve during these crazy times. Follow her Sacred Foolishness and Stay in touch!