Draft translation. This text was translated automatically and has not been proofread yet — if something reads oddly, it does.
Read this before you start work with your first card. The MAC (metaphorical associative cards) system works with what people usually keep hidden — guilt, shame, rage, powerlessness. That is not dangerous in itself, but it asks for a clear head and for keeping a few simple rules.
Who this is for
The deck and the bot are made for self-guided work by mentally healthy adults — people steady enough to hold an unpleasant feeling without falling into it, and used to observing themselves. The second audience is practising psychologists who bring the MAC system into work with clients.
When to postpone
There are states in which going into shadow material alone is contraindicated:
- clinical depression;
- acute grief and fresh loss;
- a recent psychological trauma;
- treatment by a psychiatrist, or medication they have prescribed.
In these cases the MAC system should only be used alongside your own specialist and with their agreement. Postponing does not mean “never”. It means: not now and not alone.
What this work is not
The practice does not replace individual work with a specialist, psychiatric care or any kind of medical help. The bot makes no diagnosis, issues no conclusions and treats nothing. It asks questions and keeps the order of the steps — everything else is yours.
Rules of safe immersion
- One card per practice. The urge to take one more is strong, but depth does not come from quantity.
- Open and close the space. Two short techniques before and after the work, described in the preparation practices. Without the closing it is easy to walk into an ordinary day with a psychological wound still open.
- Do not push through. If at some question everything tightens and will not let go, and you do not want to go on, that is the place to stop, not to force your way to a result.
- Write by hand. What is written stops circling in the head; that alone helps close the practice.
If too much comes up
Stop the practice. Do not analyse further — come back to the body: put your feet on the floor, feel the support, breathe out slowly a few times, splash cold water on your face, say your name, today’s date and where you are out loud. Drink water, go outside, do something ordinary with your hands.
If a day or two later the state has not evened out, that is a reason to ask a practising psychologist or a doctor for support, not a reason to carry on. You can also book a consultation with the author of the deck.
Responsibility
Doing these practices on your own, you take responsibility for your own safety and state of mind. The author cannot accompany self-guided work and is not responsible for the states that arise in it. This is not a formality but an accurate description of how any self-help tool works: it gives structure, it does not replace a living person beside you.