From the author: I have never published this article anywhere before. I always use the described age classification system for myself in my work. Maybe someone else will be interested in this too. Textbook of Developmental Psychology in Pictures. (Based on methodological materials from Guru Ar Santem’s school of yoga) Since my main activity as a psychologist has recently been associated mainly with preschool children, I suggest you first look at this age, as well as the immediate prospects for development. I dare to hope that this will be interesting not only to parents of preschool children, but also to people whose children have already grown up and even to those who do not yet have children, because: “There are no adults in the world - there are only aging girls and bald boys.” (someone's saying) Probably many have heard that often, in order to solve some life problem of an adult, psychologists and psychotherapists try to help the client find his inner child, who is always inside us. If this is successful, a person can, from the position of himself, already an adult, meet him, caress him, feel sorry for him, encourage him and take him out of the dark room, or the situation in which he is stuck, freeing his real self from this problem. The trick and the main problem, as a rule, is is not about finding a child, but about finding yourself somewhere - an adult who can help this child. As strange as it may seem, this is precisely the difficulty... Many have probably heard, and maybe even seen, Tarot cards. The major arcana of the Tarot (there are 22 of them) correspond to the stages of the path of the human soul from incarnation (conception) to the acquisition of Immortality. In fact, if you know the interpretation, they could become the most complete textbook on growth psychology. It looks like this: 0 Arcanum Jester, or Fool. - Conception. A soul going to incarnation. He is a Fool, because, firstly, since he goes to incarnation, it means that he has not yet achieved the necessary experience in previous lives to gain Immortality, and secondly, in the biological aspect, he is a Fool because he cannot control the process, and moves according to the sexual ways, obeying the elements of the female body. A fool is a sperm looking for an egg. Behind him is a dog - ejaculation, in front of him is a crocodile who can devour him (out of 300 million sperm, only one reaches the egg, the rest are absorbed by the female body, “eaten up”).1 Arcana Magician . – Intrauterine development. Unity. He is a Magician because he creates his new body and new destiny. An infinity sign is often depicted above the head; indeed, it is in this incarnation that one can achieve Immortality. Here he is a doer, an active, creative principle, then by birth he will “fall asleep” and may not “wake up” until the end of his life. 2 Arcana. Priestess of the Source. - Birth. Age up to 1.5 years Here, a kind of duality appears, since the situation for the child has changed, he is no longer alone with his former home - the womb, where he could work magical miracles. In fact, please note that there is no child or any other symbol indicating his soul on the map. On the map the woman is the priestess of the Source. Yoni of a woman is translated from Sanskrit - Source. In modern developmental psychology, this period of childhood is often called the “Pro-We situation.” Remember how you yourself said about your child: “OUR tummy hurts. Today WE slept well...” Don’t you still say that? So, on the woman’s head there is a lunar-solar crown, in one hand she holds a book - a symbol of wisdom. That is, a woman who has just given birth to a child has already been given wisdom, at least to the extent that she can properly go through the first year of life - to understand and feel her child. In the left hand there is a Lotus flower - a symbol of Matter, which indicates thatthat the woman who gave birth always has everything material necessary for the care and nutrition of the child. Here I like the Jewish proverb: “A child is always born with a piece of bread in his hand.” Black and white columns are a symbol of the dual, polar Universe, into which a newborn enters, after nirvana of intrauterine life (stage of Unity with the Universe). 3 Arcana. Empress. Up to 7 years old. This lasso corresponds, as you understand, to the entire preschool childhood. So, the main thing is again the woman - the same attributes are on the head. Let us emphasize that she is not a servant, not a nanny, but an Empress. In her hand is a rod, a sign of power, she is still the main participant in the Mystery of Life. What does it mean? In any textbook on developmental psychology, the initial period of childhood is divided into at least two stages, this is the stage when it is better for the child to be only with his mother, it lasts up to 1-1.5 years and then the next stage is necessary: ​​in a period no later than 2 years in the child’s life, it is clearly necessary the father appears and breaks the once inseparable bond with the mother. On this card, the empress appears in two forms - male and female, and in the crown, in addition to the moon and the sun (Yin - Yang), 12 stars - signs of the Zodiac - appear - the world becomes more complicated. The empress listens to the vulture, which sits on a hillock. The vulture is the soul of a child. Why is he lecturing her? Because the soul, having incarnated into an egg, and then, having been born, transfers to the woman all its knowledge and experience, all the accumulated information, but, of course, only if the soul is of a higher evolutionary level than the woman who gave birth to it. A woman who has given birth to several children gains the experience of many incarnations. So, what happens? At the stage, let's call it so, of kindergarten childhood, the characters, undoubtedly possessing symbols of power (the rod): let it be first parents, then grandparents, relatives, acquaintances, then teachers, ATTENTION to the child-vulture. Let's remember this, I think, here There is something to think about, and now I will briefly describe the next coming Arcana - periods of development, so that we can imagine where the near future is leading us. 4 Arcana Emperor. From 7 to 12-14 years old This is the most important stage - the first awareness of one’s Self, the formation of Personality, Adaptation to the new world. Before this, we listened to the child, now he must listen to us. The transition to this situation always goes through a crisis, the so-called crisis of 7 years - “crisis of spontaneity”, in my opinion, a very accurate name.. The task of the first year of school is to adapt to new conditions. The “Emperor” period is often hidden, which is what Freud calls it. It seems like what? The child goes to school, he still obeys his parents quite well, and is controlled by the teacher, at least in the lower grades. In Russian psychology, the task of the primary school period is formulated as “Learning to learn” and this, in my opinion, is a very correct definition. When learning to study, it is very important to learn to speak and act according to the principle: “I want and I can.” Note that the Emperor on the map rests on the ground with only one foot. This is still a young emperor; he has to learn a lot of rules, laws and sciences necessary for a normal existence in society. He has not yet firmly established himself on Earth; he still has to stand with both feet, but this will happen later, after he matures. His personality will be shaped by teachers, environment, parents, peers, religion, nature. I repeat once again that since this period is ignored by many, since the phase is, as it were, hidden, you can completely lose contact with your child in the next period. During this period, a lot of active love, attention, understanding and help are required from us. Only at this age can we become a true friend for our child forever. It depends entirely on whether the child becomes an Emperor, whether he learns to obey, be able and want..