Tarot For Writers - Introduction

If you are a fiction or poetry writer, have you ever thought of using Tarot cards to help you create your stories or poems? (here's a haiku)

This idea might come as a surprise to you, if you aren't familiar with the Tarot card images and how they can be used as a tool to fire your imagination.

Forget fortune-telling; you can be very creative with a Tarot deck in different ways.

The main protagonist in a story can be associated with the Fool in the Tarot, who embarks on some kind of journey (new experiences, events, an inner journey of self-discovery, an adventure, etc.), which leads to a yet unknown destination (The World).

The purpose of a story is to tell how the Fool moves from the starting position to the end of the story. Along the way, many things happen, either internally or externally.

A 78-card Tarot deck is divided into the Major Arcana (22 trump cards) and the Minor Arcana (four suits numbered Ace – 10 and 16 court cards).

The Major Arcana represents archetypal experiences, events, personalities and processes that are inherent in all of us. 

Inhibition, self-restriction, a hostage 
situation, damsel in distress...what 
does the Eight of Swords tell you 
about a character?

The Minor Arcana represents everyday events and activities, with the court cards signifying 16 personality types (see also Myers-Briggs personality profiling)

Shuffle a Tarot deck and pull cards at random in order to 

• generate new ideas for a story 
• get unstuck out of your writer’s block 
• develop a character, personalities, story lines and more

One idea is to pull just one card to define the central theme of your story:

• What is it about? 
• What does the central character need to deal with?

Or you can pull one card, if you are stuck in the middle of a story. This one card can give you a prompt about:

• what happens next
• an obstacle
• a helper
• an interference
• a characteristic
• an opportunity
• a secret
• a solution
• a twist
• the ending
• anything else you can think of

There is much more you can do with Tarot cards to accelerate your writing and take it to a new level. 

I will cover more ideas over the coming weeks. Make sure you subscribe to get the latest posts straight into your inbox.

In the meantime, if you are new to Tarot, why not check out my online beginners' course, so you can learn the basics and apply them to your writing. 

Let me know, if you're a writer, and I will adjust the course to your needs when we work together.

Warmest wishes,

Christiane

Transform your life this year:

Tarot Readings - Insightful guidance when you need it
Learn Tarot - A magickal, inspirational tool for life.

For more inspiring quotes and affirmations for each card, check out my ebook Empowering Messages from the Tarot

Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

SWOT Analysis Tarot Spread

If you would like to assess your potential and prospects in your current job, or want to explore, whether a new job/career move will be beneficial, then this spread can help you make a more confident decision on which direction to choose.

SWOT stands for Strengths - Weaknesses - Opportunities - Threats

Strengths and weaknesses are internal; they relate to your personality and talents; what you can bring to the work you do (or want to do), and where you may experience difficulties.

Opportunities and threats are external; they relate to what you can expect to be offered in terms of career progression, training and development, management and leadership, but also limitations that are out of your control, e.g. changes in the professions, at the workplace, company, organisation etc.

Here is an example, how you can assess your current situation, evaluate your SWOTs and decide on the action to take:

1. Present Situation - Eight of Swords
2. Strengths - Queen of Pentacles
3. Weaknesses - The Chariot
4. Opportunities - Strength
5. Threats - Three of Wands
6. Next Step - Knight of Pentacles

1. The Eight of Swords suggests limitations and restrictions in the current work/career environment.Feelings of frustration about being stifled and blocked. At the same time, this also seems like a comfort zone; familiarity with the difficulties encountered, which are used as protection against unknown possibilities. Fear of change, which needs to be overcome.

2. Queen of Pentacles strengths: reliable, practical, hands-on approach, productive, efficient, disciplined, taking pride in her work and loving it; creative; patient and determined to succeed. Enjoys working on her own, but can also be a nurturing and supportive leader.

3. Chariot weaknesses: restless, getting easily bored, sometimes ruled by emotions, moody, clingy, insecure, disliking change and upheaval, can get stressed easily, lacking control and foresight; giving up quickly, not persevering.

4. Strength opportunities: an inspiring manager, mentor or guide may offer opportunities in developing confidence and leadership qualities; possibilities of promotion and a strong position in the future.

5. Three of Wands threats: aspirations and ambitious goals may be out of reach; unrealistic expectations, misjudgement, lack of focus and direction; business may not achieve success it hoped for; slow reaction to changing markets and demands.

6. The Knight of Pentacles suggests to stay put, but also be open-minded about the future; keep watching changing markets, economy, within the workplace and changes of customers' needs and demands; act quickly, if necessary. Short-term there are good opportunities to hone skills, knowledge and experience to become more confident to make a move when the time is right. Investing in training and perhaps even a mentor will sow the seeds for accelerating career advancement. Utilise strengths to alleviate weaknesses; try to avoid moodiness and find ways to relax and unwind to increase resilience when under pressure. Patience, hard work, determination and perseverance will pay off.

As you can see, the SWOT analysis spread can give some useful insight. Why don't you give it a try to assess your work situation?

If you have just started learning the Tarot, you may want to use my ebook as a guide to help you interpret the cards. Alternatively, you can request a career reading by e-mail.

Warmest wishes,

Christiane

Transform your life this year: 

Tarot Readings - Insightful guidance when you need it 

Learn Tarot - A magickal, inspirational tool for life.

You can also connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.