Tarot in Writing

[inkflamewriter]

Pretty sure this goes here!

I'm curious to know if anyone here is a writer and, if so, how they use tarot readings in their writing. I kinda dropped the ball on it, but I'm starting to work again on a blog about the history of the cards and how their interpretation can be used for character creation.

Any thoughts?

 

[Oracle Opus]

Cards can be used for characterisation and plot. Glass Owl has created some really fun spreads for creative writing. I think they can be found under the spread section.

I've written about this extensively on my blog and my on going journey as a writer using tarot and oracle cards as inspiration.

 

[nisaba]

It's not just about fleshing out character. You can use Tarot to "predict" how your characters are going to interact, what choices they are going to make, where they end up and how they get there.

And just occasionally, Tarot turns up in a book. I especially love it when it's not laboured - when they don't keep flogging the Tarot thing through the book but it happens naturally in the right place. I remember some crime story or other I read a few years ago, where a detective was interviewing two tiresome women, and one of them pulled out a Tarot deck, and did a little mini-reading for the detective. I liked how the author had her sister disapprove, I also liked how she did a real reading, a character-analysis of the detective, not an ooky-spooky prediction of future events or description of the crime. And I liked how the author didn't make a big deal out of it later.

 

[happyfish]

Hi inkflamewriter! I like to call myself a writer, even though I am, as of now, unpublished. In fact, writing is one of the things that originally sparked my interest in Tarot. Have you heard of the book Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner? I've found it interesting and helpful.

 

[Teheuti]

I've developed several spreads for writing scripts and stories but you can get ones that are just as good or better in the spreads section here or from Corinne Kenner's book. I also read the cards fairly frequently before going to a movie or play to help clue me into theme, motivation and central conflicts - awarenesses that help my enjoyment of a work. It helps me to do it in reverse - use the same spread topics to write a story. For non-fiction writing I often just draw a few cards (I may start with 5 and add more if needed) to help me delineate the major points I want to make. I also find that the images and keywords help me create useful metaphors for my writing.

 

[inkflamewriter]

And then I completely forgot I posted this! So sorry for disappearing!

Tarot for Writers was part of what actually got me into tarot to begin with, and I do like some of her approaches to the process, though admittedly, I'd love to see more detail than what she put in her book. There are so many ways you can do it!

And yeah, it's definitely about more than just character creation. I've been wanting to write a book guided by the cards, and I think it opens up a bigger realm of possibilities as a whole for the story.

 

[seedcake]

I use Tarot if I don't know why I can't write but not for creative work. Somehow it'd be a nice shortcut to get quicker some ideas. I don't want to use cards in this way. Of course, maybe some time it'll change, who knows? At the point where I am, I'll use only my mind without extra help.

 

[Pixna]

I'm extremely interested in using the Tarot for both character and plot development (and general storyline inspiration). Could someone kindly direct me to some specific spread threads in the spread forum that are related to this? I'm having a little difficulty finding them. Or do you think it would be valuable to just start a new thread (in the thread forum) or spreads for inspiration for writing?

 

[Kelly-Ann]

Weirdly, I've recently made a video about storytelling technique using Tarot. I don't think I'm allowed to link it here because it would be classed as advertising, if my memory serves me correctly? But yeah, just check out The Four Queens on Youtube for a 17 minute video with spread ideas and whatnot in it.

 

[Audelia]

Very interesting thread. I'm a professional writer (journalist by day, author by night) and while I don't use the cards for my journalism work, I do use them for my novels. I pull cards with questions like: "How can I get to know this character better?" and "What would this character feel if this situation happened?"

I find that they sometimes give me some seriously powerful insight into the inner-workings of my characters. I don't pull cards the whole time, but if I'm feeling a little 'blocked' creatively then I'll get out my deck and have a shuffle and see what comes up. I think Tarot and personal creativity tend to work well together - they feed off each other and spark off new inspirations. Tarot has often shown me the direction in which I need to head with my words.