Using Tarot Cards for Writing
Card images are © Copyright U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Rider-Waite Smith Tarot Card Deck
By Jennifer Trieckel
Do you know what tarot cards are? Do you have a deck, or have you ever used them for writing? If you answer no to either of these questions, let’s dive in!
A tarot deck consists of 78 cards divided into two groups, the major and minor arcana. Traditionally, the major arcana comprises twenty-two cards that tell the dramatic story of important life trends. The minor arcana is divided up into four suits of fourteen cards each, typically, swords, cups, pentacles and wands, and are used for spiritual matters and important life tendencies. Each card has keywords and meanings, and that is what I will focus on today.
Tarot is something new to me and I feel, is much more involved than using oracle cards. The meanings stay pretty consistent across decks, although they can, like oracle cards, differ according to the creator.
I’m barely learning the major arcana, and the advice I’ve been given is to use the Rider Waite Smith as your first deck because it’s the original. So, I did. More or less. I didn’t like the colors and wanted the meanings on the cards, so I chose a (black deck) with all the information, including reversals.
Reversals are the reverse meanings, and this is another way in which tarot differ from oracle cards, because oracle cards don’t often have these. That is a lot of meanings to learn!
To use them, first shuffle the deck. As there are 78 cards and the deck is quite large, you can either cut the deck in half and shuffle like you would playing cards or cut and intersperse. Whichever way is easiest for you. Then you can either draw from the top, or fan them out on the table and choose.
Tarot cards are often used in spreads, and there are many kinds, but the three-card spread is the most basic, and represents past, present, and future. Or, for writing, Goal, Fear, and Conflict.
You can use this for one character, describing their goals, fears and conflicts, as well as their past, present and future, or, use the second spread for the secondary character.
This is a fantastic layout to start with.
The goal represents the character’s primary goal and motivation. Fear represents the character’s greatest fear in relation to this goal. The conflict is the internal conflict your character has to conquer along the way. The great thing is, if you don’t connect with the card, or it doesn’t fit what you may have in mind, you can draw again.
This may be useful for character discovery and building, especially if you are stuck, or are still trying to figure out your story idea. Maybe you have an idea, but are not sure how it will end, or what the conflict will be. Creating a spread may help with that. And as with oracle cards, you can allow the imagery of the chosen cards to inspire and guide you, use the meanings, or both.
Reversals can be fun to use, as they often have more negative connotations and could help suggest conflicts. Combining both the upright and reverse cards may create more for the characters to face and struggle to overcome.
I have included a downloadable PDF of this here.
Another handy spread for writers, is a six-card layout for the three-act structure. These represent the protagonist, antagonist and theme, and beginning, middle and end. These may work best with the major arcana as those represent major life events. However, you can try this with the full deck, if you choose.
This is a simple way to use the three-card spread twice for a six-card layout to plot your novel.
Remember, you can always draw another card and replace any card in your layout to fit your story.
I have included a downloadable PDF of this here.
However, you can use them for any plot structure, such as Save the Cat Beat Sheet, which has 15 beats, and you can pull a card for each beat, the Hero’s Journey or the Seven-Point Plot, and so on. Tarot cards can also be used to ask a question. For instance, a character is stuck in a certain situation. How do they get out? And perhaps you can draw three cards as possibilities. Sometimes, reading the cards will be enough to trigger an idea about how they can escape, especially if the problem is internal.
There are even creative writing decks, such as The Story Oracle and The Writer’s Oracle Deck. Though not tarot decks, they are specifically geared towards writing. I have not purchased them myself, so I’m unable to give my honest opinion, but I’m at the start of my tarot and oracle card writing journey, and full intend to build my collection!
There are many ways to use tarot cards to write poetry. You could write from the persona of a character in the major arcana or allow the theme of a card to lead you in your writing session. There are even poetry-themed tarot decks which you can search for on Amazon.
I relish using reversals to write poetry, as I tend to write with a darker theme and enjoy drawing from more negative keywords. But even then, if I don’t connect with the keywords, I will either flip the card for the upright meaning or draw another card. Since I am not using them for personal divination, there is freedom in the way I apply them.
For more inspiration, you could read a tarot-themed poetry collection, such as Fortunate: Tarot Poetry by Kim Rashidi, or Questions I Didn’t Know I’d Asked: Poetry Inspired by Tarot and Oracle, by Mona Mehas.
So far, I’ve only purchased tarot decks that are based on the Rider Waite Smith cards. However, now that I know there are other tarot decks with different meanings, focuses and themes, I would love to branch out and find more. After all, I generally read the guidebook for all my decks anyway, so what’s one more guidebook? I do like the meanings printed on the cards for ease though, as in the black deck for beginners I bought.
There are quite a few resources on using tarot for writing on Amazon, such as Tarot Spreads For Writers: How To Use Tarot to Enhance Creativity and Empower Your Author Life (Tarot Writers) or Tarot for the Fiction Writer: How 78 Cards Can Take You from Idea to Publication, just to name two. I recommend searching on Amazon to find resources to guide you on your tarot and oracle writing journey, and for those decks that speak to you.
Although not a comprehensive guide, I hope this has inspired you to consider purchasing your own tarot deck, if you haven’t already. And perhaps even provided you with innovative ways to break through writer’s block or spark creativity.
Now go forth and create!