Last night I realized, why just do drawings for myself or others?! Tarot is a story tool.
I’ve been stuck in loops, not able to come up with ideas that I can connect to my main characters, and then last night it came to me… I can do story prompt spreads! So I got out my index cards and got to work.
These are the ones I came up with, to give you an idea of the thought process here, but you’re welcome to try your own! Does anyone else use Tarot this way already? I’d love to hear your non-traditional methods!
Very interesting. I've researched many story structure models and I think this method would be great for someone who is stuck with a character, or a story development in that "place where stories go to die", in the middle of the second act, for example.
I'm not sure it would work as a tool to replace the creation of a solid arc for the character or theme or plot of a movie or book. Those I would say, need to be constructed on the usual backbone of how humans evolve. That structure that is also in the Major Arcana, but is also Campbell's Hero's Journey or Jung's "Individuation". I'm not sure you can make a character follow a different development through Tarot card choices, because the audience wants a satisfying development in line with the story concept. It might work, though if you want to create a character who is stuck with something in a section of the plot.
I would say that writers "become" a medium like the Tarot when they create arcs for characters and stories. They will "pull out" a development step for a character out of their mind that feels "just right" without using any cards. For me, it is the same process that a Tarot reader uses.
My thought was… even if it doesn’t work the way I expect it to, it’ll be illuminating. I know my characters and this way I have ways to put them into situations I didn’t come up with myself, as an exercise to see what fits and what doesn’t. I approach tarot the way Edison approached the lightbulb. I like when the message makes sense and when it doesn’t - either way data is data, and data is good!
I can also see it working great in this brainstorming setup. I'd love to know what your experiences are with this. I never tried this before. Maybe you are up to something here.
If nothing else, I’m stoked to see what the cards have to say. Which is good, because I’ve been feeling a bit like I was stuck, finding good ways to query them and practice reading… but I didn’t want to read for myself anymore and I find it exhausting taking free readings for others. This way is a neutral but still really purposeful way to practice multiple crafts at once… which is what my cards always want me to do. I’m all about the two birds, one stone thing.
I’ll definitely make a new post and/or reach out once I sit down and have the head space to try this! I’ve been getting over a head cold and the process of asking/reading has been zapping my energy like crazy. I want to get in a better mental headspace and do some space prep before I get down to it.
Yes, please do. I don't have a story in development right now and can't test this for myself, but I would love to know what it does to a project. Hope you are better soon. Tarot is an energy magnet. Have you thought about maybe posting about this in forums like Tarot, Tea & me? Where there are people who have a deep interest in Tarot, I mean.
I almost think every Tarot person is a multitasker. I wonder if they find out one day that we all have ADHD.
So… I tried my first 10 card setup. It was eerily specific and honestly worked perfectly. The most difficult part to interpret was the parts related to Beth.
Let me explain what I do so you can see how cool this is.
My show concept is shorts: single-actor sketch comedy series that feel like nostalgic tv shows. My main characters are a couple who is trying to be swingers after years of marriage and they keep making silly but totally predictable errors because they don’t get it. Then there’s a narrator-type (Beth) that comes in and gives advice to the viewer. Then we cut back to the main characters finish up, and then there’s a final vignette as the credits roll. Each one is somewhere between 2-4 min depending. Laugh tracks and sound effects - the whole thing is filmed on a micro budget and my main instrument is a kazoo.
So! My drawing. Absolutely fascinating.
Sara’s state of mind: 10 of wands. My read is that she’s overwhelmed by the whole “seeking” process.
Charlie’s state of mind: Queen of Disks reversed. My read is that he’s bored with the process and disconnected. Sara’s the only one who’s been really trying.
Past influences: princess of cups + 2 of wands. My read is that they’ve been trying to exert too much control over the process so far which has meant that they’re not able to have the experiences they seek.
Current challenges or people: the devil reversed (LMAO) + the hermit. So for me, the devil card always represents consent culture. So reversed like this, it means that they’re having problems with power dynamics and/or consent issues. From context it’s probably that they asked too much of someone. Then the Hermit, it requires a conversation between the two of them to resolve it. The LMAO part is that it’s almost always going to be this dynamic. The devil reversed followed by the Hermit is basically the meat of the entire episode. It’s all dialogue.
Beth’s relatability & tone: prince of disks inverted & Ace of disks inverted. My read on this is that she should explain about the issue pragmatically and factually. Then the Ace of disks is reinforcing that we make our own rules and that sometimes means getting out of our own way.
End resolution: the universe reversed. This is another LMAO moment for me because it won’t ever be the universe upright or… there’d be no more show! So this just basically means that there’s still more work to be done and that’s the note I end on.
Final vignette: the high priestess. For me, this means that one of them will suggest making a change to get them more aligned with their real desires, not just their worries for the future.
Honestly, as an exercise for what I do, this was highly, highly successful. But my show is short, the characters are very specific and the sorts of things I discuss are pretty much the same over and over, just with a different framework. So this absolutely is something I’ll be trying again in the future! Now, I have an episode to write!
Wow, this is in credible. It's not just humans who are "inside the engine", it's made up characters as well. For a comedy, I could almost see the Tarot symbols being pushed into extremes. Like what you said about the HIgh priestess vignette: could be some kind of fixation one of them has on "the perfect setup to go into a trance-like state to fully experience life, to finally know what true feelings, and with it, ture love are all about. Then again, I would want this to tie into the main weakness the character always has, that gets resolved at the end of x seasons. Maybe you can find an angle of the priestess that ties in with a character's main flaws.
I never thought of that before but I do write fictions and sometimes I'm stuck, maybe I should try your approach and it could help me figure something out!
You definitely should! I just posted my results in a comment above and honestly my drawing was eerily on-point for my characters and story structure.
Honestly I dont think this is interesing because depending on the cards that u got u would have a very boring part and this is the thing u want to Avoid more
But works for small things, combined with Kishotenketsu would be pretty interesting
i mean if something is boring, it's fictional characters..... no one would blame you nor you'd be "wrong" for reshuffling the cards.......
If you are reshuffling the cards for a result more suitable for you, wasnt easy to just create something already?
My thought was, sometimes when you flip a coin you know what you want it to show as you watch it in mid air. I wanted to apply that gut-feeling to this, since I know my characters. I haven’t actually tried it yet, but I wonder if it’s possible. Obviously, if something doesn’t make sense you can keep the parts you like and/or reshuffle to ask again. Why not, am I right? The point is to break through the block in a creative way. Whatever works, works!
Ive heard of people doing this. I mean, if you are writing a story or whatever, go for it
I just tried it for the first time and holy crap, the reading was so dead on I was laughing about it. I broke it down in a comment above.
As a writer and tarot practitioner I think this is incredibly cool. Keep us updated as to how it goes! I’m stuck on a few stories and this could be useful! :)
Oh dude, you should totally do it! I’ve started using it for writing prompts and I’m like 6 prompts in. The reading I’m getting back from my Thoth deck is dead on. And since my show is about ENM and consent culture… it almost feels like it’s the perfect complementary tool to use for story suggestions (since Thoth is so sexual to begin with).
I recommend you come up with your own spread cards though, like I did. That way you can reuse them and add details or remove as needed. The clearer I am with what I need to know and the task at hand, the clearer the answers are from the deck. But seriously, the draws I’ve gotten from the season arc, the mini sketch and the main episode cards have been eerily dead on and hilarious.
Thank you! I’m definitely going to give it a bash.
Happy writing! And if you have any trouble with interpretations for RWS or Thoth feel free to give me a shout. I have a great spreadsheet I put together for RWS and for Thoth I have a ton of resources I just haven’t finalized a system for it yet (still learning). I’m always happy to share!
People definitely have done that. The Tarot has been used for character creation [plus strengths and flaws, plot development, developing competing storylines, building toward climax and resolution, etc.
Lenormand works well for this, especially as a grand tableau.