How To Use Tarot In Your Writing

Tarot is something that many of us associate with fortune telling, witchcraft, and more often than not it's something most people don't take seriously. For a long time, I didn't think much of it, but within the last few years it's become an invaluable tool.

The stories and messages within each card are so universal and highlight various aspects of what it means to be a human. The fool denotes someone who is excited and ready to go on adventures while the hermit on the other hand talks about solitude and more emotional/ spiritual journeys. After using this card system for readings, journaling, etc I found a lot of similarities to the stories and narratives I was trying to write.

For instance, one of my characters goes through a lot of mental strife as she grieves and learns more about her family. Maybe I was seeing my story everywhere, but as I pulled cards like the 9 of swords, 3 of swords, judgement, and the 7 of cups, I felt like I was honing in on different parts of my character. And as my tarot knowledge grew, I started seeing even more connections between writing narratives and the fool's journey in the the major arcana. So I thought, like many others, that this could be a great tool for planning and outline. So without further ado, here are 5 ways I incorporate Tarot into my writing practice.

1. Planning the Big Milestones

I really love spreading out the major arcana (0-21) all out in front of me. From there I pull out the most relevant cards. I usually start with the fool then go to the try to pick a card to represent all the big things in the story.

If I was writing a coming of age story, I would start with the fool (start of the journey) , go onto the Hierophant (tradition), then maybe The Lovers (choice), followed by Justice (personal ethics) , The Hanged Man (pause), The Devil (reclamation of power vs surrender) , Temperance (alchemy and healing), and end with the World (self- realization) . Each of these cards points to different conflicts and different ways of resolving them. By doing even just a preliminary look into each of the cards online or in the guidebook you can get a feeling of what each one means. And by having these big things mapped out you can start filling out the details.

One of the most amazing parts of using tarot is that you also get to build your own personalized meanings and it becomes almost like a second language. For instance, The Lovers will always mean choice between growth and denial. For others it might relate to relationships and love. Both of these meanings are valid and help add a personalized aspect to your planning.

2. Exploring certain emotions

One thing tarot does really well is explore emotions and drives. For instance, maybe you have a character hell bent on leaving their hometown and become someone completely different. It's important to really build and grow those feelings of frustration, desire, anger, and even wistfulness and truly understand them in order to write them well.

A trick I've recently started doing pulling out all the cards that remind me of these feelings. A quick gander through the guidebook or just through the cards is enough. I lay them out and try to build the story from that. Maybe in this case I choose 8 of swords (oppression), The Chariot (Willpower), and 5 of cups (disappointment). I take a look at the cards and write down how they make me feel and sometimes I also look up other meaning online to expand on my own perception of the cards in front of me. This helps me map out a character's emotions and the way it impacts their drives and motivations.

I also like conducting small readings for my characters when I'm having a hard time connecting to them. Sometimes I'll pull a card or two while writing a scene to get a feel of what they could be feeling, what they want out this current scene, and it helps me balance opposing emotions, drives and motivations. Each character's emotions and drives are present in that scene through the cards.

3. Character development

I love building characters. Figuring out what traits they'll have, what their drives will be, where they want to end up. It's truly one of my favorite parts of writing anything. When this isn't coming to me as easily as I would like it too I pull out my favorite deck and pull cards to symbolize my characters.

In this way I can start pulling other cards to build them up. I can start with the Queen of Wands, who is a bold, passionate, temperamental, but ultimately loving person, and add other cards like six of cups to show her nostalgia and attachment to the past. This is a really fun way to get to know who you're trying to write about. It adds a level of objectivity and can bring in really interesting backstories, quirks, etc. I also really like adding the reversed or shadow meanings of a card here because it helps round out the character even more. It adds depth and even can help you pinpoint flaws and weaknesses.

Another way I've taken to using tarot for character planning is to use the court cards to map how they develop throughout the story. For instance, if someone starts as the Queen of wands but I want them to end up like the Empress, I can use all the court cards in the major arcana to map out out how to get there. Perhaps the Queen of Wands regresses to a page but they find themselves more closed off so maybe we can say page of swords. Maybe later they learn to open up with the Knight of Cups, and continues to grow into the Queen of Coins until they continue to grow and mature into the empress.

4. Introducing challenges.

As most writers, I love the drama and I love throwing in different challenges. A lot of the times I turn to tarot to help create the most dynamic and profound moments of resistance, change, and growth. This can be used within single scenes or in the larger plot.

To create and resolve challenges I use two methods. For the first one I take an existing characteristic the is exemplified by a card and then apply it's reversed meaning. This usually looks like taking a card, for example, The Emperor and looking at it's shadow side. In that case it means controlling, selfish, power hungry, greedy, cruel, etc. I'll take one of these traits and use it to create conflict.

Another way you could use tarot in this way is to simply pull a new card. This is great when you need to create a new development and aren't too sure about what kind of tension you want to create. This serves to bring short term conflict or even a whole new plot line. An example would be pulling the 7 of cups which points illusions, overwhelm, and options and letting the character parse through lies, deception, etc.

5. As a Prompt

Lastly sometimes you just need a good prompt. When I'm not feeling inspired but I want to get pages in sometimes I'll pull a card (or three) and use it as prompt to kick start the writing. This is great for short stories, personal essays, or even poems.

You can pull a card for the main character, challenge, and theme. You can start filling in the blanks, creating the mood, and create something fun. You can also pull cards on what's missing from your plots, what your character's need more of, etc.

Another way to use them as a prompt is to simply pull one card. You can look up questions, try to imagine a character that fits with that card, etc. It serves as a great starting point. Recently I pulled the High Priestess and decided to write about a priestess in training in a fantasy world and it was a fun experience. However, you don't have to take the cards at face value, you could write about anything that relates to that card. In this case, it could be a story of confronting the past or spiritual journeys or the divine feminine.

Overall tarot is great tool for writing, reflection, and rounding out your writing practice. These 5 tips are great for any kind of writer, from fiction to poetry, from personal essays to articles, this is a great and out of the box way to strengthen your writing process. Let me know if you try any of these