5 ways to use tarot cards for writing

I have an English degree but that’s not to say I only used tarot for my creative writing tasks. Tarot helped me with my sociology and history academic essays as well. That might sound a tad strange but it’s true nevertheless. Tarot can help with and inspire ideas for all forms of writing. Though as a writing aid for creative writing it excels.

These are the five suggestions covered in this post:

1. To get you over a “where to now?” moment
2. As a story starter
3. To suggest a theme to explore
4. To help flesh out characters
5. To explore thoughts, emotions and motivations

So let’s get started.

1. To get you over a “where to now?” moment

As someone who writes daily, I have found tarot great for getting me over the “where to now” moments. This applies whether I’ve been writing an academic essay, a blog post, a deck review, a poem, a personal essay or even a story. So how does it work?

Well, back in the day when I was writing academic essays I would simple ask “where can I go from here?” and then I would draw a card. Let’s say as an example I drew the Ace of Visions from the Forest of Enchantment Tarot. This card suggests I should consider what it is I really like about the main argument/point/topic I’m writing about. If I selected the Ace of Visions when I was writing a deck review I’d consider what I really love about the deck or a particular card or maybe what I really connect with overall.

If I’d already done that I’d just draw another card. In this case I drew IX The Hermit (pictured above), so next I’d consider what’s being hidden, what needs further investigation, what am I maybe just touching the surface on and so on. The best thing about this approach is that if you try this and nothing comes to mind, it’s simple, just draw another card.

Tarot is a great tool for content creators who want to keep their writing and thinking fresh. It stops your writing becoming formulaic and ensures the writing process remains interesting, creative and fun.

2. As a story starter

To use tarot for a story you can randomly, or intentionally, draw some people/court cards and then sight unseen choose a scenario that they have to deal with. For this example, once again using the Forest of Enchantment Tarot because for me it is such a storyteller’s deck, I’ve drawn the Keeper of Boons, the Weaver of Challenges, (both pictured below), and the Seven of Boons pictured further down. From there you can combine your tarot knowledge, (which can come from the accompanying book if you’re new to tarot), with whatever comes to mind from looking at the pictures. Then it’s as simple as jotting down whatever ideas or questions come to mind.

Some ideas that surfaced for me when I looked at these cards were: Are they a brother and sister that grew up living apart? Did they know about each other? Or are they a couple trying to reconcile their differences about where to live? What would they be like as a couple? What would their home life be like? Or maybe it’s a story about the different people you meet depending upon which “doors” you choose to walk through. Maybe it’s about people that are more comfortable spending time with animals than other people. What made them like that? What connections have they formed?

These ideas sprang one after the other and I believe each of them could be fleshed out to create a meaningful story. That’s pretty good for ideas that presented themselves in such a rapid fashion.

If you found it hard to uncover a source of conflict then you could simply draw another card. The Tower card was on the top of the deck so I’ll go with that. The following questions arose. What secrets are about to be exposed about the family/families involved? Did something destroy the couple’s house? Was it a tree falling on their house? A lightning strike? Arson? An explosion of a meth lab? Was one of them lying about what they wanted? Was one of them pretending to be something they aren’t? Did one of them lose their job right after they signed the documents for the mortgage? How different would that play out depending upon who it was that lost their job? That could become a side-by-side storyline or the cause of an argument or an exploration of gender differences, pay gap etc. The possibilities from working with just four tarot cards feel almost endless.

3. To suggest a theme to explore

Since tarot cards comprise seventy-eight pieces of art depicting archetypes and every day experiences that are relevant to us all, they are great to use to help you find a theme to explore. Take the 6 of Pentacles from the Anna K Tarot pictured below. My first thought when I looked at the card today was charity. There is much that can be explored there. Or maybe give and take and the importance of balance? Or equality is another possibility? Hardship? Blessings? Worth? Justice? Sacrifice? Maybe even judgement?

Using the cards as the inspiration for the theme works across many writing forms. Personally I’ve used them for haikus, personal essays, and a sonnet I had to write for a university assessment.

4. To help create well rounded characters

This can be done in several ways. Firstly, cards can be used to explore character traits. For example when I look at The Fool 2.0 from The Tarot of Curious Creatures pictured below I see someone that is always eager to jump into new things. They’re lovable, a bit like an eager puppy, and full of enthusiasm. Yet they’re also in touch with their own inner nature. They see life as an adventure and they’re willing to follow where inspiration takes them. Maybe she’s a bit of a night owl?

Another way is to use cards to describe the characters physical features. Using The Fool again, maybe she has a long nose, chestnut hair that she wears in two high pony tails, and how could you describe that really pale skin?

Or you could use a card like the 3 of Cups from the Superlunaris Tarot. Here you could just choose to use the card as a visual prompt and simply build your characters appearance based on the women in the picture. Or you might use the card to build a back story. Maybe they met at the beach, or they all lived in a beachside suburb. Maybe they work together as swimwear designers who create costumes for all body shapes? or they did? Or they want to? It’s just a matter of following where your imagination takes you. Everything doesn’t have to make it into your piece of writing obviously. But what comes to mind may help you to better understand your characters.

5. To explore thoughts, emotions and motivations

Take the 10 of Swords from The Tarot of the Abyss pictured below. Here’s a man who has been hurt multiple times but rather than becoming bitter about it he chooses to learn from his experiences. He chooses wisdom over regret. Of course, there’s always the chance that it took him a while to come to this conclusion. Each of the swords could be an experience he had to face? Maybe he’s too much in his head and not enough in his heart? Maybe he’s chosen to find contentment in his life because he no longer wants to focus on the pain? Maybe an owl turned his pet lizard into a meal and he’s having less than wholesome thoughts about what he’d like to do to the owl? There’s no right or wrong. The general tarot card meanings don’t have to figure into the story at all.

XVIII The Moon from the same deck shows two people willing to expose themselves to each other and to be vulnerable. But, are they baulking at the final step. The intention is there but can they take the final step? Have the past hurts created too much fear? Maybe their past hurts created the divide and they’re trying to decide whether it’s worth coming back together?

What are they feeling as they stand their opposite each other? Not sure? What do you think you’d be feeling if you were one of the people? Everything doesn’t have to be deep. When I imagined myself there I had the thought – I’m cold, why am I putting myself in this situation? What do I stand to gain? Whose idea was this. It’s cold, it’s windy and I’m standing three quarters naked on the edge of a cliff. What the? You can take it wherever you want.

This is in no way a finite list. Where you go now is up to you? Let your imagination and your willingness to explore the world in writing take you wherever it is you need to go. Hey, tarot could help you to describe what that place looks like. Jot your ideas down in your writing journal so they are there when you’re ready to expand on them. Enjoy.

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