It’s not hyperbole to say discovering the tarot as a creative tool changed my writing life. It got me to the finish line of multiple books, helped me navigate publishing deals, and gave me the confidence to pursue writing as a full-time career.
But you don’t have to write a book about tarot, as I have, to use the cards to guide you through workshopping a draft. I’ve taught hundreds of writers across a range of genres, from fantasy to romance to memoir, how to use tarot cards to help generate ideas, complete manuscripts, and even land book deals with major publishers.
For me, and the many writers I’ve worked with over the years, the tarot has become a portable writing workshop: a tool kit for developing characters, puzzling out plots, generating raw material, and so much more.
While it’s best known as a fortunetelling tool, the tarot can also be a storytelling tool. Small, shuffleable, and full of curiosities, a tarot deck contains endless possibilities and perspectives: the elements we need most to create meaningful, valuable creative work.
I’ve detailed some of the key ways you can tap into the tarot as a tool for your writing life, from early outlining through self-editing.
Note: You don’t need any prior tarot knowledge to work with the cards this way! In fact, the less beholden you are to traditional meanings when using tarot in your creative life, the better. Trust the images to convey enough information to spark your imagination, and you’re good to go!
Craft a Thematic Statement for Your Project with the Tarot
The seventy-eight cards in a tarot deck are inspired by archetypal imagery from myths and belief systems from around the world. These images are not exhaustive accounts of the human experience, but they are representations of recognizable and relatable experiences. In the Emperor, for example, we find the oppression of authority (and the safety of strong structures); in the Three of Swords, we find heartbreak (and the healing power of acknowledging our pain); in the King of Cups, we find the solace of independence (and the loneliness of it, too); and in Strength we find the universal truth that bravery is not always loud or bold—often it is gentle and kind.
The themes present in these archetypes mirror some of the greatest, most universal themes in literature. By identifying your project with one or several cards, you can create a thematic mission statement for your piece, a set of visual cues that remind you of the core layers you’re working to represent in your work.
For example, I’m currently drafting a story that revolves around an adrift twentysomething who moves in with her sister’s family and descends into shoplifting and binge eating. For my thematic statement, I might select the Five of Swords and the Ten of Cups to represent my protagonist’s conflicted relationship with what makes her feel alive: transgression, or the comfort of her sister’s domestic bliss. Throughout my writing and editing process, I might refer back to these images, interrogating how the themes are showing up in my draft.
Try it yourself:
- To begin a new project, shuffle your tarot deck (I recommend the Rider Waite Smith deck for beginners) and draw two cards. Make notes on the themes that emerge when you look at the images, and consider what stories you might tell based on these themes.
- To use the tarot to create a thematic statement for a current work in progress, flip through your deck and intentionally choose cards that speak to what you’re trying to articulate or explore.