Tarot for Writers

by Corrine Kenner

  You can use the psychology of hope and fear to add an unforgettable element of drama to your characters. Simply use the cards to determine the one thing your character wants most in life-along with the terror that's associated with that goal. To be believable, a character's greatest fear should dovetail with the personality traits and background you're already in the process of developing.

  Writing Practice

  Go through your deck and pull a single card-either consciously or at random-to represent a character's innermost hopes and fears. Once you know the one thing your character dreads most, plunge him mercilessly into its depths. Force your character into the world he fears. And be ruthless: the story of an ordinary housewife doing her weekly shopping at the supermarket is dull, but the story of a housebound agoraphobic forced to find her lost child at the Mall of America could be fascinating. Here's an example based on the figure in the Four of Pentacles:

  Senator Foreman managed to amass a huge fortune before he went into public service. Now his greatest fear is the loss of his power and prestige. When he's wrongly convicted of a sex crime, he loses his seat in Congress, his fortune, and his freedom. Will he be able to rebuild his life-and his reputation from prison?

  A Note about Names

  You can use the symbolism of the cards to inspire meaningful names for your characters. Our fictional "Senator Foreman," for example, derived his name from the "man" in the "Four" of Pentacles.

  Dialogues and Interviews

  Conversation can reveal a lot about a character: the words people choose provide valuable clues about their upbringing, education, and, of course, their thought processes and communication skills.

  When you use tarot cards to help you develop your characters, it's surprisingly easy to get the cards to open up and tell you about themselves. You just need to use your writer's imagination. Start by choosing a card to represent your character. You can use a card you've previously selected to represent him, or you can shuffle and draw a card at random. Then imagine that the figure in the card is a real person. The figure might resemble the character you have in mind, or it might represent a dimension of your character's personality. Picture the figure in the card sitting across from you, large as life, and imagine yourself as an interviewer, conducting a simple question-and-answer session.

  You can create a dialogue with any person, place, or thing-which means you can imagine a conversation with any image or symbol in a tarot card. You can talk with the defeated warriors in the Five of Swords, the black cat in the Queen of Pentacles, or the Sphinx in the Chariot card. You can even go a step further and imagine a dialogue between two characters, two cards, or two versions of the same card. All you need to do is start the conversational ball rolling-metaphorically speaking-and write down the exchange exactly as you imagine it. Write whatever pops into your mind. Follow your stream of consciousness, wherever it leads. Ask questions, get answers, and open new avenues of explanation and concentration. The process is as unlimited as your imagination.

  Writing Practice

  Choose a single card to represent a character in your story. Interview that character, using pen-and-paper techniques. Here are some starting ideas for your conversations with the cards:

  . Ask questions. Don't start with any suppositions or expectations. Just pose a question to any card you choose, and wait for the answer.

  . Begin with an open-ended question, like "Tell me about yourself," or "Describe yourself." Then write down any response that enters your mind.

  . Ask follow-up questions based on the responses you receive.

  . If the responses you get don't make sense, ask for clarification.

  Characters often say surprising things during their tarot-card interviews. They don't hesitate to break the rules of polite conversation-or society. Here's a sample exchange with the woman in the Nine of Swords:

  Q: What are you doing up at this time of night?

  A: I couldn't sleep. I've been having the most horrible nightmares.

  Q: Tell me about them.

  A: They all start simply enough. I'm home, alone, when the doorbell rings. When I try to answer the door, however, I can't get it open. I'm trapped.

  Q: You mean the door is locked?

  A: Locked, bolted from the outside, barricaded, bricked off ... Night after night, I realize that I'm a prisoner in my own home.

  Q: How do the nightmares end?

  A: With me screaming. I wake myself up with my screams.

  Fill in the Blanks

  You can also imagine the responses your characters might give to simple, fill-in-theblank prompts. Try these, or invent your own:

  Compare Notes

  Your work in interviewing cards isn't limited to "first-person" research with individual cards. You can get even more insight by approaching several cards for insight into your characters. Pull random cards from the deck, and ask the characters you find to describe each other. They're all neighbors, after all, and they're more intimately familiar with each other. Try asking the Queen of Swords what she thinks of your antagonist. Pull the Empress or the Queen of Cups, and get a mother's insight. Find the Hierophant, buy him a drink, and tempt him to reveal what your protagonist has confessed.

  Writing Practice

  Pull two cards, and ask a character in one to describe a character in the other. Here, for example, is how the warrior in the Seven of Wands might describe the wanderer in the Eight of Cups:

  The Seven of Wands ...

  Describes the Eight of Cups

  "He's a wimp. He doesn't have the courage to stay and fight when the going gets tough. He doesn't man up to do the job. He'd rather run away than face his demons. He's always talking about `finding himself and `following his bliss.' One of these days he's going to wake up and realize that he broke his bliss when he left it behind, and that some guy like me has picked up the pieces and made more of those brittle shards than he ever could."

  Character creation doesn't end with literal interpretations of the card images. You can also navigate by the stars, deriving crucial background information by combining the art of tarot with the science of astrology. Keep reading for details.

  "I rarely come out of my shell. It's not that I don't like to get out in the world ... It's all the confrontation I can't stand. It seems that everywhere you go nowadays someone is waiting to snap at you. Everyone's crabby. Everyone's on edge. It's easier just to swim beneath the surface, go with the flow, and stay out of troubleeven if it means you have to hold your breath for a while."

  -WRITING SAMPLE BASED ON THE MOON CARD

  is an open secret that writers have long used astrology as a tool for character development. Writing teachers commonly suggest that their students turn to astrological texts to research the traits and characteristics of various personalities.

  Tarot shares a long history with astrology-and you can use the connection to develop rich, multilayered characters. Start by referring to the artwork on the cards: many tarot artists include astrological glyphs or zodiac creatures in their illustrations. Later, you can combine that imagery with elemental correspondences and zodiac maps.

  Luminary Personalities

  Major Arcana correspondences. Each one of the Major Arcana cards is associated with either a sign or a planet. Check this list, and you'll see that the qualities associated with those signs and planets reinforce the traditional meaning of each card.

  0. The Fool, who doesn't care what society thinks, is assigned to Uranus, the planet of rebellion.

  1. The Magician, the master of banter and fast talk, is assigned to Mercury, the planet of speed and communication.

  2. The High Priestess, the archetypal psychic, is assigned to the Moon, the luminous orb of reflection and intuition. Most depictions of the High Priestess include lunar imagery.

  3. The Empress, wife and mother, is assigned to Venus, the planet of love and attraction. You can find the astrological glyph for Venus in many renditions of the card.

  4. The Emperor is
assigned to Aries, the sign of leadership. Look for images of the Aries ram on your Emperor card.

  5. The Hierophant, the keeper of tradition, is assigned to Taurus, the sign of stability, luxury, and pleasure. Some Hierophant cards feature Taurus bulls or elephants.

  6. The Lovers, who think and speak as one, are assigned to Gemini, the sign of thought and communication. The Lovers themselves are one version of the Gemini twins.

  7. The Chariot, the protected home on wheels, is assigned to Cancer, the sign of motherhood, home, and family life. Cancer's crab carries his home on his back.

  8. Strength, the lionesque show of force, is assigned to Leo, the sign of fatherhood, creativity, and play. Leo is also the sign of the lion.

  9. The Hermit, the quiet leader, is assigned to Virgo, the sign of duty, responsibility, and service to others.

  10. The Wheel of Fortune is assigned to Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansion.

  11. Justice, the model of equality and equanimity, is assigned to Libra, the sign of balance and social grace. Libra is usually represented by a balanced set of scales.

  12. The Hanged Man, suspended in an alternate reality, is assigned to Neptune, the planet of mysticism and illusion.

  13. Death, the ruler of the Underworld, is assigned to Scorpio, the sign of sex, death, and other people's money. The scorpion associated with the sign has a deadly sting.

  14. Temperance, who straddles a divide between two worlds, is assigned to Sagittarius, the sign of long-distance travel, philosophy, and higher education. The Sagittarian archer-half horse, half man-also combines two widely different experiences, while his arrow soars across long distances, on its way to new horizons.

  15. The Devil, the embodiment of temptation, is assigned to Capricorn, the sign of business, career, and social standing.

  16. The Tower, perpetually under attack, is assigned to Mars, the planet of energy, war, and aggression. The astrological glyph associated with Mars is a weaponlike arrow.

  17. The Star, a glimmering light of hope and inspiration, is assigned to Aquarius, the sign of social groups and futuristic thinking.

  18. The Moon, which rules the night, is assigned to Pisces, the sign of the mystic and subconscious.

  19. The Sun, the sustainer of life, is assigned to the Sun, the source of energy and enlightenment.

  20. Judgement, a representation of the last call, is assigned to Pluto, the planet of death, resurrection, and unavoidable change.

  21. The World, our earthly home, is assigned to Saturn, the ringed planet of boundaries, limitations, and restrictions.

  Minor Elements

  In the Minor Arcana, each of the four suits corresponds to the fire, water, air, or earth signs of astrology.

  The wands are fire cards, which correspond to the fire signs of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. The wand cards typically include fiery colors and a bright, sunny landscape.

  The cups are water cards, which correspond to the water signs of cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. The cup cards usually include a lot of watery greens and blues, and they feature lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans.

  The swords are air cards, which correspond to the air signs of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. The sword cards often incorporate a lot of yellow, which represents the element of air. The cards in the suit also feature symbols of air, such as wind-swept landscapes, clouds, and flying birds.

  The pentacles are earth cards, which correspond to the earth signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. The cards in the suit often include rich, garden-like scenes that serve as a reminder of earth's bounty.

  Elemental Reference Guides

  This chart summarizes the elemental associations of each sign, along with astrological symbols and imagery that you can look for in your tarot deck.

  The Wheel of the Zodiac

  Tarot and astrology come together on the wheel of the zodiac. All of the signs and planets (and by association, tarot cards) have a place on the wheel-which is divided like a pie chart into twelve houses. Each house describes the qualities of the sign and planet that belong there.

  Zodiac Houses

  The Zodiac Spread

  A tarot spread based on the zodiac wheel can help you analyze your character as an astrologer would. It's laid out exactly like a horoscope wheel: start by placing a card in the 9 o'clock position, and continue laying cards counter-clockwise.

  1. First House (Aries, ruled by Mars): Leadership, self-awareness, drive, and initiative; physical appearance and first impressions

  2. Second House (Taurus, ruled by Venus): Money, possessions, values, security, creature comforts, material resources, and treasures

  3. Third House (Gemini, ruled by Mercury) : Communication skills, thought processes, logic, siblings, and neighbors

  4. Fourth House (Cancer, ruled by the Moon): Mother figures, home, and family; sensitivity, emotional well-being, the ability to nurture and be nurtured, and intuition

  5. Fifth House (Leo, ruled by the Sun): Creativity, self-esteem, recreation, children, and father figures

  6. Sixth House (Virgo, ruled by Mercury): Work, duty, responsibility, and service to others; health, cleanliness, and attention to detail

  7. Seventh House (Libra, ruled by Venus): Marriage, partnerships, intimate personal relationships; balance and social grace

  8. Eighth House (Scorpio, ruled by Pluto): Sex, death, joint resources, and inheritance

  9. Ninth House (Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter): Philosophy, long-distance travel, and higher education

  10. Tenth House (Capricorn, ruled by Saturn): Ambition, career goals, status, and public image

  11. Eleventh House (Aquarius, ruled by Uranus): Social groups and causes, inventiveness, and long-term, futuristic thinking

  12. Twelfth House (Pisces, ruled by Neptune): Psychic ability, the occult, the subconscious mind, psychological health, and hidden places

  Writing Practice

  Lay out a zodiac spread for one of your characters, and interpret it by comparing the images on the cards to the astrological qualities associated with each position. The card in the first position, for example, falls in the first house of the zodiac. That placement is associated with Aries, the sign of leadership, and Mars, the planet of energy and aggression.

  Example

  Here's a zodiac spread for a fictional character we'll call "Caballo," who happens to be loosely based on the figure in the Knight of Swords.

  1. Aries/Mars qualities-Page of Wands. Caballo is still young and inexperienced, but he is developing a fiery leadership style, and other people are impressed by his energy and enthusiasm.

  2. Taurus/Venus qualities-The World. Money, property, and comfort mean the world to Caballo.

  3. Gemini/Mercury qualities-Six of Wands. Caballo is used to being praised and rewarded for his communication skills and quick thinking.

  4. Cancer/Moon qualities-Four of Cups. Caballo may harbor a sense of disappointment in his relationship with his mother. He does not recognize what she may have done right, but he does remember every mistake she made in his upbringing.

  5. Leo/Sun qualities-The Star. Caballo is used to being the center of attention; he honestly believes that he is the center of the universe. It's a trait he inherited from his father.

  6. Virgo/Mercury qualities-the Knight of Pentacles. Caballo sees himself as an adventurer and rescuer, and he's serious about his work.

  7. Libra/Venus qualities-Ace of Wands. When it comes to close personal relationships, Caballo believes in speaking softly-but he carries a big stick.

  8. Scorpio/Pluto qualities-Wheel of Fortune. Caballo is lucky; he has inherited great wealth. His money also makes him attractive to the opposite sex.

  9. Sagittarius/Jupiter qualities-Ace of Swords. Caballo has a keen intelligence, which he has honed through study and travel. He loves long, philosophical debates.

  10. Capricorn/Saturn qualities-Four of Swords. Caballo doesn't believe he has to work hard to gain power or respect. He's learned that all he has to do is g
et out of bed, and he achieves his goals.

  11. Aquarius/Uranus qualities-Queen of Wands. Caballo loves to party. He has a magnetic personality that attracts both men and women, and it seems as though everyone wants to be his friend.

  12. Pisces/Neptune qualities-Eight of Pentacles. Caballo has to work at developing his intuition.

  In the next chapter, your characters will finally get a chance to tell their stories. Get ready to take notes.

  "For days, Brita worked on the formula, never leaving the lab. The sun rose and set, but for her, time stood still. She had seen the Intel reports. She knew that a splinter group had her formula, and they were ready to unleash it. The only thing that mattered was coming up with a cure ... for a plague she had created herself, in the very same place where she now stood."

  -WRITING SAMPLE BASED ON THE TEMPERANCE CARD

  arot cards are an easy way to divine storyline and plot ideas. After all, tarot readers glean stories from the cards every time they give a reading. Tarot cards lend themselves naturally to outlining a sequence of fictional events, too.

  The Plot's Afoot: Beginning, Middle, and End

  When Aristotle taught literary theory in ancient Greece, he focused on three basic elements: beginning, middle, and end. The old philosopher's threepart plan can help you outline a timeless drama, too. Just lay a card for the beginning, middle, and end of your story. Here's an example.