Tarot for Writers

by Corrine Kenner

  Sagittarius rules the ninth house of the zodiac, where astrologers look for information about higher education, philosophy, and long-distance travel. In turn, Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansion.

  On a related note, Jupiter is assigned to the Wheel of Fortune card.

  Sagittarius is a fire sign.

  Literary Archetypes

  Temperance can embody any number of literary archetypes, including the alchemist, the artist, the creator, the destroyer, the enchantress, the guardian angel, the magical helper, the magician, the magus, the sorcerer, the witch, the wizard, and the wounded healer.

  Temperance and Your Writing Practice

  A writer's art is all about balance. Good writers, for example, constantly balance the elements of plot, including action, dialogue, and description. They balance their characters, meting out good qualities with bad, and carefully measuring the dynamics between their protagonists and antagonists. They even balance their use of long words and short words.

  A writer's life also demands balance. Most writers must juggle their creative work with another career to put food on the table. Most writers also have family responsibilities, relationships, and friendships to maintain.

  When the Temperance card appears in your writing practice, you might want to reflect on how you find balance in your work as a writer.

  Writing Prompts

  Write about:

  • alcohol: you can focus on its use, misuse, or abuse

  • the Prohibition movement

  • a drunk driver

  • an alcoholism and drug addiction counselor

  • the boundary between the conscious and unconscious

  • the dividing line between thought and intuition

  • a guardian angel

  • a sign language interpreter

  • a marshy shore

  • stepping stones

  IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE consummate antagonist, you've come to the right place. The Devil is the perfect anti-hero. He's rude, he's crude, and he'll get what he wants or die trying. Nothing can stand in his way-not even hellfire and damnation pose a threat to the master of the Underworld.

  The Devil also knows how to make the most of first impressions; he knows how to intimidate his opposition. In fact, the Devil's image is so exaggerated that it borders on parody. Start with the gnarled horns on the top of his head: he's not someone most of us want to butt heads with. His pointed ears, bat wings, and talons suggest that he maneuvers well in the darkness, but he's blinded by the light. And his goat-like legs, covered in matted fur, are a convincing touch that he's more animal than human.

  While the Devil is the personification of all evil, he also offers a secret glimpse at every person's dark side. He's obviously connected to sin and temptation, as well as the pitfalls of human existence, like lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.

  In a story reading, the Devil may represent a drug addict, alcoholic, gambler, enabler, abuser, or victim. The card could also indicate that someone is feeling devilish, bedeviled, or is playing the devil's advocate.

  Key Symbols

  Angels and Demons. Believe it or not, the Devil is actually one of the four archangels in the tarot deck. He is Uriel, and his name means "Flame of God." Most people, however, know the Devil as Lucifer, a name that means "Bearer of Light." Both names are oddly reassuring: they suggest that darkness defines light, and makes it possible to discern the difference between good and evil.

  The Horned God. The Devil's horns connect him to Capricorn, the sign of the goat. People with a strong Capricorn influence usually feel driven to prove themselves in business and society. In this case, however, the Devil demonstrates that an obsession with outward appearance can imprison the spirit in the material world.

  Misplaced Priorities. The inverted pentagram on the Devil's forehead symbolizes a perversion of all that is holy and good. Upright, a pentagram symbolizes the human form, living in balance and health. Reversed, it represents a disdain and disrespect for human existence. In fact, the word devil is "lived," spelled backward.

  Bat Wings. The Devil's bat wings suggest that he is a creature of darkness, a frightening specter who can spread panic, disease, and fear.

  Self-Aggrandizement. The Devil has put himself on a pedestal, which he grips with the horrid talons of a vulture, a carnivorous bird that feasts on the dead.

  Mirror Images. Oddly enough, many versions of the Devil card are actually a grotesque mirror image of the Lovers card, in which the pair has been trapped and enslaved by their own misplaced priorities. The Devil clearly demonstrates the shadow side of a dysfunctional or abusive relationship. The Devil also mocks the Hierophant by raising his right hand in a demonic blessing over the young couple in his keep.

  The Devil's Minions. The young couple in the card is naked, like Adam and Evebut they're not in the Garden of Eden anymore. In fact, the Devil has cursed them with horns and tails, so they more closely resemble their dark master. Their tails are burning, and the flames seem eerily reminiscent of the trees that stood behind them in the Lovers card.

  Chain of Fools. The chains represent the wickedness of sin, and entrapment in a web of evil or illusion. They symbolize slavery, entrapment, violence, fraud, trickery, and schemes that cause harm to others. Even so, it's interesting to note that the couple in the card isn't chained tightly. They could free themselves if they wanted to.

  The Devil You Know. At times, the Devil card symbolizes the many repercussions of sin, including guilt, shame, denial, and inhibitions. The Devil card might also represent someone who is repressing their emotion, passion, and ambition.

  Keywords

  Upright: Materiality, material force, material temptation, obsession, the dark or shadow side of an issue, weakness, abuse, addiction, violence, evil, sexuality, sensuality, devil's play, devil's advocate, devil-may-care

  Reversed: Sin, temptation, obsession, addiction, materialism, scapegoating, weakness, abuse, violence, evil

  Myth and Legend

  The Devil is a Christian invention-but many of his characteristics happen to be derived from Pan, the mythic god of music, nature, sheep, and shepherds. Pan's head and torso looked human, but from the waist down, he was a goat, with fur-covered legs and animal hooves.

  Pan was a god of physical pleasures, including sexuality, food, and drink. He was wild: he could even inspire panic. Because of his association with Pan, the Devil has come to symbolize erotic pleasure, wild behavior, and unbridled desire.

  Pan was a close associate of Dionysus, the god of wine. As a result, the Devil card occasionally symbolizes alcohol and drug abuse.

  The Devil card can also be connected to Cernnunos, the horned nature and fertility god of the Celts, and Baphomet, the creature that's usually depicted as a goat's head superimposed on an inverted pyramid.

  Occasionally, the Devil card relates to Pluto or Hades, the lord of the underworld and the king of the dead.

  Astrological Associations

  The Devil card corresponds to Capricorn, the sign of business success and social standing. Most Capricorns are keenly aware of both. Like their symbol, the goat, they are constantly climbing.

  Capricorn rules the tenth house of the zodiac, where astrologers look for information about business and career. Capricorn is ruled, in turn, by Saturn, the ringed planet of boundaries and limitations.

  On a related note, Saturn is assigned to the World card.

  Capricorn is an earth sign.

  Literary Archetypes

  The Devil can embody any number of literary archetypes, including the destroyer, the dictator, the king, the outlaw, the rebel, the shadow, the shaman, the sorcerer, the thief, and the trickster.

  The Devil and Your Writing Practice

  When the Devil appears in your writing practice, you can take a cue from Pan, and be playful in your writing. You might also focus on the physical senses he proscribed. If you're in a darker mood, the Devil card could suggest tha
t it's time to kick your story up a notch: it might be time to take your characters to hell and back again.

  The card's connection to Capricorn could also be a sign that it's time to focus on the business aspects of your writing practice, and pay some attention to your bottom line..

  Writing Prompts

  Write about:

  . sin

  . temptation

  . sex

  . drunkenness

  . addiction

  . entrapment

  . chains

  . blasphemy

  hell

  . a creature of the night

  EVERY STORYLINE HINGES ON A moment of crisis-and no card illustrates that moment more clearly than the Tower card. It's a dramatic image: in the middle of a dark and stormy night, lightning strikes. Sparks fly, a tower crumbles, and two people are forced to dive headfirst into a new reality.

  In most tarot readings, the Tower symbolizes a dramatic change. It can represent a move to a new location, a breakup, or a release. The Tower can also symbolize the destruction of false ideas and beliefs, a purge, or an intervention. Ultimately, the Tower experience is one of purification, as an old structure is tom down so that renovation can begin.

  The Tower card sometimes refers to breakups or breakdowns, and the disintegration or collapse of a structure you thought was stable-like a relationship, a home, or a career. Just as frequently, however, the Tower represents enlightenment, inspiration, and release; for anyone trapped inside, it's a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

  In some tarot decks, the Tower card is sometimes called La Maison Dieu, which means the House of God. It's a term that used to refer to hospitals.

  In a story reading, the Tower card may refer to prisoners, guards, revolutionaries, rebels, liberators, and people who are moving from one home to another.

  Key Symbols

  Visionary Architecture. A tower is a symbol of achievement. It's the physical manifestation of a reach for the sky. Normally, the construction of a tower represents vision and the discipline to achieve high ideals and lofty goals. A tower also serves as a lookout station: it's a platform for a long-range view.

  Phallic Symbol. The Tower is also a distinctly masculine image, one that suggests potency and sexual energy.

  A Bolt from the Blue. In the Tower card, the top of the structure-its metaphoric head-is struck by a bolt from the blue. The lightning strike represents a forceful clearing of pent-up energy and overbuilt ideas.

  Path of Fire. The lightning's jagged path through the sky roughly follows the path that energy takes as it flows down the Kabbalistic tree of life, zig-zagging from sphere to sphere.

  Get Out of Jail Free. The tower catches fire-a symbol of destruction-and two people plunge or leap to the rocky ground below. The woman on the right is a queen, but her relationship to the man beside her is for you to determine. He could be her servant, son, brother, adviser, consort, or prisoner.

  Precipitation. In the background, raindrops are shaped like yods, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Every other letter in Hebrew incorporates the shape of a yod, so it symbolizes the premise that the divine is present in everything.

  Keywords

  Upright: Insight, illumination, enlightenment, inspiration, epiphany, awakening, freedom, escape, liberation, and release

  Reversed: Disaster, catastrophe, destruction, upheaval, fall, ruin, alarm, adversity, calamity, misery, oppression, imprisonment

  Myth and Legend

  The Tower has been compared to the biblical Tower of Babel, Rapunzel's tower, and the ivory towers of academia. Some have compared the image to Saint Paul's miraculous escape from prison.

  On rare occasions, the Tower even symbolizes punishment on a Biblical scale, like the retribution God inflicted on the builders of the Tower of Babel. As a writer, you'll be interested to note that God used the confusion of language as a curse.

  The story is shorter than you probably remember. Here's the King James version:

  And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11: 1-9)

  Astrological Associations

  The Tower is associated with Mars, the red planet of energy, aggression, and selfdefense. Both the card and the planet are intense, masculine symbols.

  Mars rules the first house of the zodiac, where astrologers look for information about leadership. Mars also rules Aries, the sign of leadership.

  On a related note, Aries is associated with the Emperor card.

  Literary Archetypes

  The Tower can embody any number of literary archetypes, including the destroyer, the martyr, the miser, the outlaw, the rebel, the shadow, and the sorcerer.

  The Tower and Your Writing Practice

  For writers, the Tower illustrates a common creative phenomenon: the flash of inspiration that strikes in the middle of the night. It depicts the sudden insight, the shock of recognition, and the story that demands to be written. It suggests the rush of energy that propels pen across paper, and the liberation that comes from telling a story to completion.

  Are you ready for inspiration to strike? If you're not, get ready: once you start thinking about the creative process, you become a lightning rod for ideas. You won't be able to imprison them for long.

  Writing Prompts

  Write about:

  . a storm

  . a blackout

  . a natural disaster

  . a prison

  . a dungeon

  . an attack

  . an inspiration

  . a move

  . the ivory tower of academia

  . the Tower of Babel

  THE STARS HAVE INSPIRED MYTHS and legends for thousands of years. Throughout history, storytellers gathered around campfires at night. As their eyes followed trailing wisps of smoke toward heaven, they'd take turns unfolding dramatic tales of heroism and adventure-many based on the constellations themselves.

  We still tell stories around the occasional campfire, and we still look to the stars for inspiration. We also look toward the sky to convey our stories: late at night, you can see satellites circling the earth, twinkling like stars, and beaming information and ideas around the world.

  In a story reading, the Star may refer to an astronomer, astrologer, conservationist, ecologist, environmentalist, waiter, or waitress.

  Key Symbols

  Guiding Light. All stars symbolize inspiration, hope, and guidance. Small children make wishes on the evening star. Young lovers always watch for shooting stars, so they can make wishes for their happiness. And sailors, in sea and in space, navigate by the stars. The golden star in the center of the card, however, symbolizes focus. That's because every star in the night sky is in itself a sun, the center of its own solar system. The central star might also symbolize a nova or supernova of understanding, the creation of new solar systems, and galaxies, far, far away from our experience and understanding.

  Seven Sisters. The seven smaller white stars in the card symbolize the days of the week.<
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  Celestial Symbolism. Stars sometimes represent immortality. According to some traditions, each star in the night sky is an unborn or departed soul.

  Time Travel. When you admire the stars, you are literally looking into the past. Every glimmer of starlight has traveled thousands of years, across lifetimes and centuries, to meet us in the dark. In a tarot reading, the Star card could refer to past lifetimes and experiences. The Star card could also refer to astral travel, out-of-body experiences, or dreams.

  Famous Stars. The star in this design is Sirius, the Dog Star, but it might also be compared to the Star of Bethlehem, the Star of the Magi, Venus, the morning and evening star, or the North Star that guides sailors through the night.

  Mythic Figures. The woman, who looks distinctly like a goddess of eternal youth and beauty, is kneeling. In The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Arthur Edward Waite said the woman was the goddess of truth unveiled.

  A Bridge of Light. The star goddess' left knee is on the solid ground of logic and reason, but her right foot is submerged in the watery world of emotions.

  Magic Elixir. She holds two earthenware jugs filled with the water of life, and she leans forward to pour one of them into the lake. Beside her, the other empties on the shore, where it finds its way back to its source.

  Talking Bird. A silver ibis, nesting in a tree, stretches its wings in the background. The ibis was a symbol of Thoth, the Egyptian god of language.

  Keywords

  Upright: Hope, faith, wishes, dreams, promises, expectations, confidence, guidance, inspiration, wish fulfillment

  Reversed: Broken dreams, dashed hopes, disappointments, unfulfilled wishes, darkness, obscurity

  Myth and Legend

  The goddess in the Star card might be Nut or Nuit, the Egyptian goddess of the night sky. Her name itself means night: she arched protectively over the earth, covered in stars, where she served as a barrier between chaos and the orderly workings of the cosmos. Each night she would swallow the sun, so that she could give birth to the morning. The Egyptians identified with Nut: they used to say that every woman was a Nutrit, a little goddess.