#honestly the mystical cats tarot is prime storytelling material

[pastafossa]

Using Tarot To Help You Write

Right ok, so I’ve wanted to do this for a bit - there are vague references to tarot in my story TRT and I’ve answered a few questions about how I use the RWS-style tarot to write but now I have a little bit of time while I wait for my laundry to dry. So let’s get into it.

If you’re looking for another tool in your writer’s kit, you could strongly consider adding a box of tarot cards to the bag. Set aside, for a minute, what you’ve heard about it. Set aside any spiritual aspect, telling the future, the ‘OoOOOooOOh evil’, or even the ‘DRAW DEATH MEANS DEATH’ you see in movies. Instead, strip it down to its base.

Tarot is about telling a story.

(Below: Oak, Ash, & Thorn Tarot)

From a storytelling perspective, the first 18 cards of the RWS style tarot, known as the Major Arcana, essentially tell the Hero’s Journey as the Hero sets out on an adventure and searches for knowledge. There’s disaster, love, temptation, and wise people they meet along the way before eventually finding enlightenment at the end of their journey. The Major Arcana contains major archetypes and themes present through so many stories. When you add in the rest of the cards in the Minor Arcana - the other 56 cards, encompassing a variety of emotions, archetypes, figures, and various life events you might run into - you’ve got something perfect when you want to introduce new elements to your story. I keep a small deck on my desk and use it frequently when creating random OCs, plotlines, or problems for characters to solve.

And before you go, holy shit Pasta that’s a lot to take in, using tarot for your story doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need to have 20 years of tarot experiences, you don’t need to be an expert, you don’t need A Great Gift. You don’t have to know about tarot at all, really. You just need one thing:

The right storytelling deck.

More below the cut.

Look, there are a million styles out there, some that focus heavily on storytelling imagery and some that focus more on symbols; some that feature animals or nature, and some that focus on people. I generally lean towards animal-based decks since I’m more familiar with animal/nature imagery, body language, and symbolism, but in reality the best deck to use for writing is simply the one you’ll actually use. If you’re drawn to one, go for it. That being said, if you’re looking for something to use without needing to get into all the symbolism of each card, I generally recommend using a deck in which all cards, including the Minor Arcana, depict a scene you can examine - aka, one that plays up a story rather than a straight up symbol. Let me show you an example with three decks.

Left: Mystical Cats tarot; Middle: Oriens tarot; Right: Children of Litha tarot

These all depict the same card: the Seven of Swords, meant to depict deceit, theft, betrayal, lies, and trickery. The middle card relies a little more heavily on symbolic meaning (the black widow spider, which ‘betrays’ when mating and uses a sticky web - symbolizing a potential trap), whereas the other two cards show an active scene (Card 1: OH NO HE’S GONNA STEAL YER MOUSE WHILE YOU’RE NOT LOOKING; Card 3: YOU LOVESTRUCK DIPSHITS, TURN AROUND, THE SNAKE’S EATING YOUR EGGS). I’ve found cards like Card 1 and Card 3 are faster and more convenient for storytelling, because you’re basically presented with a scenario/characters/a situation right off the bat, whereas a symbolic card is more open-ended and might require some digging unless you’re already fairly familiar with the symbolism. If you’re going to get a deck that depicts people instead, I recommend looking for a deck that’s diverse. Humans come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and having a deck that reflects that (something like the Modern Witch tarot) is valuable for storytelling. So if you’re picking a deck to help you write, look for:

Decks that use scenes/storytelling imagery for all cards

Decks with imagery/body language you can easily read at a glance

If you’re looking for a deck with people - decks with a diverse range of body types, ethnicities, sexualities, and genders

A deck with imagery you actually like, otherwise you won’t want to use it

‘Ok, so let’s say I’ve found a deck, or I already have one. What does using tarot for fic even look like?’

Let’s do two quick readings for two writing scenarios you might use this for! This will also show you can be as complex or as simple as you need to be. These are also the two scenarios I use tarot for most when writing - character construction, and plotline construction. First I’ll use the Children of Litha tarot, which uses a moderate amount of storytelling imagery. Then I’ll use the Mystical Cats tarot, which is probably the most story-heavy deck I have, imagery-wise. That way, you can see how construction gets a bit easier depending on how scene-heavy a deck is.

Scenario: I need an original character for this chapter or scene! Quick, draw three cards!

Quick reading: she’s very gentle but there are also two tigers inside her and one of them wants to kill you, especially if you fuck with her pet birds

More complex reading - Personality, Flaw, Backstory:

Card 1 - Personality: This character is someone who’s unafraid and bold in their kindness even when faced with danger, and they know when a gentle touch is needed. They believe strength is found not in being cruel or violent but in responding with love. This usually works out for them, to the point that even Scary People (TM) seek this character out, knowing they’ll find love and affection. Alternatively, this character is one half of the Brooding Rough One Loves The Gentle Soft One trope. Whatever works for you!

Card 2 - Flaw: Despite all that, the gentle character’s got a temper, and it exists in direct conflict to what they believe about strength, thus producing cognitive dissonance. This is someone who’ll dodge conflict to avoid showing their temper, but eventually that repression’s going to blow up into a real fight and it’ll be messy.

Card 3 - backstory: This temper and conflict avoidance is due to some tragic incident in their past that left them deeply wounded. It’s one reason they’re so gentle, but there’s a lot of lingering anger and trauma. These wounds are not healed, and if you look deep enough, you’re going to find blood.

Depending on how important this character is, you could add even more: a card for a strength, a card for a challenge they need to overcome to grow as a person, their family dynamic, etc. Again, you can make it as detailed or as simple as you need.

PASTA NOW I NEED A LITTLE PLOTLINE FOR CHARACTERS TO SOLVE. Quick, draw four!

Quick reading: holy SHIT your characters gotta move fast, cause there’s a pissed off dude out there who wants revenge NOW and is ready to fuck up a *shuffles cards and draws* religious temple of peaceful cat loving monks, one of whom is the one that fucked up Angry Dude in the first place WHEN HE WAS A BABY WITH HIS MAMA, PLOT TWIST OH NO, IT’S PROBABLY THAT ASSHOLE STEVE IN THE BACK OF THE THIRD CARD, LOOK AT HIM LOOKING OFF INTO THE DISTANCE.

More complex reading - Theme, Problem, Setting, Solution:

Card 1 - Theme: As you can tell from our cat with zoomies, your protagonists are on a clock. The theme here is urgency, it’s speed. Things will start off with a bang and they won’t have much time to slow down. This’d be good for a one shot or a chapter.

Card 2 - Problem: look at that cat, they’re so ANGRY, they are PISSED, someone did them dirty and they’ve been stewing over it for a while. They can’t stop feeling that betrayal no matter how much they try to lick it off shake it off forget about it. They want REVENGE for what was done to them and they’re gonna cut someone up.

Card 3 - Setting: Ah, a peaceful, sunny place where everyone’s just chilling. Everyone’s happy. Maybe a religious place, say, a church or a convent or hell, a nudist retreat. Either way, no one knows what’s coming. Except (and this is why scene cards are so fun)... for STEVE there in the back. Look at him. Everyone’s relaxing in the sun but he’s staring out into the distance. He knows. And just like that, Steve’s the In Hiding person who betrayed our Problem - Steve the Asshole isn’t a part of the Sun card’s meaning, but a storytelling scene card lets you stretch like this and have fun.

Card 4 - solution: Clearly the only person who can stop Bad Person... is their MAMA (or potentially his siblings). Maybe a character goes to find the Problem’s mother and brings her to the church to talk the Problem into giving up. Maybe the protagonists desperately tell the Problem that your family wouldn’t have wanted this, even if that family was hurt - the Empress is generally very nurturing and loving, so that’s a fair bet. Either way, the solution to the Problem is their family.  

Once you get the hang of this, you’ll start to find other ways you can use it. I’ve used it for creating quick or more complex or more randomized characters, for creating plotlines and character arcs, for a few of Jane’s cases in TRT. You can use it for backstories, for settings, for problems and solutions, for deeper themes to explore with your characters. Hell, if you want some practice, you could literally go through the Major Arcana and write one-shots dealing with each card’s theme. Ultimately the possibilities are endless, whether you want to construct a detailed plotline or if you just have a new character you want to randomize or flesh out a bit.

In short: go get yourself a deck and have some fun!