How to kill your writer's block with Tarot Cards

Introduction

What is Tarot?

Tarot cards started off as an old parlour game that evolved into a method of divination used by occultists. Though the history of them can be quite older, they hold symbols and messages many can recognize. There's a good chance they're part of the every changing inspiration from hermeticism dating back to hellenised-Egypt and further. 

 The cards themselves tell a story of a personal journey and each card represents a moment in that journey. This journey can be found in everything yourself, the lives of others, the universe, and most fiction stories in different ways.

For example, we start off with The Fool card at 0. This person is at the beginning of their journey and they are innocent or foolish in their lack of knowledge for what is to come. The story moves on with different cards and reaches different moments in their journey like Justice card is when The Fool takes responsibility for their past, The Lovers is about yearning relationship and Death is when the fool makes a change to themselves and outgrows who they once were. This is why people use the cards to look to their future or where they are now on their own personal journey, they are very adaptable and we all go through these moments in our lives.

To me, the cards won't predict your future. They will instead tell you where you were, where you are/your wants and where you could be headed. It helps you see the reality of your inner nature and the world around you. You can easily find out you're on the wrong path and use the cards as guidance to get onto the right path in your life. It's a bit like a therapeutic game or a friend showing you the different paths you can take. 

If you want to learn more about Tarot and The Fool's Journey google 'Tarot Journey' and pick the website by 'learn tarot'. Or find a book at your local magic shop. Also, try 'Way of the Tarot' book which goes into deep details on the cards and their meanings to human nature. It's very good for colour and numerical theory too. 

Why use Tarot for storytelling?

Keeping in mind the cards can the journey of many things and the paths to many places. Which reflect around us and in stories we read. 

When writing stories we are all writing about someone's journey. The ups and downs, what's holding them back or pushing them forwards, and if they will fail or succeed to get what they want. The changes and transformations we and they go through. 

As the Tarot is used to examine our life journey over time or events, it can easily be used to select and create a fictional story. one which can guide your readers or help yourself in your own journey. 

How can Tarot help stop my writer's block?

Writer's block can come in different forms. 

1: You might be stuck for ideas.
2: you might be stuck on how to develop an idea.
3. You might be stuck part way through writing a story.
4. You might be overly stressed about life stuff (hey! maybe a doctor can help)

The cards can help nudge you back onto the path of writing and give your imagination the boost it needs. It can open up new ways of thinking symbolically when writing too due to how it uses symbolic images to tell a story. If you want to enter more surreal ways of thinking creatively this is the path for you.  

Any other stories which use Tarot?

Storytelling with Tarot is nothing new. I am sure there are stories out there based on the simple selection or cards or based on the structure of the Fool's Journey. As I said you can see the symbols and the journey the tarot spread in many places.

The most famous story based on Tarot is The Incal. It's a Science fiction space opera which follows John Difool, who is the Fool at the start of this universe saving journey. I don't want to spoil this but there's a lot of interesting ways this story uses and plays with Fool's Journey. It's a great example of what can be done when using Tarot for inspiration as The Incal is a huge universe of planets and lore to stick your teeth into. Tarot storytelling is only limited by your own imagination. The creator of The Incal Alejandro Jodorowsky is famous for his Tarot readings so it is well worth looking up his work on the subject.

In the Anime JoJo Bizare adventure bases an entire season on the Tarot. 

There are many others who use these old and sometimes ancient symbols in their work because somehow these images do mean something to us all deep down. It can be used by a writer to reach out and bridge into the reader to help us understand life. 

There are so many types of card decks, what ones will I need?

Don't worry any basic deck will do as this is a very basic guide to tarot and story writing tools. If you're just starting out there are many guides with your cards and online to help you find the meaning of the cards as you learn to interpret it yourself. It can help to find a deck where the symbols for what it's trying to say sync with you. 

There are themed cards but as long as they have the same Fool's journey/Major/Minor cards it should be good to use. I personally use a Hobbit-themed deck which is the usual Tarot cards but with Hobbit characters on them. I still get good results, so use whatever kind you like in a basic reading. Most differences I see with themed decks is how they show the minor deck. I have the Tarot of Marseilles deck which doesn't have many detailed illustrations as others in the minor deck but it still have clues from the elements, colour theory etc

If you want to go deeper (which I recommend to open up your creative mind in storytelling and tapping into your reader's subconscious mind) lookup tarothermeneutics website and search for Jodorowsky-Camoin 'The Way of Tarot'

Do I need to do any spells on my cards?

Not really but it helps. You don't have to believe in the magic of Tarot or the occult to use them for generating ideas or gaining a change in your life. You easily use it as a game to give your imagination a good work out. To help open your mind more creatively. To be able to tap into the greater subconscious we all have and understand how to use symbolism when writing about trials of human nature. 

However, if you do believe and want to create a bond I've heard putting your cards under your pillow as you sleep helps. You can also wrap a silver chained necklace with your birthstone as an amulet to protect and link it to you. You can keep it on an altar. You can cleanse your cards. I'm sure there are a lot of websites giving out advice on care for your cards.

What will I learn?

The basics for tarot merged with very basic but key writing tools. I'm not going too deep into tarot reading here if you want to find online for free or in a bookshop The Way of the Tarot by Jodorowsky or the website Learn Tarot. These are two guides I used to go a little deeper. Some of the early decks feature a lot of alchemy symbolism to understand this you can read Alchemy & mysticism Book by Alexander Roob

Chapters one and two will help writers stuck for ideas. So we will start off with using Tarot to come up with a basic pitch or an idea. This will be your future story summed up in a few sentences. This is a good chapter to read first as it gives you the basics of tarot reading and it has some exercises to improve your storymaking. 

Chapter three is for writers who have a basic story idea but are blocked as to what to start writing. We will cover three-act structure and how the cards can enhance your story and inspire you to keep writing. By the end of this lesson, you should have an outline to guide you with notes from your cards on what emotions to hit in your story.  

Chapter four is for writers stuck in the middle of writing. Here we will go over the questions you can ask the cards to help get you unstuck and back to writing. 

Chapter five is about when writer's block is caused by personal life stress. Disclaimer please seek medical treatment for depression if you are a sufferer. Use the cards to tap into your inner strength to see a doctor or to use them on top of the medical support. The cards are not as powerful as a real illness or the realm of the physical body. 

Here we will run over some basic personal reading you can do to clear out those personal hang-ups blocking your creativity. To help return you to a state of certainty so you can be clear-minded and confident enough to get writing.