Tarot for Storytellers

SAMPLE READING: The Short Story Spread

I'm in the process of brainstorming a paranormal short story for an upcoming anthology, and I've been stumped with the plot details for a good while. Time to turn to the ever-constant Tarot deck for some ideas. Plotting has always been  a challenge for me. I can dream up characters  pretty easily, but putting those characters into an engaging story is another thing entirely. Let's see what kind of insight the cards can shine on this new project!

I've fleshed out this protagonist already. Her character development notes are available below to clarify how I'm interpreting these cards. This spread can still be used when you have zero character information, but it's much more revealing when you have a few details worked out.

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At a glance/Overall: Several Wands appear in this reading, which suggests a focus on the character's willpower and a clash of wills. I found the appearance of The Devil amusing and obvious, as this character's father is literally the Devil.

Card 1: Theme: 7 of Pentacles: Fruits of labor, rewards for hard work, return on investments. Aza's power is growing, and others take notice. Perseverance. Material wealth through much effort. Finding a more efficient way to finish a job. Standing at a crossroads, feeling restless as a result. Choosing whether to continue on the current path or to advance to a new level. A theme of change in order to progress, even if faced with intimidating possibilities.

Card 2: Setting: King of Cups: A king sitting calmly over a stormy sea. Not emotionally excited or disturbed by surroundings or events. Can be so detached that negativity seeps into the situation. Nonchalance leading to vulnerability. The setting will seem calm and normal outwardly, but an atmosphere of brewing trouble lurks below the surface and will intensify as the story goes on. The ocean will play some kind of role.

Card 3: Protagonist: Death: A fitting card for this character. In the story, she will undergo a literal metamorphosis, like a caterpillar into a butterfly. Transformation to a new being. A change that can't be stopped, only surrendered to. Also reflects Aza's constant struggle with the shifting forces inside her, as well as her love of throwing things into upheaval.

Card 4: Major Character/s:  3 of Wands: Three characters are important to Aza in the story, aside from her eight sisters. Big Daddy Lucifer, Grand Vizier Retchwax, and her secret mortal friend, Ernest. Aza wants these characters to acknowledge her worth and potential, despite her reputation as a troublemaker. She wants to prove she isn't just a mischievous little girl anymore and that she's of value in her own right...through her creative work. Her fashion design career has earned her both money and growing fame in the Infernal realms and is starting to progress even further. Above all, she wants Daddy's approval. He's still nonchalant and distant to her much of the time.

Card 5: Motivation: The Devil: Aza's father, Lucifer, is her motivation and goal. She wants him to accept her for who she is and what she is...as she is, and not what HE wants her to be. He wants her to conform and obey as a proper citizen of Hell. But Aza is unique, and her true destiny is about to unfold. She isn't just a disobedient half-breed. Lucifer may even be more wary of Aza than of his other children, as he doesn't feel he can trust her yet. His coupling with D'endrrah wasn't entirely consensual...he was duped/tricked into laying with her. He still doesn't know why or how she seduced him, and even less about why the treacherous bitch then abandoned their child and left it for him to raise. 

Card 6: Challenge/Antagonist: 2 of Wands: D'endrrah and a restless, writhing cluster of Old Nameless Gods want to awaken Azathoth from his slumber and bring about the chaotic dissolution of the Universe. This would thrust everything back to the formless Abyss that once engulfed All. God, Lucifer, their minions, and all mortal and immortal realms will be consumed in the churning, senseless primordial ooze from whence all existence spawned. Aza's mother wants to lure her daughter into joining their cause. Aza must resist, or she'll lose herself to madness and destruction forever. D'endrrah conceived Aza with Lucifer as part of a plan to entice other Nameless Ones to join her cause of awakening Azathoth (Aza's maternal grandfather, whom she is named after...'Aza') Aza must find a road to genuine truth amidst all lies she faces, and she must seek balance between the two volatile sides of her heritage if she is to be free.