Stories in the suits

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Osher	05 Feb 2003
Mari made a wonderful story/fable involving the Sword suit from the Secret tarot. Should a good tarot deck have a story in the minors from card to card? Or should we delve deeper into each card, at risk of distrupting a story flow?

MeeWah	05 Feb 2003
Happiness: I think that would depend on what ye wish to convey, as Tarot tends to encompass layered meanings as well as diametrically different aspects. Even if there is a main theme or story line, it might be possible to encompass a "sub-plot", a story within a story. Consider trying your idea with one card & see where it leads.

jamesriouxctm	06 Feb 2003
Happiness, Actually I believe that most Tarot decks have not only a story within the suits, but one that spans the entire deck, if we are willing to look for it and use our imagination from time to time. I'm currently writing such a story based on the imagery of the Rider-Waite and its derivatives. Examining a single card in depth will not disrupt the story flow - quite the contrary. It will often enhance the story, in addition to giving me a deeper view of how the card interacts with its neighbors. As MeeWah pointed out, there are stories within stories, but with a little work they can all be made to fit together very nicely. Two seemingly unrelated "sub-plots" might link up later and form a new aspect of the main plot, for example. If you've ever tried to write fiction or drama before you know how difficult this can be but with the Tarot it all seems to come out naturally. I'ts quite remarkable and I'm looking forward to seeing other comments on this matter.

Fulgour	05 Sep 2004
Quote: Originally posted by jamesriouxctm Actually I believe that most Tarot decks have not only a story within the suits, but one that spans the entire deck, if we are willing to look for it and use our imagination from time to time. I've noticed an interesting progression in many decks, but usually not at the expense of the overall significance of the individual cards. Are there certain decks that seem more story driven than others, or is it the imaginative point of view exploring the many possibilities, we might ask...

Flavio	08 Sep 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Tarotaus Should a good tarot deck have a story in the minors from card to card? Or should we delve deeper into each card, at risk of distrupting a story flow? I think it is more a question of having good story teller than "good cards" I think it is possible that cards of the same suit from any deck tell us a story, it depends of us the readers to create a coherent and helpful story...

The Stories in the suits thread was originally posted on 05 Feb 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.