Reading for your writing

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 06 Dec 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Scion	06 Dec 2004
Hey Don't know how many writers are members but I thought I'd post about a strange phenomenon that's been occurring with greater frequency in my readings: My plays are "claiming" suits and cards. Or put another way, different projects seem to be identified by a matrix of certain cards and certain suits that recur in readings about my writing. Weird, huh? Almost like the plays are people... In fact, with plays I have in production or workshop, certain actors will turn up in readings as the same court cards over and over. In fact, since I noticed it, I've started to doing readings to get a sense of what needs to happen with a project and invariably elements of the relevant "project matrix" show up in the damnedest way. For the most part, these are more for the business of the piece, rather than for the writing/creation of a project... Just wondered if anyone else has experienced anything like this before... creative projects behaving as entities unto themselves in the cards. And does anyone else do readings on writing projects? Scion

dadsnook2000	06 Dec 2004
There are no coincidences! When you see or can link differing parts of your life or daily experiences together, then this an important thing to recognize. You are cross-energizing aspects of your life -- this is great. This is integration, balance, focus, life on a larger scale. Good for you. Dave.

Fudugazi	06 Dec 2004
This is fascinating. Do you get the same court cards for the same characters, and get deeper levels, and more archetypal, for first roles than for secondary characters? How do you actually apply the readings when you are working? I'm also a writer. Can you give me an idea how you read about your writing? I tend only to ask about projects from the outside - that is, I ask how to go about such or such a piece when I am stuck, or I ask if the timing is right for me to start, or work on a specific project. I don't look at the substance, the subject-matter of my writing. But I can see that it could lead to interesting discussions with my cards, and could put me back on track with stuck projects. Can you share more about how you use tarot for your writing? Thanks!

MarkMcElroy	06 Dec 2004
You've observed for youself, I think, what so many of us have discovered: Tarot may be the most under-rated tool for creative writers out there! Are you familiar with Dramatica Theory? Essentially, it's a theory of story that suggests that all stories, plays, and movies are arguments -- a glimpse of the artist's mind, as he or she struggles to make a point. Per Dramatica theory, the most effective stories approach incorporate four distinct perspectives: Activity, Environment, Psychology, and Mindset. The first time I saw these four "domains," I recognized them: Wands (Activity), Pentacles (Environment), Swords (Psychology), and Cups (Mindset). The result? With Tarot's four suits in mind, you can quickly and easily analyze why a story doesn't "feel" right -- in fact, I do this by assigning a Tarot card to each scene. An example: Despite the fact that _National Treasure_ has been the number one movie for weeks now, I found it really unsatisfying. If you assign a Tarot card to "summarize" each scene, you quickly see that this film is all Wands ... and very little in the way of Swords. As a result, the main characters rush around solving puzzles, but the puzzles aren't very satisfying, because the character who solves them can only do so by making huge intuitive leaps and connections that don't make much sense and are never well explained. Analysis is just one Tarot trick; I also use readings to generate characters, compose backstories for them, probe motivations, and generate plot twists. So: yes! I do understand exactly what you're taking about when you say your stories and plays seem to be represented by a matrix of certain cards ... and thought I might mention that it's also possible to use your skill in Tarot as a means of analyzing and "fleshing out" stories that don't quite work as well as we hoped they would. Links of interest: For more on Dramatica Theory, check here: http://www.dramatica.com/theory/index.html Dramatica's quadrants, which parallel the four Tarot suits: http://www.dramatica.com/downloads/structure_chart.pdf A free template for generating characters and storylines with nothing but Tarot cards: http://www.tarottools.com/char-template.htm Enjoy! :)

Imagemaker	06 Dec 2004
A previous thread on using tarot for the writing process: www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=29805&highlight=writing I use tarot in fiction writing, not usually nonfiction. But in analyzing Topic, Audience, Purpose and Style (my approach to focusing nonfiction), draws for each arena could provide good pointers.

Scion	06 Dec 2004
Helvetica wrote: This is fascinating. Do you get the same court cards for the same characters, and get deeper levels, and more archetypal, for first roles than for secondary characters? How do you actually apply the readings when you are working? I'm also a writer. Can you give me an idea how you read about your writing? I tend only to ask about projects from the outside - that is, I ask how to go about such or such a piece when I am stuck, or I ask if the timing is right for me to start, or work on a specific project. I don't look at the substance, the subject-matter of my writing. But I can see that it could lead to interesting discussions with my cards, and could put me back on track with stuck projects. Can you share more about how you use tarot for your writing? Thanks! Actually I didn't notice it for the longest time; I kept getting runs of suits or numbers that only made sense in the most disconnected way. And then one day I had gotten off th phone with my agent about an extramarital comedy of mine that is under option with a celeb "attached" (for what that's worth) and I got a run of cups, including the two and the page and the queen of cups. And the 4 of wands. Marriage and emotions, right? The page & queen had been popping up a lot AND the Queen of Cups is a perfect referent for the actress in question both physically and emotionally. I finally put 7 and 8 together and got 78. I did another reading specifically geared to a contract we were negotiating and again page and queen and a slew of other cups; with the king of coins reversed as my producer. After that, on a whim, I started doing readiings on the plays, as if they were individuals just to see what I'd get. Wow! I was blown away, and kept finding correspondences that helped me professionally and creatively. The funny thing is, I realized that a play is a lot like a person. It has good days and bad days. It juggles personalities and conflicts. Whichever spread I use, I find that the "internal" cards in a spread will refer to the actual writing or creative side of the project and the "external" indicate the business end of things. Whether or not I'm projecting all this, the readings are eerily accurate. And the knight of swords turns up pretty consistently as my agent. I should also mention that certain plays resonate with certain decks... As with people, a deck will resonate with the world of the play, not in imagery or period, but in timbre and tone. Like people, the plays kinda "ask" for certain decks. (God this is sounding freaky... Mea culpa) For the most part, in readings about the business side of things, court cards seem to focus on the "players" involved: my producers, actors, etc. But artistic/creative issues will pop up in the "internal" slots of a spread. Major arcana usually indicate major turning points in the life or development of a project (and once significantly helped me over a major stumbling block in the actual revision of a play in rehearsal, because it made me see the problem differently). With the creative end of things, I read for the characters as if they were people. Characters do show up as certain court cards, often when I have a question or need to pay more attention. And sometimes plot stuff turns up explicitly. But I don't ever "write from the cards" (like inserting a nightmare if I turn the Nine of Swords) which seems literal and less interesting as a method. Rather, the cards indicate what the characters have going on around them. Reading for the play allows me to see them in 3D, fleshing out them and the world I'm building. Either way, I'd say I read for each play as if it were a person with issues and hopes and conflicts and troubles. And as with a person, some readings are for internal questions and others for external. Once I was doing a reading on a play I was rewriting and I got this court-card heavy "businessy" set of cards, and sure enough... my agent called that week with an offer and a whole lot of people wanting to take the play the way it was _without_ my planned revision. Yipes! This reply has gotten longer than I'd intended. Does this answer your questions at all? Hope this isn't overwhelming; I'm very curious if anyone has had similar experiences. This mode of working has been super-useful for me and I'm more than happy to discuss it at length (LOL ... obviously). Ask away. Scion

Scion	06 Dec 2004
MarkMcElroy wrote: Are you familiar with Dramatica Theory? Essentially, it's a theory of story that suggests that all stories, plays, and movies are arguments -- a glimpse of the artist's mind, as he or she struggles to make a point. Per Dramatica theory, the most effective stories approach incorporate four distinct perspectives: Activity, Environment, Psychology, and Mindset. The first time I saw these four "domains," I recognized them: Wands (Activity), Pentacles (Environment), Swords (Psychology), and Cups (Mindset). The result? With Tarot's four suits in mind, you can quickly and easily analyze why a story doesn't "feel" right -- in fact, I do this by assigning a Tarot card to each scene. Hey Mark Actually I know the Dramatica software and the theory behind it, and it jives pretty much with the way I've always worked. And I comepletely agree about the need for balance in a story bewteen the different "areas" of the deck. So interesting, the overlap between the lessons of reading Tarot and the process of building a story. Finding patterns, building connections. Analysis is just one Tarot trick; I also use readings to generate characters, compose backstories for them, probe motivations, and generate plot twists. MarkMcElroy wrote: So: yes! I do understand exactly what you're taking about when you say your stories and plays seem to be represented by a matrix of certain cards ... and thought I might mention that it's also possible to use your skill in Tarot as a means of analyzing and "fleshing out" stories that don't quite work as well as we hoped they would. Absolutely and I think both analysis and creation are interdependent; again another lesson that is true of Tarot and writing: the best way to predict the future is to invent it. And I have to confess that I had already shamelessly downloaded the character/storyline template from your slick website. When I first joined the Aeclectic forum I did a search for writing threads and stumbled over your terrific site. Haven't used the template as yet, but I will one of these days, just to see what it stirs up. In fact, I ordered a copy of Taking the Tarot to Heart solely for the purpose of reading for characters romantically!! Best Scion

MarkMcElroy	06 Dec 2004
Scion wrote: So interesting, the overlap between the lessons of reading Tarot and the process of building a story. Finding patterns, building connections. Agreed! Both efforts strive to distill meaning from (or project it onto) a series of "events." Realizing this is the key to a great many practical insights (such as discovering's Tarot's remarkable utility as a "story synthesizer"). Scion wrote: And I have to confess that I had already shamelessly downloaded the character/storyline template from your slick website. When I first joined the Aeclectic forum I did a search for writing threads and stumbled over your terrific site. Haven't used the template as yet, but I will one of these days, just to see what it stirs up. In fact, I ordered a copy of Taking the Tarot to Heart solely for the purpose of reading for characters romantically!! I'm excited, pleased ... and humbled! You'll have to let me know what the character template stirs up for you -- it was really a thrill to see how quickly folks in the Tarot School session could generate compelling, fully-fleshed story concepts using the template. And thanks for buying the book! You really know how to make an author's day! :) As for the other writers here: how are you using Tarot? Are you reading for characters, as Scion discusses? Are you generating characters? Are you using the Tarot as a source of random story input? (The professor over my MFA work in creative writing used a television the same way: he'd keep on turned on, with the volume down, whenever he worked. When he got stuck with a story, he'd glance up at the screen and use whatever he saw. Personally, I think Tarot works better for this ... and you don't have to plug it in!) In addition: I'd really like to hear more from people who are using Tarot as an inspirational or creative tool, whatever your art. Is anyone dancing the Tarot? Miming it? Singing it? Scuplting it? Is anyone making grilled cheese sandwiches with Tarot cards burned into the bread? ;)

Scion	07 Dec 2004
... Thinking about something I read at Mark's site, and the stuff in this thread I tried something new tonight. I was having a script meeting with a director going over rewrites and his questions about the play we're working on together. About an hour in, we hit this question about a turning point in the second act that we couldn't get a handle on. We each knew vaguely what we wanted, but not exactly how to do it, or even which of the characters in the scene needed to "own" that moment. Out of the blue (and inspired by Aeclectic) I offered to do a reading, "just for kicks." My director was intrigued, and a little wary, but then got pulled in by the cards (International Icon, natch) and there it all was in the spread. As I mentioned earlier, I think the "matrix" of the relevant cards lets you get a grip on the play because (like a person) a play is a matrix of ideas/words/characters/events as well . Actually, we almost wound up reading the spread together, me giving definitions and my take as my director did the same. Talking through the cards together gave us a way to work out that moment in the play organically. Go know. The cards keep finding new ways to make themselves read. Scion

Fudugazi	08 Dec 2004
MarkMcElroy wrote: As for the other writers here: how are you using Tarot? Are you reading for characters, as Scion discusses? Are you generating characters? Are you using the Tarot as a source of random story input? (The professor over my MFA work in creative writing used a television the same way: he'd keep on turned on, with the volume down, whenever he worked. When he got stuck with a story, he'd glance up at the screen and use whatever he saw. Personally, I think Tarot works better for this ... and you don't have to plug it in!) Also, there's so much cliché on television. Of course, one can read tarot in a hackneyed manner too. How do you keep your tarot readings - and therefore your writing - fresh and imaginative? Or is it one among many methods that you use (I love museums myself, all sorts, and markets, and café conversations.)

MarkMcElroy	08 Dec 2004
Helvetica wrote: How do you keep your tarot readings - and therefore your writing - fresh and imaginative? Or is it one among many methods that you use (I love museums myself, all sorts, and markets, and café conversations.) Tarot's one of many methods I have for "refreshing" my personal well of creativity. Like you, I make deliberate effort to immerse myself in life, too. To keep Tarot fresh: - I read constantly, even the "bad" books, in search of interesting ideas and unique perspectives - I participate in the on-line communities - I try interpreting each card using the perspective of another card as a "lens." What, for example, would the Hierophant mean when passing you the Six of Swords? - I commit myself to listing ten associations for the first ten items I spy on a given card. - I think in terms of my assumptions (what do I do over and over again without thinking?) and make an effort to defy those assumptions and see Tarot in a new light. - I allow context to govern my perception of a card, whether supplied by a spread, a template, or the question at hand. The result, so far, has been a constant stream of fresh ideas and perspectives!

The Reading for your writing thread was originally posted on 06 Dec 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.