Requesting help! Tarot as characters.

Unashmd_Creatvty

I'm embarking on the creation of an utterly enormous story and am using the meanings behind tarot cards as an integral part of it.
In this story there are 12 realms with a number of 'heroes' each. The heroes number from 1 to 12, for a total (1+2+3+...+12) of 78 characters. These characters are supposed to together embody the many facets of the human spirit and I was hoping to give them each a tarot card.

For each character, the tarot card could represent their mindset at the start of their personal journey, the attitude or action they always fall back on, or the most important point in their journey. Certainly these 78 characters do not all follow the path of the typical hero, many turning to darker paths or having their life ended before their path could even take shape. Rather, they are all meant to be very human and their card is simply something I can call back to as a reminder of who they are.

My request is for advice on if this idea seems good at all, if a single tarot card is too narrow of a meaning to apply to a character, and finally for help splitting the tarot deck into a dynamic and usable cast.

This thread specifically will be used for answering large scale global questions. If you think about it and ask some questions and you're still on board for helping, I'm guessing PMs, email, or a small Skype group would be the best way to facilitate the discussion.

Thank you!
 

Achlys

That seems like a ton of characters!
Are they all going to be main characters?
If not, maybe have the main characters' personalities be like the Major Arcana, and the supporting characters as the Minor Arcana.
Although using the cards as their personalities is good, but if you want them to be well-developed I'd also give them unique traits and mannerisms.
 

Unashmd_Creatvty

A great question! All 78 characters will feature in the story, but there will definitely be a VAST difference in how much "screen time" they get. In fact some characters will, unfortunately, get killed without having much of an impact at all. I say this as both a "this is likely to happen" and a "this is an important lesson to learn about the unfortunate chaos of being human". However, my goal is to have every single one of these 78 characters be somewhat memorable in their own way. Not everyone gets to be a main character in life, but everyone leaves memories behind.

The characters with the Major Arcana as their card will absolutely be the driving force behind the events of the story. These characters will either have much more screen time or will be doing a LOT of things behind the scenes. They will, in a manner of speaking, be the main characters, yes.

A card is not meant to be all encompassing of its character's personality. Rather, it is the set of ideals and words that underline the rest of the character's traits and mannerisms. Just because the Five of Cups is about loss doesn't mean the character who represents that card has to continuously play the martyr. Instead, they could have an extremely significant moment where they experience loss and it shapes the entirety of their actions and their impact on the story from that point on.
 

uraszz

A great question! All 78 characters will feature in the story, but there will definitely be a VAST difference in how much "screen time" they get. In fact some characters will, unfortunately, get killed without having much of an impact at all. I say this as both a "this is likely to happen" and a "this is an important lesson to learn about the unfortunate chaos of being human". However, my goal is to have every single one of these 78 characters be somewhat memorable in their own way. Not everyone gets to be a main character in life, but everyone leaves memories behind.

The characters with the Major Arcana as their card will absolutely be the driving force behind the events of the story. These characters will either have much more screen time or will be doing a LOT of things behind the scenes. They will, in a manner of speaking, be the main characters, yes.

A card is not meant to be all encompassing of its character's personality. Rather, it is the set of ideals and words that underline the rest of the character's traits and mannerisms. Just because the Five of Cups is about loss doesn't mean the character who represents that card has to continuously play the martyr. Instead, they could have an extremely significant moment where they experience loss and it shapes the entirety of their actions and their impact on the story from that point on.

I'd love to help you with the development of this project. This clarification here is what I needed

I don't know why but the 7 of Wands came to my mind. A character that may be a courageous person or someone who doesn't stand up for him/herself but might be the key turning point in his/her story

I feel like this has a lot of potential

Sincerely

-uraszz
 

VGimlet

This sounds really interesting. As a reader character is one of my main draws. Now that I think of it, as a viewer too.

The interesting thing about tarot is one card can have many meanings, so you'd have a lot of flexibility as to how the cards were applied to the characters.
 

Unashmd_Creatvty

This sounds really interesting. As a reader character is one of my main draws. Now that I think of it, as a viewer too.

The interesting thing about tarot is one card can have many meanings, so you'd have a lot of flexibility as to how the cards were applied to the characters.

Yes, okay, thank you. That's what I was thinking originally, but I began to doubt myself as I realized how one-dimensional the cards can feel sometimes. I just gotta make sure the characters have a fleshed out personality on TOP of the card.