Writing a Tarot Blog

[Obsydian]

So I have a professional website with a blog on it, but I'm at a loss as to what to write. I'm feeling very uninspired lately, and I don't want to write about all the same things everyone else does.

How do you other bloggers find the inspiration? Do you write about just tarot, or do you write about whatever you want?

(not to mention going under a lot of stress in my non-tarot life is throwing me off course, trying to distract myself.)

 

[Grizabella]

Oh boy! Does this ever hit home with me! I just started a blog that I want to partially devote to Tarot and other divination methods and I just can't think of what to post to start off the Tarot part of the blog. There are SO many bloggers already who have said whatever there is to say, probably much better than I can, that I just can't figure out where my niche is. I'll be very interested in the replies you get here. Thanks for bringing it up.

 

[JackofWands]

I would say that as a reader, I always appreciate blogs that are more in-depth and personal than just card-of-the-day posts or "What does the Eight of Pentacles mean?" LWB-style posts. I like seeing personal reflections on cards, anecdotal experiences from reading, thoughts on different reading techniques, and so on. So that's the kind of content I try to emulate in my blog. I think that for me, the key is that my blog is a reflection of my personal relationship to Tarot. I'm not trying to teach Tarot to other people, it's not a "how-to", and I'm not interested in offering readings en masse (i.e. "I pulled the Empress for this week; if you're reading this post, then this week is a good time to cultivate projects...").

My Tarot blog is, in many ways, a Tarot journal, filled with my various thoughts about Tarot and the way I use it. Having it online, and public, gives me a sense of commitment and forces me to post regularly.

Part of what may help, if you're just starting a blog, is determining who you want your audience to be. Are you writing for potential clients? Other readers? How much does your ideal reader know about Tarot? Starting there can help shape the content you produce.

 

[Obsydian]

Thank you JackofWands, the was very helpful! You have given me some inspiration for sure.

I recently wrote about how the page of cups was my signifier, pretty personal. I'll just have to keep at it.

 

[AJ]

Member blog list here
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=163288
might give you some ideas.

My advice? If you aren't normally a writer of words, letters, limericks, book, whatever, you will find blogging heavy going.
#2. If it isn't interesting enough to engage you long enough to write it, it won't engage a reader long enough to have them revisit or follow.

the last thing I want to see on a blog? A blog that is nothing but a glorified LWB (the tiny book that comes with decks)

 

[delinfrey]

I love JackofWands' blog!

That said, I write about a heap of different Tarot-related topics, and I try to emphasize the stuff I know (kabbalah etc), what I feel could be useful and/or inspiring to other readers or just Tarot enthusiasts.

When I feel a lack of inspiration, I find it helps to embark on some sort of a journey - once I had a blog for a project that I did, where I tried to pray every day, 10 religions, 10 prayers each, so that would be a 100 prayers altogether - and write about my feelings or experiences while doing so. I only ever got to 35 I think... But it was fun!

Same with Tarot - if you are feeling uninspired, just take on a challenge or do something exciting with it and blog about your experiences. Take on a completely new system, for example.

 

[SwordOfTruth]

Tarot is such a broad subject, don't attempt to write an encyclopaedia for it. Just focus on what you do well with tarot and leave the rest. There are thousands of tarot blogs out there but I enjoy the ones with a speciality. Even just blogs dedicated to a particular deck, are more interesting to me than the LWB rehashes that try and cover everrthing and end up doing none of it well.

 

[kittydorkdork]

I just recently started a tarot blog. I have been blogging off and on (about various things) since 199something but never really stuck with it. This time I'm really hoping to stick with it, make connections, and make something useful, so I'm totally going to follow this thread.

I'm trying really hard to create a blog that I would want to see and what I normally want to see in a tarot blog is information that's easy to access and free, something that's entertaining or educational. I plan on doing book and deck reviews but I'm also doing some personal readings that spell out my thought process (trying, at least). I'm also just being myself there. Just a silly, foul mouthed, and not too serious tarot reader.

Something I started doing was answering questions I've seen pop up on a different forum (i.e. "One of my cards is damaged, what do I do?"). I've only done 2 but it seemed like a good idea to try to have some advice posts. You never know who will come along and find exactly the bit of advice they need, even if it's been said elsewhere 100 times.

Something else I'm trying to do with my other blogs is I keep something nearby to write in if I stumble across an idea to write about. Usually its written straight into a draft post and saved for later. Unfortunately WordPress seems to eat a lot of my drafts so I've been set back by a few months. I'm going to start using a notebook.

Well I hope that was helpful to some degree.

 

[Citrin]

I agree with whoever wrote that a "personal" tarot blog is much more interesting than a blog that describes card meanings. I have at least 5-7 books at home with card meanings, why would I use a blog then? That just bores me...

If you're into other forms of divination or if you're into spirituality I'd write about that! That inspires me a lot when reading about it. I like Kelly-Ann Maddox blog and also Gaia (LugoYoga), they inspire me a lot.

 

[Grizabella]

My blog is a mixture of a bunch of things because it seems easier to keep it all on one blog.