I used to use Tarot cards for writing. I heard Stephen King did the same thing for his books, but that could be a lie. Tarot cards are good for writing because of the imagery in the illustrations on each card. Each card has meaning, whether you pick up the Three of Cups or the King of Swords.

I remember reading a book about the Tarot and how you can formulate scenes by using the deck of cards. The four different symbols represent something different. Cups, which can hold water, represent emotion. Swords, which are sharp, represent intellect. Wands represent the arts and creativity. And, finally, the coins, as you would guess, represent money and fortune. So, if someone pulls out a Two of Coins, a King of Wands, and an Ace of Cups, you could say that character is poor because you drew only the Two of Coins from the deck, but he’s also massively creative because you drew the King of Wands, and can also handle his emotions because you drew the Ace of Cups. How would that translate in a scene? Suppose he gets into an argument with his spouse about money. He doesn’t have much, which spawns a fight. But he can handle it because he can manage his emotions, and he controls the argument in an artful way. That might be a poor example because I just thought of it, but it’s something to try if a writer feels stuck in a scene or what to write about if he wants to write a story.

I would write a scene using a single Tarot card. For instance, the Moon. There’s a Moon card. I don’t know right off to bat what the Moon card represents, nor the Tower card.

A friend of mine wanted me to give his fortune over the phone a long time ago. I did my best, and I remember I drew the Tower from the deck, and I had to read the meaning from the little book that came with it. The Tower card shows a fire at the tower, with people falling off of it. So you know it represents something dark and foreboding, something my friend didn’t want to hear. I read what the book said, and his exuberance fell off like the people on the tower. He didn’t want his fortune read any longer. I didn’t know what he was expecting.

The Tarot isn’t full of just happiness and good fortune. It could draw something completely dark. For example, let’s say you pull three cards, and they’re all lower cards such as the Two of Cups, the Three of Wands, and the Four of Swords. If you’re doing a character study, that’s a weak character. His intellect is low. He can’t handle his emotions. And he’s not very inspired. That’s all for the moment though. If you’re writing a scene with those cards, the character might make a dumb decision and lose control of his anger and isn’t motivated enough to fix the situation. Maybe he robs a bank, and he starts shooting people because his anger takes over after his plans are ruined, and he even shoots at the cops when they show up. I just thought of that example. I’m sure you can think of something better. My point is the possibilities are endless with the use of Tarot cards. I recommend them to anyone who wants to jumpstart a story or a character study, anything to get into a rhythm.