Let's get (meta)physical!
Happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out there!
Yesterday, my best friend and I dug out our Tarot decks for the Virginia Romance Writer's April meeting on ‘Tarot Cards for Writers’ presented by Paula Chaffee Scardamalia. To learn more, click here to see her website.
Her session ranks as one of my favorites so far. First, she spoke about the history of Tarot and cleared up some common misconceptions about the cards. She then proceeded to talk about how Tarot can be used as a useful tool for writers both to gain introspection about their writing process and their work.
Tarot consists of 78 cards divided into the major arcana: Magician, High Priestess, Emperor, Empress, Death, Fool, etc. and the minor arcana, which is then subdivided into four suits: pentacles, cups, wands, and swords. Each of the minor arcana has the ace through ten and also page, knight, queen, and king. Each of these cards has an image with a meaning associated with it. As Paula explained, these cards represent a stage in a quest and incorporate archetypes or common themes that cross cultures, such as wealth, exhaustion, mastery, death. Each card also has links to the four elements and astrology.
Now before you say "Right but isn't this just like horoscopes, coincidental?" Sure, some of it is, but Paula emphasized this is a tool to gain insight, much like meditation, laying out a spread of cards may trigger thoughts or ideas you haven't considered previously.
With that disclaimer out of the way, everyone in the room started getting chills as consistently we each pulled cards unique to our characters and our journey. As we worked with different spreads, Paula circulated the room posing questions for us to consider when the cards appeared to have nothing to do with our question. Once she had guided our thinking, Paula then offered a brief reading on the card we had pulled, and let me tell you what, she knows what she's talking about. When she spoke, it felt like we were the only people in the room and she pulled insights out of the cards no one volunteered. I wasn't the only one with a few hair raising experiences.
For our first exercise, Paula instructed us to ask a question either about our journey or a plot or character and write it down. If we didn't have a pressing question, she suggested we ask, "What do I need to know?" Then invited us to pull a random card from three of the decks she had on the table.
My question was, "Is my book ready?" For some background, I've been wrestling with how much polishing is enough.
Here's my card. At first glance, I sat confused. This answer was NOT what I had been looking for.
The ten of cups. Paula instructed us to look at the imagery and try to avoid reaching for the little book to help us decipher the meaning. Here are some notes:
looks like my cat, Luke, and my old dog, Sandy
they're asleep by the fire
Mars and Pisces are present in the picture
peaceful
Paula came over and offered her insights as well, posing questions such as "Why would Mars be present? Am I determined? Do I overwork myself?"
I didn't answer, but my best friend started cracking up, ratting me and my issues out. Paula then pointed out that Pisces represents fighting with ourselves, and how ten is the completion of the cycle or quest. The card represents homecoming, relaxation, internal peace, and letting things go.
Okaaaaaaaaaay, anyone else weirded out with how accurate that is?
Throughout the day we continued to pull spreads, exploring different ways we could use the cards for various problems writers encounters with Paula's guidance into how to read the cards. For several people, the same card kept appearing throughout the day. Here's mine:
The ace of swords.
Here are my notes:
ace is the start of the cycle since the ace is low in Tarot.
Swords according to Paula's handouts is representative of the element of air, intellect, plans, and problem-solving. The ace represents beginnings, initiations, spark, or ideas.
As you can see, the sword comes out of the clouds representing the beginning of the quest or inspiration. The mountains in the background represent it will not be an easy journey ahead. I feel more like the ace of swords represented in the Druidcraft deck as shown below.
Ha! Anyone else feeling a little overwhelmed. Either way, I’ll take the meaning. Time to let go and start something new.
I won't go into all of the spreads, but if you would like more information, Paula's new book is out! Tarot For Fictions Writers is available wherever books are sold.
Here's to moving into the future!
Onward!
Kathryn
