using tarot in writing

Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Walk

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Pull (at least) three cards and use them to… describe a walk outside.

Akira Uno's Spiritual Tarot

The Hike – 3500 Feet in 3.2 Miles

Strength – Exiting the car is the easiest part of the day.  The little gray Prius is parked in the small lot hidden among the trees and he exits the car to pull out his pack.   Turning off his phone it is slipped into one of the pockets of the pack before the small daypack is slid onto his back and the trunk is closed.

Moving to the trailhead, he pauses at a post with a wooden box upon it.  Lifting the lid, as expected, what is found inside is a notebook and a tethered pencil.  The pencil is picked up and his name is written down along with the date and the time, as well as the anticipated time he would be on the trail.   The box is then closed and left behind as he moves to take the first steps upon the spongy soft ground of the trail.

Following the path to a small bridge that crosses a busily babbling stream, booted feet find the other side and he looks up the sheer face before him.  Breathing deeply the damp, musty air filled with the scents of evergreens and decay, his gaze follows the zigzag of the trail going up the mountain as far as the trees will allow.

The hike to the top is just over three miles, with an elevation change of 3500 feet in that short distance.  Nearly 1200 feet of elevation per mile of trail making it one of the most difficult trails accessible to the general pubic.

Hanged Man – As he makes his way along the switchback trail, following the long stretches of straight that zigzag up the mountain and sharp turns at the end of each, muscles stretch and blood pumps.  His body protests as his body demands more oxygen to fuel the effort put fort as each step along the path is the same as taking a double step on a staircase… without the staircase.

Using roots and rocks as footholds, each breath becomes an agony and a pleasure at once, the fresh air filling his lungs even as his lungs ache greedily for more and more.  A sheen of sweat coating flesh blending a hint of clean sweat and personal scent into the damp crispness of the air.

But over time, the body adjusts and breathing evens out.  Refusing to stop, refusing to pause and catch his breath or rest, the agony increases and increases… and then finally begins to fade.  To shift as the fire in muscles turns into a warm, wobbly burn.

Judgement – Each quarter mile is marked, but it is not those markers he seeks but rather the green sign with white letters high up upon a tree where the trail finally splits.  The words “Summit Loop” a blessing.   It is the holy grail that does not truly mean the end… but rather a shining light of hope that tells him that he’s done good and is getting there.

When he comes upon that split in the trail and the beautiful sign, he finally takes a moment to pause in the bliss of being over half way there.  A hand lifting to press against the stitch that quickly develops in his side as his body’s adjustment to the extreme exertion now tries to settle and relax.

Pulling off his pack, he pauses to down half a bottle of water, and finish off a couple of protein bars, his back resting against one of the trees off-path as he looks up at the gray sky and lets the crisp bite in the air at this new elevation cool him down and dry the sweat on his skin.

Justice – Eventually he has to get up and continue upon his climb, and his body screams in protest as muscles that had tightened up now object to rising and joints that are stiffened try to move.

Familiar with the trail, he takes the left side of the split, choosing to take the steepest part of the loop first so that he climbs it rather than giving his knees the agony of trying to going down that incline.   Muscles screaming and lungs aching once more, he pays for his break upon the spit in the trail with a steep decrease in the stamina he’d gained over the nearly two miles he’d hiked thus far.

As he continues to climb upon the trail, trees become more scarce and the spongy earth beneath his feet turns harder, jutting rocks breaking through the soil become footholds on the incline as he pushes on, forcing his body to keep moving through the pain and promising that it will be worth it once he reaches the peak.

The Hermit – As he climbs this steepest part of the trail, the treeline opens up.  Jagged silvery spikes of an old forest fire open up the view on one side of the trail, the other side filled with sparse woodland that slopes down and away the way he had come.

Here and there remnants of snow linger on the ground, tucked into the crevices of rocks and grooves between tree roots.  Scenic views of the valley beyond, the peak of another climb not far off, and the large shimmering lake far below greet him and soothe the pain even as he continues on, fresh air now crisp and cold chills the tip of his nose and his cheeks.

Soon he arrives at at a small outcropping of rocks, and a sign that indicates that he has reached the peak of 4301 feet.  Here he stops and removes his pack, setting his ass upon the rock and tilting his head back to catch his breath.

Here he will linger.  He will sit and enjoy the view and the chill in the air. He will eat lunch and he will hydrate.  He will meditate, and he will enjoy this time alone, savoring the feel of muscles well worked and lungs washed clean of the pollution of the city so that they can be filled instead with fresh, crisp air.

Soon he will have to take the trip back down… but for now?  He will savor the fact that he is the only human for miles and soak in the peace and solitude.

DECK USED:  AKIRA UNO’S SPIRITUAL TAROT

 

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Vacation

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Pull up to three cards and use them to… create and/or describe your perfect vacation.

I 22 Arcani FiabeschiNo vacation would be right
without you along
I need you at my side
or else everything just goes wrong

Together there is fun and joy
and a lot of indulging in pleasure and play
In the end it doesn’t matter where we go
It’s being with you that makes my day

DECK USED:  I 22 ARCANI VIABESCHI

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Story Time

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Pull (at least) three cards and use them to… write about either a real or fictional abandoned building.

IMG_3225

Loew’s 175th Street Theatre – Manhattan – 1969

He was once a pillar of the community (La Force) where people came together and socialize. A beacon of light to all that shined brightly on even the darkest of nights (Le Judgement).

Disrepair came upon him as less and less people came to visit and upkeep decreased, allowing deterioration to sneak in.

Then one day the lights shut down and the doors were barred.  Seats were left to gather dust that had once gathered rumps of rapt men and women and children. (L’ermite)

Many people felt they no longer needed the hope that he represented (Le Fou), while others found other ways to entertain, uplift, and educate themselves (Le Faucheur and Le Bateleur).

Now what had once stood tall crumbles (la Maison Dieu) with neglect in an uncertain world (La Lune).

And yet still, he his hopeful (Les Etoiles) that in time a new purpose will come (Le Pendu and Wheel of Fortune) and people will return once more (Le Monde).

DECK USED: ZANONI TAROT
Inspiration for this story comes from the Loew’s 175th Street Theatre in Manhattan

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Character Creation

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Pull up to three cards and use them to… create and/or describe a fictional character.

Tarocchi Di Hokusai

One of The Nameless

Even in his youth, he was already an old man.  His grandmother saw it the first time she looked into his infant blue eyes, and even once that newborn shade darkened into a dark shade of brown, she wasn’t able to look back again.

It wasn’t just that his eyes were filled with an age he had yet to have lived, it was the desolate coldness in the rich brown gaze. There was a darkness there that went far beyond color.

As he grew up, he had no friends. It wasn’t that he wasn’t good looking, or even that he had some mysterious appeal.  It was just that he didn’t want them.  He felt no connection to them, and thus preferred to be alone.

This made him a perfect candidate for recruitment after he’d left the military, and the agency that picked him up trained him in skills that the military only hinted at, then began sending him on the kind of top secret missions that changed the world, one assassination at a time.

DECK USED: TAROCCHI DI HOKUSAI

Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Phone Call

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Pull at least three cards and use them to… write about a (real or fictional) call that was a wrong number.

La Corte dei Tarocchi

The Phone Call

There came a time many years ago where a boy filled with youth and potential (Il Sole) lay within a bed, his body broken into pieces (La Torre di Babele).

Lying within the bed after one of the many surgeries needed to put the boy’s body back together, he almost ignored the call when the phone beside his bed rang.  Almost. Instead, exhausted and disheartened, he answered.

On the other side of the line came a man’s voice.  A voice he had never heard before.  The man was confused and struggling, driving in the rain and lost in an unfamiliar city.  He was on his way to a blind date, and couldn’t figure out which way to go (Gli Innamorati). He had meant to call his date and get directions, but had clearly dialed the wrong number.

The man, oblivious to the boy’s own plight,  was all worked up and expressed that he was greatly tempted to just turn around and go back home (Il Diavolo), writing his date off as a flop and accepting (although mournfully) that perhaps he was meant to be alone forever (L’eremita).

The boy in his recovery bed felt bad for the man and his struggle.  He felt that no one that longed so deeply to find a connection with another should allow their fear to keep them from finding that connection, and he said as much to the man.

He told the man that he should go through with the date, because after all… what if (La Ruota della Fortuna) this woman is the person that the man has been waiting for his entire life? (Il Guidizio)

In talking with the boy, this premise gave the man hope (Le Stelle), and he decided to try and go through with the date after all.

The boy in his bed did a search of the man’s destination on his tablet, and pulled up a map with directions (Il Bagatto) to the place that the man was supposed to go.  As the man drove, the boy talked the man through the steps to get to his destination (La Luna and Il Carro).

Once at his destination, the call ended with the boy wishing the man good luck, and the boy then went back to his rest and healing.  The call was soon  forgotten in the fog of medications, surgeries, and physiotherapy in the days and months that passed.

Then one day, a few months later, the boy’s phone rang again with an unfamiliar number. Again it was the same man!  This time calling calm and happy (La Temperanza) and wanting to thank the boy.

He told the boy that on the night of the first call, the man had been dead set on going home.  But, the boy’s encouragement had given him hope and, in going through with the date, he had indeed met the person he’s been waiting his entire life to find.  The man had called to thank the boy, for the man’s life had completely transformed because of this date (La Morte), and he told the boy that he and the woman from the blind date were going to be married (Il Papa).  This news gave the boy pleasure and hope, and he worked even harder to recover so that he could dance at their wedding.

DECK USED: LA CORTE DEI TAROCCHI

 

The Water Sprite and The Tree Nymph – Story Time

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Pull at least three cards and use them to… tell us a story about love at first sight.

Sad Story Tarot by Kwon Shina

The Water Sprite and The Tree Nymph

Once upon a time there was a handsome water sprite that had become inextricably tangled up (The Devil) within the reeds and weeds of a relationship with an evil overlord. (Emperor)

The overlord was cruel and manipulative, always controlling the water sprite’s every action and word through guilt and anger, and using the sprite to spread discontent over the land and hurt those that lived and played too near the sprite’s pond. (Hierophant)

The water sprite did not realize he was unhappy in this relationship, and had been within it so long that he had become deaf to his inner voice when it tried to speak up and tell him things were not right. Yet, the more time went on, the more the sprite withdrew from others in order to protect them from the overlord’s evil ways. (The Hermit).

Then one day while within the embrace of his solitude, the water sprite spied a tree nymph that he’d never seen in that part of the woods before. From his pond, the sprite watched the nymph dancing among the trees with fascination, peering from the shadows with wonder and awe. (The Hanged Man)

The water sprite watched from afar for a long time, and then came a day when the tree nymph danced much closer to the sprite’s pond.  In the water sprite’s excitement at this new proximity to the object of his fascination, he forgot himself and shared his admiration for the tree nymph with the overlord (Extra Card), who immediately began to simmer with jealous anger.

Making grand plans for using this situation to his advantage later on, the overlord sent the water sprite out to seduce the nymph, demanding that he get the fascination for the tree nymph out of the sprite’s system. (The Fool)

The overlord had used this tactic on him before, but the water sprite was so eager to follow the shinning spark in his heart that he leapt at the chance the overlord had given him. He seduced the tree nymph (The Lovers), and found that his need for the nymph did not become sated as it had in the past when this had happened.  Instead, each touch and taste only caused his need for the tree nymph to grow ever stronger (Wheel of Fortune). And thus he seduced the nymph again and then again, and with each seduction he became even more entangled within his feelings and fascination.

This enraged the overlord, who ranted and raged his displeasure and used everything in his vast arsenal to tear down the water sprite and rip him apart (The Tower) so that he could then bring the water sprite “back in line”. As a part of his plan to force the water sprite into submission, the overlord cast him out, severing their relationship, and the water sprite was left battered and bruised and lost in the forest of his guilt and emotions. (The Moon)

The tree nymph, having heard something had happened and that the water sprite was upset, approached the water sprite to offer comfort and friendship (Temperance). And, while doing so, unknowingly spoke magic words of wisdom that broke the spell of the overlord’s hold upon the water sprite (The Sun).

The reeds and weeds that the water sprite had been entangled within were cut away with these words, and the water sprite found that he could stretch himself tall and breathe fresh air once more. (Strength)

With this newfound strength, he could see clearly that the fascination that he had for the tree nymph was not fascination or obsession at all. It was love! (Death)

When the overlord came back to collect the broken water sprite, having believed he was leaving the sprite tangled up and withering in the tangled reeds of guilt and misery, he found instead that the water sprite was no longer tangled at all and had, in fact, slipped completely from the overlord’s reach. (Justice)

The water sprite had found his love, and his heart shone with it bright as any star in the sky (The Star). The tree nymph had given the water sprite his freedom, and the water sprite began a new journey. A journey out of reach of the overlord’s grasp. A journey filled with nurturing and love as he begins to endeavor to show the tree nymph just how good they could be… together. (Empress)

DECK USED: SAD STORY TAROT BY KWON SHINA