writing exercise with the tarot

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Magical Spell

/ Twist the Leaf / 3 Comments

Pull (at least) three cards and use them to write about a magical spell.

The Magus Arcana Deck

There was once a young girl (The Fool) named Emmaline that spent all of her time frolicking by herself (The Hermit) in the forest among the Fae. They taught her many things (The Hierophant) and filled her days with an abundance of joy (The Sun).

Her mother was worried for her daughters safety (The Empress), and did everything in her power to dissuade Emmaline from going out into the woods on her own (The Magician).  When nothing seemed to work, the mother eventually consulted with the old crone witch that lived at the edge of their village (The High Priestess).

The witch was powerful and used her significant magical abilities (Strength) to cast a spell upon Emmaline and pin the girl in place at home (The Hanged Man).

It worked! But it made Emmaline very sad, and the Fae missed her very much (The Tower). So much so that they came to rescue the little girl (The Chariot) and allowed Emmaline to choose if she wanted to live in the forest forever or stay at home with her mother (The Lovers).

Emmaline chose the woods (Death).

The Fae’s powerful magic broke the spell and the little girl bounded off into the forest with the Fae, never to be seen again by human eyes (The World).

DECK USED:  THE MAGUS ARCANA DECK

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Childhood Antics

/ Twist the Leaf / 2 Comments

Draw up to three cards from your tarot (or oracle) and use them for guidance in choosing  something to share with us about your childhood.

IMG_4794The Emperor (Ego) –  Once when I was very young (around the age of 9 or 10) my sister and I decided to do an impromptu ritual in our front yard.   We had been doing our own rituals and spellcraft for quite some time, and we were both very confident in our abilities.

The Star (Elation) – We set  up everything outside and began our ritual.  Everything was going along great.  We had been very careful in our set up and things were going smoothly.

Justice (The Lesson) – Until I accidentally bumped the small makeshift altar we’d set up using a wooden stool, and one of the candles toppled off into the dry summer grass.  We were both barefoot and the little cup of water we had for offering didn’t put out the flames (which are incredibly difficult to SEE on dry grass in the middle of the day, by the way.  I had to run and untangle the hose, turn it on and then bring it back, because we were not prepared!   Half the yard burned before we managed to get the fire out.

Moral of the Story –  When preparing for ritual or spellcraft?  It’s not enough to prepare to do the ritual or spell.  You have to prepare for if things go wrong as well.   ie: If you’re playing with fire in the middle of a yard of dry grass?  Have the hose ready and the water already turned on.

DECK USED:  THE STITCH RABBIT TAROT

 

Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Pages

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Pull the Pages from a deck of your choice. Do you have someone in your life that fits with one of these cards? Do you have people in your life that would fit with each of them? Tell us about the connection you see between each Page card and the person in your life it represents.

Trippin' Waite Tarot

Page of Pentacles –  Slow and steady wins the race is the story of her life.  She always loved the story of the turtle and the hare growing up, and she has spent her life following the example the turtle set.  She saves her pennies and contributes to the dreams of others, and now as she finally comes to a point in her life where she has everything together and security in place, it’s time to turn her attention to learning how to preserve what she has gained and help it to flourish and grow.

Page of Cups – Curiosity and self expression have filled his life with a journey filled with flavors and colors and a vast world of imagination and swirling seas of emotional experiences.  He’s loved and lost and loved again, and he brings his heart and soul and vulnerability into each project and relationship he is a part of.  This has served him well and he’s grown and learned from mistakes, gathered in those that are just right for him and support his dreams, letting others fall away that do not.   Now with those that make his heart sing around him, he seeks to step forward and learn more about his emotions, his relationships, and the world around him through the eyes of imagination and intuition.

Page of Wands – An entrepreneur at heart, he is a man of many hats and has explored every interest and passion that has come his way.  He started a business all his own and rode the ups and downs that come with striking out on your own.  He follows his passions and sometimes? It doesn’t work out quite as planned.  Now, finds himself once more at the first step of a journey… except this time? He will do things differently.  This business will have all of the benefits of the lessons learned from the one that failed before.

Page of Swords – Her life has been filled with struggle and strife. She’s been knocked down once and again, stabbed in the back by others and battled her own inner demons. Coming out the other side, she has learned that even the worst of experiences have something to learn within them. She takes these experiences with with her now, and seeks to turn them into expertise.

DECK USED:  THE TRIPPIN’ WAITE TAROT

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Jason

/ Twist the Leaf / Leave a comment

Pull (at least) three cards and use them as the basis to write something that ends with the word “wrath”.

IMG_4423

Jason’s Story

One early spring day I was out for a walk with my girl (The Lovers) without a care in the world (Temperance) when an old man approached us and stopped us upon our path. Man was old and weathered, and yet he had a strange energy about him it made him feel as if he was in the know on many many things (The Hierophant and The High Priestess).

He told me that I would be tempted (The Devil) in the near future and that whatever choice I made in this that moment would be the choice to decide my fate (Wheel of Fortune), and so I should choose wisely and follow my heart (The Star).

At the time I thought he was talking gibberish (The Fool).

Later in the day when I was back at home alone (The Hermit), I got a phone call from an ex (Death) who wanted to get back together with me and I have to admit I feel really flattered and it was a huge ego boost (The Emperor) because she broke up with me… not the other way around.

Suddenly the temptation was before me and I remembered with the old man had said.

Thought about my girlfriend and how she would feel (Judgement)… and about how I feel about her and I realize that I already had everything I need. So I told my ex to take a hike (Strength and The Chariot).

Little did I know at the time, but a private investigator (The Magician) had been hired by my girlfriends father and he had orchestrated the whole thing!  Fortunately, I managed to pass his test and avoid his wrath (The Sun).

DECK USED:  THE BLUE BIRDS’ TAROT BY TADAHIKO KAWAGUCHI

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Ghost Story

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Draw up to three cards and use them as a guide in depicting and/or
describing a day in the life of a ghost.

Alis Luminis Playing Cards

A Saturday with Father Andrew

Father Andrew couldn’t leave.  The church and his flock was his life, and he could not abandon them, even in death.   And so the father lingered in the church, watching his flock as the children grew and the elderly passed on.  He watched over the new priest that took his place, and the new priest after that as well.

Things change, plans change… but his flock continues to live on through the generations that came before, and now Father Andrew spends his days sitting with the grandchildren and great grandchildren of his flock.

On this Saturday morning, he stands with his predecessor at the altar.  The tall ghost lingers in the background, close enough to the young priest’s back to look over the man’s shoulder at the book lying open in the man’s hand.

Before them stands two young women, and as vows are spoken he glows with pride behind the living priest.  He glows with pride because the great grand-daughter of his brother’s wife is about to marry the love of her life… and he gets to be there to oversee the service. (Jack of Hearts)

Later in the day after the wedding party has moved on to celebrate the sacred union of love and commitment, those that come in next are tortured with guilt and struggle with the weight of the world upon their shoulders.  He joins these decedents of his flock in this as well.  He sits with them in the little booth, as they confess their sins to the priest on the other side of the divide.  Sits quietly to listen to their struggles and the trials of their life, he listens to the good and the bad and even the ugly with silent empathy. (Three of Spades).

In the evening after the confessionals are quiet and the chapel is empty, he waits. And she comes as she has always came… and as he knows she always will. His beloved’s grand daughter comes. Once young and sweet, now bend with age, she comes every Saturday to sit in the front pew and pay respects to her ancestors and the glory of God.  She comes and sits… and he sits with her each visit. Every visit.

Although she thinks she is alone in this time of quiet that fills her heart and soul with the gentle glow of joy and hope, in truth he sits at her side as she gives thanks for all she has had, all she has, and all that she will be blessed with in the days to come. (Nine of Hearts)

DECK USED:  ALIS LUMINIS PLAYING CARDS

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Home Connection

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Draw three cards. Find something around your home (or where you’re currently staying) that you feel represents each of the cards. Draw, paint, artistically photograph, collage, or otherwise depict these items in some way.)

IMG_4266

The Magician – As you can see in the background behind this card, I really am the man with all the tools.  Having 900+ decks takes up a great deal of room, but in this picture you can see that behind the Magician card is a good selection of decks that I use somewhat regularly or keep out for specific clients.

The High Priestess – This card is placed upon my altar, which is where I connect via a daily devotional with the energies of creation, evolution, and balance as well as elemental energies and the energies of my ancestors and guides.  This is where secrets are whispered on exhaled breaths, gratitude is expressed with an open heart, and the invitation to bring the energies previously mentioned into my day begins.

The Star – I grow pansies on my balcony every year because their blooming faces make me feel light and happy as no other flower can.  I find them uplifting and I feel that the energy of the Star card fits perfectly with that happy and yet calming and hopeful energy that pansies create for me. In the picture here behind the card you see one of my balcony troughs full of pansies and, behind that, my lilac tree and the alley that runs behind my building.

DECK USED:  THE SOLIPSIST TAROT