The first time I read the following quote by Inna Semetsky (which appears in her 2008 article “Simplifying Complexity: Know thyself…and Others”), I was like….whoa….this makes my head hurt…what in the world?

The second time I read it, I was like…Yes! Exactly! This is so true!

…Tarot functions in the two-fold manner of the second-order cybernetics: both as an amplifier by rendering the subtle aspects of one’s psyche vivid and substantial, and as a positive [sic] feedback that directs the amplified information back into an expanded system, thus equipping it with information (neg-entropy) by having made the latent unconscious contents manifest and rendering them meaningful.

I love Joseph Campbell. Whenever I read him, I’m always struck by how relevant his writing is to tarot. For example:

“Marga comes from a [n Indian] root that has to do with an animal trail; it means ‘the path.’ By this, Indians mean the path by which the particular aspect of a symbol leads you to personal illumination; it is the path to enlightenment…Think how the symbols operate on you. Let them play on the imagination, activating it. By bringing your own imagination into play in relation to these symbols, you will be experiencing the marga, the symbols’ power to open a path to the heart of mysteries.”

At the end of a therapy session or tarot reading, I often ask clients who are interested to choose a tarot card “randomly” from my Waite-Smith deck. The set-up is that whatever card they choose will correspond to a series of questions that are vitally important for them to consider right now.

During a time in my life when I had plenty of free time, I created two sets of “question cards” that go with each of the 78 tarot cards (you’ll see why I needed two of these in a moment). Although the clients don’t get to keep the tarot card they choose, they do get to take the corresponding question card home.

Front side of Question Card for The World

Some people prefer to meditate on the questions, letting them percolate in their subconsciousness. Others like to journal on them. Either way, most people react the same way as they initially look over their question card: “Wow! These are right on target…I really do need to be thinking about these questions….”

This is one of the reasons I love working with the cards - you always get exactly what you need, instantly!

(The reason I have two sets of question cards is that I keep one at home as a reference: for each card I give away, I can make a new replacement by using that first set as a guide)

Back side of Question Card

Here are more details about creating “Question Cards,” taken from my Tarot Activity Book:

Objective

To consider the power of a well-thought-out question.

Background

Please consider the following quotations:

The word ‘question’ is derived from the Latin quaerere ‘to seek,’ which is the same root as the word for quest. A creative life is a continued quest, and good questions are useful guides.

Paul Kaufman

Questioning is a basic tool for rebellion. It breaks open the stagnant hardened shells of the present, revealing ambiguity and opening up fresh options to be explored.

Fran Peavey

Questioning can change your entire life. It can uncover hidden power and stifled dreams inside of you…things you may have denied for many years.

Fran Peavey

The important thing is to never stop questioning.

Albert Einstein

A well-thought-out question can:

• Challenge assumptions
• Shift one’s perspective
• Stimulate self-reflection
• stir a hidden part of one’s soul
• Provoke change
• Generate energy
• Create more questions

Questions are powerful catalysts for introspection and self-growth. They can lead us in surprising directions. Or reconnect us to long-buried truths.

It is important to take time in our lives every so often to check in with ourselves and meditate on the thoughts and feelings that well-thought-out questions can generate.

Process

Usually we expect tarot cards to provide us with answers to our questions. In this exercise, however, you will be using the cards themselves to generate questions. And once you’ve done so, you’ll be using those questions as prompts for journal writing.

Beginning with The Fool, please answer the following for each card of the major arcana:

If the card could speak, what question or questions would it ask you?

In order to generate your questions, study each card carefully. Pay attention to all of its different elements. What different symbols do you notice? What image stands out the most? How many figures are drawn on the card? What is each doing? What is the title of the card? What is the energy of the card? What is the message of the card? Does it have multiple messages?

Write your question(s) on an index card, after putting the name of the particular tarot card in the upper right hand corner. For easy reference, keep your question cards in order.

Now shuffle the major arcana tarot cards. Pick one at random, and then match it with its corresponding question card. Go with the assumption that you have received these particular questions for a good reason, and that they are important for you to consider carefully. Your task is to answer each one of the questions in your journal. You can do so either right then and there, or over the course of a week.

You now have powerful journal prompts that you can access whenever you want! Perhaps you can make this exercise a regular ritual, working with a different question card each day or once per week.

Sample questions for The Fool card:

• Where are you going?
• What are you feeling foolish about?
• What are you doing for fun?
• How are you being true to yourself?
• How are you expanding your horizons?
• How can you bring more spontaneity into your life?
• Who do you need to trust?

Sample questions for The High Priestess card:

• What do you need to remember?
• Why is it important for you to be patient?
• How aware are you of the cycles and rhythms of your life?
• How are you honoring your intuition?
• How are you acknowledging your shadow side?
• What is the mystery in your life?

Option

If you’re feeling particularly industrious, you could make questions for each of the cards in the minor arcana as well.

Sample questions for the Five of Swords:

• What is currently scaring you the most?
• What no-win situation are you in? How can you best exit?
• Why is it important for you to put your own needs first?
• How have you lowered your standards? Why?
• Whom do you need to outwit? How can you best do so?

Sample questions for the Three of Cups:

• Where is the joy in your life?
• How are you sharing your gifts?
• What do you need to celebrate?
• How strong is your circle of support?
• Where is your community?

Sample questions for the Page of Pentacles:

• What is your body telling you?
• How are you experiencing nature?
• How are you acting on your dreams?
• How are you being dependable?
• How can you best enjoy what you already have?

Objective

To display one or more tarot cards in a mason jar.

Background

Believe it or not, mason jars make wonderful picture frames. Because the jar itself is three dimensional, there are all kinds of creative possibilities for this project. This is the kind of display that will definitely attract attention!

Process

First, choose one or more tarot cards that you would like to display. Next, pick a mason jar that is of your desired size. You won’t be gluing or taping the card or cards to the jar. Instead, get yourself a bottle of vegetable oil.  Pour the oil into your jar, almost to the top. This is the medium in which your card or cards will sit. If you want to display your card along the front side of the jar, simply slowly insert it down into the oil, pressing it against the side of the jar you want it to face. The weight of the oil will hold it in place. If you have more cards you want to display, just slide those in as well.

Another option is to glue two cards together, back to back. Insert them into the oil, placing the cards so that they are suspended in the middle of the jar.

Once you see how your cards look, you can consider how you’d like to decorate the remainder of your jar (you could also decorate your jar first, but be sure to leave enough space so that the cards will be visible).

Acrylic paint adds a nice touch. You can play around with the texture of the paint as well, for added dimensionality. Or you could glue fabric or paper to the outside of the jar. In addition, wrapping ribbon, string, or raffia along the bottom or top of the jar provides depth and a sense of boundary to the frame.

Finally, be sure to cover the jar tightly with its lid, as you don’t want to risk a spill! Plus, having a cover gives you another surface to decorate, so don’t hold back!

Here are two of my jars (I was going for a minimalist look) that found a home in the kitchen…

I am happy to announce that “The Tarot Activity Book: A Collection of Creative and Therapeutic Ideas for the Cards” is now available on amazon.com

It is packed with expressive arts activities and exercises that will add multiple dimensions to your deck of cards!

Objective

To create a collage using tarot cards.

Background

Collage is an art form in which different materials are glued or taped onto a flat surface such as paper or cardboard. The source material typically comes from magazines, photos or old books, but three dimensional items such as ribbons, leaves, seeds, tissue paper, fabric or even pieces of pasta can be used as well. Basically, if you can attach an item to the surface you are using for your collage, then it’s fair game!

An easy way to create a collage is simply by collecting images, text and/or items that grab your attention. Then you can experiment with positioning them on your surface (before gluing). Once you’ve come up with an arrangement that you like, then you can go ahead and attach your materials. And there you have it: an original uniquely expressive piece of artwork!

Collages can also be used to illustrate specific themes, such as:

• What makes you happy
• A goal or vision for the future
• What gives you hope
• A message from you to yourself
• An affirmation
• Inspiration
• Your favorite thing or things
• What you enjoy doing
• Things that make you smile
• A problem and its solution
• Your values
• What you want to create in your life
• Somebody or something that is important in your life

Process

For this activity, the main source of your collage material will be tarot cards. Remember that the Rider-Waite tarot deck comes in four sizes; mini, small, regular, and giant.
If you are using one of the smaller decks, there will be space for you to use entire cards for your collage. Using the regular or giant decks will give you the option of cutting up cards. You can also layer the cards on top of one another or instead leave empty space around cards. How you position things on the paper depends on your artistic vision; let the cards and your imagination guide you!

Objective

To write a letter to yourself from the perspective of your higher power.

Background

Having a connection with your higher power (what or whomever that might consist of) can provide an immense support and sense of comfort in your life. This is the idea that there is a force greater than yourself in the universe. As they say in Alcoholics Anonymous: “Higher Power” is the “God of your understanding.” But it can also be any kind of powerful energy that you feel exists on a greater level than yourself. What is significant about your higher power is that when asked, it can provide you with resources (although often in unexpected ways and forms).

 
This exercise assumes that you yourself intuitively know exactly what you need to hear in order to feel cared for by your higher power.

Process

For this activity, your goal is to compose a letter to yourself that is from your higher power. When you are ready, take a moment to settle into the idea that subconsciously you know exactly what needs to be written, and in what style.

 
But please note that in this message, whatever else you write, at the very least your higher power will do the following:

 
• Communicate love, affection, and compassion
• Offer support
• Remind you of your core values and purpose in life
• Acknowledge the efforts you are making in your life
• Affirm your authentic self
• Provide guidance about things that might currently be distressing to you
• Answer a question that you may have about something

In addition, know that your higher power has seen fit to include a tarot card just for you in its letter. This card represents a very important visual message to you.

 
Keeping that in mind, slowly make your way through your deck. When you have found that special card, put it aside.

 
Now take an envelope, and address it to yourself. Seal the letter you have written and the card in an envelope and stamp it. Your final task is to give someone close to you the envelope, and have them mail it to you in one week.

Just add paints and tarot cards!

Today is Pamela Colman Smith’s birthday. Born in 1878, this woman’s artistry greatly influenced the course of tarot as we know it today. Although I have several modern decks that deeply resonate with me (in particular, Joanna Powell Colbert’s Gaian Tarot), I am passionate about the Waite-Smith deck (aka the Rider-Waite deck). I love the attention to detail, the deep symbolism, the archetypal power – and the sense of humor - that is contained within those cards.

And for creative purposes, I love that the Waite-Smith deck is available in FOUR different sizes – from tiny to giant! Thank you, Ms. Smith, for brightening my world!

Objective

Using a tarot card as inspiration, to create a short story that consists of six words.

Background

According to legend, someone once challenged novelist Ernest Hemmingway to write a short story in only six words.

His literary response?

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

So what counts as a “short story” for this activity? How is this different from a poem or vignette? Consider the typical elements in any tale: A protagonist, conflict, challenges, and resolution. Of course, due to its brevity, there will be much in the story that will have to be left out. Instead, it can only be hinted at or implied. So creating a piece with a beginning, middle, and end (whether implicitly or explicitly stated) is the true challenge.

Process

Pick a card from your deck, either at random or deliberately. Then, with the card as your writing prompt, use six words to tell a story.

Examples

The Card: Strength

The Story: “Finally facing fears. Better than expected.”

The card: Ten of Cups

The Story: “Everyone admires us. Monster at home.”

Option #1

Pick a card for inspiration. Create a short story of exactly 50 words.

Option #2

Pick a card for inspiration. Create a short story of no more than 350 words.