Here is the first summary I wrote without the aid of tarot.

After the rest of her family are killed in an accident, injured Butterfly is placed in the care of her grandmother. Resentment builds between the two until The Dragon lashes out, verbally and physically, deciding to keep Butterfly a prisoner in the home. Butterfly decides to try and reconcile with her grandmother who rebuffs her attempts, and mocks her in front of the rest of the family. Frustration and depression overwhelms Butterfly who withdraws and contemplates suicide as a way out. After a massive fight that alerts others to Butterfly’s plight, she is rescued scared and afraid.

How I used Tarot for this task

1. Selected two tarot decks: Llewellyn and Legacy of the Divine.

2. The Legacy deck had already been sorted into three groups: Major Arcana, Minor Arcana and Court Cards as my regular writing process involves me drawing one card from each group when answering questions and drawing up character profiles. I use Ciro Marchetti decks as his artwork sparks me creatively.

3. I put the Llewellyn deck into three random piles and shuffle each one thinking ‘One Paragraph Summary for Surviving Dragon Burns’ which is the name of the story.

4. I pick up the pile that I am drawn the most to and deal 5 cards. One for each of the following:
a) Story Setup
b) Up to the end of Act 1
c) Up to the Mid point (Middle of Act 2)
d) Up to end of Act 2
e) Ending (Up to end of Act 3)

5. Once I’ve noted the cards I’ve drawn from Llewellyn, I lay the corresponding Legacy cards I begin to write.

I drew the following:

Setup: Devil
End of Act 1: 7 of Pentacles
Midpoint: King of Wands
End of Act 2: Knight of Cups
Ending: Emperor

Each story point/card equals one sentence of the paragraph. At end of Act 1, mid point, and the end of Act 2, there should be a disaster that puts the main character in increasing peril. There can also be a disaster at the ending if you choose.

This is what I came up with:

After an accident that killed most of her family injured Butterfly lives with her grandmother, but The Dragon resents taking care of her granddaughter and uses the power that she has over her to make Butterfly’s life miserable. Butterfly decides to wait it out and see if she can reconcile with her grandmother, but this is rebuffed and Butterfly is mocked by the remaining family. Butterfly strikes a friendship with a man who has mysterious past who takes on the role of Butterfly’s protector, but his secrets threaten their future. The Dragon forces them apart sending Butterfly into turmoil over the loss of Samuel. He returns with a judge who orders that Butterfly is released, but the Dragon refuses to go quietly.

In my opinion the second version is better. What do you think?

Please comment and let me know what you think.

The Fool Attributes Affirmation

I am innocence
I am joy
I am faith
I am trust
I am simple pleasures
I am adventure
I am conviction
I am unconditional love
I am friendship
I am endless possibilities
I am freedom
I am The Fool

The Fool Symbols Affirmation

I am the eyes that see the wonder in the world around me
I am the lips that sing in joy to the universe
I am the heart that loves unconditionally
I am the mind that is open to new things
I am the cloth that is given by nature to become my second skin
I am the long legs that will carry me forward
I am the defined path that I have chosen to leave
I am the cliff edge where life changing decisions are made
I am the branch full of possibilities to be used as a tool
I am the pouch that has yet to be filled
I am the breath that allows me to sing
I am the sun that shines down on me
I am The Fool

Date: 6th January 2010
Deck: Legacy of the Divine Tarot
Querent: Stacey (me)
Question: What is blocking me from starting the first draft of my TBelle Novel?

1. Environment – 5 of Coins (Pentacles)
2. What crosses me? – 6 of Coins (Pentacles)

Cards are positioned so that the second card lies horizontal card like the first, like you would find in a Celtic Cross spread.

I am not too sure how these two cards relate to my writing. The 5 of Coins could indicates that my muses need more nurturing or inspiration. I feel that the figure has turned away from the light. What have I turned away from? This card could also relate to my financial situation. My laptop is failing, and I’ve had to resort to buying an external monitor for it so I can use my laptop until it dies completely. It is only 13 months old, and the major instrument with which I can communicate and interact with the outside world. This is further compounded by being out of work for over a year, nearly two.

What crosses me? The 6 of Coins illustrates that financial security is currently eluding me. Perhaps this can also be said of my creative muses and story ideas.

I think I should do a reading about what action I should take to resolve these issues. Possible action gleaned from this reading:
1. Look at what I do have and be grateful for that.
2. Reach out to others.
3. Think about whether I need a clearer, balanced perspective on my situation?

For point three I would consider getting an astrology reading from a source that I trust, but in the circumstances it would be a frivolous expense. I am saving any spare income to go towards a new desktop pc.

Overall card for this reading is 11 – Justice. I do wish things would go in my favour. The last two years have been difficult work wise.

I’ll provide an example to illustrate what depth this method gives me.

Daily Reflection: Woah! What needs reigning in? (question by Igraine)

Date: Late August
Deck: Universal Waite
Card: Six of Swords

Symbols worth of further investigation:

- Wooden stick = wand = passion, aggression and creative energy.

- Hilt  poining upwards, blade pointing down = thoughts need to be grounded.

- Position of swords = protective barrier. Swords in front of figures represent fear and uncertainly. Theyare physically going to a better place but are they mentally prepared?

- Water = emotions. Ripples in water = events, movement, unsteadies our emotions.

- Wooden boat = Conduit for wand energy (see above),

- People = Taking what you treasure. Have decided what’s important in life. No material possessions except for what they are wearing.

- Trees/land = earth= a foundation.

- Man with pole = Protecting those he loves. Pole can be used as a defensive weapon, as well as an instrument to move things forward.

- Colour of man’s clothes. Yellow tunic = air = thoughts, overall element. Blue top = water = emotions. Contrasts with tunic, secondary element. Green trousers = earth = reason to do this = to create a solid foundation. Red boots = fire. His passion grounds him and prevents him from becoming too overwhelmed. The wooden pole and boat add weight to this.

To answer the reflection, my fear and doubt need to be reigned in if I’m going to get to a better place. Protecting myself is one thing, hiding away is another.

As you can see breaking down the symbols has enabled me to look at the cards on a deeper level, and make the cards more accessible.

In this column I want to focus on the problems one can face when you have passed the beginners stage. To my knowledge, there are very few books that deal with this. When I was originally planning to write about this issue around March/April this year I was going to argue that there should be more books available to those who want to progress to more intermediate and advanced levels working with tarot. In essence I feel that argument still stands but I have had time to reflect on why this is the case.

I don’t believe tarot can be studied in the same way someone studies a subject at school. Of course basics need to be covered like those covered in books for beginners but as I am discovering not only can tarot be an in depth subject it is broad too. There are so many avenues one could choose to study: tarot and elemental dignitaries, tarot and astrology, doing an integrated reading, tarot and numerology, symbolism in tarot, meditating on the cards; and that’s only the ones I have come across. No one book could contain that information, not unless it was big and heavy thus making too inconvenient for most people.

There is a second significant factor that needs to be mentioned here. Tarot study is heavily influenced by one’s own personal experience. Tarot takes our mind’s subconscious messages and presents them for our conscious mind. Every experience that we have shapes the communication between us and the cards. Thus, the avenues we decide to follow in tarot study are also personal choices that each of us make.

The now defunct Barnes & Noble University Tarot for Beginners course was a significant development in my own tarot study. The exercises served a purpose but the most useful thing I gained from that course was sharing experiences with others. It was there that I no longer felt isolated in my tarot study; that I almost felt part of a collective. In this collective I had access to different ideas and approaches I hadn’t heard of before like elemental dignitaries; which offered me a viable alternative to reversals which I had never felt comfortable using. Most importantly I discovered that I could create my own methodologies and rituals when using tarot. There was no single right way of doing things when it came to tarot. That was just a myth. I felt liberated with that knowledge and began travelling on my own path in earnest.

I believe the greatest resource that a tarotist can have is access to other tarotists so they can share in the collective knowledge and add their own personal experiences to the melting pot. Probably without them realising someone will benefit from what they shared. This collective also provides support as we all look inside ourselves as we strive to be better people and to make better decisions. We all have personal journeys that we have to make but hearing of others struggles and triumphs gives us strength to carry on when we reach a bump in the road.

If I believe that this collective is so great, why am I advocating the need for more books and resources? It’s simple not everyone has access to a great group like Tarot for Life. It can be quite difficult to meet other people with an interest in tarot where you live. In the world outside cyberspace there are still strongly held misconceptions about what tarot is, and what functions it can perform. It may not be wise for a person to admit they have an interest in it. Besides not everyone has access to the internet. Books are part of the collective knowledge. When an author writes a book about an aspect of tarot they are effectively sharing a part of their personal experience and can offer the reader the chance to become part of this collective experience.

Tarot is a life long study. It isn’t possible to learn everything about it. As we travel along our different paths in life, our relationship with the tarot changes with us.

Now I've got the sappiness out of the way I must apologise for my long goodbye. It was never my intention to disappear for four months. I managed to get a really good job and that has been taking up most of my time and energy so tarot was put on the back burner for a while. It was necessary but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel guilty about it. Once again my career took centre stage and everything else suffered a bit for a while. I definitely had Temperance issue, but now I think I have achieved a better balance. I've also had to make changes regarding the publication of this column. Instead of writing a column every week I am going to write one at the beginning of the month probably on the first Sunday, my work schedule permitting.

When I was unemployed I promised myself that once I got a job I would buy myself the Tarot of Dreams, which I duly purchased after passing my probation period. Now I had said to myself that I would not need any more decks after buying that one. Yes I can hear you all chuckling in the back row at that… I even posted on how it was a strange feeling not to have any decks on my wishlist… That lasted about ooooh two hours until I found some books and a deck. The deck in question is the Bright Idea deck.

This is proof positive if any were needed that I suffer from Tarot Mania Syndrome or TMS. Possible symptoms of this affliction include always having decks that you want to purchase, decks screaming BUY ME!! in shops and running out of space to store them. A sufferer is always on the look out for new decks, and it is also a common feature of this syndrome that you may purchase more than one deck at a time. It is not solely confined to decks it may also apply to bags and tarot related books as well.

A tarot mentor or buddy is a very good thing to have but for a TMS sufferer it can have far reaching consequences. A friend may innocently show you pictures of a deck that he or she may have acquired and it almost instantly ends up on your wish list. Of course one can exert some degree of self control but once you have TMS, you have it for life. I know it happened to me today with the Hanson-Roberts deck now also appearing on my list.

As well as the inevitable consequences for one's bank balance, there are also other things TMS sufferers have to negotiate such as the reactions of their family and friends on hearing you may have purchased another deck. Reactions vary but common ones include 'Not another deck!' or 'Why do you need another one for?' For those who suffer from Tarot Mania Syndrome the answer can be quite simple. For each tarot deck that we own, it is like having another friend to consult and confide in. Each deck provides with a valuable different insight into our lives, and helps us make better decisions. To us, each new deck gives us a better understanding our ourselves. That alone is worth the occasional strain on the bank balance.

I leave you now with my own wishlist.

Decks

The Bright Ideas Deck

Hanson-Roberts Deck

Books

Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack

The Forest of Souls by Rachel Pollack

Mary K. Greer's 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card by Mary K Greer

Putting the Tarot to Work by Mark McElroy

What's in the Cards for You? by Mark McElroy