Tarot, draw from the Major Arcana

The non-verbal picture language of the Tarot invites prose, poetry, and songwriters to embark upon a personal journey into their own depths.

Touch any of the 22 cards below that comprise a fully randomized selection of the Major Arcana to flip it over. What thoughts does the card bring forth? Use that card as a writing prompt. If you are a member of the Green Mountain Writers Group on Meetup, we invite you to join us and share your work with other writers in our weekly Friday Morning Open Genre Workshop on Zoom.

Is Tarot a Cure for Writer’s Block?

Sometimes, you may be seeking the answer to a question regarding story development or you may have run into a seeming dead end. The Tarot will provide a way forward. Just ask…

Scroll to the bottom after flipping a card if you wish to see the Jungian description.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Hierophant

The Hierophant

The Hierophant leans on a three fax[sic – triple?] cross. The two columns are standing on the right as law, on the left liberty. Two men are kneeling before him: one is red, the other black. Will, religion, fate [faith?], Self, center.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The World

The World

Naked woman, her legs are crossed. In the four corners we have the angel, the lion, the bull and the eagle. Completion, finishing. In the world but not from the world.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
Temperance

Temperance

Young girl pours water from one jug in the other. The sun gives the liquid of life from a golden in[to] a silver jug. Movement, consciousness, natural growth.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Moon

The Star

In the middle of a field is a dog and a wolf. A crayfish comes out of the water. It is night. The door to the unconscious is open. The crayfish likes to go the shore. The light is indirect.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Empress

The Empress

Empress with wings. In the right hand she has an eagle, in the left a scepter. She has a crown with 12 stones. Eagle as a symbol of soul and life. Feminine activity. Fruitfulness, goddess.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The High Prestess

The High Prestess

Sitting Priestess. She wears a veil. On her knees is a book. This book is open. She stands in connection with the moon. Occult wisdom. Passive, eternal woman.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
Death

Death

A skeleton in a field with heads and fingers. Death and regeneration. The Ego should not take [the] place, the Self has to take [the] place. New standpoint, liberation, end.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
Justice

Justice

Sitting woman with a coronet. In the right hand she has a sword, in the left, a balance [scales]. Compensation between nature and the force of a man. Justice, compensation. Conflict with the law.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Sun

The Sun

Two naked girls. The sun shines on the children. Drops of gold fall on the earth. The Self is ruling the situation. Consciousness. Enlightenment.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Emperor

The Emperor

Emperor sitting in profile. In the right hand he is holding the scepter. He wears a helmet with 12 stones. The legs are crossed. Will, force, reality, duty, brightness.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Chariot

The Chariot

Conqueror with coronet. He has three angle [right angles on his cuirass]. In his hand is a scepter. Arrow and weapon arm [right hand?]. Actively going toward his fate. He has a goal, achieving victory. Activity, extraversion. Inflation.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Magician

The Magician

The Magician has, in the right hand, a golden ball, in the left a stick [wand]. The hat makes an eight [infinity sign]. The bearing of the hand shows right activity, left passivity. Sign of force, stability, self. He has all the symbols before him.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Hermit

The Hermit

An old man walks with a stick [staff]. Wisdom as symbolized by the lamp. Protection with the overcoat. Cleverness, love, introversion. Wisdom.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Tower

The Tower

Burning tower. Hospital, prison, struck by lightning. Sacrifice.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man

The hands of this man on in back. The eyes are open. The right leg is crossed. On the right and left a trunk of a tree. Turning back [enantiodromia?], powerless, sacrifice, test, proof. Face against the sky.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Lovers

The Lovers

The young man stands in a corner where two streets come together. The woman on the right has a golden garland on her head. The woman on the left is wreathed with a vine. Beauty, cross-road, way inward or outward.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
Judgement

Judgement

An angel with fiery wings, an open grave in the earth. Birth of the Self. Inspiration, liberation.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Devil

The Devil

The right hand of the Devil is raised to the sky, the left points to the earth. Two persons are under him. He holds the torch as a sign of black magic. Fate, Shadow, emotion.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune

Sphinx holding a sword. Wheel symbolizing endlessness. Finger as a sign of command. Human being as ball [circumference?] of the wheel of fortune. Luck/misfortune.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Star

The Star

A naked woman spills water from two jugs. Around the girl are seven stars. The Self shines, stars of fate, night, dreams. Hope. The Self is born in the stars. Union with the eternal.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
Strength

Strength

A young girl opens the mouth of a lion. The girl has the sign of vitality on her hat. Liberty, strength.

Past – Present – Future (Demo)
The Fool

The Fool

A man who doesn’t take care on his way. Beginning and end. The fool has no home in this world; the home is in heaven. Dreamer, mystic side.