Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner is an amazing resource for writers and storytellers across the world, who are looking for another source of inspiration for their work. Let’s have a look at what this book is all about.

The way I see it, most Tarot card readers tell stories when they do their readings. They look at the spread positions, they look at the card images, they listen to their intuition, and they connect the dots to make a coherent story – the reading for their client. I firmly believe that in order to be a good Tarot card reader, one should have some ability for storytelling.

Naturally, the same Tarot cards can also inspire writers in their process of imagination weaving! The book Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner tells writers exactly how they can leverage the imagery and meanings of the Tarot cards to help them in their creative process.

The book Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner is divided into three main parts. Let’s take a quick look at each of these parts and what they are all about.

Tarot For Writers by Corrine Kenner

The book begins with a quick chapter that tells you how to use the book. It briefly touches upon the literary history of Tarot (the various ways and places that Tarot cards have appeared in literature). From there, Corrine moves on to the part where she tells us how Tarot cards can be a great brainstorming device. As she says, one can read the book in a straightforward, beginning to end manner, or, one can skip around if that suits.

After that, we move on to the first part of the book.

Part I: Tarot 101

This is the section where Corrine covers the basics of Tarot. While most Tarot readers are storytellers in some form, not all storytellers and writers are familiar with Tarot. So, we begin with the basic structure of a Tarot deck, and then go into the basics of the Majors and the Minors. This is followed up with information about the Court Cards.
The second chapter in this section talks about how one can read the Tarot cards. Corrine goes into the basics of reading like doing a quick meditation before the reading, and then she talks about a step-by-step way of laying down a spread and doing a reading. Of course, since the ideal reader for this book isn’t a Tarot card reader, this process can seem to quick. But it will make some sense in the end, promise.

The next chapter talks about some typical Tarot reading spreads used by Tarot card readers across the world. She begins with one card, two card and three card spreads, and then goes into the Horseshoe Spread and ends with the Celtic Cross. All of these spreads have sample readings that should help any writer get into the groove of the cards.

Within the second and third chapters of this section, you will find a ‘Writing Practice’ exercise, which will be very helpful. My suggestion is to work through these exercises as you move forward through the book. Not only will these exercises drive the point home, but they will also help you connect with the cards better, and give you a chance to actually figure out how the cards work for you. As the Apprentice in the 8 of Pentacles may say, many a times, the learning happens with doing!

These exercises continue through the next section of the book as well.

Part II: The Writer’s Tarot

This is the part that most writers will be familiar with. This section deals mainly with the various aspects of creative writing and how the Tarot cards can come in handy at each of these places.

The first chapter focuses on character creation. As a writer I know, most stories have several focal points that drive it forward. Characters are one such focal point – after all, isn’t the story about the people who are in the story? Here, we learn how to use the Tarot cards in the process of creating and building the characters and their personalities. Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner also uses a great list of Tarot archetypes to help a writer find more details about the character he is building or creating.

Astrology has always had some very deep connections with the Tarot cards. The next chapter in this section gets into that very same connection. Here we learn about the Major Arcana and their correlations with the different planets and sun signs. These too are very useful tools for writers to glean more about their characters. Here Corrine uses the Zodiac Spread to give a quick overview of the 12 Houses in astrological charts, and how these can be used in the character creation and building process for any writer.

Along with the character, the plot also drives any story. While each character has their own storyline and character arc, the plot is the one thread that pretty much holds it all together. Again, this will be familiar territory for writers as Corrine gets into the standard 3 Act Structure, and talks about how the Tarot cards can be used to chart the plot in that structure. A modified version of the Celtic Cross is also presented to us writers so that we can use it to devise the plot for the story. Topics of multiple storylines and sub-plots are also discussed.

The next chapter looks at the Hero’s Journey. First experienced in Joseph Campbell’s ‘A Hero with a Thousand Faces’, this structure has also garnered a lot of appeal with writers. Using the Tarot cards, Corrine describes how writers can chart the course of the journey of their story’s hero / heroine using the Hero’s Journey as a guideline. And of course, there is a Hero’s Journey Spread to help out with the process.

As with the characters and the plots, the setting is another factor that matters for a story. The setting is where the story is actually taking place. And if used well, the setting too contributes to the story! Using the Tarot cards to determine the details of your setting is truly an experience to look forward to. Corrine also shows how one can use the images of the Tarot cards combined with the five senses to determine more details about the setting.

Writer’s Block is one of the major hurdles in the writing process. One way or the other, every writer has experienced some form of writer’s block during their writing careers. In Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner, you will find how to use the Tarot cards to find a way out of writer’s block. If you are a writer participating in a writer’s group, then Corrine also has an interesting game which you can use in the group to help with your writing.

And if you are looking to go deeper and make your connection with the cards stronger, then this next chapter will be just right for you. Here, Corrine advises you to go ahead and ask the cards all those weirdly strange questions that keep popping up while you write. Questions from ‘Which sections of your story should you delete’ to ‘How to your characters feel about you as their creator’ – all these and more can be addressed to the cards. 🙂

Part III: A Writer’s Guide to Tarot Cards

This third section of the book will prove to be very useful for most writers who intend to use Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner for exploring their writing using the Tarot cards. In this section, Corrine puts together all the information about each of the 78 cards of a Tarot deck in a neat easy-to-refer manner. I promise you, once you’ve gotten the hang of the techniques, you will be coming back to this section often to look at the various meanings and connections that the cards have to provide.

For the Major Arcana, Corrine talks about the meanings of the card, the various symbols on the card with their meanings, keywords to help you recall the card meanings, the astrological association, mythological connections, literary connections and finally, writing prompts for your writing exercises.

For the Minor Arcana, Corrine talks about the meaning of the card, the various symbols on the card with their meanings, keywords and then gives you writing prompts. For the Court Cards, the astrological and elemental connections are also included.

Conclusion

At the end of the book, you will find a glossary of the various terms and symbols used in Tarot. Again, this is a section to which most of you will be returning to for reference.

My Thoughts

As a Tarotist and as a Writer, I have found the techniques mentioned in this book quite useful. I have personally used many of these techniques in the process of writing out the outline of the novel that I am working on at this time. And I have found them to be very useful and insightful. Of course, I used several different decks to get into it, and trust me, the more imagery, the more intense and better the process turned out to be.

If you are a writer and are looking for inspiration for your next project, I can promise you one thing: you certainly get that! I can understand the trepidation for a writer who isn’t into Tarot, but believe me, that will not be a hurdle in this process. You don’t have to get into the depths of the Tarot that much – just have to use your imagination and look at the images and let loose with your creative juices!

Your Turn…

I have found Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner to be tremendously useful during my writing and planning for writing phases. What about you? What have your experiences been like? If you haven’t read the book before, do you plan on getting a copy for yourself? Why? 🙂

Please do share your thoughts in the comments section below.