The Moon, benign really, minds its own business in the night sky. It cannot help that it must merely reflect. The Moon can give you nothing more or less than your self, with a few shadows thrown in just to keep things interesting.

It is interesting that the sun is still visible, setting on the horizon. That is something we do not usually see in Moon cards. Perhaps it serves as a visual reminder that the Sun (representing our ego) plays a big role in what the Moon creates, so to speak.

The girl with her white orbs, what is she up to? Performing a ritual? Offering gifts? Trying to connect with the Moon’s power? Just goofing around?

After a short introduction to tarot, Tarot for Writers delves into character creation. So that’s also where I started. Corrine doesn’t just teach about tarot, she also teaches writing and explains the various types of characters: protagonist, antagonist, foils, supporting characters, and stock characters. The first writing practice is to pull a card for each character. Later, cards are pulled to further develop the characters.

I’m going to use the Lo Scarabeo Tarot for all my basic outlining, such as character identification and basic plot. I’m using the Fey Tarot for further character development and the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight for further plot development. I have not yet decided on which deck to use for the setting. The Lo Scarabeo Tarot is a very basic, easy deck (for me), which is why I’m using it for outlining. The Fey and Sweet Twilight are not very traditional, which is why I’m using them…to purposely get lost in the images and to kick start my imagination. So, as you track my progress, know that many of my notes and decisions will be based on intuition and ideas that strike my fancy rather than traditional card meanings.

So far, I only have cards pulled for the protagonist, protagonist’s foil, antagonist, and antagonist’s foil. Here are the main character identifications:

I think it is very interesting that the protag and the antag are both threes and that both the foils are naturally reflective (one gazing into a mirror, the other gazing into a cup), which is exactly what they should be. Even thought the character in the 3 of Pentacles looks male, my main character will be female. I am using these cards for general appearance, character, and what they do, although other cards will flesh these ideas out quite a bit.

Filling in some details

After general character identification, Corrine walks us through character building. I selected some of the questions she provided and pulled cards for each of my four main characters. The questions I selected from Corrine’s list include (followed by the spread position name I used in parentheses):

What does your character look like? (Appearance)

How does your character spend his or her free time? (Hobby)

Does your character have a spouse, children, or pets? (Family)

What are your characters hopes and dreams? (Hopes & Dreams)

What does your character fear the most? (Greatest Fear)

I did all four characters but am only posting the protag and her foil (mostly because I think I might like the foil better than the protag—is that going to be a problem later, I wonder?).

Protagonist

She is younger, maybe late teens or early 20s and a craftsperson’s apprentice. She is rather plain and serviceable in appearance but loves to decorate herself with all kinds of accessories. Her hobby is fencing but she’s absolute rubbish at it. Her family consists of her sister (who is her foil) and her father, an impenetrable man who just wants to be left alone to watch the world go by. She dreams of someday having a “normal” family. Her greatest fear is things not going according to plan. Sadly, she has no name yet. Anyone care to christen her?

Protagonist’s Foil

She is a sibyl at a local temple and I think she is the protag’s older sister. She is bright and colorful, as unlike the moon as one can be…bright copper hair, freckles, and she adores the sun. She loves good food and beautiful things…and she particularly loves games of chance (very unlike her sister and an interesting amusement for an oracle, don’t you think?). She considers her sister priestesses as her family, although she and her sister do have a special bond. That book she’s reading might play a role in the story, being a portal into another world. She hopes one day to not just to serve the goddess but also to rise in her profession and wield real power, perhaps as a kind of demigod. Her greatest fear is falling in love.

Stay tuned for more characters, plots spreads, and who knows…maybe even a setting. Let me know how your novel is coming. If you post your NaNoWriMo tarot usage on a blog, include the link in the comments. Feel free to add me as a writing buddy (and let me know, so I can add you). My user name is mysticfaerie.

Contest Winner Announcement and Special Halloween Treat!

Don’t forget, on Thursday I’ll announce the winner of the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight and will present a very special interview with an artist who is a true treat.

For me, one of the hardest aspects of working with a non-Rider-Waite clone is letting go of the ingrained meanings I have for the cards. It is hard…after all, I’ve worked with Rider-Waite based decks for almost two decades. How does one know what to bring with and what to leave behind? My approach is to start with a core meaning and see it through the lens of the deck I’m using, but to rely mostly on the image itself.

Let’s see how the Knight and I both respond to the 3 of Pentacles.

Me: The girl in the image is looking into a mirror. She is aware of who she is and has a clear vision of who she wants to become…what she wants to accomplish. It seems to me that she wants to embody her ideals, to transform herself, to become more spiritually connected (based on the crescent moon on her headband in one image and the crescent moon on her forehead in the other image as well as her hair hanging down in one image and her hair on fire and rising upward in the other image). She knows that before she can make a plan, she has to know exactly what she wants. She needs a clear vision. She needs a vision so clear that that is what she sees when she looks in the mirror. It must be real in her mind before she can make it real in her physical life.

Knight: This poor girl has a dream, a vision, a burning desire. It is all she sees and it consumes her mind. It gives her hope, but it also blinds her. It may possibly break her heart. Such dreams are bittersweet. They may devastate and destroy…but without such dreams, life is but a hollow shell. If we are to really live, we cannot help but chase the dreams of our hearts whether they lead to joy or to sorrow.

Remember, I consider myself as a King of Swords/Queen of Pentacles, so it makes sense that I focus on the goal and how to achieve it. This Knight is perhaps one of the most mournful Knight of Cups that I’ve ever seen. His focus, as a knight, is on the quest, and not just any quest, but those of the heart. And he knows, no doubt from experience, that there is no way of knowing how such a quest will end.