So, while I was perusing Pinterest, I came across two images that used Tarot card spreads in order to create a character and build story. So, I'm going to test this out for you and see how it comes out. I'm going to be using Nordic runes and Tarot just for some variety. But, just so you know, there are typically 78 cards to a Tarot deck and there are only 24 or 25 runes per set, so the runes are more likely to repeat. I also chose to let inverted/reversed runes and cards affect my interpretation. And to distance myself from their pagan origins, I'll be calling my runes by their 4th century Gothic names instead of their original names.
All right, let's get started.
7-Card Story Starter
Runes:
1. Dynamic Character: Inverted Uraz (Challenge)
2. Fatal Flaw: Fe (Abundance)
3. Battle Opponents: Gaar (Harvest Time)
4. External Conflicts: Eyz (Movement)
5. Interpersonal Conflicts: Inverted Bern (Birthing)
6. Internal Conflicts: Waer (Transition)
7. Desired Goal: Sugil (The Divine Source)
Analysis:
So, looking at the runes, there are something interesting things here. For the character, I got an Uraz rune which means "challenge," but it was inverted which actually means a really rough challenge or "being gored in the game of life." The others aren't that difficult to figure out, but the one that's got me confused is that battle opponents came out as Gaar, which is a rune that typically references the harvest and includes themes like "time to grow," richness or ripeness, the fertile season, and festivity. Now, I have no idea how to write bad guys who represent such things unless I interpret things loosely. So, what do we have then?
Story:
A man who has had a difficult life is seeking a relationship with God. But, he has a problem: he's a miser who has collected an immense wealth and knows that if he wants to be closer to God, he has to get rid of his money. But, things become dire for him when his adversary, a crooked accountant, sends mercenaries after him to collect a "fee." To add to that, the man is a paraplegic and can only get around by wheelchair. Meanwhile, his wife is threatening to leave him if he gives up his money and abort his first child. All of these problems stem from the fact that he wants to make a change in his life from being material to being ascetic.
Story Analysis:
Sounds like it might make a decent drama, maybe even an action film. And what I ended up doing was interpreting the baddies as being "harvesters" with the whole idea of them coming to collect a non-existent fee. I decided to put him in a wheelchair to show off how challenging his life has been already. One could argue that his life is about to get really challenging with everything going on around, but I wanted a more direct interpretation of Uraz.
Alright, let's look at the Tarot cards I got.
Tarot:
1. Dynamic Character: Inverted Four of Swords (Recuperation)
2. Fatal Flaw: Nine of Pentacles (Gain)
3. Battle Opponents: The Devil (Material Bondage)
4. External Conflicts: Six of Wands (Victory)
5. Interpersonal Conflicts: Inverted Three of Swords (Sorrow)
6. Internal Conflicts: Nine of Cups (Happiness)
7. Desired Goal: Six of Pentacles (Success)
Analysis:
For the most part, this seems like a straightforward enough reading. But, the problem comes when we introduce those inverted cards. It's easy to assume that inverted or reversed cards or runes mean the exact opposite, but that isn't always true. Looking at the reversed Three of Swords, that means something along the lines of "a conversation that needs to happen," or "the revelation of a painful truth." And then, a reversed Four of Swords means "restlessness" or "burn-out," which unfortunately sort of contradicts what I just said about how a card upside-down doesn't just mean the opposite.
Course though, what you could do is say phooey to all that reversed business and only accept your cards or runes right side up. But, just for fun, let's try it with the reversed meanings.
Story:
Our character is burnt out on life because he's constantly seeking gain, he wants to be a success because he has a strong desire for nice things and possessions. He's constantly looking for a victory here or there, but is always unable to, and he's never happy with himself or his life. To make matters worse, his boss is hiding something from him that could make or break his future.
Story Analysis:
Honestly, this one was easier to write because the factors are so interwoven. Unfortunately, because they're so interwoven, it's difficult to give them all their own distinction in the story. Basically, it's a story of a greedy bastard looking for his big break that get him whatever he wants. Do I really need a paragraph to put that together? No. The other problem with this story idea is that it is only the premise of the story and not much of a story by itself. I know the spread is called "Story Starter," but sometimes a book's premise is the easiest thing to come up with, and writers don't really need help with that.
Character Profile
All right, so the first one was more for a story starter, possibly the blurb/teaser you put on your book to make it sale. Sort of like a trailer for a movie. This next spread is more designed to build a character rather than to set a story.
Runes:
1. Hero: Inverted Utal (Home)
2. Outward Quality: Sugil (The Divine Source)
3. Inward Quality: Iiz (Danger)
4. Goal: Inverted Chosma (Flame)
5. Motivation: Fe (Abundance)
6. Stakes: Bern (Birthing)
7. Flaw or Need: Aza on its side pointing right (Breath [as in communication or from God])
8. Source of Flaw: Giwa (Exchange)
9. How the Flaw Affects the Goal: Waer (Transition)
Analysis:
At first look, none of these are all that confusing until you get to #7. Some of you may be wondering what the hell I mean by "on its side pointing right." Well, I used to read runes, and the way I practiced, I allowed for reversed runes and runes on their side. For runes on their sides, I read ones pointing left as being mostly reversed, and those pointing right, I read as mostly right side up.
So, what do we have?
Story:
Our hero is an outcast who seems very religious, almost like a cleric, priest, or monk, but he's either got a dark side, or he's a thrill seeker. Going with the idea he's got a dark side, his goal is to burn or destroy someone else because he's been promised a huge reward. If he doesn't, there's a possibility that an evil child will be born, but there's a problem: he can't really communicate with his god to finish his mission because the last item he offered as a sacrifice to his god was rejected, ergo he has difficulty trusting his god that doing this mission will result in his being reconciled and he's thinking of abandoning his faith.
Story Analysis:
This idea was interesting to start off with because he sounded like a good guy, but he may have actually been a bad guy. But, because the stakes surround a birthing, he could be a good guy who gets things done the wrong way, like a lot of 80's fantasy action heroes. So, I thought that this might make for an interesting fantasy story with a lot of grey morality. It actually sounds like the typical anti-hero story. I might bookmark this idea for later.
Tarot:
1. Hero: The World (Completion with the Universe)
2. Outward Quality: Ace of Swords (Seed of Victory)
3. Inward Quality: Inverted Four of Cups (Luxury)
4. Goal: Inverted High Priestess (Wisdom)
5. Motivation: Page/Jack of Wands (Exploration or Discovery)
6. Stakes: Judgment (Facing the Facts of Life)
7. Flaw or Need: Inverted Six of Pentacles (Success)
8. Source of Flaw: The Devil (Material Bondage)
9. How the Flaw Affects the Goal: Nine of Swords (Cruelty)
Analysis:
For this one, I said screw the potentiality of the reversed cards meaning a whole bunch of stuff, and I just decided to wing it. So, I'm going to read reversed Four of Cups, High Priestess, and Six of Pentacles as being the opposite of what they mean when they're right side up.
Story:
This guy is very similar to the guy from the rune reading and the other Tarot reading. He's a monk who lives as an ascetic. There's a mystic aura to him; when people meet him, they get the feeling he's destined for greatness, but he shuns the claims because he knows that greatness can lead to luxury, but as an ascetic, he's always uncomfortable when in luxury. Meanwhile, he's on an adventure to find a mystic artifact because he wants to hide it away from the world thinking it's dangerous for other people to have it as it may reveal some knowledge about the world that the world doesn't need. His flaw however is that he could definitely fail because luxury makes him uncomfortable because it's something that tempts him away from his proper path. As result, he seeks his goal with a tenacity and fervor that borders on mania, and he can be quite short with people who get in his way.
Story Analysis:
So, again, just like the rune reading, many of these elements stepped on each other's toes. Personally, I don't think you need to lay out a character's motivation if he has a goal because the goal should be the motivation. Sure, you can want to save the world because you want to save your family, but you're also saving the whole world. You can have a goal and a motivation, but it isn't necessary. And, the stakes should be obvious from what the goal is; you fail the goal, the stakes happen.
And then, looking at the character's qualities, those can very easily coincide with or be the same as the character's flaw. But I will admit that source of the flaw and how the flaw affects the goal are definitely interesting separate qualities that can add a layer of dimension to the story that many writers may not have thought about.
But, anyway, this story again strikes me as a fantasy story due to its themes and the character I got.
Overall Analysis:
I think the first method is much more streamlined; it's sort of like the abridged version of the second method. And, while they did turn out some interesting possibilities in character and story, I wouldn't rely totally on this method to create a story, or at the very least, to make a novel. I want a bit more control over my novel's story. But, both methods can help the writer think about virtues, vices, and character traits that a writer may not have thought of. Plus, you can choose to use what you want.
In conclusion, I may still use these methods to craft a story, but I'll keep my final say in what happens, and the story I create will be more along the lines of a short story rather than one of my precious novels. In general, I think both methods are somewhat useful, and I prefer the second method, but they're both fun. I encourage you to try them out for yourself and see what you get.
Keep writing, my friends.
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