The Sceptic's Tarot

If you enjoyed the previous two tarot games, "Odd card out" and "Crime cards," you might like "Improve me."

Have you noticed that with the "Odd card out" game, you had to study the cards closely to find differences and similarities? You might have looked up or recalled the traditional divinatory meanings of the cards and paid close attention to details and symbols. "Improve me" is another game in which you have to study the cards in detail to come up with creative answers.

It works like this:

Shuffle your deck, draw two cards randomly, and place them face up before you.

Using any criteria, show how the second card "improves" the first. You can define "improve" any way you wish.

Say, for example, I drew Trumps VIII and XV, Strength and the Devil.

How can the Devil improve strength? What positive things could the Devil share with Strength?

The Strength card is a lovely card to find in a tarot reading; it conveys moral strength and gentle compassion. However, to be more creative (which is important here at The Sceptic's Tarot), one needs a little of the Devil.

• Strength is about order, the Devil is chaos. Temporary chaos is good for being creative. The Devil would make Strength a bit more chaotic.
• The woman in Strength is very serious; the Devil can add some mirth. (The Hebrew letter, Ayim, associated with the Devil, could mean "mirth".) Not only do tarot cards sometimes have a wicked sense of humour, but a sense of fun enhances creativity.
• The Devil draws out the worst in us. It shows us our shadow side; we cannot be creative when we know only what is in the light (Strength).
• Unlike Strength, where the animal instincts are carefully controlled, the Devil suggests passion and desire, which are necessary if creativity is to flow.
• The lion (Leo) suggests fire; in Trump XV the fire becomes reality. Strength needs more fire to be more creative.
• In the Devil, time has moved on from day to night. The imagination, needed for creativity, is more active at night.
• May I suggest the Devil make Strength a little more "horny?" (The Devil has a good pair of horns.) To be creative, one must activate all powers at one's disposal.

More suggestions on how the Devil can "improve" Strength:

• Strength is a concept suggested by the image; the Devil is there in all his (un)glory. The Devil could add some reality to Strength.
• When we have confronted our shadow (the Devil), we also discover new strengths.
• The woman is earthbound; confronting her shadow can “give her wings”.
• The woman needs physical strength to control the lion; the Devil suggests that you can bind someone by mental power alone (although the Devil’s tricks—temptation, guilt, fear, despair—are not recommended!). Who knows what Strength could do with such power?
• Strength shows a woman and her instincts, which she has under control; the devil features not only the Shadow but also a man and a woman. The Devil is therefore closer to ego integration (when the shadow is integrated into the consciousness; male and female are balanced and integrated).