The Sceptic's Tarot

Have you enjoyed “forced connections” from the previous article? Let’s look at a different way to solve problems by forcing connections between two cards.

Instead of making lists of what we see and associate with the cards, we force connections directly between two cards.

Let's solve a problem

To see what I mean, let’s go through this exercise using the same problem as before (except that we change the birthday to Valentine’s Day): Valentine’s Day is coming up. I want to give my husband something special to demonstrate how creative and romantic I can be.

I randomly draw two cards: the Eight of Pentacles and Justice.

Now, instead of drawing up lists from items, I list other connections between these two cards.

Both cards are about:

• precision application of an instrument (chisel, the law)
• wearing a ‘costume’ (apron, robe)
• attention to detail (the pentacle, evidence)
• dedication
• responsibility
• dangerous implements (chisel, sword)
• both are ‘on the bench’
• ‘nailing’ something (completed pentacles against the wall, guilty people)
• ‘blunt instruments’ (hammer, the law)
• not being creative (the Eight of Pentacles suggests working from a template, while judges need to follow the law: they cannot be too creative in their judgements!)
• visible results
• wearing something red.

Ideas from these connections:

• Invite him for coffee and offer him heart-shaped cookies decorated with words that express how I feel and a cappuccino decorated with a milk heart. (Dedication.)
• Meet him at home wearing a naughty costume. (Wearing a costume.)
• Cook him dinner with attention to every detail such as the tablecloth and napkins decorated with hearts, to love-theme foods such as pomegranate soup. (Attention to detail.)
• Cut out a red heart from a greeting card and pin it to my sleeve. (Visible results.)
• Meet him in the park; decorate a park bench with flowers and gifts. (On the bench.)
• Give him an engraved ice bucket and thongs, with a bottle of champagne in the bucket. (Chisel, sword.)
• Buy him a painting of the two of us done from a photograph. (Nail them.)
• Create a playlist with his favourite songs that express how I feel. (No creativity required, just good taste!)
• Write a poem that expresses my dedication to him. (Dedication.)
• Give him an exciting new sex toy meant for couples. (Dangerous implements.)
• Seduce him by wearing red lingerie. (Wearing something red.)

Now it’s your turn!

Pick a problem (if you can't think of any, use the prompts from Tell me what my problem is (and how to solve it).

Shuffle your deck and draw two cards at random.

Studying the two cards closely, draw up a list of the connections you find between the cards. You can consider the suit, number, situations, people, keywords, themes, and anything else the cards have in common.

Now let this list inspire you to find gifts for Valentine’s Day (or a birthday, if you prefer).

I would love to hear how this technique worked for you!

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