The Sceptic's Tarot

Creativity!

We’ve looked at why you’d want to be more creative and fun ways you can become more creative. There is also the fascinating possibility that becoming more creative will take your tarot reading to another level.

Now, I want to talk about practising to be more creative using tarot cards.

First off, becoming more creative has two requirements:

1. Making time to practise being creative (that is, time to read tarot cards), and
2. Believing that you are already a creative being. Creativity expert Robert Sternberg believes that deciding to be creative will make you creative. (I list two other studies below.)

Practising creativity is hugely enjoyable. Think about drawing with crayons or fingerpainting. Or trying a new recipe. Or using your imagination.

As a creative activity, tarot cards have three essential attributes:

• its rich history, which gives us a tremendous amount of material about the cards;
• its numerous decks, most of them beautifully illustrated; and
• its images.

The most evocative images are usually found on the ‘pip’ cards (The Twos through Tens), but many modern decks have most images resonant with possibilities.

Here are ways to use tarot cards to become more creative.

• Draw a tarot card and force yourself to come up with five or more stories that could be true about the card.

The Seven of Swords, for example, is usually seen as being sneaky or a victim. But perhaps the man is playing a prank by making off with the swords? Or hiding them like easter eggs?

The Six of Swords is usually taken to suggest leaving troubled waters, but perhaps the people on the boat are refugees? Or travellers on a journey? Or going on a honeymoon?

In “What could this card mean?” I suggest 24 possibilities for the Six of Cups. Check them out!

• Pull three cards at random, and make up a story with the beginning (card 1), middle (card 2), and end (card 3).
• Tell a story backwards: draw a card and imagine it's the end of a story. Now imagine a story with this ending.

Remember, a card can mean anything you can think up about the image, not only its traditional meaning.

In an article on busting writer’s block, I mention a variation where you start with the end, then draw a card for what happened immediately before that, and another for what happened immediately before that, and so on until you come to a beginning with the last card.

• Do a tarot reading! (Remember why tarot reading is a creative activity?)

If you must be creative when solving a problem, look at The Sceptic’s Tarot’s problem-solving spreads.

Journalling and self-exploration are always popular subjects, and you might even try the spreads I call “wisdom” spreads because they delve into the wisdom you have (often without knowing it).

Another type of reading—exploring a situation or event to change something or extract lessons you need to learn—can be a great way to spend time becoming more creative.

• Do a tarot reading with one of The Sceptic's Tarot's twists to add depth to your reading and break the rules (breaking the rules is a characteristic of creative people). Find these twists in “Unusual reading techniques at The Sceptic’s Tarot.”
• Do spread on becoming more creative.

Creativity has “principles” or characteristics that, if you practise them, increase your chances of sharpening your creativity. This spread explores thirteen ways you can become the type of person who is creative.

And there you have it! Practising creativity is a lot of fun, especially if you do it with tarot cards.

Studies

Intasao, N., & Hao, N. (2018). Beliefs about creativity influence creative performance: The mediation effects of flexibility and positive affect. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1810.

Rozenkrantz, L., Mayo, A.E., Ilan, T., Hart, Y., Noi, L., & Alon, U. (2017, September 11). Placebo can enhance creativity. PloS One, 12(9), e0182466. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182466.

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