The Creative Tarot: A Modern Guide to an Inspired Life

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Knowing which words and colors and patterns to choose is based on an inner sense that has been refined through practice. Just because we may have different takes on a card doesn’t mean that I can’t learn from your interpretations, and I hope you can learn something from mine.

Crispin also uses Casanova as an example of this card: “But Casanova, while he certainly seduced lots of married women, did it not to steal them away from their husbands but to bring them pleasure for the first time.You either have to choose one and discard the other, or both of your hands are full, and you’re not so easily mobile anymore. And if you’re really tapped in as a creative diviner, your Muses and spirit guides are probably related, if not one and the same. The Minor Arcana comes in four suits that correspond with the four elements: Cups (water), Wands (fire), Swords (air), and Coins or Pentacles (earth). She has a nice overview of the structure of the deck: the suits, the major and minor arcana, and their general meanings.

Almost to a fault, I process life through symbols, metaphor, and the patterns/connections they create – as smaller narratives nested within larger narratives, the micro and the macro mirroring each other.

If you’re still confused, you can always talk to a friend about the cards you drew or swap readings with each other. The commentary on each card concludes with a short list of books, movies, or paintings to explore: for the Magician, Shakespeare’s The Tempest or the paintings of Hilma af Klint; for the Priestess, Silvina Ocampo’s The Topless Tower or Blake’s The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun; and for Death, John Everett Millais’ painting of Ophelia. But the majors and Pamela Colman Smith’s illustrated minors aren’t the only sources of inspiration for the visual arts. With the Queen of Wands, she talks about photographer Sally Mann, and how when taking photographs of her children for her art she "she couldn’t worry how the images of her half-naked five-year-old daughter would be seen by others—she had to put that aside to take the shot.

And if you establish a meaning for one aspect of the card—say, that Sword refers to air, and air refers to thought and communication—then it makes sense that a story would arise rather naturally from a progression. For example, her section on tarot history is refreshingly up-front and dispels many alluring myths around the cards with dry humor. this book provides card interpretations and spreads to help you when you’re stuck (or reassure you when you’re doing well and just worrying. I like tarot cards for 2 reasons: 1) they're spooky-looking, and 2) they serve as a great Rorschach test - you're going to look at a card and find a way for it to be applicable in whatever way you need it to be for what's on your mind. To demonstrate my ignorance regarding tarot, I confess at first sight I pronounced this word as if it rhymed with carrot.

I still don't care for it but for someone who might be interested it does give particulars and background. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. VERDICT Crispin's Jungian-like message that the deck is a gateway for personal insight rather than divination opens up the tarot to a broader audience.