I have several books with writing exercises, and all of them include the authors’ musings or philosophies, or encouraging words, example poems or stories. There are times when I just want to get to the darn exercises! In case any of you tend to feel that way, I thought I’d make a list of the exercises in this blog. If you are so inclined to read my thoughts on the cards, you can click on their titles to take you to the original post.
I will add to this post as I create more. If you try any of them out, I invite you to share your reflections!
Lunchtime Tarot, Birth Card Reflection, 11/13/09
- Explore the imagery of the card. What detail stands out when you first look at the card? What is happening in the card? Is there a story there? Consider what might have happened five minutes earlier and what might happen five minutes later. What is the mood of the card? Consider the setting, the weather, and the expression on the faces of the figure(s) in the card.
- When I look at this card I feel…
- These words and phrases come to mind when I look at this card:
- This card reminds me of this significant childhood experience:
- This card reminds me of this significant experience from my adolescence:
- This card reminds me of this significant experience in recent years:
- This card reminds me of this person who has shaped my life:
- This card challenges me to…
- This card represents my potential to…
- This card warns me against…
- I hate this birth card because…
- I love this birth card because…
- I wish was my birth card instead of this one because…
- Choose another card in the deck (perhaps your year card) to interview your birth card about what it sees as your strengths and weaknesses. Write a dialogue between them.
- Imagine that you are teaching a class on something that you enjoy doing and that your birth card is your student. Write the scene that unfolds.
- Imagine that your birth card is willing to barter the secret to its virtue for the secret to one of your own. Write the dialogue between you.
- Do a three card reading for your birth card.
- Calculate the birth card for a significant person in your life. Imagine each of your birth cards in conversation about the two of you. If you have the same birth card, you might use cards from different decks. Write a dialogue between them.
- Find your birth card in several different decks. Which do you like best? Which do you like least?
Lunchtime Tarot: Point of View, 11/7/09
Go through the deck and pull out all the cards that a particular person in your life might use to describe you. This person in your life might be
- someone who is a significant ally in your life right now—someone who knows you and supports you. This might be a partner, a parent, a sibling, a co-worker, a friend, etc.
- an acquaintance who doesn’t know you very well. This might be a store clerk, your mail carrier, a co-worker from a different department, a friend of a friend, etc.
- a family member or a pet.
- a childhood friend that you have lost touch with.
- a teenage friend that you have lost touch with.
For each round, record the cards that you have selected, so that you can see how many come up multiple times.
Consider that each card has a light side and shadow side. You might discover that one person in your life might describe you as the shadow side of a card while another might describe you as the light side of the same card.
For reflection:
- Are you surprised by any of the cards that you have chosen?
- Have any forgotten memories surfaced?
- Have any surprising feelings surfaced?
- What have you learned about yourself and the way others might see you?
- Which cards do you feel best describe who you are, or who you were at another time in your life?
Lunchtime Tarot: The Saboteur and The Liberator, 10/30/09
A goal that I need help reaching:
Pull each of the Ace cards from the deck and spread them out in front of you.
- Under the Ace of Cups, place a card that shows how the goal will fulfill your heart—what your heart has to gain from reaching this goal.
- Under the Ace of Swords, place a card that shows how the goal will fulfill your mind—what your intellect has to gain from reaching this goal.
- Under the Ace of Pentacles, place a card that shows the practical benefits to be gained from reaching this goal.
- Under the Ace of Wands, place a card that shows how the goal will fulfill your creative spirit—what your creative spirit has to gain from reaching this goal.
- Choose a card with a figure that represents your Saboteur. List signs that will warn you when your Saboteur is in charge.
- Choose a card with a figure that represents your Liberator. List signs that will show you that your Liberator is in charge.
- Consider the possibility that your Saboteur has good intentions and wants to protect you. Imagine your Liberator saying that you don’t need that kind of protection any more. What agreements might they come to?
- Imagine that each Ace is a gift from your Liberator and/or your Saboteur. Look at the imagery of the card. What might it symbolize? A seed that needs planting? A tool? A reminder of your strength?
- Choose a card that represents an action you want to take.
The Ace of Wands: In Search of Fresh Soil, 7/18/07
Find a card in the deck that represents a situation or a relationship that you have outgrown. Find another card that represents how you imagine you would feel if you were to move on.
The Ace of Pentacles: Penny from Heaven, 6/27/07
Find a card that you feel neutral about—one that seems less interesting than the rest, and write about it. What is the first detail you notice? Describe the card. Imagine you are in it. What’s happening, or what can be seen just beyond its borders? Are there any personal associations that come up? Is there a story there?
I invite you to post your writing, or share your thoughts on the process. One of the best parts of the workshop was getting to hear what others wrote. It deepened my imagination and understanding of the cards.
Temperance: The Morning Card, 6/18/07
- Go through the deck face up and find a card that represents your morning self. If you are unhappy with your morning self, find another card that symbolizes who you would like to be in the morning.
- Find a card that shows your best time of day.
Three of Pentacles, Judgement, Five of Wands: Styles of Collaboration, 5/3/07
Think about a time when you were called upon to collaborate with others. Go through your deck and find a card that symbolizes the role you played. Find other cards to represent the other people you worked with.
The Moon, 4/27/07
Go through your deck and find a card that represents the wolf in your heart. Find another card that represents the dog. Lay the cards next to each other. What story do they tell? If there are people or animals in these cards, imagine what they might say to one another.
The Empress and the Ivy, 4/23/07
- Consider the excess in your life. What needs to be pruned? Cleared out? Hauled away? What would you be better off without? Find a card in your deck that symbolizes the excess, or the clutter in your life, or that which is growing out of control. Find another card that shows how you would feel if you were more on top of it.
- Find a card in your deck that represents how you nurture yourself.
- Find a card in your deck that shows the way you feel when you nurture others.
Finding The Star in the Painted Desert, 4/18/07
- Find a card in your deck that represents a situation or a place that has brought you peace and solitude.
- Look at The Star card and make a wish. Find a card in your deck that represents the wish. Find another that shows you what you need to do to make that wish come true.
The Devil and “A Passion for Clothes,” 4/15/07
- Is there a little devil in you who talks you into overindulging? Go through your deck and choose a card that illustrates the devil in you. Find another that represents the part of you that knows when you need to treat yourself or live it up a little and when you are being too extreme or getting out of control.
- Find a card that represents the chain about your neck and another that shows you how to remove it.
The Ten of Swords and Acupuncture, 4/12/07
Go through your deck face up and choose a card that represents something that you have been “analyzing to death.” Find another card that represents what you need to do in order to lay that issue to rest.
The Emperor, Strength, and the King of Swords: A Reflection on Assertiveness, 4/9/07
- Make a list of people who you admire for their assertiveness. Go through your deck face up and find cards that illustrate their strengths.
- Choose a card that represents a person or a situation that makes you feel intimidated.
- Choose a card that represents your typical response to a person or a situation that makes you feel intimidated.
- Choose a card that represents the response you would like to have to a person or a situation that makes you feel intimidated.
Knight of Cups and Death: The Romantic Idealist and the Existentialist, 4/9/07
- Think about a fantasy that you have had for some time. Perhaps you have always wanted to take flying lessons or learn how to salsa dance. Or maybe you have been dreaming about a graduate program or an alternative career. Go through your tarot deck face up and choose a card that illustrates what has stopped you from turning this fantasy into reality.
- Choose a card that illustrates a painful experience for which you need closure. Choose a second card that illustrates what it would be like without the guilt, the sadness, or bitterness in your life. Choose a third that symbolizes what you need in order to move on.
The Magician: Getting Things out on the Table, 4/9/07
Go through the deck face up and find a card that illustrates something you need to “Get out on the table.” Draw a random card to give you insight into what is stopping you.
