Using Tarot for Creative Insight
How I used a new tarot layout for help with a writing project ~ includes pictures and how-to
A new tarot layout
I find tarot helpful in gaining insight on creative projects. Recently, I discovered a new tarot spread in a book called Tarot and Psychology by Arthur Rosengarten PhD that is especially good for this purpose.
This post is about that layout and how I applied it. It is also includes some basic tarot pointers.
Here is Dr. Rosengarten’s Layout:
What is for us?
What is against us?
What is known?
What is unknown?
What do we need to know?
One of the things I love about this spread is that the fifth card is NOT drawn. It is selected from the higher arcana based on the combined numerical value of the first four cards.
To me, this adds a bit of magic to the reading!
How I read
My approach is to look at the images on the cards in the same way I look at images in dreams. This means that the same rules of interpretation apply. Knowing a bit about symbolism and mythology is helpful. Knowing the cards is good too but, as with dreams, personal associations mean a lot.
When I read, I try to take it seriously. I dialogue with the cards and allow plenty of time to journal and reflect. I usually lay the cards out on my library table. Having a dedicated space is nice because you can sit with the reading for long as you like, but it’s definitely not required.
The ask
If you read tarot, you have probably heard all of this before but I think it bears repeating.
The first step in any reading is to formulate a question. The question should be open-ended and leave room for reflection.
Asking for insight and understanding is good. Asking the cards to directly tell you what to do is not.
Asking about the future or a specific outcome (fortune-telling) is the lowest and most disempowering use of tarot.
NOTE: Not everyone agrees with this.
My question for this reading was, “What do I need to know about my new writing project?”
As I shuffle I like to consider the situation, looking at it from different angles, then try to enter into an open or detached state toward the end.
The reading
These are the first five cards I drew according to Dr. Rosengarten’s layout + two extra cards I’ll explain as we go.
What is for? The Fool (0)
What is against? 6 of Pentacles (6)
What is known? The Star (17)
What is unknown? 7 Cups (7)
What do I need to know? The Empress (0+6+17+7+=30=3)*
*Remember to reduce all numbers over 22 (the number of cards in the major arcana).
Looking at the first 5 cards
I journaled six and half pages on this reading so I’m just going include a few highlights. As you’ll see in the next photo, I have a second notebook I use to write down actionable ideas I come up with as I journal.
I try to look at each card like I’ve never seen it before. I’ve been reading cards since I was 13, so I know all the standard “meanings,” but I always try to focus on new associations in the here and now.
When I journal on a reading, I end each entry on each card with a question for further reflection.
Here is a condensed example of what I wrote in my journal on this reading:
The Fool (for) Idealism. Seeker. The journey. Beginnings. The Fool as I see him this morning isn’t only beginning a new journey filled with naivete and optimism—he’s embracing it. His arms are wide open, like he is open. The future is uncertain, the chasm yawns, but he is wholly in the moment. I see a visionary with his eyes fixed on the vision. I sense the energy of new beginning. How can I ride this wave?
The 6 of Pentacles (against) Earth. Generosity. Wealth. Over-spending. Need. I used to always read pentacles as money and I still look at that first. This is a card of flow. It can be seen as generosity, depletion or need. I’m not overspending but what about my energy? Pentacles are earth so this might be about energy lost through projects. I’m not doing too much (for me) but there are several steps left in getting my last completed project published. How does that affect this project?
The Star (known) Hope. Balance. Destiny. The unconscious. Like many major arcana cards there is a LOT that can be said about the Star. Today, the eight pointed star reminds me of Inanna and her descent. The pool is the deep well of the unconscious. I am reminded of archetypal energies pouring out the water of inspiration into both the deep well and the thirsty ground. These are familiar (known) motifs and associations but how might they apply to the story I’m writing?
The 7 of Cups (unknown) Water. Emotion. Fantasy. Confusion. Lack of discernment. The same card in the same position it was in last week. That reading was about fiction writing in general but its reappearance (like a reoccurring dream) makes me think I haven’t gotten the message yet. In some ways it mirrors the 6 of Pentacles (both show division). Cups are water and water is emotion and probably related to inner states. How I am divided or conflicted and how might this be showing up in or around the story? What have I missed?
The Empress (what I need to know) Fertility. Creativity. Venus. Queen of Heaven. Selected from the numerical total of the other cards (30 = 3 + 0 = 3), the Empress circles back a familiar goddess archetype. The project is a romance. Romance explore the feminine (note the symbol on the rock in this card). Many of my stories have themes of trauma and healing, including the vampire story I just finished and the romance I’m writing now. The Empress, seems to be addressing some reservations I have about my FMC. But is this accurate?
Looking at Cards 6-8
Cards 6-8 are extra cards not in Dr. Rosengarten’s spread. They are the two aces in the photos above plus Strength.
Possible progression (6 & 7) I like to pull two more cards to join with the “what is known” card in the top of the spread. This is a little predictive on the surface but I think of it as where things are > where they may be headed.
The Ace of Swords (air, beginning, spirit, inspiration) > Ace of Pentacles (earth, beginning, material, building). To me, this shows a good progression, from conception to implementation. This is the energy of beginnings (which connects to The Fool), however, not of completion. Aces are especially meaningful to me, so much so that I once wrote a poem on the topic. It was about starting over. I'm starting over with a new story. What are my next steps?
An 8th card for clarification I wasn’t sure if my insights on the Empress were on target or not. Given the symbolism in this reading, I liked the idea of an eighth card so I shuffled and drew one. That card was Strength which is card 8 in the major arcana. It is also the featured card on my tarot calendar for August. The number and symbolism seemed synchronistic so I read what was written on the calendar.
I liked what the calendar said about strength from within vs. strength over others and the reminder that the original name of the Strength card was Fortitude—which is one of the four cardinal virtues represented in the major arcana. Fortitude is strength that does not break. The woman taming the lion in the Strength card (3rd from the left below) reminds me of Ishtar with her lions. The Star and the Empress suggest other related goddess archetypes (Inanna and Isis). To me, the mythology is relevant. But how might I apply it?
My takeaway
I think the questions posed by the 6 of Pentacles and the 7 of Cups call for further reflection. I liked the idea of fortitude as it might apply to both my FMC and myself. The aces call for a shift—from envisioning to building but it is all very preliminary right now.
I found the goddess imagery in this reading interesting. Related attributes like creativity, intuition and independence are qualities I want to further develop in my FMC and in myself.
As I journaled on this reading, I got some specific ideas about characterization and backstory—as well as some general insights about the plot. I found all of this helpful and I feel more optimistic about this project than I did before.
The cards will stay out on the library table until I feel that I’ve gotten all I can from them—but I already feel that I’m off to a good start.
💕 I'll be posting the first chapter of the writing project I was reading on very soon. Until then, please feel free to read my vampire story 👇
🩸 You can check out the first indtallment of my vampire story here:
I find number symbolism interesting. You can read my poem about that here:
If you want to know more about the Jungian approach to interpreting dreams which does carry over to tarot, please check out:
The Nature of Dreams
In this post, I talk about Carl Jung’s famous essay, On the Nature of Dreams. This includes Jung’s theory of compensate in dreams, who is qualified to interpret a dream, big dreams, symbolism, dream structure and the importance of personal context and associations.
©2025 Barbara Graver. All rights reserved. This is an original essay. Do not reproduce or redistribute without written permission. This post cross-posted from MysticReview.com.
Thank you for sharing!