Your Writerly Tarot Reading . . . Coming Soon

So I'm revamping my tarot practice again. It's a regular thing I do, like cleaning the closet or reorganizing the laundry room. And it never fails to turns up surprises both pleasant and not-so-pleasant -- missing earrings, decayed cookies, that birthday card for your best friend that you swore you'd left right on the counter.

Artwork Courtesy of Thalia Took

One of the things I'm happy to be dusting off is my daily practice -- pulling one card a day, mulling it over during the next unfolding hours. Watching the ways its energy manifests, making new connections. I always tell people that the daily one-card reading is the best way to get to know the tarot, the best way to get to know a new deck, and the best way to develop a relationship with yourself as a reader.

And yet my practice dwindled. I got caught it in other things (what were they? I wonder now) and my practice fell by the wayside. I only pulled out the cards for momentous occasions. Which is no way to treat such a fine companion as a tarot deck. It's like only calling your best friend when you need money.

So I am recommitting myself to the daily practice. In addition, I'm committing to a weekly shared practice. I've written many many times about how tarot is a fine tool for creative work, especially writing, how my work as a tarot reader is similar to my work as a mystery writer -- that is, I connect themes and images into a coherent narrative. Tarot helps you break through blocks, uncover hidden ideas, and connect pieces and parts that perhaps seemed vastly different on first glance. It is a tool of discovery . . . perfect for any writer, especially those who look at the writing process using Stephen King's brilliant comparison -- that writing is like fossil hunting, more about searching and finding what is already there than making something new out of thin air. And -- especially important -- treating the fossils you find with the care they deserve.

So I've decide to use this space to offer a weekly reading for all you writers out there, seeking a nudge from the Universe. Feel free to send me your own questions and interpretations.

So what say you? Shall we begin?