Writing the Tarot
What has the Unicorn been up to this summer? Well, the Grail of Stars needed some final editing tweaks before publication, the sun finally came out just as we finished them, and then my author disappeared! Turns out she has been to a secret author conference in deepest Oxfordshire, where they do all kinds of authorly things such as five minute readings from work in progress, discussing celebrity series (many of them ghost-written by real authors), drawing pictures with the opposite hand while blindfolded, eating too many puddings, drama workshops, comparing sales figures, finding out more about ebooks, eating more puddings, collecting tips for travelling with books, and - to work off some of the puddings - yoga.
To prove she has been "working", here are some pictures she took and a poem she wrote at a Writing the Tarot workshop led by Jenny Alexander (who blogs in the House of Dreams, if you want to know more).
It was surprisingly hard work...
We all started with "The Fool", because this card means new beginnings. In two of these packs he is foolishly/innocently stepping off a cliff as he begins his journey. Fortunately, in Katherine's pack (centre) he is just setting out up a tempting sunny path that divides ahead and might lead to the cliff, having ignored a baby with its hand in the fire and its screaming mother. I am not in The Fool cards (because I am no fool, obviously!), but if you look closely at a tarot pack, you might well find unicorns in some of the other cards.
This workshop proves that anyone can use a tarot pack with its beautiful pictures to inspire a personal or creative journey, rather than just use the cards in the more usual way to tell fortunes. The workshop reminds me of the magical Story World cards sold by Katherine's publisher Templar, which can be used in a similar way and are especially good for younger writers.
Have you ever been inspired by a pack of cards? Let the Unicorn know!
To prove she has been "working", here are some pictures she took and a poem she wrote at a Writing the Tarot workshop led by Jenny Alexander (who blogs in the House of Dreams, if you want to know more).
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| Katherine's random major arcana card - "The World" |
~*~
I am the World.
I am the centre from which all things spring:
The moon and the stars,
The air and the sea,
The growing green,
And the corn that feeds man.
I am the flaming torch and the burning fire,
I am the sword and the cauldron.
I am desire.
~*~
It was surprisingly hard work...
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| The boys - Jonny Zucker and Joe Friedman |
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| The girls - Rosemary Hayes, Lynne Benton, Jenny Alexander, Jackie Marchant |
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| The thinkers - Miriam Halahmy, Celia Rees, and... can you identify the sleeper? |
We all started with "The Fool", because this card means new beginnings. In two of these packs he is foolishly/innocently stepping off a cliff as he begins his journey. Fortunately, in Katherine's pack (centre) he is just setting out up a tempting sunny path that divides ahead and might lead to the cliff, having ignored a baby with its hand in the fire and its screaming mother. I am not in The Fool cards (because I am no fool, obviously!), but if you look closely at a tarot pack, you might well find unicorns in some of the other cards.
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| Three Fools |
Have you ever been inspired by a pack of cards? Let the Unicorn know!