September 2021: Tarot Cards for Writing Inspiration

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September 2021: Tarot Cards for Writing Inspiration

Photo courtesy of Canva.com

There’s a certain appeal to the magic and wonder of carnivals and circuses, isn’t there? Unless it’s the nocturnal circus whose lights blaze to life just as you’re pumping gas at a remote rural gas station, that is. Or the haunting tones of carnival coming from the empty field out behind the dingy roadside motel you just checked into for the night. So, for September’s reading, let your imagination soar with the aerial performers of the Big Top as you create tales of gothic gloom and doom.

 

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Setting: Six of Pentacles (Reversed). The main character finds themselves evicted due to the lingering financial impact of the pandemic. With very little money, and nowhere else to go, the character has to pack what they can in a backpack and go on the road looking for work. With no fixed address, work is hard to come by, but the character manages to pick up odd jobs here and there. When they come across a motel in the middle of rural farmland, the character decides to spend the money for a room and the opportunity to take a hot shower.

 

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(Supporting) Character(s): Page of Cauldrons (Reversed). While waiting for their dinner to heat up in the hotel microwave, the main character sees a child of indeterminate age sitting on the sofa in the lobby, surrounded by crayons and coloring books. The main character ignores the child but the child starts badgering the character with questions. The character wonders where the kid’s parents are, but there’s no sign of them. The character rings the bell at the front desk but the hotel owner doesn’t appear. Finally, his dinner is ready, and the character quickly heads back to his room, followed by the talkative kid. The character slams the door and locks the deadbolt. He checks the peephole and luckily the kid has disappeared. But this kid is more than just a kid, as the main character will discover.

 

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Theme/Development: Two of Pentacles (Reversed). The main character tries to sleep in their dingy motel room, but they have trouble sleeping. Even though they thought the motel was devoid of other guests, they keep hearing people talking, laughing, and the faint sounds of music. At one point, the main character swears they hear someone crying. Finally, the main character gets up and peeks out into the hall. The entire hall is dark, and the main character heads out into the lobby. The lobby is also dark. Or it would be, except it’s lit up by colorful, swirling lights. They follow the lights out the back door, and the main character is lured on by the happy lights and sounds. A carnival has mysteriously appeared in the field behind the motel. The main character flashes back to being a child at a local fair, happy and safe with his family. Back before they disappeared, and left the main character alone at a young age. The main character is enjoying the fair so much, they don’t realized the music and the laughter is tinny and seems to echo across the field. Even the other fairgoers seem fuzzy around the edges if the main character took the time to look more closely.

 

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Conflict/Climax: Two of Rods. Soon, though, the main character can’t ignore the transitory illusion of the carnival, as the laughter and the music fades away. Then the festive lights start to blink out. All but one. A white glow that illuminates a figure in the middle of the field. It’s the child, the character thinks. But then the main character feels power sweep towards him like a wave. Power old and ancient and very, very hungry. And the main character is trapped in a spell stronger than any wishful-thinking childhood illusion. One from which there is no escape.

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