Nurturing Your Creative Soul
Part Three of the Tarot for the Creative Soul Series
So, with the help of the exercises in Part Two of this series, your creative spark ignited! Woohoo! BUT … (I like BIG BUTS) in order to keep that fire burning in your soul you’ll need to nurture it.
In Part Three of my Tarot for the Creative Soul Series, I’m sharing my three favorite ways of fueling creativity.
Download Your Part Three Workbook
To work with these activities now and/or at a later date, you can download your complimentary Nurturing Your Creative Soul, Part Three Workbook here and at the button below.
Make a Tarot Playlist
Creating a tarot playlist can be helpful during times when you might not have immediate access to your cards. I like to use my playlist first thing in the morning when I wake. As I’m making my coffee, I’ll open my music app (I use Spotify) and make sure the playlist’s PLAY setting is set to “shuffle.” Then, I press PLAY and the song I get (which, to me, aligns to a specific tarot card) serves as a musical message for my day!
Here’s how I set up my playlist:
Look at each card in your tarot deck.
Assign a song to each card based on the songs serving as card interpretations OR songs featuring the card title in their own.
Shuffle your playlist and press Play.
The song played and its corresponding card can serve as a day-starter or a quick check-in.
What’s your favorite song and which card would you assign it in your own tarot playlist?
Journaling
According to Psychology Today*, journaling can help cultivate a positive mood, and it provides feedback by reflecting, recording, and revisiting creative sessions.
Two of my favorite journals for nurturing my creativity are Shannon Knight’s Tarot & Self-Discovery Spread Book and my Writual Planner.
Additionally, a few months ago I was fortunate enough to contribute a piece to
’s Substack, The Hidden Path. In the article Seeking Joy in Moments of Conflict, I shared a journal I developed as a gift to Nancy’s subscribers. This guided wellness journal includes 22 considerations for seeking joy through the lens of the tarot’s Major Arcana. If you aren’t subscribed to Nancy’s work, you’re missing out on a delicious adventure! Check out The Hidden Path here.If you don’t already have a tarot journal, I highly recommend these resources as they have been SO helpful in my own creative practice. Here are the links where you can find them:
Get the Tarot & Self-Discovery Spread Book here.
Get your Writual Planner here, BUT … Get 15% off your order by using coupon code: MANDY.
Seeking Joy in Moments of Conflict
Already have a go-to journal? Which one(s) do you use? I’d love to know!
*Source: Stockwell, B., Ph. D. (2021, October 5). How creatives can instantly benefit from journaling. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-naked-creative/202110/how-creatives-can-instantly-benefit-journaling
Tarot for Storytelling
As a writer of fiction, my most favorite manner of using the tarot is to inspire my storytelling efforts. In the planning phase of my novels, I start with my Story Arc Spread, which I’ve also included in your workbook.
On the image above, you can see the five spaces that make up the spread. Each of these spaces has been assigned a common story arc phase used in fiction writing and cinematic storytelling.
You have your set-up (which is the beginning the story), the rising action (something is happening to move the story along), the climax (which is the pinnacle of the story, the moment when everything comes to a head, so to speak), and then you have falling action that unfolds until the characters finally reach a resolution, or conclusion.
As an example,
I’ll share a selection of cards and the story I can intuit from them. I pulled the Five of Cups, the Ace of Wands, the Knight of Pentacles, The Moon, and the Nine of Pentacles.
Here’s the story I intuited from these cards:
Mary was feeling everything but merry. Just last week, she lost her partner, Roberto, and now she feels unable to move on with her life. Although she and Roberto had only been together a few short months, she’d fallen hopelessly in love with him and they were looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together.
One day, not long after the funeral, Mary received a package from an anonymous sender. Tucked inside was a letter printed on fancy letterhead. The document was from an estate attorney who’d been appointed by Roberto, and it instructed Mary to make an appointment to meet at his office as soon as possible.
At the office, the handsome young attorney read Roberto’s last will and testament, and Mary discovered that he’d left her his entire estate, including a villa and vineyard in his hometown of Tuscany, Italy.
Over the next few weeks, Mary had to decide what to do with her new fortune. She packed her bags and headed to Italy where she had to figure out things like running a business, how to pay property taxes, and how to care for the menagerie of animals Roberto left behind!
After much toil (and soil), Mary eventually settled into her sprawling new estate. She got a flattering haircut and a flashy new wardrobe, and continued living the best rest of her life.
The end.
Are you also a fiction writer? Are you penning a novel? In what phase are you in the process? I’d love to cheer you on!
Next up, the Series Conclusion: Revitalizing Your Creative Soul
Keep an eye on your inbox next week for Part Four and the finale of my Tarot for the Creative Soul series. Until then, may your mail portend of fortune and not of death or taxes.
Did you miss Part One? You can catch up here.
What about Part Two? You can read it here.
About Mandy
Amanda "Mandy" Hughes is an author and instructional designer who uses the tarot to inspire storytelling. Her book Mystic Storyteller: A Writer’s Guide to Using the Tarot for Creative Inspiration is coming to La Panthère Studio summer 2024. She also writes fiction under pen names A. Lee Hughes and Mandy Lee. Mandy lives in Georgia with her husband and four sons, two of whom are furrier than the others (but not by much). Visit her website at www.haintbluecreative.com and follow her on Instagram @HaintBlueCreative.
The tarot playlist is brilliant! I must try!