Hacking Your Subconscious: How Tarot Cards Can Jumpstart Your Content

A neon eye and triangle blaze the word “PSYCHIC” in a strip mall window.  A fortune teller with a crystal ball in a smoky room cracks an egg and tells you a misfortune will befall you if you don’t pay her $300 for a “good luck spell.”  An old woman spits on your shoe and curses you for the rest of your life.

We’ve all seen the tropes surrounding fortune tellers and Tarot cards. Often regarded as a money trap for the desperate or a whimsical activity in the midst of a festival, Tarot cards can actually serve a purpose dear to our content makers’ hearts that is little known to the public.

With their brilliant colors and suggestive imagery, Tarot cards can carve a path straight to your subconscious. Even when you don’t know the story behind each card, the imagery can spark inspiration. When you do know something about the story, you can dig in deeper to the meanings and the collective human experiences that the cards represent. 

Here are three easy steps to use the Tarot to jumpstart your content creation:

• Step 1: Prime the pump with the cards — shuffle and choose one or two cards.
• Step 2: Open the inspiration spigot with free association.
• Step 3: Write your fool head off.