Tarot Spread and Ritual to Supercharge Creativity

Magically Inspire and Empower Your Creativity with This Tarot Spread and Ritual

I’m delighted to share this illuminating tarot spread and empowering ritual from Cassandra Snow & Siri Vincent Plouff, authors of the forthcoming book Lessons From the Empress: A Tarot Workbook for Self-Care and Creative Growth.

Creativity lives in all of us. For some of us it emanates from our pores and infuses everything we do. For others, it lives just below the surface of the skin, waiting for the right moment to hop out and help us make things. For an admittedly great number of people, creativity is buried deep within, hidden in a metaphorical lockbox until we give ourselves permission to grab the key (which we have had all along) and release the beautiful creative currents we’ve kept there. 

There are a number of reasons we might keep our creativity under our skin or altogether hidden, and we explore a few of them in our forthcoming book Lessons From the Empress: A Tarot Workbook for Self-Care & Creative Growth. We believe that just like we are all capable of logical or psychic skills, we are also all capable of great creative prowess. In fact, for full, proper, holistic self-care we must nurture this side of us just like we nurture all of the other beautiful parts of ourselves.

We feel as strongly about the importance of creativity in self-care as we do about a good divination or witchcraft practice. Creativity empowers us to think for ourselves, speak for ourselves, and create the life we want to have. 

We find tarot to be a major tool to help us tap into and maintain our creativity. At its heart, the tarot deck is 78 pieces of art, and 79 if you count the guidebook as a piece of literary art. If a single piece of art can inspire you in a million different ways to spur on your own creativity, imagine what 79 can do. Knowing where to start is the only real stumbling block in this process, and this spread aims to give you that start no matter what your relationship with creativity is right now. 

This spread that Cassandra designed will allow you to flow freely into Siri’s ritual following it.

You can lay your cards in a straight line, but it’s recommended to lay this spread out in a circle. We find that circles in tarot spreads allow us to see how energy of the spread moves, and how each card is informed by the ones surrounding it in a more natural, easy-to-read way. 

From here, the gift of creativity is in your hands – go forth and create in all of the ways that feel best and truest to you. 

The Spread

1- Where is my creativity?

This card will pinpoint whether you are living in a creative state, keeping it under your skin or burying it. You may even find out it is somewhere else altogether!

2- How can I best tap into the creativity right now?

This spread placement should you give a somewhat-tangible way to get inspired and feel in tune with your creativity. 

3- What does creativity mean to me?

If the first two cards leave you a little lost, never fear. This one should help you name how creativity is defined for you and what that looks like as a holistic part of your life moving forward.

4- What creative outlets might I pursue (or focus on) right now?

Are you a natural singer? A learned baker? Born to write? Something else altogether? This spread placement will clue you in. But…don’t limit yourself to the first thing that springs to mind when you pull this card. Sit with this card. Describe it out loud. Come up with as many creative outlets as you can that may be supported by this card. This will give you plenty of things to dabble in to figure out what works best for you. 

Alternatively, if you already live creatively, this card tells you where to focus that creative energy for the best results right now. Anything that doesn’t show up intuitively here is meant to be released or saved for later. 

5- How can I bring a little extra creative spark into my daily life?

This spread placement is meant to help you slowly but surely build a creative practice with all of the above information. Coming up with just a couple of small things you can do daily (or almost daily) that seem fun, exciting and creative will help you build these habits without even realizing that’s what you’re doing. I strongly suggest investigating what shows up in this placement so you can vary things even if you already live a life full of creativity.

6- What art, media or activities can inspire me if I feel stuck or uncreative in the future?

Take your time with this card too, coming up with lots of answers based on the one card. You want a nice diversity of things to lean on if you inevitably get “creator’s block” in the future or feel like giving up.   

7- What else do I need to know about me and creativity?

With this last one, just be open to what comes through.

Ok! Now for the ritual.

Ritual to Welcome in Creativity

Siri here! I’m obsessed with ritual. Just as tarot is a beautiful way of finding inspiration, ritual can jump start your creativity. We do magical rituals in order to create a change in our life.

In Lessons from the Empress, Cassandra and I connect creativity back to self care. Through creative thinking, we can get to know ourselves and clarify our dreams. But sometimes it’s hard to usher in that level of creativity.

This ritual comes from my Patreon, where I write ritual guides for the Dark and Full Moon. And while I was absolutely channeling the energy of Lessons from the Empress in this ritual, it is a completely standalone piece.

This spell is particularly good for those times when you’re feeling a bit burned out, or when you are feeling unsure of yourself in your creations. This spell is meant to help clear the way for fresh ideas. It will help you feel a certain newness in your creative process. 

Rituals themselves are so often an expression of creativity: they are tiny theatrical moments where you are asking the universe for something. Make it fun! Make it art! Feel free to adapt this ritual however you need to in order to make it truly your own. 

Materials:

• Your workspace
• Pieces of paper, scrapbook, or other material that you feel is “clutter” in your creative process (see ritual for further clarification)
• A recycling bin
• Some incense or herbs you can burn for cleansing (plus holder and lighter or matches)
• A small piece of pyrite (or a shiny penny if you don’t have pyrite)
• A new idea notebook or sketchbook
• An anointing oil (or water that has been left in a windowsill during a full moon)

Step One

Set the stage where you normally do your art (or would like to do your art). This is a spell with lots of ritual intention behind it,  so it will actually empower your workspace to work your magic in this spot.

First, place the pyrite or penny in the center of your workspace.

Next, brainstorm all the things you feel may get in the way of your creativity and write them on slips of paper. Crumple them up and put them in your workspace also. If it feels right, you can write the same thing on multiple pieces of paper, for example if this particular thing seems to take up a lot of space in your creative process.

Finally, make sure you have all the other materials on hand.

Step Two

Chant 3 times: 

“My mind is clear. My will is strong. Creativity flows through me. I am a vessel for divine inspiration.”

As you chant these words, feel that you are bringing more and more power into your voice. Once finished, anoint your brow lightly with the oil or moon water.

Step Three

Clear away the paper covering your workspace into the recycling bin. As you do, chant: 

“My mind is clear! I have space to create.”

Step Four

Safely light the incense or herbs on the holder and pass them over the desk/working space. Imagine that the last of the mental clutter that keeps you from creating is being gently taken away.

Step Five

Once the working space is fully clear, anoint the edges of the workspace with the moon water or with the anointing oil. Say:

“This is a place for creativity to blossom. I channel my inner Empress. I create with ease. My creativity is divine.”

Step Six

Pick up the pyrite or penny. Think of all the ways that new ideas come to you, and (if you’re using a penny) think about the promise of new beginnings that a freshly minted penny brings. Imagine that feeling of brilliance when a new, shiny idea strikes. Whisper to the pyrite or penny:

“You are a spark of brilliance in my everyday life. When I tap you, I seek ideas.”

Step Seven

Pick up the idea notebook. State:

“You are a place to capture all of the ideas I generate. You are a vessel of thriving creativity.”

Gently anoint the edges of the idea notebook with the oil or moon water. Now, sit down to brainstorm, write, and generate ideas in the new notebook. Maybe you want to light a candle or otherwise set the mood. Have fun with this and let it take as long as you want it to take. 

Step Eight

Once you are ready to be done recording new ideas in your idea notebook, gently set the notebook aside.

Pick up the Empress card, and thank them for their support.

Put the pyrite or coin in your pocket, and carry it with you whenever you want to generate ideas. Fidget with it when you’re sitting at your desk working. (If you used a penny, you may want to acquire a small bag to put it in so that you don’t lose it or accidentally spend it.)

The work is done! So be it, see to it.

(Did you try this tarot spread and/or ritual? Let us know how it went in the comments below!)

Lessons From the Empress: A Tarot Workbook for Self-Care and Creative Growth is coming out from Weiser Books on October 1st, 2022. This book posits that creativity is not only something we all possess, but something that needs nurturing and attention just like any other part of ourselves in order to truly practice a holistic form of self-care. The authors take you on a lush Empress’s journey through the Major Arcana, discuss what stories the minor arcana tell us about self-care and creativity, and offer plenty of prompts, spreads, and activities along the way. It’s available for pre-order now.

Cassandra Snow is also the author of Queering Your Craft: Witchcraft From the Margins and Queering the Tarot. They are a long-time tarot reader & teacher, a theatre artist, and a writer through and through. You can connect with them on Instagram at @mx.cassandra.snow or support their tarot content and writing on Patreon. You can also visit their website to see what classes are coming up, how to buy their previous books, and check on their availability for tarot readings or 1:1 lessons. 

Siri Vincent Plouff (they/she) is a witch, tarot reader, and writer living on occupied Dakota and Anishinaabe land otherwise known as Minneapolis, MN. They are a writer and a witch who loves to help people find their path. Siri hosts the Heathen’s Journey Podcast is available for tarot and rune readings, and often teaches classes at Catland Books. They are currently studying Swedish folk magic and herbalism. You can connect with them at northernlightswitch.com, on Instagram at @siri.vincent.plouff, and Twitter at @northlightwitch. If you would like to support their work, please visit patreon.com/northernlightswitch.