I found this image of a tarot card spread on Pinterest t’other day, to create a character, and thought it might be a bit of fun to try.

Here’s what I got from my cards…

Now I’m wondering if it should be done with the major arcana only, thank goodness this deck is fully illustrated!

Card 1 – Hero

Seven of Pentacles – evaluation, eat the fruit now or let them ripen further? Reaping the reward for effort and work.

The character, a forest elf charged with the care of a magical tree. The fruits bestow different gifts, based on their level of ripeness. The elf must decide which gifts will be needed and harvest accordingly.

Card 2 – Dominant outward quality

Judgement (seems rather appropriate) – renewal, a new start, the necessity of hard choices, the moment of truth.

The elf is the judge of the gifts available to those who receive the fruits of her harvest. She is seen as decisive and occasionally harsh.

Card 3 – Dominant inward quality

Knight of Swords – bravery and aggression, rushing headlong into conflict to defend her beliefs, blunt and comes directly to the point and is incapable of dissemblance.

Seems to be in line with someone who needs to make tough decisions, but may not always be making them with suitable reflection behind the decision. She may be decisive, but sometimes, her action may be premature. A bit of a tough one, given once a level of ripeness of those magical fruit is gone, that’s it.

Card 4 – Goal

Death (ooeeer!) – this isn’t necessarily actual death. If you look at the card, the image is of a phoenix. This is about endings and transformation, shedding the old, changing status, fresh perspectives.

Our elf is looking to change what she’s doing with her life, she doesn’t want to stay tied to a tree for the rest of her days and, in line with her inward quality, is filled with a need to do, rather than be.

Card 5 – Motivation

Queen of Swords – honesty and inner knowledge, valued for her accurate perceptions of the world around her and for her experiences.

Okay, this elf needs a name and I’m going with Eden.

Eden feels she is trapped in her little orchard and is lacking a wider world view, so her ideas and knowledge are often not valued as they lack awareness of the greater context. She wishes to learn and understand more of life and other experiences.

Card 6 – Stakes

Knight of Pentacles – he knows exactly what he wants and where is destination is, he moves steadily towards his goal and, upon reaching it, strikes with all the force of the earth.

I’m going to take this with a slight twist in terms of ‘stakes’. This is what Eden lacks. She needs direction and purpose and a focus to turn her impetuous nature towards something more disciplined and considered. Again, this works in rather well with the motivation noted above.

Or, is this a secondary character who Eden wishes to be more like, and so gain the respect (and affection) of? It could be both.

Card 7 – Flaw or need

Ace of Pentacles – pentacles is about gain and materialism, the ace is the promise of wealth, prosperity and well-being, and of reaping the rewards of hard work.

Is there a need within Eden’s make-up for wealth and comfort? Maybe a stronger than advisable leaning towards material gain? Is she perhaps a little greedy?

Card 8 – Source of the flaw

Strength – power, fortitude, unshakeable resolve to see things through to a desired end.

Oh this one’s difficult!

Okay, how about; she has always needed to be strong, composed, and maintain control over her passions. She’s been brought up in a poor environment, and expected to always manage impulses and be calm in the face of adversity. She sees material wealth as a way to somehow loosen this binding, push away the constrictions imposed by poverty and free her from the constant need to control her impulses.

Card 9 – Effect the flaw has on reaching the goal

Eight of Cups – release, delve within for  personal discovery and answers. Turn away and disengage from the material world and instead seek spiritual wonders.

Boom!

So Eden’s flaw is directly at odds with her motivation to reach her goal (transformation) and she’ll need to move away from that flaw through self discovery and introspection in order to unlock the wealth of the mind and the rewards contained therein.

So, is this a character that you’d want to read more about? She’s certainly no stereotype…