We’ve all been there. You feel like you maybe need a new direction for your character. Maybe she’s in a rut. Maybe he needs a little pizzaz in his life. Maybe you’ve just had these people in your head for so long that they’ve started feeling stale.

Here’s a quick trick: turn to the Tarot.

I’ll start with this: I’m not a Tarot reader in real life. My curse is my knowledge of history—unfortunately, there’s no dramatic or esoteric foundation of the Tarot, it’s not some ancient mysterious divination tool; in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Tarot was a simple parlor game. So I don’t take it extraordinarily seriously in my own life, though your mileage may vary.

But for my characters? You bet.

Doing a Tarot read for one or more of your characters is a terrific way of seeing them in another light, giving you ideas for their personalities and histories, and providing a little more depth to the way you write them for your readers.

Ready to give it a try? You don’t have to have a lot of arcane knowledge; in fact, the simplest Tarot spread is three cards, cards that correspond to past, present, and future.

This spread can provide you with valuable ideas about the decisions and events that may have shaped your character’s past, the current situation they’re in, and what may lie ahead of them in the future. It is a great tool to help you gain clarity about your characters and even possibly help them make more informed decisions. And it can guide you in creating a plausible, interesting backstory that will make your characters feel real, give them depth, and allow them to find strength and inspiration in memories.

A standard Tarot deck has 78 cards, each one with its own imagery and symbolism. The cards are split into two categories: 22 major arcana cards and 56 minor arcana cards. (Don’t even worry about that. Most Tarot decks come with a booklet that explains the meaning of each card, so all you have to do is read. We’re all pretty good at that.)

Here’s a process you might try—just make sure you’re doing it while holding your character in your mind!

1. You can try looking for specific insights into your character by querying the deck. Ask a clear, open-ended questions; the idea is to use the reading to illuminate a path forward for your character. (If you choose the three-card spread—past, present, future—this may be a little redundant.)

2. There are multiple ways of shuffling Tarot cards. You can do it the same way you’d shuffle an ordinary deck. Or you can try spreading the cards face down on the table and sweeping them into a big pile before tapping them into place again.

3. Next, pull your card(s). Cutting the deck with your left hand and pulling the card on top is a simple, no-nonsense approach. Or you can fan the cards out as you would if you were playing poker, and choose the card that draws your eye.

4. Once you've chosen your card or cards, lay them face down in your spread. Then turn them right-side-up so you can gaze at their words, symbols, and imagery, paying attention to what comes to mind as you go.

5. Whatever you choose to do, take notes! You’ll be able to use them as a reference if you choose to use any of these ideas in your writing.

If you write like I do, then your characters come with a lot of their own baggage, baggage they sometimes only reveal to you over time. I’ve found that doing a Tarot card read for them helps give me ideas about what might have set them on the path where I discovered them, and plan for what could lie ahead. This can be particularly helpful if you’re writing a series, where the people you write about will need character arcs just as much as the plot will need story arcs.

So have a little fun: try finding out what’s in store for your characters… even before they know!