To get the idea to the point where it was ready enough for me to register for the Creative Lab and request a supervisor, I still had to tweak it a bit. But not too much, since the thesis handbook states that you shouldn’t narrow it down too much. Besides, I had no idea whether the topic and scope were even remotely suitable for a thesis. I just had to avoid getting too worked up and, in the end, having to take the tiny house project out of desperation … When I finally plucked up the courage to register for the lab, the information event for October, where I might have been able to ask such questions, had just passed. Of course. But at least the lab feed said somewhere that collaborations were discouraged. So, no tiny house project.

It was already somewhat clear to me that the Major Arcana were supposed to represent the creative journey. If you want to interpret them that way, they almost already do. The Fool with a crazy idea (that’s me!), the Magician who tries to manifest this idea, inspiration in the form of the High Priestess, some turmoil surrounding the Tower (that moment when you fire canvases, dissolved in tears, into the corner …) and, in the World, ultimately the completion of the masterpiece despite all adversity. This isn’t too far from the original and confirms my suspicion that creativity is an essential topic not just for creative people (i.e., those who already know they’re creative).

But what about the Minor Arcana? What can they contribute? Brainstorming, herbal tea with the shaman, a Zoom call with the fellow student, drawing cards (of course, what else?), more brainstorming …

They could deal with the stages of inspiration, reflection, planning, and implementation. That fits and is close to the original. They could also stick to the original and simply depict will, feelings, thoughts, and material things. Or – and to this day I don’t know where the idea came from – they could be assigned to the stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Because fulfilling needs is motivation. And what motivates us to be creative? Exciting!

That had to be enough to be ready for discussion. So, I poured it into an exposé and booked the preparatory course ticket with my desired supervisor, let’s just call him Professor V (because I haven’t asked my profs yet if they are okay with being named or not). The topic was approved, with the condition that the exposé should provide a bit more clarity in the next version. Yippee!

Immediately after sending off Exposé 2.0, a nasty cold took me down and thoroughly incapacitated me. The first setback. Then, for Ticket 2, followed the first big chunk of research, where I mainly focused on the incredibly large number of tarot decks on the market to get an overview of the current state of affairs and to check if the creativity tarot deck didn’t already exist. It didn’t.

Besides tarot decks, I also took a look at coaching cards with the keyword creativity. In this niche, too, there is nothing comparable, especially since these cards, just like the countless oracle cards, do not have a system like the tarot has. With some, the cards are divided into categories, but they are a long way from the complexity of the tarot. And you’re not meant to play with them or combine them in readings, either. Ultimately, they are just impulse cards. How boring!

The variety of tarot decks and the prices they are sometimes sold for were fascinating. Apparently, eighty euros are certainly paid for something unusual on Etsy. Ultimately, however, the decks differ (almost) only in their visual design; surely every author adds their two cents to the tradition in the little interpretation book, but basically, the differences are ultimately a matter of taste. Very few authors change the names. Most likely the court cards. Very, very rarely the suits. And the Major Arcana are more or less untouchable. I’m glad I have the Witches’ Wisdom Tarot, because here the court cards are different, the suits are named directly after the elements, some of the Major Arcana have different names (the Devil, for example, is the Ancestor here) and Phyllis Curott has reversed the order. When I bought the deck for its wolf-and-mushroom-pics, I didn’t realise how extraordinary it was.

The research at this point also led me to printing suppliers and possible card formats, because the project is, after all, supposed to see the light of day. Since large cards like those of the Witches’ Wisdom Tarot are actually too big to shuffle, it should be something smaller. The standard (Skat) card format of 59 x 91 mm is already very small; one card printer specifies 70 x 120 mm as the tarot standard format; the Light Seer’s Tarot has this size, and it feels good in the hand. There are also several options for packaging and instructions. The more detailed research and decision were postponed. For the sake of completeness, a utopian (but motivating) schedule and method plan were developed for Ticket 2.

(I haven’t translated Ticket 2, but maybe take a look anyway and check out all the tarot decks I found!)

In the second ticket, it already became very clear that the plan wouldn’t work – because for Ticket 3, I was supposed to have the contents of the cards roughly ready. And I was still a long way from that. Why? That was actually what I had been really keen on the whole time. But I learned during my studies to rein in this urge (Fool?) and to do one thing after the other. Accordingly, I had initially scheduled half a century of research. Silly, actually, because honestly, I was clueless about what direction I should actually be researching. Obvious. When you look at it in hindsight …

The conception phase then began with researching literature. The university library is (surprise, surprise!) not exactly the best source for that. There is some stuff on tarot there, but nothing that would have been acutely useful. But … to define my content and get my Minor Arcana in order, I needed more (reasonably) well-founded input on the meaning and interpretation of the cards. Tarot books may not be scientifically sound, but they hopefully at least reflect the tradition of the tarot. And if you’re already shopping, you might as well order a few more decks: the Crowley Tarot (I no longer had it), the Shakespeare cards that Professor V brought up, cards with illustrations of ocean creatures (why??), and the Art Magick cards that I had tracked down in my research and which had spontaneously appealed to me – at least they’re somehow about elements and creativity, even if it’s not a tarot deck.

Tarot research is one building block. The other is creativity. The field is vast and in itself an intersectional topic. Even if you just want to take a quick look on Google and in the university library, psychology, sociology, neurology, and of course, education and all facets of art fly around your ears. And, somewhat disturbingly, a disproportionate number of findings on creativity in organisations, in the workplace, and in the professional world. Often with influences from Design Thinking. I can’t exactly define how I feel about it. On the one hand, I find it positive that creativity is seen as an apparently desirable commodity in this context – but it has a foul aftertaste of »You should all become more creative so that our company is successful. But please not too creative. And here is the five-step and three-phase plan for how that works.«

The indoctrinated five-step and three-phase plan goes against my idea of creativity. Of course, there are processes like Design Thinking that are learnable and work well. Processes are also to be integrated into the creativity tarot. But isn’t creativity precisely about giving free rein to ideas and impulses and breaking out of routines? And that’s something that, in my experience, is not well received in the workplace. Creative people can also be quite exhausting. And supervisors who react to (creative) suggestions for improvements with genuine goodwill are few and far between.

Care for an anecdote? I started my working life in the technical department at Opel (Vauxhall, for the Brits) in Rüsselsheim. There was a suggestion system there, and employees were actively encouraged to submit ideas. There were even bonuses for it. Back then, in 2006 or 2007, I submitted the suggestion that customers should be able to freely design the colours of the interior lighting. Rejected, nobody needs that. About ten years later, after a party, I was sitting in a friend’s brand-new Audi, and he started excitedly pressing some buttons. How nice, you could adjust the colour of the interior lighting …

But that’s just a side note. Let’s just say that I am critical of the instrumentalisation and institutionalisation of creativity. So, everything that relates to »How do I make my employees more creative?« should not be part of the work. The same goes for creativity in kindergarten and school; of course, the promotion of creativity in children is desirable, but that’s simply not my area of expertise.

To make rapid progress with the creativity research, I have ordered another stack of books that are hopefully easy to read and yet scientifically sound. At the top of the list is, of course (quick google to check how to spell it again), Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. I listened to his book Flow a while ago, and his book Creativity is on its way.

While I’m stalking the shipment tracking, I’m still racking my brains over the Minor Arcana. Provisionally assigning titles and themes to the Major Arcana wasn’t difficult. But the Minors? What suits should they have now? After some back and forth, in which Maslow and the original suits were finally(?) discarded, I decided on the following as a working hypothesis:

Wands/Will/Fire -> Inspiration, Spark -> SPARKS?
Cups/Feelings/Water -> Self(care), Reflection -> MIRRORS?
Swords/Thinking/Air -> Mindset, Processes, maybe Planning -> FEATHERS?
Pentacles/Material/Earth -> Implementation, Tasks -> TOOLS?

This is not yet refined, but it’s good enough to work with and see if everything fits together. Already, uninvited thoughts about the concrete implementation keep creeping in: Do I really want to illustrate 10 + 9 + 8 … mirrors? And can I seriously call a card The 5 of Tools?

Based on this, it seems conceivable to name the cards using ordinal numbers. The Five of Tools would then be called The Fifth Tool. Which actually does much more justice to the stories of the cards. And saves me from painting what feels like a thousand mirrors. The tenth mirror can simply be the surface of the sea. I like that! The names and symbols are still up for discussion. But for now, it seems coherent. It’s so close to the original that someone who already reads cards can grasp the meanings without much relearning. And the points Inspiration/Ideas, Self/Selfcare/Reflection, Mindset/Processes, and especially Implementation in the sense of getting-things-done, are central topics, not just for creatives.

In fact, the court cards are initially the easiest to fill with provisional content. The archetypes, worked out according to the new suits in the light of creativity, are pretty close to the originals. Too close. To give the whole thing a little more individuality and because it seems more logical after a few revisions, their order is now changed. King and Queen are swapped so that the Queens conclude the suit. That fits, because their provisional names Inspiration, Intuition, Intelligence, and Identity are at least grammatically female. You could portray them excellently as Greek Muses.*

Whether they are called Queens or Goddesses and what the rest of the court will be named has not yet been decided. The more pressing question right now seems to be what the cards actually do. What’s on them. What they are good for. Thematically fitting and analogous to a very early idea, they could contain tasks. *Ace of Cups/Mirrors*: Sit down and meditate for 5 minutes. But at least 40 cards with tasks is too much. Tasks are great for the Pentacles/Tools, the implementation. For the Cups/Mirrors, questions for self-reflection would be more suitable. For the Wands/Sparks, impulses, »sayings« and for the Swords/Feathers either questions that the mind rather than the heart can solve, or also concrete instructions for creative techniques. *Ace of Swords/Feathers*: How to do a brainstorming.

The court cards can follow this logic but, according to the system, could also have different content (maybe even just an image?). And the Major Arcana, in turn, can be different. As soon as the new purchases have arrived, hopefully a little more clarity will move in here.