My Writing Process: How I Create Tarot Spreads

 

Today, I thought I would share my process for how I create tarot spreads, mainly ones for my Saturday Morning Tarot series. So if you are a fellow tarot reader, grab a cuppa and take some notes. I have been designing my own tarot spreads since the early 00s, when I was first learning tarot. My process has grown a lot since then. I used to think the bigger the spread, the better the answers. That's not always the case!

First, I select a theme. In Saturday Morning Tarot: Tarot Spreads For Your Inner 80's Child, I knew I wanted to focus on popular 80s cartoons from the 1980s such as Rainbow Brite, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thundercats, Strawberry Shortcake, and others. I wanted the theme to be about self-discovery and inner child work. Mainly because inner child work was "cool" at the time of printing. I observed trends via Instagram and thought, "Inner child healing would be a significant theme for the book!"

Second, I researched the cartoons. I noticed themes and lessons within the cartoons themselves. I noticed my thoughts on how the cartoon made me feel as an adult, as well as watching it as a kid. I researched by rewatching cartoons and doing searches on Google through Wikipedia and Fandom sites and various articles throughout the internet. Cartoons that I wasn't familiar with, such as Thundercats, Transformers, G.I. Joe, I watched via YouTube or Tubi. I watched a few episodes of each show and leaned heavily into my research on Google. 

Third, I focused on one section of a cartoon at a time. When I was on Rainbow Brite, I watched nothing but Rainbow Brite cartoons to help me develop the spread. I did brainstorm with ChatGPT before I knew it was wrong (and have since stopped using in my process), but the spreads, I thought of their positions and the spread idea. I took Starlite, for example, and made that a self-confidence spread. I took Rainbow Brite and created a breakout from a gloomy funk spread that focused on mental health. 

I decided how many cards I wanted in the spread. I concentrated on having 4 to 9 cards for varying spreads. I wanted the spread to fit on a twin-size bed (which is what I sleep in currently and where I do my own tarot readings for myself). It's why you don't see anymore cards past 9 cards in the book. I tried to stay away from 1 to 3 card spreads as I felt inner child/self-growth work required more in-depth spreads than a 1 - to - 3 - card spread.

Once I decided how many cards I wanted, I got to creating the spread's positions. I wanted to stay away from yes-and-no/tell-me-what-to-do questions and stick to a more open-ended format. I wanted people to use the questions for tarot reading and also for reflecting in their journal without cards. Some, not all, met that goal in Saturday Morning Tarot: Tarot Spreads For Your Inner 80's Child.  I also wanted questions I could ask while shuffling and drawing cards, or that would give the user a theme for the reading.

After creating the questions, I went to Canva and designed using their clip art graphics, which are royalty-free and can be used freely as long as it's mixed media and not a standalone graphic. Since I could not use actual art from the cartoons themselves, because of the hurdles of copyright, I stuck to art that resembled the cartoons or had a theme of the cartoon (such as turtles for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or a woman with long, blonde hair for Lady Lovelylocks).

Saturday Morning Tarot: Tarot Spreads for Your Inner 90s Child will come with a new process in the book. Examples of certain spreads in action in my own readings. I will test one spread from each section and including my interpretation of the reading. I hope this will help novice tarot readers or casual tarot readers interpret the spreads.

Some spreads in 90s Child will be spreads I created back in the early aughts that I found in my old tarot journals. I will refine some spreads, and they will not be the exact spreads from the journal, as I focused on psychic abilities and reading people's minds with tarot back in the day (which is now a no-no).

And that, my friends, is my process on creating tarot spreads!

Progress! (+ a couple new poems I wrote)

 

I am so excited! I have four more sections to write and create in Saturday Morning Tarot: Tarot Spreads for Your Inner 90s Child. And then it's on to phase two, testing the spreads! I originally was going to test all of the spreads in the book, but decided against it. I'm going to have sample readings from one spread in each section. After testing the spreads will come writing the introduction and formatting the manuscript. After that, comes editing. I'm excited to announce that I will be working with my editor from the first Saturday Morning Tarot, Lauralyn Kearney. I like her work because she doesn't try to change my voice. And that's important to me. I also felt that she was easy to work with and affordable. 

I've currently have the following sections completed:
- Rugrats
- Doug
- Rocko's Modern Life

- Hey Arnold!

And I have started on Tiny Toon Adventures as of this writing!

It is to be noted that there will be no art work used from the cartoons themselves. That would take a longer and headachy process with Paramount, Warner Brothers, etc. But I have used clip art in Canva that represents the cartoon or theme of the spread. 

This book will be in color again and be available in 8x10 and 6x9 versions. The 8x10 version is for those who need larger text. The 6x9 is what I want the book to look like. I decided, why not do both?

In case you missed it, I revealed the cover, which I got design help from Sarshi Hamilton, an independent artist from Nebraska.

I am so excited for this book! I am looking at a Fall 2026 release date and I hope to make both copies available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble somehow. And of course, there will be an ebook version as well, which will be available to read for free on Kindle Unlimited (I still get paid!)

This is the soundtrack I am listening to as I work on Saturday Morning Tarot: Tarot Spreads for Your Inner 90s Child. Summer Hits of the 90s!

In other works in progress, I've made 0 progress on the Autumn poetry book. I'm afraid I may have to wait until 2027 to release it. I try putting myself in an autumn mood, but nothing is working! I guess I just need to be in the season in order to write. And that probably doesn't make me a good writer/poet. 

I just finished chapter 10 of my romance novel. I also came up with a title for it for now. It is titled The Breaking Strain. My characters, Sarah and Sam, are about to have their first date! I'm excited! I feel like I've been in character develop mode for a long time. I also entered the first few chapters of the novel into the Novel Beginning writing contest at ProWritingAid.com. I'm hoping it places, but it will be no big deal if it doesn't place at all. Although the grand prize of $50,000 and representation and editing services are a dream! A girl can dream, right?

One of my favorite things I've written in my romance novel is this texting response from Sam to Sarah when Sarah is angry about her therapist telling her that she needs to get rid of all the alcohol in her house and her parents have to lock up the pills.

"Sarah, I have a confession. I’ve only been sober for three weeks since leaving the hospital. I’m sorry I have been a terrible accountability buddy. And honestly, you sound like where I am with alcohol. I’m mad that I’ve had to empty $30 worth of beer as part of my treatment plan. $30 that could have gone toward actual food, instead of my dis-ease. And it’s all because I am a ticking time bomb. And you are also a ticking time bomb. People in recovery are ticking time bombs. Anything can set us off track. But it’s up to us not to light the fuse.”

I love, love, love this! Because it is raw and carries a heavy sense of personal responsibility. It's also a high-pressure way to view oneself. I think it captures the hyper-sensitivity that often comes with early or difficult recovery. You expose your "nerves" when you strip away a primary coping mechanism. Minor inconveniences can feel like existential threats because the emotional skin is thin.

It also rejects the idea that a person is a passive victim of their triggers. It places the matches firmly in the individual's hands. It's an assertion of willpower and ownership.

Of course, there are two sides to this coin. There is the stress of vigilance. If you constantly see yourself as a "time bomb", you are living in a state of perpetual high alert. That kind of stress can actually shorten the fuse you're trying to protect.

And then there is the "explosion" myth. Framing a relapse or a setback as an "explosion" makes it sound final and catastrophic. In reality, recovery is usually less like a bomb and more like a car. Sometimes you stall, sometimes you get a flat. But you can usually get it back on the road if you don't walk away from the vehicle.

This is a great quote for accountability. It's a "no-excuses" mantra. Which is how I have viewed my recovery from bipolar disorder. I know I am in charge of letting what situation or person light my fuse. I decide to "explode" or I decide to hold the matches and use a coping mechanism such as journaling or creating. 

I feel like a lot of people in recovery can relate to this feeling. I'm sure  I'm not the only one who feels this way, I'm sure.

Now that I've shared my excitement over my projects. I'll treat you all to a couple of poems I am proud of that I've written recently.

Noise
By: Samantha Jean Tate

The constant yelling. The screaming. The sirens blaring. The fireworks booming. The constant mouths running. Every opinion not wanted. It's all noise. Noise I can't stand. Noise, noise, noise. No one knows And will never understand. All the noise I've got To put up with.

Masks By: Samantha Jean Tate

Wake me up When the world peels off Their masks Wake me up When we hold politicians  Accountable For sex crimes they commit

Wake me up

When the world is not

On fire

Where power is restored

To the people

And the average Joe,

Aquafina,

Valentina,

and Betty Sue

plus Rainbow, too

are free.

What Writing Revealed About the Love I Accepted

 

Writing poetry didn't make me stronger. It made me honest.

I didn't realize how much I was settling until I saw my words in print.

I accepted emotional inconsistency and called it complexity. I fell in love with potential instead of reality. I shrank my values and standards because being chosen—even halfway—felt better than being alone. I was grateful for the breadcrumbs lovers gave me, even though they left me starving.

On the page, I wrote about how messy my love life was. I had ah-ha moments as I wrote my poetry piece by piece, confessing all my relationship patterns. I realized then that my self-worth was the issue. 

I didn't see myself as worthy of a true, loving, fulfilling, consistent, emotionally available relationship.  I kept getting into the same patterns I've helped navigate clients in my tarot reading practice out of. And I knew I needed to do better. I deserve better. And my values mattered to me.

Poetry can stay hidden. Self-publishing cannot. I decided to self-publish my first poetry book, GROWTH: A Healing Journey of Poetry and Prose in September 2024. I didn't think twice about it. I knew I had to put it out there to fully heal. 

Putting my poetry out there for others to read helped keep me accountable from repeating the same relationship patterns. It also helped me connect with others and belong to a community. 

I know my worth now. I will no longer be a side girl, fall in love with potential, ignore red flags, and settle for emotional inconsistency ever again. Instead, I hold myself to a higher standard and embrace single life. And that is where the healing journey begins...

Works In Progress: Stuff I'm Currently Working On

 

I have a secret. I've been working on three different writing projects for quite some time now, and I am ready to talk about them to keep me accountable.

My projects comprise:

• An untitled romance novel based on my 2024 psych ward experience.
• A collection of poetry based on Autumn/Fall
• Saturday Morning Tarot: Tarot Spreads for Your Inner 90s Child

The romance novel it's a second-chance trope that takes place in and out of the psych ward. I've written 9 chapters so far. It was originally going to be a novella. But I felt that a novella would not do this heavy a story justice. I don't have an outline I'm following; I'm just writing by the seat of my pants when inspiration hits. And honestly, it's based on an experience I had in the psych ward in 2024, reuniting with my high school crush in the ward. What happens in the story, however, is purely fictional. It's what I wish had happened instead of what happened. To be honest, this is my toughest project. I'm no longer carrying feelings for the crush, and it's difficult channeling the romance vibe into the story. I also took inspiration from my astrology chart, having Venus in Libra in the 12th house. The 12th house rules hospitals, prisons, mental health, dreams, things that are hidden or secret, and self-undoing.

The next project I'm working on is something I hope I can release by Autumn 2026. It is a collection of Autumn/Fall themed poetry. This is for the fall/autumn lovers. I'm not particularly a fall lover. But I feel inspired to write about Autumn/Fall since I feel like that is the season my life is in right now. I'm seeing things fall away from me, and embracing the next season of my life: winter. I have 16 poems so far; I would like to write two more poems or prose. And then it is on to formatting and creating a cover for the book.

My last project I've struggled on and off with since 2023 when Saturday Morning Tarot: Tarot Spreads For Your Inner 80's Child came out. But this book is like my number one seller out of all four of my books I've written. I thought I would create the follow-up to Saturday Morning Tarot, which will focus on 90s cartoons such as Rugrats, Doug, Animaniacs, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Powerpuff Girls, etc. Each cartoon will have its own section and will have a synopsis of each cartoon, and the spreads will have either a story behind them based on an episode from the cartoon or my own personal experience. Right now, I just finished the Doug section of the book. I have about 7 more cartoon sections to write, plus the introduction, and I need to get a cover made. I'm not entirely sure when I will release this, as I just started working on it again after initially scrapping the idea altogether.

So that is what I am working on. I'm going to update as soon as I make more progress.