T is for Tarot

When I was in art school decades ago, one of my professors created the Tarot of the Spirit deck which was published by U.S. Games and continues to be part of their popular line of cards. Recently at a write-in meeting of Colorado Writers and Publishers, I compared this deck to the award-winning Darkana Tarot deck created by Janden Daniel Hale.

Why my sudden interest in Tarot? One of my book characters, LeAnn Baker, reads Tarot cards. She's the Steampunk tattooed woman who is the personal chef and baker for Viridian Farms. Her personality and hobbies will give the conservatives in my local rural community plenty to talk about, and maybe even inspire some murder!

But first this author has to learn a little more about Tarot. I confess, for all the beautiful artwork on the many card deck selections, and the fascinating symbology, I've never studied Tarot. Nor have I played the card games still popular in parts of Europe. It's a very complicated and detail-rich game/system. I decided I'd better give myself a little help and so bought this yesterday.

One of my favorite things about writing is research and learning about new things. What have you researched lately to help you write your latest novel?