TASKS I. THE FIRST TASK OF THE NEW TASTEMENT.
As the book of the New Testament begins, we wanted to take some time to ruminate on where our characters have been and what they have done. Below you will find a list of prompts for your characters, inspired by specifically selected major arcana. You are free to write one prompt, all of them, or none of them - your will is your own. The prompts may inspire a single paragraph, or perhaps a whole entire series of developments that you plan for your character, it’s up to you! Should you choose to complete this task, please tag it #THCTASK so that we might all enjoy the fruits of your labor. May you find harmony with all you encounter!
THE FOOL
UPRIGHT: Beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit
Your character is confronted with a new beginning. They must go on their first quest, leave an age of innocence behind, or perhaps are in the beginnings of awakening a new ambition. This is a catalyst for something significant to occur - or something significant that has occurred - in their life. Perhaps it is something that has shaped them into who they are now, or something that will shape them into who they can become. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
REVERSED: Holding back, recklessness, risk-taking
Your character has regrets, whether it is due to an opportunity missed or a reckless opportunity taken. Was it words left unsaid or perhaps words said without thought? Regardless, the regret that they hold is something that has stuck with them still. It is looming over the decisions that they make, ever-present in the back of their heads - and it’s something that they can, and will, never be able to shake off. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
THE LOVERS
UPRIGHT : Love, harmony, relationships, values alignment, choices
Relationships are what influence us - each person that we acknowledge as someone special in our lives leaves with us an indelible mark, regardless of whether or not we are away of it. There is a relationship that shaped you significantly; they did not chisel away at you, but instead became something as formidable and necessary as the air in your lungs or the sun in the sky. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
REVERSED: Self-love, disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values
Perhaps your character frequently indulges in their lesser vices - or perhaps this was a one time thing. But this particular moment stuck in your mind. Perhaps it was because of the hurt reflected in another’s eyes, or maybe it was the pleasure that you had in that moment. It is one of those memories that flashes across your eyes as you try to sleep, or perhaps it is a memory that reminds you that indulging in your baser values is worth it after all. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
JUSTICE
UPRIGHT : Justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law
There was a moment where you had to uphold justice before an audience. There was a moment where you had no choice but to establish it, defend it, or institute it. Whatever that moment was, it left something on you - a bruise of sorts. An ever-lasting bruise that you won’t forget any time soon because the moment you had to carry out the justice of the land - or institute it - was not an easy one. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
REVERSED: Unfairness, lack of accountability, dishonesty
You were cheated. You were overlooked, overworked, or perhaps outright lied to about what would occur. Maybe you were used as the scapegoat for something far bigger than yourself. You remember how angry you were, how hurt you were that the universe could dispense such cruelty, but you lived through it. You haven’t forgotten it, though, that enraging hurt of being taken advantage of. Will it be a lesson learned or will it turn into something more? Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
DEATH
UPRIGHT: Endings, change, transformation, transition
This was the first time that you encountered it - a definitive end. The beginning of a new life. Whether it be something that you propelled yourself, or something that you found yourself subjected to, this moment of transformation remains fresh in your mind. Perhaps it was a moment of great grandiosity, or something more simple and subtle. It is a finite span of time, though, that you remember still. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
REVERSED: Resistance to change, personal transformation, inner purging
It was the first time that you came face-to-face with it - Death. It was by your own hands that it occurred. Or maybe you simply watched it happen. Regardless, this death catalyzed something within you that was difficult to swallow down - and you tried and tried to swallow it. But your throat was so parched and it was such a bitter spoonful of rotten sentiment that you needed to swallow. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
THE HIGH PRIESTESS
UPRIGHT : Intuition, sacred knowledge, divine feminine, the subconscious mind
You had never thought much of what would occur if God died. In fact, you never gave much thought to what might happen once you take your final breath. However, there was a moment where you believed in something bigger than yourself. Where you realized that you might not be your own god any longer. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
REVERSED: Secrets, disconnected from intuition, withdrawal and silence
You bore witness to it and yet you were never allowed to let the story stray from your tongue. Maybe you were asked to keep it, or maybe you keep it for the sake of saving your own skin. It remains there, to this day - weighing you day each time you neglect to tell it. Perhaps you will take this secret to your grave. Perhaps, instead, it will put you in it. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
THE CHARIOT
UPRIGHT : Control, willpower, success, action, determination
This was the moment. This was the moment that you knew would define you - would mark you as either something great or usher you to the shadows of mediocrity. But you made something worthwhile or this moment. You saved a life, saved a people, or saved yourself. Perhaps you would ever call it your moment of glory. This was the moment that urged you to the greatness of your destiny. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.
REVERSED: Self-discipline, opposition, lack of direction
They called it self-discipline. Mastery. Drive. But it was only an obsession under the guise of something that others would find praise-worthy. It overcame you, this obsession with becoming the best. You needed to be better than the others, needed to know that there could be none that would come before you or after you who could measure up to the heights of your greatness. Perhaps you’ve grown from this, or perhaps it festers in your still. Write a self paragraph and tell the readers of the New Testament how that is influencing your character presently.