Diary of a Fool’s Project

in this episode we’ll revisit the definition of creativity and find out what other creatives think about it!

Some actually identified themselves as creative forthe first time, others shared insights into their struggles with creativity, the flood of ideas. The demons of the creative mind?

I’d love to learn more about your own thoughts and experiences!!

Here are the definition and the three questions:

»Creatives are people who, fueled by an inner drive and their own ideas, create something new (tangible or intangible) according to their personal stand...

I’m sure we all use the term »Creativity« – but what do we actually mean by it?

Artistic hobbies?

Nobel Prize winning achievements?

Expression of the soul?

Sock knitting???

In this episode I’m trying to define creativity – in a way that actually works to buid a thesis around it. I’ll present the first draft of a definition – and I’m curious to find out if you agree or not.

What does »Creativity« mean for YOU?

»Knitting a sock according to instructions and a pattern only r...

A boring episode, but terribly important, because right here I actually got the idea to use the French suits forthe creative tarot. Perfectly logical if you look at tarot from a designer’s perspective: proper playing cards have a strict graphical system, just modern esoteric tarot (meaning everything that’s based on the RWS) kind of lost it along the way, placing symbolism and imagery center stage.

Well, since I’m a lover of everything logical, it makes total sense to look at playing cards rather than tarot cards …

Let me know what you think and if y...

So now the Fool lives happily ever after at the court of the Great King. But then he discovers something called a li-ba-ry or something and there are these things called books. Very strange!

Find out what happens when the Fool has an accident in the library – and how that changes his fate.

»»Very well, Fool. I was hoping that with the help of this book, you would learn card tricks and sorcery with which you could entertain us in the future. But I seem to have been mistaken. If you cannot read, then...

… creativity?

Welcome to this very philosophic episode of the diary that has absolutely nothing to do with tarot or cards.

I’m just taking a walk, letting my mind wander, thinking about the Fool and wonder, why he set out in the first place. Or in other words: Why aren’t we all just sitting on our backsides, picking our noses, staring at the wall? Why do we want to achieve things? Why did Adam and Eve try the fruit from the tree?

»For Csíkszentmihályi, Flow is the key t...

Have you ever wondered what tarot cards were like before the all overpowering and in my opinion completely overrated Rider Waite Smith deck became the tarot standard?

Well, once the postman had delivered my parcels, I went down the rabbit hole of the Tarot de Marseille and Visconti-Sforza Tarot, still trying to create a concept for my own indie tarot deck.

Spoiler: It didn’t quite become as clear as I hoped with the decks. But in this episode I finally gave myself permission wo leave all the esoteric woo-woo fluff behind and create a ta...

After the Nixie scared him half to death in the last episode, the Fool has to face another disappointment right at the beginning of this episode. It really doesn’t look too good for him. Maybe setting off to this adventure was a mistake after all?

But then, as in every good story, the good Queen appears. :)

Listen to this episode of the fool’s Tale for free and let me know what you think of this very fairytaily episode.

Bonus points if you recognize the castle of the artwork on the tarot card...

Still pondering over the concept of a tarot story, using the Monomyth and the Odyssey to get a better understanding of the cards.

While I pondered, I stumbled across the Hierophant, a card I always hated, see quote below. But through the story-idea I managed to clarify the meaning of the card for me. Not only Joseph Campbell and Homer helped me, but also game of Thrones. Who would have thought?

Listen to the full episode here to learn more about my interpretation of the Hierophant. And if you like, leave a comment to let...

The episode that should never have see the light of day: My day off. While I’m trying to relax, my mind is going into creative overdrive to capture the esence of the Hanged Man.

Spinning around, going on detours – and finally arriving at the idea of the Fool’s Tale (which you also find here on the podcast).

Well. Creativity needs a pinch of madness. Doesn’t it.

»An embarrassed silence. Tick-tock, tick-tock … The grandfather clock has gotten some tea on it. It’s running. Rembrandt looks horrified at this dripping dist...

In the last episode of the Fool’s Tale, the Fool was sent on his way by this crazy Magician-guy. Today he has another lesson to master when he meets the Nixie, whom you might know as the High Priestess from traditional tarot.

Well, in this tale she is not that stern woman sitting on the boring throne, but … rather different. Find out for yourself!

Listen to the episode for free and let me know if you imagined the High Priestess of tarot like this. ;)

»The magic-girl makes a face the Fool...

If you are a tarot traditionalist, you might hate me for this, but … isn’t traditional tarot (meaning the Rider Waite Smith interpretation and everything based on it) shockingly illogical?

I want the Creative Tarot to be more logical, more coherent, more empowering, less woo-woo (go on, hate me for it).

So in this episode you can join me in the creative and chaotic process of reinventing the traditional tarot for creativity.

To be honest, a lot of these initial ideas where changed at later stages. Over and over again. But that’s just h...

Let’s not forget that this is a proper, scientific, academic bachelor’s thesis. So I had to come up with a target audience (oh how I hat the term!).

So in this episode I’m thinking about a target audience, the use of the future »Creative Tarot« and create two personas: multi-creative Ann-Kathrin and burned out Petra, the Florist.

Do you find a bit of yourself in their descriptions?

In a much, much later episode, when the first prototype is born, they will each actually do a card reading.

»Ann-K...

Remember the first part of the Fool’s Tale where the Fool of tarot heard something about »Wizards«?

And now he meets a real-life magician at the court of the Honourable Little King.

Spoiler alert: the Magician will tell the Fool something apparently very magical and the Fool will set out on his hero’s journey.

Listen to the episode for free and let me know if you imagined the Magician of tarot like this. ;)

»In the chamber, the Magician silently begins to unpack his bundle. The Fool fo...

Early ideas and concepts. I think none of them, or almost none, made it into the final card deck. but that’s how it goes with ideas, that’s the creative process.

Oh, did I mention that this diary is the raw and uncut creative process? Yes, that is sometimes boring and in retrospect a lot of it is completely obsolete.

But my intention is not to share a finished product or a skill that I’ve perfected overdecades. There’s enough of that out there.

This diary is about the honest p...

Honestly: This episode only exists because I had to explain to my professors what tarot actually is and what I want to do as the thesis. So make sure you find something interesting to do while you are listening to this, it’s rather boring, I’m afraid. But you have to start somewhere …

»Tarot cards (in my personal opinion) don’t give answers; they only provide impulses. Prompts for reflection, for contemplation. And that’s enough — because, as we all know, sometimes it only takes the right impulse at the right time to break up a...

So … a bachelor’s thesis in design. How do you find the right idea? What is the right idea?

And what is »my thing«???

In this episode I’m sharing the very start of the process, my options and inspirations.

I’d love to know your thoughts on it!

»And I know from my own experience, and from many others, that creativity can also be perceived as quite a burden. Yes, there are people who wish they had fewer ideas.

And, hey, doesn’t it actually take...

Oh, a story within the story! While trying to get a deeper understanding of the logic of tarot cards, this story emerged. I’ll say more about its evolution in a later episode od the Diary. The 22 Chapters of the Fool’s Tale became part of the Diary.

So here’s the first one, where you’ll meet the Fool.

In the following 21 Chapters of this epic hero’s journey, the Fool will meet all the other Major Arcana.

If you want to know how the project continues, just to subscribe to this po...

Just another prologue to procrastinate the publication.

If you want to know how the project continues, feel free to subscribe to this podcast, it’s free!

You can find more of my content on Youtube InstagramMedium and my Website.

Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Welcome to this podcast called The Diary of a Fool’s Project. In this very first episode I’m telling you a bit about the project and dive into my thoughts on creativity.

If you want to know how the project continues, feel free to subscribe to this podcast, it’s free!

You can find more of my content on Youtube InstagramMedium and my Website.

Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.