Character Building Tarot Spread: Goals, Motivation and Conflict (GMC) Spread
In my first custom character building tarot spread, we looked at the “Body of the Character”— essentially a quick-hit psychological profile of a given character in your manuscript. I had so much fun playing around with the spread that I wanted to share more tarot layouts that you can use to help fill out your characters’ profiles.
Thanks to my phenomenal critique partner, E.W. “Doc” Parris, I started thinking more about my characters’ goals, motivations and conflicts (GMC). Intentionally pinpointing these in each of your main characters’ actions is what breathes life into their words tapped out on your laptop (or notebook, if you’re an old school, cool kid).
After doing some homework on GMC, I was particularly inspired by Jenna Avery’s article on calledtowrite.com and decided to put my cards to good use via a GMC spread.
This particular spread highlights a character’s external AND internal Goals, Motivations and Conflicts to give a well-rounded overview of why your character is doing the things they do.
The GMC spread chart above shows you the order in which the cards should be placed and their location.
The GMC spread key above shows you the meaning of each card placement from the chart.
To give you a hands-on tutorial, I’m going to walk you through one of my own character’s GMCs using Madam Clara’s 5-cent Tarot deck for the spread.
Because I don’t want to ruin plot points or hand off too many details to less-than-noble individuals looking to swipe ideas, this will be fairly high-level. Nevertheless, I think it will give you a solid idea of how this kind of spread can be used to assist character development.
Without further ado, meet Seth. He is one of the pivotal characters in a current work-in-progress for whom I happen to have a huge soft spot. A glimpse at his GMC layout may give you the feels for him too, though there are plenty of red flags to sort through.
Seth’s full GMC spread
Here we go:
Character Card - this is the high level representation of who the character is. In other words, if you had to choose ONE card (or word, if you’re not on board with the tarot thing yet) to represent your character, this would be it.
Seth’s character card is the Six of Matches. While the card fell in the reverse orientation for the spread, a Character Card can be read in any orientation. We’re all multi-faceted with both positive and negative aspects. The same goes for your characters.
So, let’s take a look at the keywords for both upright and reverse orientation per this deck:
Upright: acclaim; victory; success
Reverse: arrogance; disgrace; pride
What does this mean in application for Seth?
When I pulled this card for him, it kind of hit me in the gut. Seth lives in a transitional period of time. His existence represents flux, change and liminality. The fact that he was born at all signifies humanity’s resilience in the face of destruction. At the same time, he is the product of a world born out of humankind’s disgrace…a world gasping for air following the collapse of an arrogant society that abused the privilege of existence.
Seth resides at the intersection of the two— he is both a victory and the remnant of human pride. He would not exist without destruction, and he’s never known anything other than the ashes of humanity’s failure. He stands at the crossroads, fundamentally torn between what was and now is. At his core, Seth is the conflict between new and old.
2. External Goal - This card represents what Seth is trying to achieve. It’s his external desires, or what he hopes to manifest.
For this, I pulled The Messenger upright. Like “The Beyond” card pulled in the last character development spread (and later in this one too), The Messenger is an addition to the Major Arcana exclusive to this deck. This is important to note since 1) it reveals more of this particular deck’s character, and 2) you will not be able to Google its meaning from other sources.
Keywords for The Messenger in its upright position are: spirit guides; protection; and divine signs.
What does this mean in context of Seth’s external goal?
First and foremost, Seth is hyperfocused on establishing a protective, safe environment. He has devoted himself to finding stability and safety. However, The Messenger has an inherently mystical and spiritual connotation. In a world divorced from organized religious systems and class structure, Seth is looking for a connection to some kind of universal divine. It makes sense that, amidst a whirlwind of instability, this young man would seek some kind of external power that could restore order…or just provide an explanation for things having fallen apart. He’s looking for meaning in broken shards and protection from chaos. Even if this isn’t an outwardly stated facet of his goals, it’s embedded in his psyche.
In contrast to many cards I pull for character development, this one surprised me and gave me pause. It’s one of those moments I love when getting to know my characters because it truly helps me look at them in a different way. When this happens, YOU as the author of the story can choose to take or leave whatever card pops up. However, I strongly encourage folks to sit with whatever card falls into your lap. It may help you fill out your character in a way you wouldn’t have otherwise.
3. External Motivation - This card represents why the character seeks the goal shown in position #2 of the spread (in this instance, The Messenger).
For this, I pulled The Tower reversed.
Those of you familiar with tarot may have just recoiled. For those of you unfamiliar with The Tower, it’s not a card people get excited about pulling in most spreads. No matter which way The Tower is oriented, swift and often painful change is involved.
Keywords for The Tower reversed in this deck are: resisting change; close call; and fear of loss.
All of the above define Seth’s life up to this point. He has grown up amongst those fighting back against inevitable change and upheaval— the birth of a world no human wanted, but was impossible to avoid. His youth has been marked by fear and close calls, a constant flirtation with ruin. This is his foundation and colors everything Seth does. It’s no wonder The Tower constantly motivates his actions and desires. He’s looking for stability and protection because of the chaotic, painful and perpetual upheaval in which he’s been raised.
4. External Conflict - This card represents what external factor is standing in the way of Seth achieving his goal (represented by The Messenger in position #2 of the spread).
The King of Buttons reversed represents Seth’s external conflict.
Keywords for this card per the deck are: avarice; unsavvy; and rigidity.
Yikes!
It makes sense, though. Seth is still struggling through a swell of survivors who refuse to accept the world as it now exists. Their collective greed destroyed society, and it’s not something most have shed in the world that came after. In his desperate search for stability, protection and meaning, he’s battling the rigidity of his elders who can’t see a path forward without clinging to the vestiges of the past.
That’s before you even touch on the avarice and rigidity Seth may have internalized. Does he continue to grasp for more even when he technically has enough to meet his needs? Has he fallen into routines or perspectives that are inflexible and break under strain? These are important questions to consider when approaching the character.
5. Internal Goal - This position shifts away from the character’s external world, focusing in on what resides inside Seth alone. When looking at internal goals, we’re really asking how does Seth want to feel?
It’s interesting to consider this goal in conjunction with the external goal to see how they align. Will achieving his external goal result in the realization of his internal goal? We can ask ourselves the same question, and it’s easy to see that these two things don’t always work together.
For Seth’s internal goal, I pulled the Page of Cups upright.
Keywords for this card per the deck are: curiosity; possibility; and imagination.
Damn, kid…you’re breaking my heart. Seth wants to feel hope; he wants to feel like there’s a future ahead of him. Perhaps in another time, he would have been free to flex his creativity and imagination…but not here; not in this world— at least, not in a conventional way. If he can make it to a place where he believes there’s a real future, what doors will that open for him? How will his life change? Who will Seth be if he finds hope? Even he isn’t sure.
6. Internal Motivation - Why does Seth want to find the possibility represented by the Page of Cups? What’s driving him toward that goal?
Here’s where we see The Beyond appear in Seth’s spread, just as it did in Addy’s character development spread. In contrast to that spread, however, The Beyond appears in its reverse orientation for Seth. As mentioned before, The Beyond is an addition to the Major Arcana unique to the 5-cent Tarot deck.
Keywords for The Beyond reverse are: apathy; doubt; and mistrust.
In this world full of chaos and heartache, doubt and mistrust abound. Surrendering to misery and fear is commonplace. Seth is driven toward finding hope specifically because of the ugliness around him. Rejecting the notion that devastation and hate are the sum total of existence, Seth is compelled to find a meaningful, stable and peaceful future.
7. Internal Conflict - What is standing in the way of Seth achieving his internal goal? Mind you, because this is the internal portion of the spread, it’s most likely that this conflict is also internal to Seth rather than a force being directly imposed upon him.
For the lucky number 7 spot, we see The Wheel of Fortune upright.
Keywords for this card upright are: destiny; fate; karma and luck.
Who knows what the future holds? Who can say if we’re meant to live another day? How do we know if we’re meant to thrive? Seth sure as hell doesn’t. He’s been given absolutely no reason to hope for a better life. Indeed, he’s never seen what stability even looks like, even if he’s heard tales of it. It’s possible he and everyone else are destined for extinction.
Each day brings new uncertainty…how can one find hope in turbulence and constant uncertainty? This is his greatest barrier to achieving his internal goal…and it’s possible he won’t even be able to see when things are becoming more hopeful specifically because his foundation has been built upon chaos and luck of the draw.
And that wraps another character development spread. Sorry to leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger
(I’m not at all…one day you’ll read the novel, and it’ll all make sense).
These kinds of spreads are incredibly helpful to me when fleshing out who my characters really are beneath the dialogue that springs in my head. Even if you push aside the mystical aspect of tarot, the cards can be used as a great tool for writing inspiration. You don’t need to be an expert, a witch or tuck crystals into your pockets (though it’s cool if you do). All you need is your imagination and a willingness to let your mind wander. Give yourself permission to think outside the box and play with it.
As always, let me know if you find this method useful or if you have any tips of your own for finding artistic inspiration! I love hearing your stories as we all navigate this weird and delightful world together. There are few things that bring me more joy than seeing other creators thrive in their own quirky ways, so let’s lift one another up.
Until next time,
~Allison
