Guest post – Taking the Leap by Victoria Bennett
Posted on September 23, 2026
What does it mean to follow a creative path? And how can tarot, a deck of picture cards that was created nearly 600 years ago, support that journey? The Foolβs Leap is, in part, my response to those questions.
When I first encountered tarot back in 1999, I didnβt know anything about it beyond teenage dabbling and a light curiosity. Still at the margins of the mainstream, it was largely seen as either something a bit woo-woo, or connected with the growing movement of self-development that gained popularity in the 1990s. Little did I know that it would become a daily part of my creative life for the next thirty years, or that one day, I would be writing a book about it.
So, how exactly did that journey unfold? The short version (for the longer one, youβll have to read the book!) is that I founded Wild Women, a space for sharing and supporting the stories of women from my community. It was through this group that I was introduced to the idea of using tarot as part of my daily life. From this point on, it became a regular part of my creative practice; More than anything, it became a companion; one that has encouraged me to have fun, dig deeper, take risks, trust, and keep going during the times when it has felt like I am wading through cold porridge.
Letβs face it, following a creative path very rarely resembles the soft-focus filmic version we see. It is hard work. To start it at all requires we step beyond all the voices telling us not to bother; to sustain it requires we do that every day, day after day, for the rest of our lives. It is hard, always challenging, and absolutely vital. Because creativity is at the heart of being human.
I am not saying everyone has to start quitting their jobs and writing novels, but to create, to question and wonder and push beyond what is fixed and certain is part of being human. Telling stories about that, whether visual, or through music or words, or the beauty of the way we shape clay or wood β all this is how we make sense of our place in the bigger picture. It is how we connect to ourselves and each other, to the human and more-than-human in this world. From the earliest visual stories painted in red ochre on cave walls, to the TikTok and Snapchat era we are in now, wherever you find human beings, you will find evidence of stories; stories about how the world looked, who we shared it with, what we did with our days, what scared us, what mattered, how we survived.
And yet, when it comes to giving space to our own creativity, all too often we shut it down with messages about the value of that story, and our right to share it. That extends from best-selling memoir to dancing in the kitchen when no-one is looking. We are told, and tell ourselves, a multitude of things about why we couldnβt, or shouldnβt create this or that. We tell ourselves it so many times, that it can become hard to even try. After all, why begin something if the end result is to fail?
Except, there is no failure within the creative path. Creativity, by its nature, invites iteration and exploration. At itβs very heart is the question: what ifβ¦? We push beyond the known to discover what exists in the possibility beyond that space. Sometimes, we walk up paths that take us in a circle, sometimes to a dead end. That doesnβt make it a failure. It doesnβt make it not worthwhile. We are always discovering. It is part of the process.
Holding on to that can be hard, especially in a world that maybe forgets to acknowledge the value of the meandering path, demanding instead that we focus on productivity, visibility, and marketability. The Foolβs Leap: Tarot as Creative Companion is my invitation to step off that treadmill, to reject the idea of productivity-value and certain outcomes, and to embrace the curiosity of the creative path, and the wonder that it can hold.
Whether you are just taking that first leap, or leaping again a lot further along the path, my hope is that it will be a companion on that journey, becoming a dog-eared, slightly worn wild friend that will have your back, offer support, challenge when needed, reflect back when the world is cloudy, and offer up some prompts when the well runs dry. Because we all need that, right? Especially now.
The Foolβs Leap: Tarot as Creative Companion publishes on the 15th October.
For anyone standing at the threshold of a new idea, a stalled project, or a return to creative practice,Β The Foolβs LeapΒ offers an invitation to stay present, trust the process, and take the next step.
Includes 35 beautiful, original black and white illustrations, both of the Major and Minor Arcana symbols and card spreads.
Illustrations by Adam Clarke.
