Reinventing yourself as a writer using Tarot and Active Imagination Techniques
Trying to revive a novel you have left in the drawer for a while? Need a writing reset – to get started again with new energy and verve? This online course is for you.
A three day Zoom course in mid-January for writers who want to start a new novel, gather their confidence, shake off self-doubt and get to their writing projects with discipline, energy and joy.
This is a course for anyone who has felt self doubt – isn’t that all of us? – and wants to learn some tricks from an old hand.
Using the Tarot cards, active imagination techniques, and all of our writing gifts of narrative, visualisation and play we will discover our strengths, address our challenges, and re-energise our writing practice. We will start a new novel or begin the edit of an old one. We will create the writing future we want.
Dates
January 2026: Mornings of Monday 12th, Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th January. Afternoons free for writing.
Who is this three-day Zoom retreat for?
Anyone who would like to start, write or edit their novel and rethink and reset their writing confidence.
You can be a published writer, a debut writer, an aspiring writer, or at any stage in your writing journey. If you’ve worked with me before you’ll know a little of what to expect – although I’m always learning and always excited to share what I’ve discovered with you. If you’re new to me – welcome to the joyous adventure of your own creativity, of finding out who you are as a writer, how to get the best work from yourself, and what you love to write. You will need to bring a journal and laptop and sometimes to light a candle or lie down or go for a walk, leap up or move about. You will need to be comfortable using Zoom but don’t worry, I am very low tech!
Email Gold Dust here to sign up!
You can know a lot about Tarot or nothing at all.
Just keeping your camera on will be enough. We will be writing, thinking, discussing with others in the group, getting clear about our work in progress, developing our novels, working on character setting and place, also our plans for our writing career and progress.
Day One The Devil card
What does rejection feel like? Why does it floor us so easily?
Can we reframe it? Who is The Devil in our lives, or in this novel?
Day Two The Moon card
What is blocking me? What is it I don’t know yet? Writing into upper limits. My novel, my memoir: what do I have and what do I hope to write? What next? What would be the bravest step for me?
Day Three The Sun Card
The card of success, what does this sunshine look like for me? A story of the writer I’d like to be. Can I allow myself to have more than I ever dreamed possible?
Email Gold Dust here to sign up!
Your tutor: Jill Dawson
I have written and published eighteen books in total, and really this is the only thing (apart from teaching, yoga, and Tarot) that I ever wanted to do with my life. I love helping others to find their writing joy, too. Two of my novels are in development for film. I’ve taught everywhere from the Faber Academy to the Arvon Foundation to the University of East Anglia, The Times, Guardian Masterclasses, Cambridge University, Amherst college and the National University of Singapore. I’ve led writing retreats in Bali, Sri Lanka, Marrakesh, Portugal, Italy, Australia and latterly, online. Since founding Gold Dust Mentoring for Writers, I have helped many writers to start the novel they’ve always wanted to write; finish and edit their novel; keep going when things get tough; find an agent; sometimes find a new agent; and publish.
What is the cost? £833. Discount offered for Gold Dust mentees – please ask.
Where do I sign up? Email Gold Dust here and Sophie will get you signed up ASAP!
