Nemia Posted April 4 Posted April 4 For visual thinkers like me, mind mapping is a great way to visualise my thought processes, give structure to my ideas and map out a plan. Mind mapping allows you to keep track of the main idea or core challenge while giving attention to its different aspects, sub-challenges and even details - you see the forest AND the trees. The usual approach is a sun-like structure: the main idea in the middle, the different aspects branching out from it, and each of them again divided into more detail. (Image source) Of course, you don't have to follow the radial structure of the typical mind map - you can put two concepts next to each other in order to compare them or invent whatever structure you want. In a way, every tarot reading is a mind map, and maybe that's why I like both tarot and mind mapping so much. So there are different ways of combining mind mapping with tarot. 1. You make a mind map of a problem, challenge or use it to explore a question, and then draw cards. In this case, the mind map is your spread, and it's as tailor-made as a spread can be. 2. For a more solution-focused approach, you don't draw the cards but choose them from the deck, using your intuition and knowledge of the cards. 3. You start directly with the cards, which you either draw or pick from the deck, and lay out on a big table. I recommend using Post-it notes for the evolving positions. This is a very free-form way of brainstorming with the tarot, and if you're not careful, you'll use up half the deck! An example. I'm currently on a health journey, and after I found out in December that I have very high blood pressure, I started intermittent fasting, which has been a great success so far. However, it's not always easy, and I want to take a closer look at my challenges. I'll use the Divine Deco Tarot because it's beautiful and I just feel that it will give me encouraging answers. Obviously, Temperance is the card that stands for OMAD (one meal a day), the protocol that I have been following since December. I pick it from the deck without thinking too much, but while putting it on the table, I understand how beautifully it depicts the balance between eating and fasting, doing both mindfully and lovingly. Temperance stands for health, moderation and avoiding the extremes - so looking at it, I understand that it also tells me not to stretch my fasts for too long just because it feels easy now, and not to stuff myself when I eat. Great fit. So what do I find challenging about OMAD? I don't move enough - that's the Eight of Wands (top left card). I don't drink enough water - that's the Page of Cups in the top right corner. There is sometimes a social difficulty when I can't eat while my family does, and I feel awkward telling people that I'm fasting because they may judge me (bottom left - Ten of Cups). And then I feel discouraged at times because the weight loss is slow (however, the blood pressure normalised itself very quickly, which is more important) and there is so much more weight to lose. I also don't feel comfortable with the attention on my body from others. I picked the Six of Swords for a difficult transition, bottom right. Now I can explore each of these challenges. I don't want to go too much into details, just show how I work. Let's explore the movement challenge. The Queen of Wands comes to mind - energetic, in control, highly motivated. As I look for the card, I'm wowed - the whole deck is a dance deck but wouldn't I like to dance like the Queen of Wands! I'll need a more dance-like exercise routine. What about the drinking? A no-brainer - I have to drink more and learn to like the taste of plain water. Nine of Cups. By now, I have found solutions to make drinking plain water more enjoyable (when it's cold: hot water, when it's hot: carbonated water) and use an app to track my water intake. However, I still have to push myself to get enough water. And the social aspect? The Six of Cups stands for acceptance that I have to give but also expect from others. The Empress for self-confidence and nurturing myself. Both cards also represent my two most important social contexts - my partner and my children. I need my husband's support (and I have it, a moment of gratefulness!) and I must also give an example to my children (who are all slender and healthy - as I was at their age). And the moments of feeling it's not worth it anyway? Strength for my inner resources and resilience - and the Emperor for following through on something that I started. Obviously, there is so much more to each card that I outlined here. So here is my complete OMAD mind map. I can continue to finetune and explore whatever has not been satisfactorily answered, and I can also try and draw a card instead of picking it if I want more advice from my unconscious. This is completely free-form. As a last step, I condense the reading. What do I need to continue successfully on my journey to better health? I need the joyful movement of the Queen of Wands, the water intake of the Nine of Cups, the self-confidence of the Empress and the resilience of Strength. I can now use this summary as affirmation and encouragement when I have a difficult day, use it as wallpaper for my smartphone or simply put up the cards on my fridge door with magnets to remind me that I have sources of strength. Of course, this was only an example reading, but this is how I combine the mind mapping principle with tarot. I hope it's right to post it in the spread section, because it's a way of developing a free-form spread.
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