I've previously talked about the brain acronym and how it can help with informed decision-making. But what happens if, despite all the information, we remain confused? Here's another tip that I learnt in my trainings: Ask yourself what your mind thinks, what your heart feels, and what your gut feeling says. Then, pick two out of three. It's possible of course to do this without the help of cards but I do find that using tarot (and oracle) can help bring even more clarity to a situation. This is a spread I created based on this idea, which uses three different tarot decks and an optional oracle. While I developed this spread to help with decision-making in fertility treatment, childbirth.., it can certainly be adapted to any situation. Feel free to modify and play.
selecting a question
First things first: This is a spread to help figure out what we want to do, and not what is the best thing to do. In other words, it presumes that we already have all the information; we just need to make a choice. Therefore, a question like “Is Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) recommended for me since I am over 40?” is not a good question. In fact, that should be discussed directly with a fertility doctor. A better question would be: “Do I want to do PGT?” (If more information is needed, use the brain acronym instead.)
While I rarely use tarot to answer yes/no questions, I find this spread particularly useful for them. It can also be used to expand on the three areas of mind, heart, and gut to untangle the sometimes conflicting reactions we have towards a situation. Aside from yes/no, I also like: What should I do about fertility yoga? What should be my Plan B? (My yoga mentor would say that should’ing ourselves is not a good thing, but hey..)
choosing the decks
In this spread, we want to know the message of the mind, the heart, and the gut respectively. While a single deck can be used for this reading, I actually find it even better to pick three different ones. The Fountain Tarot is the quintessential mind deck in my opinion. A lot of us describe it as very airy & cold and I totally agree. (Plus, I adore the circus imagery!) For the heart, I use the Tarot de la nuit because it reminds me of webtoons (my all-time guilty pleasure.) As for the gut, I’ve always found the Tarot of Mystical Moments to be incredibly intuitive.
Choosing an oracle deck to represent the question is entirely optional. (As a card lover, I say the more the merrier.) This card can be pulled intentionally or randomly. Personally, I’m always delighted to see what shows up when I pull a card at random. I’ve had a lot of success with the Deadly Apothecary Oracle although I keep the interpretations very broad and don’t always go with what’s in the guidebook.
pick two out of three, a tarot spread
If we include an oracle card, this becomes a 4-card spread with a diamond shape. While I prefer to lay the question card at the top, the mind to the left, the heart to the right, and the gut at the bottom, the cards can take any position since they’re not read directionally.
Once a question has been posed, ask the following:
+ What does my mind think about this?
+ What does my heart feel about this?
+ What does my gut say about this?
Quite often, two of them will concur and this provides the answer to the question. Pick two out of three, yeah? In the event that nothing concurs, one solution is to wait it out and see. Perhaps a decision is not needed right now. Drawing clarifying cards is another possibility.
example reading
Question: Should I go ahead with this new fertility treatment? The card I pulled randomly to represent this question is the Yew card, with “Embrace change” as its message. (The guidebook was not relevant for this so I didn’t rely on it.) A new protocol in fertility treatment is often synonymous with ‘more invasive’ and that can create a lot of fear, anxiety, and stress. Maybe part of me is tired of waiting around and wants to try something new like yesterday, while another part of me is incredibly anxious because of past experiences of failure.
What does my brain think about this new treatment: The Hierophant.
“It’s a bit unconventional but I’m open to this idea (peeking inside a new possibility). There’s only some research on the topic but the statistics are promising. Let’s go!”
What does my heart feel about this: Nine of Swords.
“This sounds terrifying. That’s a loooot of medication. And that procedure sounds like it’ll be super painful.”
What does my gut say about this: Knight of Wands.
“So it’ll be like jumping through a hoop of fire? Well if others can do it, I can probably do it too.”
Picking 2/3, I’d say this is a positive answer: Yes, go ahead with the treatment. (Here, I would do a separate reading to explore that Nine of Swords further.*)
I myself don’t read with reversals but this technique can be helpful for some. In this case I’m interpreting the Hierophant as a positive card, but a reversal could indicate that the mind is not open to the idea aka “Let’s close that box and not even think about it!” Regardless of the techniques used, we can always check in with ourselves to consider whether those answers make sense. And at the end of the day, we have full authority to decide. And let’s remember that “not now” is also a choice.
*Let me give us an extra tip to mitigate fears. If there are doubts / fears regarding a situation (especially in the case of fertility treatment or childbirth), here are some steps to take: name the fear (what is it exactly?), get help (research good information, hire a specialist, talk to a doctor…), use inner and outer resources (coping skills, comfort measure pie, hypnotherapy, etc.), and accept reality.
🌖 ♍
References:
Deadly Apothecary Oracle (Priestess Moon)
Fountain Tarot (Jason Gruhl, Andi Todaro, Jonathan Saiz)
Tarot de la nuit (Carole-Anne Eschenazi, Alexandra V. Bach)
Tarot of Mystical Moments (Catrin Welz-Stein)