I find inspirations for Tarot spreads everywhere and change models often spark such musings. The model put forth in Switch by Chip and Dan Heath provides a particularly concise model that lends itself to a favorite way to use Tarot: the 3 card spread. The model then expands to support further exploration of what is discovered in your 3 card spread.

Weaving together info from many sources, the Heaths show how each of us has a conflict built into our brains between the rational mind and the emotional mind. The rationale mind knows it would be better to put on the running shoes and go for a jog, but the emotional mind wants to sit in front of the TV with ice cream. Chip and Dan use evocative metaphors to identify these two parts of ourselves. The Rider is the rational mind who sits top The Elephant of the emotional mind. In the book they detail how these two have to find ways to cooperate rather than have one dominate as they go down The Path of creating change. (They are great storytellers and have perfect examples. Sometimes it is all a little too perfect in regard to the largest societal changes, but still their presentation of this work offers much food for thought.)

Are you seeing the 3 card spread emerging? Rider, Elephant, Path. I was just playing with the cards and tried a reading out for myself. I was surprised that laser precise insight and the deeper process that it inspired.

To do a reading for myself, I divided the deck into 3 piles:

  • The Court / People Cards for the Rider.
  • The Major Arcana for the Elephant. (I thought the Elephant needed the bigger power of these cards!)
  • The Numbered Minors for the Path (Representing the events of everyday life, these cards give insight to the pathways that we walk.)

The questions I used and the Rider-Waite-Smith cards that came up are as follows:

The key thing to look at in this part of the reading is the alignment between the Rider and the Elephant. I saw the dreamy, but creative Knight of Cups and the well structured and successful, but a bit rigid, Emperor in a bit of conflict. When I looked at the figure in the 4 of Cups I saw that he had the blue pants of the Knight and the red shirt of the Emperor and their inability to work together was blocking receiving a wonderful gift being offered by the Greater Than. The situation was stunningly clear to me!

So the situation was clear, but what to do about it! The further development of the Switch model offers resources to take the insight of the reading and work it toward change making.

Here is a summary from the Heath’s on their advice for uniting the Rider and Elephant on a change-supporting Path:

Direct the Rider
Find the Bright Spots: Investigate what has worked and clone it.
Script the Critical Moves: Don’t think big picture, think in terms of specific behaviors.
Point to the Destination: Change is easier when you know where you are going.

Motivate the Elephant
Find the Feeling: Knowing isn’t enough. Find the Feeling.
Shrink the Change: Break down the change so that it no longer spooks the Elephant.
Grow Your People: Cultivate a sense of identity and instill a growth mentality

Shape the Path
Tweak the Environment: Change something in the situation … and the behaviors follow.
Build Habits: Make behavior habitual. Look for ways to encourage habits.
Rally the Herd: Behavior is contagious. Help it spread.

Each of these points inspired questions that grew out of my first – or it could also be called the diagnostic – reading. If you are trying this at home – And do! There is no danger in playing with the cards – you’ll want to craft questions that advance the insight you gain from the first part. Here are my questions and cards:

Direct the Rider

  • What is a picture of how my inner Knight and Emperor have cooperated in the past? 4 of Wands
  • What is a specific, short-term next step to help the Knight feel more comfortable with the Emperor? 3 of Swords
  • Consciously pick a card from the remaining cards to represent your vision of these two working together. I looked through the deck and choose Temperance.

Motivate the Elephant

  • How can the Emperor access emotions more easily? The Sun
  • What is a specific next step for the Emperor to feel more comfortable with the Knight? 8 of Cups
  • What will help the Knight and the Emperor to grow together? Judgment

Shape the Path

  • What can I tweak in the environment to make their cooperation easier? 7 of Swords
  • What would be a good habit to develop? The Empress
  • Who / what can help me with this? Page of Cups

I spent some time considering the cards. The clearest, first insight that came to was to have a dialogue between the Knight and the Emperor in my journal.

The Knight started by sharing all those 3 of Swords feelings about being rush and not considered by the Emperor. The dialogue went on for a while until they arrived at the recognition that they both serve the Empress. At that moment, a little bell went off and I felt both these parts of myself relax. Under the guidance of other cards, I decided to allow the Knight and Emperor to be part of my morning meditations and we’d all spend time being with the Divine Feminine. On a more mundane level, I’ve committed to bringing both the Knight and the Emperor perspectives into my daily, weekly, and seasonal planning sessions, and I’ll be looking to make sure that both are getting enough time. I need them working together to accomplish my goals and visions.

I hope you’ll try at least one part of this reading. Let me know what happens!