Batman Spread

I just came up with a new spread and I wanted to share it. It's called the Batman Spread. He's got enough movies out -- it's time he had his own spread!

I've been test driving it with the RWS deck and it seems to work pretty well. What's good about this spread is that it works whether or not you have a question. You can use it for just a general reading, or you can ask a specific question, same as you would with many other spreads.

I laid out the cards in the form of a winged creature of the night. This spread is designed to discover what lurks in the Batcave of your mind, to reveal dark secrets and who knows what else.......


--------------1----------------
------4---------------3--------
-6------------2-------------5-

1 - Bruce Wayne. Your outer self. The part of you that you show the world. What psychology would call the persona.

2 - Batman. Your secret/private self, the part of you and your heart/soul/mind that you don't let the world see.

3 - Batman's Girlfriend. Batman never has a love interest that lasts long. Love is something he gave up to live the life he does. This card represents losses, regrets, mistakes.

4 - The Batmobile. What drives you, and motivates you. The road you're on. What you've been actively doing recently.

5 - The Villain. What the biggest obstacle that you need to overcome is, and its true nature.

6 - Outcome, end result.

I like it! But please, please add a for Robin (3a?)! It could be about one's secret strength, or support from the outside, or something along those lines.

Hi cat!
Actually, I was thinking of adding a Robin card, meant to represent support or alliances, or something like that. But adding a card to the spread would throw the wings off balance. And I didn't want to do that. But feel free to play around with the spread if you like. Maybe Robin could be added to one side and something else added to the other?

Yes, exactly, I was also thinking about Robin as representing outside support.

Maybe the body could have three cards above each other so the wings aren't off-balance? The Batmobile could be below position #2 since it seems like the most internal force of the "wing" cards.

Or the "head" could be cards #1 and #2 with the Batmobile below.

Or one could indeed add another card to balance out a Robin added sideways, possibly the Batcave - internal versus external resources/help?

Does any of that make sense to you?

Batman and Robin Spread

Hey there, Cat. Yes, I think I get the general idea of what you mean. It sounded interesting. So I tweaked things around and came up with another version. I added Robin and the Batcave, and squeezed in Catwoman into an existing slot as well. I call it The Batman and Robin Spread. I still like the first version, The Batman Spread; it's good for a quick psychological profile. But I think that The Batman and Robin Spread, with the extra cards, lends itself to more types of questions. Thanks for your input!


---------------1--------------
---------4-----------3--------
----6----------2----------5----
8-----------------------------7-


1 - Bruce Wayne. Your outer self. The part of you that you show the world. What psychology would call the persona.

2 - Batman. Your secret/private self, the part of you and your heart/soul/mind that
you don't let the world see.

3 - The Batcave. Your underground arsenal of weapons. Strengths and talents that can help you achieve what you want. Internal support.

4 - Robin. Friends and others who can help you. Factors you can expect and count on. External support.

5 - Batman's Girlfriend. Batman never has a love interest that lasts long. Love is something he gave up to live the life he does. This card represents losses, regrets, mistakes. Maybe it represents Catwoman. You decide.

6 - The Batmobile. What drives you, and motivates you. The road you're on. What you've been actively doing recently.

7 - The Villain. What the biggest obstacle that you need to overcome is, and its true nature.

8 - Outcome, end result.

----------------------
I gave both versions a few test runs with the Gothic Tarot by Joseph Vargo. I got great answers.

One general note about these spreads: When I read them, I tend to read one wing at a time. First I look at cards 1 and 2, but afterwards I look at the wing on the right, cards 3, 5 and 7. Then I look at the wing on the left, cards 4, 6 and 8. The reason for this is that the cards on the right tend to be darker, more private, and more mysterious than the cards on the left, which are more driven, ambitious, positive, and final. The cards on both sides are grouped together in a way that they fit together meaningfully. I think they should be read that way, too.

Batman 2.0

OK, I'm still playing around with this spread. I love tweaking things.

What I liked about the first version of this spread was that it was only 6 cards. It gave a quick snapshot of a person's psychological state of mind. But what I didn't like was that it left out the Batcave.

I changed things around on the first version of the layout, so I could have a 6 card option on this spread. I call it The Batman 2.0 Spread.


--------------1----------------
------4---------------3--------
-6------------2-------------5-


1 - Bruce Wayne. Your outer self. The part of you that you show the world. What psychology would call the persona.

2 - Batman. Your secret/private self, the part of you and your heart/soul/mind that you don't let the world see.

3 - The Batcave. Your underground arsenal of weapons. Strengths and talents that can help you achieve what you want.

4 - The Batmobile. What drives you, and motivates you. The road you're on. What you've been actively doing recently.

5 - The Villain. What the biggest obstacle that you need to overcome is, and its true nature.

6 - Outcome, end result.

Well, there are still two key figures missing:

- Alfred, the wise confidant or "inner guide";

- Commissioner Gordon, representing social stability and the conventional order.

If we add these to your 8-card spread, we'll have yet another 10-carder ...

I really like this spread! I'd put Alfred in the Robin position, but I've always hated Robin so I'm completely biased.

I've copied it and I hope to test it out soon.

I'm glad there's people who like this spread. Please feel free to play around with it, and to post your ideas here. I'd love to see what others come up with as alternate layouts.

Looks like this might turn into one big bat......

The Legend Continues

Ok, how about adding Batgirl - crippled by the Joker, but continuing to serve as Oracle to the Birds of Prey. She could symbolize that part of you that is crushed but un-destroyed - that which will rise again, reformed, and recommitted to the battle.