Your Next Career Move (A Tarot Spread)

A Free Blueprint to Professional Reinvention

To go straight to the tarot spread, scroll down.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve encountered an unusually high number of tarot clients who are primarily concerned about their jobs and careers. Maybe it’s because we just marked a new year and they realized another year has gone by and they are still in the same position they swore was only temporary. Maybe they’ve been out of work for several months and are becoming concerned that they are focusing on the wrong industry or that something is wrong with them.

Because we live in a society where our identity is so closely tied to our job title, the concerns about jobs and careers usually run deeper than “Where do I get money to pay my bills?”

Feeling unhappy with your work situation can warp your sense of self. Who are you for 8-12 hours out of the day? Feeling overwhelmed becomes your baseline state. One where you dread the workday, grow resentment towards colleagues and family members, or lose interest in activities you could enjoy outside of work. 

Not being able to provide financially for yourself also messes with your self-worth and independence. It can lead to deep feelings of shame, an intense fear of your skills atrophying or becoming obsolete ("skills rot"), and chronic panic about the future.

The problem in our physical reality may be that you need a new job or career path, but the deeper, spiritual problem may be a crisis of meaning and purpose. An emptiness derived from spending your finite time on activities that feel meaningless or on the absence of a productive/contributory role in your family and society.

If this deeper issue is not addressed, it can lead to a pervasive sense of powerlessness where your desires and actions feel disconnected from the outcomes, which can erode the belief that you can take control of your life.

On the other hand, maybe you’ve managed to retain your self-esteem and sense of self, and you can see the issue for what it really is: systemic and structural.

We are in a low-hire, low-fire economy where people are staying in unsatisfying jobs out of fear. With quit rates low, there are fewer positions available. AI is being clumsily adopted at an alarming rate, which has two major effects: laid-off workers are struggling to find roles in new industries, and executives are hesitant to hire while evaluating AI's potential. This hiring paralysis extends beyond AI, as business planning is made difficult by unpredictable trade and immigration policies. With reluctant employees and stressed-out executives, workplaces are more toxic than ever. The stress of the job search is compounded by financial pressures, making both of these states psychologically devastating.

As a tarot reader, it’s my job to work with you to get to the root of the problem, as far as spirituality can take us. (Sometimes the answer is a licensed mental health counselor, career counselor, or financial advisor.) Tarot can widen the scope and allow new perspectives that you couldn't see previously because you were so focused on the stressors.

Now, I would love to book a session with each and every one of you to help you through this process. But a natural consequence of being out of work, or being unhappy because your job doesn't pay enough, is that you are strapped for cash. There are tarot readers out here who would exploit this desperation and tell you to book a reading if you're serious about finding a solution, otherwise it means you want to stay stuck forever. That is unethical. Don't fall for it.

Spiritual guidance should not create another barrier. Work with what you have. Below is a career tarot spread that I created for you to use freely. All you need is your own tarot deck.

What's that saying?: "Give a person a tarot reading, they'll have insight for a day. Teach a person to read tarot, and they'll find their own answers for a lifetime." I'm sure that's how it goes.

This career tarot spread is designed to help you break out of feeling trapped. It will guide you to define a new type of work, visualize your future work environment, and skills you need to learn or unlearn.

Besides being free, the bonus to doing your own career tarot reading is that it will help you cultivate self-empowerment and a sense of self. Your intuition and inner wisdom will kick in and guide your interpretation of the cards. I promise, you are not as powerless as you feel.

If you would still like additional assistance with this spread, I am available for booking. I've added email readings and 30-minute sessions to provide you with more economical options than the 60-minute readings. But really, no pressure. Do what makes the most financial sense for you. I just ask that you consider me for a reading when you're in a better place.

The Career Blueprint Tarot Spread

Orientation

Card 1: What will be the primary nature of the work? Creative, analytical, managerial, humanitarian, technical, or a specific blend?

Card 2: Will it be a common job title, or will it be an emerging or niche role?

Card 3: Will the company/industry be one I have already seriously considered or applied to in the past?

Preparation

Card 4: What single skill or knowledge, that I currently lack, will become unexpectedly important?

Card 5: Will the hiring process be standard (résumé, interview) or unconventional (portfolio, trial project, network referral)?

Card 6: Will a specific person, connection, or published work of mine play a key role in securing the interview?

Card 7: What will be the one thing I need to unlearn or mentally reframe from my previous work style to succeed there?

Environmental & Lifestyle

Card 8: What will the physical or digital environment I work in most days be like?

Card 9: What common problem will I solve for clients/customers/colleagues?

Card 10: What will a ‘good day’ look like in that job? What will a ‘hard day’ look like?

Temporal & Actionable Triggers

Card 11: What will be the general trigger that leads to the opportunity? A life event, finishing a course, reaching out to a specific old contact, a piece of technology becoming mainstream?

Card 12: What is the primary mode of learning I should engage with?

Card 13: What action can I take today that will move me closer to this career?

The Inherent Talent

Card 14: Which of my existing skills prove I will be good at this career?

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Thank you for making it this far. If you use this tarot spread, share your spread on Instagram or TikTok and tag @gemblackthorn. I love to see how other readers use it!

Explore more resources. For visual guidance, subscribe to my YouTube channel. For creative inspiration, download 300+ writing prompts inspired by the Tarot. For organizing your practice, access my Book of Shadows Notion Template here.

If you want to move beyond tarot for beginners, book a Private Tarot Tutoring session for personalized, guided instruction. We’ll progress past memorization and develop your professional reading style.