Almost everyone hits a stretch when their job feels draining. The tricky part is telling whether it's a passing slump or a sign of something bigger—and figuring out when to start exploring other options.
If you're wrestling with that question and you have a tarot deck, you're holding a useful resource. A reading can offer perspective and direction, whether you're hunting for a new role or aiming to move up in your current field.
When you're job searching or simply feel restless where you are, a spread can help ease the career blahs. Insights from the cards may reveal whether you're on a productive track and steer you toward greater professional fulfillment.
1. Bring Your Ideal Work to Life
Author Joseph Campbell wrote a poem about following your bliss.
“Follow your bliss.
If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn’t know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”
It's easy to assume that following your bliss requires chasing grand ambitions—becoming a celebrated actor, painter, or musician—and that anyone whose career doesn't reach those heights must be missing out.
But career happiness isn't primarily about external rewards. It's more about cultivating satisfaction with the work you do while continuing to aim for improvement.
Tarot can help you clarify where to focus your goals and desires so you can advance in a way that suits you. There's a place for everyone if you assess your skills and strengths honestly, then allow yourself to dream ambitiously about how to apply them.
How to Do It
You can bring your happiness into being by asking the tarot to reveal your potential. Meditate on what you want from a career, then draw a card.
Record that card—consider starting a tarot journal—and spend time really reflecting on it.
Write down your answers to these questions:
- What feelings does the card stir in you?
- Are there images you can easily grasp and connect with?
- Is it upright or inverted? Reversed cards often point to areas that need attention or obstacles in your path.
Draw two more cards: one to show your strengths for this career path, and one to show your challenges.
Repeat this exercise and keep notes on what the tarot reveals. Over time, you'll build a personal roadmap to help make your career a success.
2. Explore a Different Role
If you're certain you want to change jobs, or if you're not currently employed, the tarot can suggest where to look next. It can highlight promising areas for new opportunities and support your search.
Use the cards to help you craft an action plan. The archetypal images and the suits of the Minor Arcana carry a great deal of wisdom, and they might even hint at locations or situations.
How to Do It
Here are some questions you might ask your deck. Draw one card per query and take time to consider each card's meaning.
- Will you need to relocate to find your next opportunity? For instance, a card from the suit of Cups might suggest a location near water.
- What will your next boss be like? For example, the King of Pentacles could point to a self-made entrepreneur or small business owner as a potential employer.
- Will you need to learn new skills or invest in education to land your next position? For example, drawing the Fool might mean you're starting a long journey, while the Strength card might indicate you already possess what you need within.
The more familiar you become with your tarot, the more information you'll find hidden in the images.
3. Get Ready to Interview Strong
You want to make a good first impression, but that's tough when you don't know what the interviewer will be looking for. The tarot can assist with that, too.
Before an interview, a tarot layout can give you information on points to emphasize, things to avoid, skills to highlight, and even what to wear.
It can also provide insights about your interviewer: what they seek in a candidate, their likely personality type, and more. Any details you gather beforehand can help you present yourself in a way that improves your chances.
How to Do It
Shuffle and select three cards from your deck. Place them on the table in the order drawn, in a line from left to right, and turn them over one at a time.
The first card represents your strengths going into the interview. The second card reflects your challenges and what you should downplay. The third card reveals how to present yourself best. Then put these cards back, shuffle again, and repeat the process.
Draw three more cards. The first card represents what your interviewer seeks in their next employee. The second card reflects what might put them off during the interview. The third card indicates how well you're likely to get along.
Remember, until you physically walk through that door, this is all just potential. Once you enter each other's physical space, possibilities become reality.
Try a Career Tarot Reading Today
Your path to an ideal career doesn't stop here. While you're seeking your next position, use the tarot as a weekly companion. Draw a card at the start of the week and let it guide you.
It can offer an indication of whether this is the week you'll finally close a deal or whether you need to keep searching. Consulting the tarot can also help you choose between job offers if two arrive at once.
Even after you've secured a new job, you can keep using the tarot for guidance on advancing your career. The possibilities are broad; it just takes some time and insight into this powerful tool to help you along the way to finding happiness and success at work.
You can also find guidance in your daily career horoscope!
