Question: Is it time for a career change or should I try to improve my current job situation?
Card #1 (Where You Are Currently): Nine of Pentacles
Card #2 (The Situation Currently Affecting You): Two of Pentacles
Card #3 (Your Conscious Desire): The Emperor
Card #4 (Your Subconscious Desire): Five of Swords
Card #5 (Events Leading Up to the Present): The Tower
Card #6 (Events in the Future): The Empress
Card #7 (Your Role in the Situation): Nine of Cups
Card #8 (External Influences on the Situation): Five of Cups
Card #9 (Spirit Guidance): Six of Pentacles
Card #10 (The POSSIBLE Resolution): The Hanged Man
First Impressions
Your query for this reading points to the conflicted nature you feel inside yourself–both of these options (leave for something better or try to make what you currently have better) have potential upsides and downsides, which is understandably leading to a lot of stress.
And the first thing I notice about this spread is that your inner conflict is playing out loud and clear in the cards. We’ll go into more depth about how certain specific cards connect with or antagonize each other in a later section of this reading, but I wanted to bring this up in the first impression sections because it’s right there staring us in the face–these cards are picking sides and drawing lines in the sand, so to speak.
The Individual Cards
Before we get into the relationships between the cards, I want to first quickly move through them individually and talk about their meanings in insolation. This is an important step in discerning the “raw materials” of the reading, so that we’ll have a better idea of how they come together to form a whole.
Card #1 (Where You Are Currently): Nine of Pentacles
First up, we have the nine of pentacles. Pentacles typically represent the mundane, physical world in a reading, so it’s no surprise that it shows up in this position. Making a major career decision is obviously not some intellectual, philosophical exercise–it’s a tangible decision that is going to have real-world effects.
But at the same time, this card has some surprise to it. While normally, I see this card as a symbol of contentment and harmony, I see decay and stagnation in this reading. This figure is not one with nature–she’s being consumed by it.
Card #2 (The Situation Currently Affecting You): Two of Pentacles
The two of pentacles radiates an energy of youthful, carefree fun–which at first sounds completely out of place in a reading about making a life-changing decision. However, I suspect that this card is presenting a secret obstacle to your desires, which will become more clear as this reading progresses.
Card #3 (Your Conscious Desire): The Emperor
We finally have the first appearance of a Major Arcana card in the #3 position. The Emperor can sometimes represent a specific person, so this could be a projection of the person you want to be–the big boss in charge.
However, in this reading, I’m erring towards the interpretation that The Emperor represents stability and continuity. There’s a lot of chaos in this reading (as we’ll soon see), and I believe that The Emperor is a manifestation of your desire to be done with all this volatility and uncertainty–no matter the specific outcome.
Card #4 (Your Subconscious Desire): Five of Swords
In this reading, the five of swords is an outlier. This spread is dominated by both Major Arcana cards and the suits of pentacles and cups. Depending on its position in a reading, the five of swords can indicate anything from aggression and bullying to loss and sadness. We’ll dive deep into what it represents here and how it reinforces (and contradicts) The Emperor in the next section.
Card #5 (Events Leading Up to the Present): The Tower
The Tower is a card with a terrifying appearance, but multiple possible meanings–and not all of them are bad.
At the very least, The Tower signifies a major upheaval either in your own life or the world as a whole. Considering the kind of year 2020 has been, it could honestly go either way in this reading. You’ve experienced some kind of reorganization or upheaval at work that makes you feel like the rug has been pulled out from underneath you–and most people have experienced that on a global level as well in the last few months.
This is not an uplifting card, but take comfort that it’s not a troubling one, either. Considering this reading revolves around your unhappiness at your current job, it would be really strange to pull a card that depicted the near past as sunshine and roses.
Card #6 (Events in the Future): The Empress
In the position of future events sits The Empress. There are a few ways to interpret this card, but regardless of the specifics, it’s an encouraging card to have in this position.
Sometimes The Empress refers to a specific woman (perhaps a new boss?) who governs with fairness and kindness. I’m not ruling that out entirely, but the fact that we’ve pulled both The Empress and The Emperor (in the position of your conscious desires) makes curious about how she could possibly relate to your inner state and desires.
Card #7 (Your Role in the Situation): Nine of Cups
Despite the fact that Card #7 is your role in the situation, this is not the point in the reading when I tell you how all of this is your fault!
Quite the contrary, in fact!
I think that the nine of cups is showing me that you’ve done your part in trying to build the professional life you want. You’ll notice that the figure in the card appears to have cups for sale–he’s putting in his time to earn his keep; he’s following all the rules of how you play the business game. I see that as your contribution to your current situation.
Card #8 (External Influences on the Situation): Five of Cups
In the position of external influences, we’ve got the five of cups. Because this shares a suit with the previous card, I believe the two are linked. However, you’ll notice that the artwork on this card has a markedly different tone–and it’s not a particularly uplifting one.
In this context, I see the five of cups as a symbol for the career world in general. On the previous card, I described the business world as a game, and here we see that the game is a challenging one to play, and, while you can succeed at the game, it can also leave you feeling empty (like those fallen cups) and beaten.
Card #9 (Spirit Guidance): Six of Pentacles
Card #9 in this spread is the message that the Universe, or Spirit world, or deity (or however you want to conceptualize it!) is trying to telegraph to you.
In this reading, that message is loud and clear–a job where you’re making a tangible impact in the lives of other people is where you’ll thrive and grow.
You can tell by the artwork that this is a card of charity and giving, and pentacles often represent the physical, material world. What “tangible impact” means within the context of your life and your specific skills is something that I would strongly encourage you to think about.
Card #10 (The POSSIBLE Resolution): The Hanged Man
I always want to preface my explanation for card #10. Whether this is a good card or a bad one, it is NOT set in stone. This card is a glimpse at the way things in the future look currently. But let’s not forget one important thing–tarot cards, as illuminating as they can be, do not control your future. Your future is squarely up for you to decide yourself. Deep down, this card is really meant to inspire you to action to make the future that you want.
And before we go any further, I want to say that whether or not you decide to pursue a new career, that’s totally in your hands; this is not my call to make.
That being said, I see this card in this context as a card of a little uncertainty, but more importantly, a card of change.
How the Cards Relate to One Another
It’s time to see how the cards in this reading relate to one another, and we’re going to pick up right where we left off!
How The Hanged Man Relates to Cards #1 & #2
If you’ll recall, I referred to Card #2 as a card of youthfulness, fun, and a carefree spirit, but I also mentioned how this could be a secret challenge to you–a challenge that you don’t even recognize as one.
To me, I’m seeing that, even though you’re considering changing jobs, you’ve managed to not only provide yourself with life’s necessities but also provide a life for yourself that is comfortable and pleasurable. I worry that this comfort (which is not wrong at all!) could be leading you into feelings of complacency about what you want to do with your life and make your mark on the world.
And that’s why I’m also seeing Card #1 as a symbol of decay or degradation. Those are just perfectly natural stops on the road of complacency. You strike me as someone who wants to live life to the fullest and push herself, so this is definitely something you want to watch out for and avoid.
Which brings us back to The Hanged Man. I described this as a card of change–which is key to staying active and to avoid lapsing into complacency. Despite the somewhat strange artwork on this card, this is not a card of forced change. For whatever reason, The Hanged Man is there because he wants to be–and this is a choice you’re actively going to have to pick as well, if you so desire.
That could mean a career change, but it could also mean having a conversation with your current boss about changing up your duties at work.
Pentacles vs. Cups
The suits of pentacles and cups often represent complementary things. Pentacles symbolize our everyday lives or the physical, mundane world. On the other hand, cups are often a symbol of the spiritual world, our inner lives, emotions, and psychological states.
With that in mind, I want us to return for a moment to Cards #7 and #8. I think they point to a key aspect of your unhappiness with your job currently and how to remedy that.
Despite the fact that a career seems to fall squarely within the realm of our everyday, physical lives, I pulled two cup cards relating to your job. That makes me think that you might be internalizing too much and taking things too personally. The business world is a vicious world, and tying your identity or self-worth to success in a job is a recipe for disaster and sadness.
The saying, “It’s not personal; it’s business,” is a bit of a cliché, but I think it works here. Whether you have a dream job, a crappy job, or no job, you always have value and worth, and nothing in the professional world can alter that.
Which brings us to pentacles and Card #9. I think this card shows you an alternative way of life to the previous two cards. As I mentioned before, this is a card that says to me that you need a job where you’re making a tangible impact in the lives of other people to thrive and grow.
Focusing on the real-life good you can do for other people is going to strengthen you spiritually and emotionally much more than any promotion or job title or bonus will ever be able to do. I see you as a person who thrives when you help others thrive.
Your Conscious Desire vs. Your Subconscious Desire
I mentioned earlier that in this reading, The Emperor (Card #3) represents your desire for stability and continuity at any cost. In addition to that, we have the five of swords as a subconscious desire (Card #4).
This puzzled me at first, because the five of swords is kind of a jerk card. The man in the foreground is thriving, but only because he’s defeated and pillaged the two figures in the back. Do I think you’ve got a repressed desire to screw people over in order to climb the corporate ladder?
Not in the slightest.
Rather, I think that this card is showing me that you perhaps haven’t considered the actual cost of “stability and certainty at any cost.” This is not so much a desire in the conventional sense, but instead, is simply a piece of the puzzle that you hadn’t considered.
Moving from Emperor to Empress
So how do you move from the ruthless self-preservation of The Emperor to something more in line with the person you want to be? I think the key is in The Empress (Card #6)
Both of these Major Arcana cards represent different types of stability.
Notice that The Emperor sits on a carved, stone throne–possibly embellished with ram skulls. His is the world of Man separate from nature. On the other hand, the Empress is pictured seated in a lush, natural setting. These represent the contrast between a physical, material stability and a stability of inner self.
The Empress knows who she is and how she fits into the bigger picture. She uses her authority to create harmony with everything around her. The Empress is happy when her outer world is in line with her inner values, and I believe that you’re probably the same kind of person.
But let’s not forget that The Empress in this reading sits in the position of the future. If this is the future you want, you’re going to have to set the wheels in motion yourself!
Which bring us back to The Hanged Man…
I think that this reading is clearly pointing towards a change. But, like I mentioned when discussing The Hanged Man (Card #10), this is a change that has to be self-initiated. What that change is is up to you.
Making a change will lead to some uncertainty, which means that The Emperor is going to have to give up a little of his cherished stability. But ultimately, this process can lead to a life that is meaningful to others and fulfills both your outer, physical needs and your inner, spiritual needs.
To Wrap Things Up
I truly hope this reading has been illuminating for you and has given you some things to consider, as well as some potential courses of action. Before we say goodbye, here’s a summary of what I saw in your reading:
- Your current career situation is providing you physical stability and comfort, but, your job in its current form, is not addressing deeper emotional concerns.
- You seem like the kind of person who thrives in a job where you’re making a tangible impact in the lives of others.
- Conversely, getting caught up in achieving success in the business world leaves you feeling unfulfilled and empty.
- I see a change in your future, but it’s got to be on your terms to work out.
- Don’t rush into a change–The Hanged Man is a card of change AND contemplation.
Once again, I truly hope I’ve given you some important things consider, and I hope you come away from this reading with a feeling of hopefulness about the future and your ability meaningfully impact it. I know that you have all the skills necessary within you to make a difference in your own career and in the happiness and wellbeing of others.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to, in some small and unusual way, share in your life and its inevitable victories and disappointments. I wish you the best in the future–however it unfolds!
Blessed Be,
Didi