Future Tarot

Repeat customer Deb jumped on one of Miss Michele’s new “Alphabet spreads” after receiving some news about her career. Miss Michele is happy to report that, even in these difficult times, Deb’s career will experience a revitalization shortly. Hang in there, Deb!

Come visit us, if you’d like, this morning at 10:00 AM for Future-Tarot chat, too. Many of us who attend are WAHMs and we discuss tarot readings, brainstorm business ideas, and generally bask in creativity bolstered by the inspiration we derive from the tarot. (Please scroll down for Deb’s career reading…)

Don’t forget to join us at 9.30pm EST over at The Echo of One. We’re doing free three-card readings and talking Tarot. Everyone is welcome!

Deb’s C-for-Career Spread

Overview: Deb: I’m happy to bring you good news across the board regarding your career. While you’re facing some challenges right now in regard to less-than-trustworthy business associates and perhaps even a boss who was taking your colleagues’ side, the changes in your current work environment are paving the way to better things down the line for you, including greater fulfillment in your career.
I don’t get the impression that the “news” you received was a lay-off, but perhaps a bad review, a change in job responsibilities or some other situation that, on the surface seems negative, but will actually be a positive step forward for you. 
Pentacles along with cups in the spread show your new career path will be financially lucrative as well as spiritually and emotionally fulfilling.

Your Past Experience in your Career: Nine of Wands: You had it all, as shown by the Nine of Wands, the “Victory” card. Well-respected, organized, and financially successful, “Employee of the Month” didn’t even begin to describe your success! You were on top of the world.

Your Current Job Experience: Five of Wands/King of Swords: Spiteful, petty co-workers, however, had to see you fall. Gossip and deceit came into play in your workplace, represented by the Five of Wands. This card describes a battle you can’t possibly win, because it’s guerrilla warfare and you’re just not all that sneaky by nature. (That’s a good thing, sweetie—don’t stoop to their level).
Combine these forces with a mercurial boss, represented by the King of Swords, and you have a recipe for discontent. If his astrological sign is *not* Gemini, he contains the traits of one… that is to say, “the twins” in their most negative representation; he is two-faced and changes his mind on a whim. He’s taking “their” side on things, perhaps because birds of a feather and all.

SerenityBly adds: I always get the impression 5s in every suit are about fighting against the wind. An enemy you cannot see or who doesn’t exist. Senseless battles. Wands represent a battle of the mind rather than physical, emotional, or financial.

What You Want From a Job: Two of Pentacles: On the surface, this doesn’t sound like a lofty goal, but in reality, Deb seeks balance, as well as the opportunity to excel in a multitude of tasks and maintain a variety of duties on her plate. She’s a champion multi-tasker and wants a job that will keep her engaged by permitting her to use these talents.

What You NEED From a Job: The Magician: Supporting her “wants” in a job, the Magician shows Deb’s desire to have a job that allows her to use her talents to her maximum abilities, as well as a desire for spiritual growth within her career path. This Major Arcana, representing her needs, is her “wants,” amplified, showing that she is strongly in touch with her desires. I wouldn’t be surprised if Deb journals and/or uses the Law of Attraction to manifest her desires.

What you have to offer – Your Greatest Strengths: The 8 of Pentacles: A great card to have in the “strengths” slot of this spread, the 8 of Pentacles shows Deb is a hard worker, and an independent worker who is highly-skilled. She doesn’t need special training or a boss looking over her shoulder to get the job done. However, she needs someone to trust her to get the job done, something severely lacking in her current, but passing, situation.

Your Career Future – Your Action Plan: The Ace of Cups: This “new beginning” card in this position presents a new job opportunity for Deb, one that will be emotionally fulfilling as well as financially lucrative. The new position will permit Deb to showcase her strengths in a supportive environment, while stepping away from co-workers who are only bringing her down.

A clarification card in this slot, Strength, tells me the new position will permit Deb to use all her feminine strengths and abilities; her dreams for an emotionally and financially fulfilling career will manifest as a result of her inner strength. With two Major Arcanas in this spread, including one in the outcome slot, keep an eye out for BIG things in your future!

Serenity Bly adds: My intuition tells me that she wasn’t finding the position she was in fulfilling on a personal level. It was a paycheck, one that created a lot of headaches because of the unfriendly work environment. She’s being given an opportunity to step back…
It’s a new start and a chance to create new relationships in the workplace. Ultimately, what she’s coming into is an opportunity to build a career path doing what she loves around supportive people.

TJWriter asks:Can I have another free reading, Miss Michele?

I found out some wonderful news today, and I wonder if this will be as great as I hope?

The first card, the King of Pentacles, shows your past. You have built a strong financial foundation for future endeavors. Your partner is ready to become a protector and provider (or perhaps expand that role).

The King of Swords, in the near future, shows unconventional methods. You may be dealing with overbearing professionals and seeking “a better way” to do things. The tarot warns to get in touch with your feelings. There’s a lot going on in your life, a lot of preparations to be made and, on top of it all, there may have been a new job, responsibilities or promotion. Take time for yourself, meditation, and exercise!

The Outcome, the Chariot, shows a major move in the near future. Through it all, remember that you are in control… People may be offering advice, “wisdom” and even old wives’ tales. Follow your heart. Stay centered and calm. You know what you need to do, go after it and don’t listen to those who tell you different.

TJWriter, knowing the good news you received, it was challenging to make sense of this combination of cards as it relates to that. I can’t help but think you’re facing challenges with doctors–or maybe just insurance companies–or overbearing relatives trying to tell you what is best. The Chariot is saying choose your own path. You will do the right thing. Don’t be drawn off course or lose focus.

Faithful reader Mysti Linne poses a question for the tarot: “Is “By The Fire” the way I should go?”

A three-card spread of The Heart of the Matter, Advice, and Outcome should give Mysti some insight.

The first card, the Heart of the Matter, is the Ten of Pentacles. This project has the potential to give Mysti financial security, enough time with her family, and plenty of cash, but Mysti is concerned that may not be the case. The Pentacles are associated with Earth… Mysti hopes this project will give here some grounding.

The Advice is represented by the King of Swords… The tarot is telling Mysti she should behave as this Court Card would in this situation… analyze all the facts, look before you leap, use your head. Should you decide to take this project, take control as a strong leader, don’t allow others to influence your views too much.

The Outcome is represented by the Five of Wands, the Fire element, which relates to the name of the project. You’ll face an exciting challenge if you do this. There may be others who believe they know the best way–stick to your guns (re: King of Swords). If you do take over the project, be careful. You *may* be taking on too much and will, literally, burn yourself out. This is a fear Mysti’s has mentioned in the past and seems to be a recurring them in her professional life. It could happen again. In relation to the Five of Wands, I’d say the King of Swords is warning you to consider this VERY carefully.

However, all minor arcana in the reading tell us a very important thing: it’s YOUR decision, 100 percent, no one will influence it or present new information that causes you to change your mind. Whether you do or don’t take this on, the results won’t be earth-shattering. If it doesn’t work out, you can withdraw with little consequences and move on.

Interesting… Miss Michele drew a clarification card asking the tarot simply: Yes or No, should she do this.

The Wish card came up, the Nine of Cups. We have a balance of all four suites here… which shows that this decision won’t influence any one area of your life greatly. You won’t get rich–or poor. You won’t get emotionally burnt out. It really seems as if you have nothing to lose, and the tarot, with the Nine of Cups, seems to be saying, “Do what you think is best, you’ll be fine.” (Note I did not say “feel is best.” There were no “intuition” cards in this reading… the Tarot is saying look at the facts, the spreadsheets, and your time, and make a wise decision based on that information).

Cyclops took advantage of Miss Michele’s New Year’s Special for his 13-card reading. It is going to be an interesting, yet balanced, and overall positive year for Cyclops as he grows, learns and then is rewarded with some fun times!

Overview: Card 13 gives us the Page of Rods, showing a year of new opportunities and good news across the board. An overview of the spread shows a good balance of Pentacles, Cups, and Swords, meaning there will be balance between change and opportunities, finance, work and learning, and relationships/fun. A plethora of Pentacles in the first half of the year shows a focus on money-making, learning and study, setting the stage for a fun, relaxed second half, where Cyclops can focus on personal relationships.

January: Ace of Pentacles: A new business or wealth-building opportunity will show up in January, if it hasn’t already (and Miss Michele has inside information that it may have!) There will be further opportunities for Cyclops to exercise his creativity, as well.

February: The Hermit: This month will be quiet. The querent should take the time to plan his next move, meditate, contemplate and rest. Don’t rush into any of the new opportunities yet… consider all angles, ask others for advice, keep learning, but mostly, trust your gut.

Because things are going to explode in …
March, with the Ten of Pentacles. It will be a time for activity and travel, and Cyclops will have the money to do it, and do it right. With all this activity, he will be building a strong foundation for the future, in his paintball activities with his team, family relationships, and his career.

April: Eight of Pentacles: This brings hard work and study. The financial benefits and security from March won’t come without a price, he’ll have to study even more to pay back what he was given in March. But people are trusting that he *will* pay it back, so they are giving it to him before he even delivers. He should be careful with money management in April, although things were good in March, he shouldn’t squander it.

May: Knight of Cups: This card brings a shift from the tangible (Pentacles) to feelings and emotions. May will bring a new social experience, possibly a new love. Of course, when you’re not paying attention to it, that’s when these things happen. There will be an emphasis on fun and passion.

June: King of Swords: Cyclops may be afraid to take the leap into this new romance. He becomes overly rational, almost cold, which is not like him, at all. This new love will scare him, perhaps because it’s not what he expected to happen, romantically.

July: The Sun: By July, these feelings will pass and Cyclops will be feeling more like himself. There will be a focus on vacation, fun times. Whatever was troubling him or closing him off emotionally in June, he will be ready to throw caution to the wind, let loose and have fun in July.

August: The Emperor: Another major arcana tells us it’s going to be a pivotal summer. While the King of Swords represented Cyclops, The Emperor is someone else—a mentor who warns Cyclops it’s time to stop the party and get down to business. Enough focus has been placed on love and relationships, it’s time to get back to business and learning.

September: The Wheel of Fortune will bring new wealth and success in unexpected areas.

October: Five of Swords: Be on guard for people trying to bring you down because of their own jealousy. They will spread gossip, make you look bad, and if you stoop to their level, although you may win, you will lose because that’s not the type of person you are.

November: Two of Cups: You may re-unite with an old love or someone from your past, and this time, things will be much better as you find balance in your relationship. You’ll also find balance between money/career, romance and fun. The year will bring you to extremes of each side, but, toward the end, you will better learn how to balance it all.

December: The Hanged Man tells us the new/revived relationship hasn’t reached its happy outcome yet. You’ll be exploring the relationship from different angles, seeing each other differently, deciding how to proceed. You’ve been here before, but it looks very different this time.

The Page of Cups hitched a ride on The Hanged Man to show itself, and that signifies the birth of new emotions. You’ll be taking things slowly in your relationship, but it will be soft, warm and emotional. There will be a turning point of sorts, a strong emotional commitment where you both decide this is what you want, but no marriage proposal or formal commitment.

Heartchakra, too, is asking about her career path. Heartchakra says:

I’m a friend of Joanna’s and I am blown away with how accurate your reading was for her. I am struggling with similar issues. In my case, I am a book designer and published writer struggling with debt and trying to find work. My degree is in fine arts, something I left behind a long time ago and never fully embraced. I would like to go into illustration, while continuing to write and design, as a way to reconnect with that side of myself. I am wondering if illustration is the right path for me.

Miss Michele did another five card reading for Heartchakra. Well, tried to. Some sticky cards made that difficult… (No, they weren’t really sticky, they’re clean! But two kept coming out at a time.) Let’s explore the original five cards, and also see if the clarification cards add greater insight.

In the past, the Six of Swords, Heartchakra began to move away from hard times. She may have taken a literal journey, or this could indicate leaving one path (which she found challenging) for another.

The present shows still more Swords, the Six, (and the Nine, holding on for dear life!) There have been a lot of shake-ups in Heartchakra’s life in the recent past, and she faces the potential for yet another move and career change.

Additionally, she’s been cheated or wronged in some awful way. The Nine of Swords, the Nightmare Card, corresponds to this. The damage was very bad and Heartchakra is left wondering how she will recover.

The Hidden Influences, shown in the Major Arcana, the Hermit, demonstrates a need for isolation, for Heartchakra to be alone with her thoughts. Her desire for solitude to nurture her creativity is influencing her career move. The Hermit is the number nine card, the second nine in this reading, which shows a life cycle coming to an end. The focus is on letting go of the old.

Nines also indicate possible self-deception (supported by the Seven of Swords.) Is this change really what you want, or are you just running away from a bad situation? Make sure you are running toward something, not away. Nines say that this is the time to tie up loose ends.

The Tarot’s Advice is to wait, exemplified in the Hanged Man, the proverbial card of “slow action.” Take time to look at things from a different perspective, re-evaluate goals and priorities, and be true to yourself.

Now, Miss Michele is not saying “don’t follow your heart” if you believe illustration is the path for you. The tarot isn’t written in stone and it only shows one possible outcome. Just explore your motives carefully before making any changes in your life and go slowly. Build a strong groundwork.

Rarely does Miss Michele do a reading where so many cards say the same thing. They are practically screaming answers. The King of Swords, throwing in his two cents in the Advice position with the Hanged Man, is a card of truth, careful consideration, control, rationality and objective judgment. And, again, he speaks of tumultuous change, as shown in the suit of Swords.

The last card, The Lovers, points to a very positive Outcome. Three major arcana in this reading definitely point to a major life change on the horizon! The Outcome says you will make a choice between two divergent paths–it could be an either/or situation in your career–not both–which is why the tarot advises caution. But the Lovers is all about Choice, and you are entirely free to choose.

You will face a test before you discover which choice is correct, and it may be quite an ordeal, but you will know which answer is the right one when the time comes.