7 Ways to Work with Tarot to Find (and Keep) Your Next Job
image description: hands with vitiligo typing on a rose gold laptop. the background has daisies on it.
Is your job search leaving you asleep on your keyboard? Do you spend meetings sneaky scrollin the Girlboss newsletter's help wanted ads? Have you given up on finding a job that doesn't suck, or at least suck less?
Hold on there, queermo. Have you consulted your deck?
That's right. In addition to the million and one other ways to work with tarot, you can make some questions to find a great job. One that leaves your hair follicles intact. (Get it, because you'll stop tearing it out in rage!)
Is any job perfect? Obviously not! But I'm wishing you as close to perfect as our current capitalist system can allow. That means time for breaks, ample time off, kombucha on tap, and 100% of your healthcare paid.
We all deserve the best, and tarot can help!
If you want to know how to get started working with tarot to grease up your job search, read the list below.
The trick is to actually do one thing from this list today! Hey, I figure if this post wasn't relevant to you you wouldn't have read this far. Since you did, try one of these lil tarot activities!
Whichever one you want ;)
1. Find the best job listing site for your goals
It's 10 pm on a Friday. You've spent your day whitewater rafting down a waterfall of lackluster listings. Each post is more boring than the last.
What's the difference between a systems analyst and a systems analyzer? How many of these posts are already filled, but a uber busy intern forgot to delete them from the site?
How long until your brain leaks out of your ears like you recently got into ear candling?
It's time to grab your deck, and decide between the glut of job listing sites currently available!
More is more, but "more" is not always better. You're gunna give yourself choice fatigue, babes! It's time to reel it in and put your best efforts in the right place.
After all, the positions on Indeed, LinkedIn, and Idealist are all different!
Tarot Activity: Pull a card to find the character of each site, and decide what feels most aligned with your search.
2. Save time by pulling cards on opportunities before applying
True Life: I Thought a Job Would Be Great, and Then It Sucked Shit.
We've all been there, right? A dream job turns into a nightmare job that turns into another job search.
What if you could sample the flavor of a job? Then you wouldn't have to waste your time working somewhere that serves no purpose other than giving you something to talk about in therapy.
Spoiler alert: you can!
Tarot Activity: Grab your tarot deck and pull two cards for each job. The first card is you at the job. Card two is the job itself.
If you're feeling intuitive, pull a card at the beginning of your search. It should represent the job that fits you best right now. If it appears in the pair, that's a good sign!
3. Draw the perfect job to you
Are you using tarot with your other magic, or are you late to the party
(Don't worry, I love latecomers! I am very neurodivergent!)
You can use tarot as a divination tool, but it can also stand in as an intention or a petition. Archetypes are great for this kind of magic because they represent the most basic form of what you want.
They are also great to work with when you don't know what to say, but understand what's in your heart. If you're still learning what you need, ask the deck, then work with that card.
You'll need a basic understanding of candle or fire work. But that's not so hard to find. You can also read some of the articles I linked at the bottom!
Tarot Activity: Grab the card that represents the most perfect manifestation of your work life. Prepare it however intentions or petitions get dressed or activated in your tradition.
Stick it under an appropriate candle and let it work its magic!
a person shuffling a deck of tarot cards. The text says get your liberation tarot starter kit.
4. Squash conflict with a coworker
As a member of the talkative INTJ club, I'm sure I've had as much beef with coworkers as they've had with me.
Who drank the last of your creamer? Why did they make that face after you were finish sharing your brilliant ideas? Why haven't you gotten your own Zoom account yet?
It's enough to start you to yellin! But first, let's take stock with a tarot activity!
Tarot Activity: Pull four cards. Card one represents your role in this conflict. Card two represents your coworker's role in the conflict. Card three represents anything hidden about this interaction.
Card four is a method for smoothing over this conflict. Card five is the most likely outcome of your efforts. It's evergreen so use as needed!
5. Brainstorm a project that's brewing in your brain
Gotta love tarot's ability to be a mind map--especially when a project is still cookin!
Get a sense of what you're wanting from a project, it's most successful manifestation, or any pitfalls with the cards.
Tarot Activity: You're gunna pull nine cards in three distinct piles of three. The first pile is the general shape of the project.
The second pile is working methods for the project (i.e. writing, video, interviews, etc.). The third pile shows you the working style needed to bring this project to its amazing realization.
You got this!
6. Figure out the perfect time to ask for that raise
Are you staring at your desk calendar trying to figure out the last time your pay got bumped? Is "shrinkflation" shrinking your patience with your boss and your budget at the same time?
Sounds like it's time for a raise. But is it? Will you get it?
In this time of employer fuckery, low wages, and a weird job market, not every day is the day to rock the boat.
Most of us need our jobs, and can't afford to do anything that may make our employer give us the boot. This sucks, but tarot can help us find the right time to pose hard questions.
Here's a strategy for finding when to ask for a raise.
Tarot Activity: Pull three cards. The first card is straightforward. Ask "when will I know it's the right time to ask for a raise." The second card is where you're at right now. The third card is the most likely outcome if you ask right now!
7. Plot your next professional move
In the wise words of Ri Ri, what now?
You may be outgrowing your job after many years of glowing success. You could be reentering the job market after taking some time off due to an illness, or after raising children. You may want to go back to school
Tarot can help you figure out the most aligned thing to do with your life at this moment.
Tarot Activity: Pull one (1) card. Yes, just one card. Let this card guide you to the general sphere of activities you're meant to do in this next phase of your life.
Further Thoughts
Intuitive Strategies for Surviving Capitalism: Job Seekers Edition
Money Magic for Anti-Capitalists
Queering Tarot's Queens: Reclaiming Our Labor
hey, i'm cyree jarelle. I run Temperance Queer Tarot. I help queers, feminists, and leftists connect with their intuition using tarot and cartomancy. More on me.