As we draw to the end of my year-long project with the TdM, I thought I would do another sample reading—about my career, because that’s my top concern of late. I had a job interview earlier this week, and it went really well. The company seems interesting, they seemed to like me, and on the whole I got a good feeling about the whole thing. The next round of interviews for this position isn’t until February, and they said they’d get back to me sometime in January to let me know if I made it to that round.

Coming out of that interview, I thought I’d do a reading about this particular job. Using the techniques I’ve developed this year, I laid out a nine-card spread to see whether this job really is a viable prospect. This is what I drew:

And, well, yikes.

The short answer: No, I don’t think this is the job for me, which is a shame, because I’m really excited about the company. But first things first, looking at the right-hand column, I see the Hermit, the Moon, and the Four of Épées: solitude, illusion, and strife. The future with this company does not look good. On the contrary, it looks like I’d be isolated, doing work on my own rather than as part of a team. The company wouldn’t be what I expected it to be, and ultimately I’d be very unhappy there.

This is reflected by the abundance of Épées in the reading more broadly. In addition to the Four in the bottom-right corner, we have the Ace and the Six in the central column. The Six of Épées is reflected by the Six of Bâtons—and likewise, the Four of Épées mirrors the Four of Bâtons in the top left corner. In both cases, the message seems clear: Action leads to strife. If I move forward with this company, I’ll end up regretting it. This is further indicated by the presence of the Emperor in the bottom left; he’s looking backward, into the past, considering what could have been instead of looking forward to what is.

With no Coupes (welfare) and no Deniers (resources) in the reading, it’s pretty clear that this isn’t a job that would fulfill me. And, well, that’s a shame. But it’s also nice to have a Tarot reading that’s so clear, straightforward, and unambiguous. As I’m working more and more with the TdM, I’m really coming to appreciate how direct it can be.