You know, for years, I always kept the serious Tarot reading stuff separate from my actual life. It was just a hobby. A thing I did late at night when the real work was done. I never expected to need this knowledge just to figure out how to pay the rent next month, but here we are. Life just hits you sometimes, you know?
I thought I had things sorted. Secure consulting gig, solid partner—the whole deal. Then, two weeks ago, everything just imploded. My main client, the one covering 70% of my monthly nut, just ghosts me. No warning, no email, just gone. The same day, my partner decides that my “focus on work” was “emotionally unavailable,” and boom, I’m suddenly single and staring at an empty calendar. I was totally blindsided. I remember staring at the ceiling for two days straight, paralyzed, wondering what divine joke was being played on me.
I needed answers fast. I wasn’t looking for therapy; I was looking for a survival strategy. I pulled out my old Rider-Waite deck, the one with the frayed edges. I wasn’t going to bother with a fancy Celtic Cross spread. I decided to isolate the ten most common, brutal, and essential cards that keep showing up when people ask the two core questions: “Where is the money coming from?” and “Is this relationship worth fighting for?”
I didn’t just pull the cards; I cataloged their energy, cross-referencing three different old books I keep hidden under my desk and dumping the fluff. I wanted the cold, hard, practical truth. What action do I need to take right now? I spent three solid days just charting these ten cards, simplifying the meaning until I could remember it even if I was running on four hours of sleep and three cups of bad coffee.
This is the quick reference guide I hammered out, the survival kit for when everything goes sideways. I started with the big scary ones because I needed to face the disaster first.
The 10 Cards I Grabbed for Immediate Life Checks
- The Tower:
Love: It’s over. Don’t fight it. The structure was weak, and it just collapsed. You need to clear the rubble. It’s painful, but necessary cleanup time.
Career: Your current structure or job is failing or will fail spectacularly soon. Don’t try to save the ship; jump off now. Look for a complete industry shift, maybe even relocate.
- Death:
Love: A serious transformation is happening. The relationship, as you know it, is done. This isn’t a breakup (necessarily), but the dynamic has to completely change, or it will rot.
Career: A door is closing, permanently. Stop holding onto that old title or old project. You have to let it die so the next opportunity can bloom. Mandatory forced retirement from a situation.
- The Hermit:
Love: Retreat. Stop talking to everyone about this relationship. You need serious solo reflection. The answers are inside, not on dating apps or in group chats.
Career: Time to go solo. Stop following the crowd or the boss’s lead. You need specialized knowledge and deep, isolated study to gain expertise or solve a complex problem.
- The Lovers:
Love: A major choice. This is rarely about “just being in love.” It’s about commitment, alignment, and picking a path that aligns with your core values. Stop straddling the fence.
Career: A fork in the road requiring a significant partnership decision (business partner, vendor selection). Make sure the values match, or the deal will crash later.
- The Star:
Love: Hope restored. After the chaos (often following The Tower or Death), this says you are healing. Keep believing. Good sign for future connection, maybe not with the old person.
Career: Long-term aspiration. The big dream project is viable, but it requires patience. Don’t rush it. This is gentle, guiding energy telling you to trust your vision.
- The Fool:
Love: New beginnings, zero baggage. Take a leap of faith into a new kind of relationship or commitment. But be careful; you might be naive.
Career: Absolute fresh start. Quit the job, start the weird business idea. The universe is telling you to just jump in, even if you look like an idiot.
- The Magician:
Love: You have all the tools to manifest the kind of relationship you want. Stop waiting for them to call; you initiate the action. You hold the power.
Career: Time to use your skills and resources. Stop planning and start doing. Be proactive, reach out, and pitch yourself. You are competent; prove it.
- The Empress:
Love: Fertility, abundance, nurturing. Focus on receiving and creating a comfortable, sensual environment. Time to be the stable, giving one, or find someone who is.
Career: Projects are ripe for launch. Focus on branding, aesthetics, and creating tangible results. This is about fruitful production and natural growth.
- Justice:
Love: Accountability and truth. Fairness is key. If you screwed up, own it. If they screwed up, demand balance. Legal matters or binding contracts might be involved.
Career: Legal issues, contracts, or HR matters need sorting out. Everything must be fair and documented. If you were wronged, you might win, but it will be a process.
- The Emperor:
Love: Need for structure and control. Someone (maybe you) is being too rigid or authoritarian. Set firm boundaries, but don’t crush the other person.
Career: Leadership and stability. Establish rules, manage properly, and impose order on the chaos. Step up and be the authority figure. Get your finances absolutely locked down.
After I hammered out these definitions, things started making a terrifying kind of sense. My reading kept pulling The Tower and Justice regarding the client situation. Sure enough, I later found out the client got hit with a huge internal audit—a legal disaster that made them cut every single consultant without warning. It wasn’t personal; it was mandated cleanup. The Tower meant my structure was demolished, and Justice meant the universe was just balancing the books for them, even if it screwed me over.
When I looked at my relationship, it was heavy on The Hermit and The Lovers reversed. I had retreated so far into work (The Hermit), that when I finally had to choose my partner or the grind (The Lovers), I had already chosen the grind by default. Brutal but true.
I didn’t get this information so I could predict the future. I got it so I could stop panicking and start acting. Understanding that the collapse was external and systemic (The Tower/Justice) gave me permission to move on quickly, instead of dwelling on personal failure. The knowledge that I needed to step up and build a new, orderly framework (The Emperor) meant I stopped sending out random, panicked applications and instead focused on restructuring my entire business plan.
It’s funny, the things you learn when life throws you under the bus. You think you’re just looking up some card meanings, but you end up figuring out why your whole life went off the rails and exactly which tools you need to crawl back out.
