Happy to get the next reading IntrepidExplorer, but just for future reference, it's an open exchange thread, so you're not really meant to specify who does the next reading :smile: (it's literally whoever pops online next)

Reading for IntrepidExplorer

Q: What does IntrepidExplorer need to do to get a suitable marketing job in their city?
* Happy Tarot

(My strategy with this is to use the same key question, but I'm simply going to use a different spread to get the relevant bits of information I'm after)

As I'm pulling the cards, I'm getting a very corporate, "suit up" kind of vibe.

General answer: Fool rev. Well! This card says to take major risks right now isn't a good idea anyway, so if you've been cautious, continue to do so.
Hidden Influence: High Priestess rev. This makes me think you've been considering rash choices recently - hold fire on these as they sound better in theory than actuality (as in, if you spend a bit more time fleshing them out and looking at long-term ramifications, you'll see why they're not such great ideas).

What you need to know: Despite this, Knight of Swords is still saying keep going - and there's a fair bit of pace on this. The difference between this guy and Fool rev is that he's got more of a plan and a solid direction.
Hidden influence: Wheel of Time. I'm getting a google-search/JobSearch vibe to this card, so I'd keep pinging the online job websites. I feel like your time will come on this one. Just keep going!
More hidden influences - You may want to share somehow that you're keen to experience cities away from your home town (10 of Cups rev) and also show your keen capacity to learn new things (Page of Swords), show humility etc.

Main challenge: Queen of Wands rev, lack of confidence! Haha. Make sure this doesn't come up in your job interviews.

General advice: Ace of Cups. The big kahuna of creativity. In this deck there's a cute cloud literally tossing away a cup of creativity and prosperity (sharing it with everyone) so make sure your potential employers are aware of your strengths and how you could be an asset to their company.

Likely outcome: 3 of Cups. This feels like a "Cheers!" or a welcoming party to me, suggesting you'll eventually land a suitable job.

------------------------
TBH Intrepidexplorer beat me to the CBiz83 punch, amd I really wanted to give it a crack because I'm so excited to see a new face in here, so here's a second one on me CBiz :)

Q: What does CBiz need to do in order to move his life along?
* Happy Tarot

Situation: 8 of Pent. Here's the "working hard, working hard" card (probably the thesis. Many feels! I'm also in grad school).

What you need to know: Page of Cups rev. UGH! You hate what you're doing! You want to pick it up in a bucket and toss the whole thing out the window! Which speaks more about your resilience than it doesn't - it's tough to work hard at something you don't like, but yet you are.

Advice: Moon rev. The present time is really just getting you to reflect on how things are. This card often pops up to indicate people seeing a side of a situation they haven't considered before, although it's been there all the while. 8 og Wands also suggests getting a bit of a hurry on with respect to something - I'm wondering if it's the thesis (two 8's already).

When I asked "In what direction should CBiz aim for in terms of career?" I got the 4 of Wands, which is always adorable... and for some reasons makes me think of a wedding. So I don't know whether you're engaged, or have a secret desire to be a wedding planner or something, or even a photographer or something else associated with big social events...? This seems really fun though, and more like a hobby career that conveniently pays you money (hopefully enough to live on) :)

Next reading for tealily

Newbie-friendly: Pull three cards and ask them to tell you something about me

Experienced: My moods have been a bit all over the shop at the moment, although I suspect it's got a lot to do with the sheer amount of pressure I'm under. So... what can I do to be less affected by the amount of pressure I'm under?

Feedback for tealily
Thanks for the reading tealily.
Ok, so it would appear that the cards are telling me not to give up just yet.

I guess the High Priestess could be referring to my thoughts about leaving.

Interesting take on the Queen of Wands, as I'm actually pretty confident when it comes to jobs I know I can do. I don't really apply for jobs I'm not confident I can do. Perhaps it's a warning that my lack of luck so far, so bring me down and make me feel less confident.

I'm looking forward to that outcome! It's been a long time coming.

Next reading for tealily

I"m jumping in ( I feel bad your question has been waiting so long tealily! but I also dont' want to become a thread hog, no one likes that).

What can tealily do to be less affected by the stress monster?
*3 cards, Llewellyn Classic

Situation: Justice
What's the word: Lovers (ooer, 2 biggies)
Advice: 9 Pentacles

So off the bat let's go ahead and say we're in "life lesson" territory with the two heavy weights popping up next to one another and I'm going to stretch a bit and say that the conclusion being a minor says "learning this is easier than fighting the lesson."

Justice brings a few things here for me: the need for balance (in my deck, she's got the scales, yo) and careful weighing of priorities (also we've got the nifty 11, which is a number that suggests a sense of balance to me, though I don't generally do much with numbers). Also, you know you're overwhelmed and Justice is reminding you that decisions have long-term consequences (which you may be feeling at the moment)

And enter the Lovers, which brings a few tricky topics up (and I think we should play with all of them in this particular case). 1) There's a certain harmony to them, which is what you're seeking. 2) Big Scale Choices: your'e facing one (at least) with how to handle the stress monster. These might be big choices facing you, but also, let's not minimalize the stress. Stress hurts (I type this while totally sing it to 'Love Hurts') and so finding a way to deal with it is bigger than we often dismiss it as because it comes with real and (like Justice reminds us) long term consequences both for physical and mental health. 3) And this is just because sometimes we can be literal with the cards: is there anyone in your life you can lean on as a partner or support?

Nine of Pentacles, I really think, shows a good solution. Knowing that you're gunning for the end of grad school (I so feel your pain!) that stability, accomplishment, and material base is coming. But when I look at her (in my deck) with the bird on her arm, in the garden of the fruits of her labors, it's also clear that she's in harmony (there's that word again!) with nature. Is there any place near by that you can lose yourself in? A garden? Park? Waterfront? Sometimes the best thing we can do to combat the stress monster is do nothing at all. Go sit in nature and 'be.'

Ok, there's my .02 pents. I hope this was helpful.

My next question for newbies or experienced alike: What is life teaching me right now?

Reading for Cbiz83
 

Hi cbiz83, this is my first time so bear with me :) i only did one card.
Question: what is life teaching CBIZ83 right now???
Card: Temperance
Life may be teaching you that change is good, You may be feeling unbalanced and you may need to make a change in your life or are already trying to make a change in your life to find your balance that you seek, you may need to leave your past behind you to be able to make these changes, maybe someone or something may be standing in your way and its causing you to be stressed, sometimes a bit of patients can help you with this, take your time in what you are doing, try not to rush it, change is hard but it can bring you the balance you seek.

Thank you for giving this opportunity to read you Cbiz83, I hope it was somewhat helpful to you, :hug3:

My question is: what are my deepest fears in life?

Feed back for faithy

Good job :) I think the temperance card resonates with my life right now (I am in the middle of big career switch changes and the whole interview application process) in a search for balance and useful activity in my life. I suspect Tenperance is also showing me that I need to sloooooow down a bit because I'm flying at things at warp speed, and sometimes we have to learn patience like you suggest.

Thanks for having the courage to read here with us! It's a privilege to be your first outing. By the way, which deck do you use?
Next reading for: faithy

I am the BIGGEST thread hog, don't feel bad at all! :)

Feedback for Cbiz

Minimal social support at the moment - most of close friends and family are interstate (although we do text/call etc), and current degree is excruciatingly anti-social (health and medical sciences). I've started taking mini-breaks throughout my day, even when on hospital wards to try and re-collect my thoughts.

Exercise and general outside time has been really minimal this semester... largely due to stupid hours and insane university expectations. I know my life isn't in balance but have really struggled to find a balance, although I've been told it'll be much easier after graduation, and that everyone else in my shoes fares similarly.

Next reading for faithy
(Welcome, faithy!)

Cbiz83
 

Thank you Cbiz83 for the encouragement :hug3: I was so nervous, Im so happy i did ok :) The deck i used was a destiny tarot deck with book by main street, Illustrations 2000 by Jacqui Mair :)

Reading for faithy
* Wisdom of the Oracle

As I was pulling the cards, 'Out to Sea' jumped out which suggested you fear not moving forward, not progressing.

Situation: Regeneration rev, as above! Not healing, not recovering, not getting better.
What you need to know: Soul Mates rev. Both these combined would be top picks to represent someone struggling to get over a breakup and questioning if they'll ever feel okay again - not sure whether this is relevant to you, but if not, a good analogy.

Advice: Blessed rev says that perspective is a bit of an issue - you may feel down in the dumps. The remedy for this is to flip your perspective! Gratitude writing may be helpful, or any other kind of conscious act to remind yourself of how you DO have things in life that are going for you and that you're progressing forwards. You're not stuck.

Hope this helps!

Next reading for tealily
Beginner: Pull 3 cards and ask them to tell you something about me
Experienced: Whatever (seriously, feel free to experiment with spreads/questions etc :) )

Reading for tealily
Question: What advice would benefit tealily right now?

Judgement - Six of Pentacles - Knight of Pentacles

Take your time when it comes to making a decision (Knight of Pentacles) and consider the fine print when asked for a favor (Six of Pentacles). Not everyone is reliable. Someone might try to ask for too much while you get little in return (Six of Pentacles). However, your kindness will always be rewarded by the universe (Judgement). If things are not going well right now, be assured that you will come out as a stronger and much happier person in the end (Judgement). It is only a matter of time. Also read the fine print when it comes to financial agreements in order to make sure you're getting what you deserve from the deal (Six of Pentacles). Make sure to take care of your basic needs so that your work maintains its good quality (Knight of Pentacles).

This was a tricky spread to interpret, but I hope you got something out of it at least.

Next reading for Lerena:
My birthday is coming up. What do the cards say about the upcoming year?

Feedback for Lerena

Thanks for the reading! There's a few different areas it could apply to - and there are definitely some insurance/continued funding issues already on my to-do list that are critical to ensuring I can do my thing without freaking out about finances becoming an issue.

Reading for Lerena

Happy birthday in advance! :)

Your next 12 months at a glance:
* Happy tarot

Yowza. Are you coming close to your first Saturn Return or anything? There's some pretty heavy stuff here.

The general theme of the next 12 months seems to be about revisiting things that cause you pain - skeletons in the closet, old emotional wounds, how you respond to emotional pain etc (3 of Swords). It sounds a bit scary but in terms of life lessons, this one's a biggie - to know what kind of wounds you're carrying and from there, learning how to heal and prevent further injuries.

This seems to be a lesson that's been on the to-do list for a while (World rev) however it hasn't been mastered yet, hence why it's coming up.

Specific areas to start addressing seem to be your chill-out processes (Queen of Cups); it's suggested that sometimes you struggle to find your happy place and the next year is a good time to start getting on top of that.

Suggested strategy to kick things into fine gear: 7 of Cups, which says it's time to very consciously start thinking about what you're optimising for. No more go-with-the-flow/play-by-ear stuff - what is it you're really pitching for? Which proverbial "cup" (option, direction, whatever) is the one that will help give you what you want? Note these last two cards are both from the Cups suit, so lots of stuff about emotions here.

Hope this helps! :)

Next reading for tealily

Whatever :)