Tarot Spreads: The Relocation Question

I’ve often stated that career questions are some of my favorites to work with, because of my years as an executive recruiter. And very often, when someone is contemplating a career shift, they ask, “where should I go for the best working situation?” Or a spouse comes to me and says, “We have to move for my spouse’s job, but at least we have a choice for a couple of cities. What do we do?”

In these situations, I’ve created a Tarot Card Spread called “The Relocation Question” that gives the most broad-spectrum information, so that you look at all angles of such a major life change. Let’s take an example:

Belinda, a Philadelphia native, is upper-level management with the US branch of a global firm, based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Her husband Randy, who is originally from Vancouver, is a narrator for audiobooks and can take his work anywhere he can set up a home studio while he watches their two children.

Belinda’s firm has three cities where they want to expand their offerings: San Bernadino, Houston, and Boston. Her salary is the same wherever they go. So – what to do? How to mix the energies of two people with extremely diverse backgrounds into a third cityscape?

This Tarot reading will have three “lines” – one for each city. Within each city line, we look at the following energies:

1. How the move to the city itself will go
2. Housing
3. Work situation
4. Financials
5. Family dynamics
6. How the children will adjust (including schools)
7. Social dynamics (how they will get along with the neighbors and the prevailing “feel” of their new home town)
8. Spiritual
9. Overall take on this choice

When I pull the cards, I go “down” rather than “across,” so that the energy on ONE aspect is pulled consecutively for each place. For instance, I pull all moving cards at once, all housing cards at once, etc.

So here is an example card pull for Moving Tarot Spread:

San Bernadino: 4 Cups, Queen of Cups, 8 Swords, Wheel of Fortune, 7 Rods, King of Cups, 7 Swords, Temperance, 4 Swords
Houston: Strength, Hanged Man, 5 Pentacles, 4 Rods, Page of Cups, Queen of Rods, Death, Justice, 8 Cups
Boston: Page of Rods, 8 Pentacles, Moon, Hermit, Empress, 4 Pentacles, Page of Swords,Ace Swords, 6 Pentacles

We’ll take the Relocation Question points one at a time. Each section will list the cities best-to-worst and the end of each question.

The Move: The San Bernadino moving process may feel exhausting and neverending, with apathy striking quickly. The Houston moving process is more invigorating, with everything rolling out like a military exercise in the face of any obstacle. The move to Boston will be happy but scattershot, with several things needing to be rechecked, but the excitement of the move is palpable. Houston, Boston, San Bernadino

Housing: Belinda, especially, will love her housing choices in San Bernadino and environs. In Houston, they may need to take temporary housing that isn’t quite suitable waiting for their chosen property be freed up and ready for move in, or they may decide to take a wait-and-see attitude on choosing the neighborhood. In Boston, they will more than likely find their housing near one of the city’s major universities or the choice will come down to the best school system for the children. San Bernadino, Boston, Houston

Work: None of the work situations are particularly enviable, but that is why they are sending Belinda, their best troubleshooter! In San Bernadino, the local company branch is frustrated but not willing to make the changes needed for prosperity; Belinda is going to have to do a lot of morale boosting as well as personnel shuffling. In Houston, there will have to be substantial layoffs and contract renegotiations with suppliers; it’s the branch that is worst off among the three possibilities. In Boston, there are situations that point to some white-collar theft or embezzlement that she is going to have to track down. None of these will be fun, or easy, so it’s a draw for work; no clear winner.

Finance: San Bernadino will be supportive financially, with good chances for merit bonuses. Houston’s card says that she will be so busy with work that she won’t have time to spend the money she makes; there will be ample opportunity to save. Also, Houston is less expensive to live in than San Bernadino or Boston. Boston finances are essentially the kind that Belinda grew up with, so she is comfortable with the financial parameters there. Houston; Boston, San Bernadino in a tie.

Family Dynamics: There will be some family disputes and problems getting settled in California, because of the concentration on money and status in the culture; however, after a settlement period, the family will regain their balance and understanding of self-worth. In Houston, the family will quickly meet friends and classmates that bring them into the whirl of a happy social circle. In Boston, the home will indeed be the center of the circle, with both parents and kids bringing home friends and colleagues to make it a happy, buzzing social center. Boston and Houston tied; San Bernadino

Kids: In San Bernadino, Dad will be the one that helps them adjust to their new surroundings; sports and/or spirituality will be the things that introduce the children to a new group of friends. In Houston, families with various strong religious backgrounds will make up the core of the kids’ friends, and religion will be topmost in what matters to such families; it will be important for the children to expand their views if one group believes differently than they do. In Boston, the children will be slower to make friends until they know the territory; they will be choosy about their new mates but will find best friends. San Bernadino, Boston, Houston

Social Dynamics: San Bernadino has a mentality of the one who does, or has, the most wins; the importance of possessions and position may be hard on a family built on equality. Houston will be a sharp contrast to anyplace they have ever lived: vastly different values, belief systems and politics will all have to be deal with and adjusted to. Boston is, in a sense, a city that values intellect more than anything else, and education, world involvement and a liberal slant will be evident in all of their dealings. Because of the birthplaces involved (Philadelphia and Vancouver): Boston, San Bernadino, Houston

Spiritual: San Bernadino requires them to keep their emotional balance by staying in the present while focusing on the future they want to create. Houston’s differences will have them questioning their own beliefs and determining what is of true value. Boston will encourage spiritual growth through study and meditation. None of these is a standout, as spiritual needs are for the individual to decide on and rank.  No specific ranking is appropriate for this question.

Outcome: San Bernadino will likely be a short-lived stay, no more than four years, as her ability to make changes will be only incremental. Houston’s situation will have Belinda questioning her place in the company and in that sector of employment; she may leave the company entirely after this assignment. Boston will give Belinda a sense of being part of something larger, and a support system will make this a happy place to live. Boston, San Bernadino, Houston

How do we figure things out? First, we’ll look at “point values” giving three points for first place, two for second and one for third. The best possible score is 27. Done that way, the rankings are

San Bernadino: 16/27
Houston: 15/27
Boston: 19/27

So, for this Relocation Question, there isn’t a real “winner” here.  While Boston leads San Bernadino and Houston, it’s not by a lot; there are going to be challenges anywhere they go.
In this case, I handed the session recording to Belinda, and suggested she share it with her husband so that they could make an informed decision.

This is a perfect example of why a psychic will not always have a clear-cut answer for the client. When the question is one with a wide range of possibilities and several people being affected, it’s important to show all the parameters rather than say “X is good, B is marginal, F is awful.”

So when someone asks about a move that will affect an entire family, make sure that you show them all the ramifications with this thorough and informative spread.  And this Tarot Spread for Moving may just do the trick.