What this spread is
This spread is for the job you already have, or a project already underway. It separates what you control from weather you can only dress for. It should never be used to harass colleagues or to diagnose them.
Number of cards
This layout uses 6 cards.
When to use it
Use it at the start of a quarter, after a tense meeting, or when you cannot tell whether the problem is you, the system, or both.
Card positions
Your actual job, not your unofficial extra job.
Team or org weather.
Helpful or complicating.
Process, incentive, or resource issue.
A person, policy, or skill.
Where your next action actually lands.
How to perform the reading
Keep names out of your journal if you would not say them in HR. Interpret court cards as functions (editor, champion, skeptic) more often than as individuals. End with one action inside your job description and one boundary.
Example interpretation
Role: Knight of Pentacles. Climate: Five of Wands. You: Nine of Wands. Snag: Five of Swords. Ally: Three of Pentacles. Influence: Four of Swords. Reading sketch: you are the steady one; the climate is contest; you are tired of defending; the snag is win-lose culture; craft collaboration is the resource; influence starts with recovery so you stop fighting on fumes. A next step might be a scoped agenda, not a duel.
Reflection questions
- What is in my job description versus my unofficial load?
- Where am I personalizing a systems problem?
- What ally or tool am I underusing?
Related pages
FAQ
No. You can reflect on climate and your response. Other people's motives stay unverified.
A private notebook is kinder than a desk spread. Workplace privacy matters.
This spread is a thinking tool. It does not guarantee outcomes and is not a substitute for professional advice. See the disclaimer.