I rarely get male clients, but yesterday afternoon a young man walked into the bookstore for a reading about his career.  Most of the readings I get seem to be about “Will he call?” or “Is he romantically interested in me?”  Therefore, even though this isn’t exactly a “text-book” reading, I thought it was interesting enough to share (with the querent’s permission of course).

Ralphie was fired from his job as security alarm technician at the end of October.  He applied to several companies in the area where he lives, and jumped at the first job offer from at a small ‘mom & pop” company.  He has been with the new company for 2 weeks, and he just got another offer from a larger, more prestigious company.  Ralphie is not sure whether to stay in his current position, or accept the new offer even though the difference in pay is only $1 an hour.

I decided to do a separate Line of 5 reading on each company to see where Ralphie would be the happiest and the most successful.  For the Line of 5 layout I shuffle the deck while focusing on the client’s question, and then randomly draw 5 cards to provide the answer.

Question 1: What will be the result if Ralphie stays at his current company?

The Lily + The Fish + The Bear + The Dog + The Ship

Lily + Fish = at the current job Ralphie’s job experience and skills are being utilized.  Ralphie feels comfortable in his current job, and he has the freedom to work independently.
Bear + Dog = the current job could lead to a managerial position where he would manage his co-workers.  The Bear also shows good financial prospects, and The Dog shows a friendly work atmosphere.
Ship = this position offers potential for expansion and possible travel in the future.

I told Ralphie that the prospects look great with the current company.  He shared with me that his boss had already hinted that Ralphie was being groomed to run the small company, and after only two weeks, he has already been given a $2 raise in pay.  The boss recognizes and values Ralphie’s experience and know-how.

Question 2: What will be the result if Ralphie accepts the position at the new, larger company?

The Heart + The Cloud + The Man + The Child + The Coffin

Heart + Cloud = Ralphie’s desire is to accept the new position, but he’s confused whether about whether or not it would be the right move.  Ralphie doesn’t see the situation clearly, and the new position may not be everything that he is expecting.
Cloud + Man = the Man represents Ralphie, and for this card to show up it means that this job is very important to him.   The Cloud shows that Ralphie will feel a lack of stability in the new position.
Man + Child = these card usually represent a man who is naive or small in stature, but in this reading I feel it represents Ralphie’s entry-level seniority with the new company.  I get the feeling that his experience and know-how will not be utilized in this position as in his current job.
Coffin = a dead end, no chance for advancement, depression.  Ralphie will not have an opportunity to advance in this company.  He will remain in a subordinate position, and not move into management.  In the end, he will not be happy at this company, and will not stay long in this position.

I told Ralphie that I could see that his heart was already in the new position, and he agreed that in his heart he did want to accept the job with the new company.  I warned him about the challenges he would face, and Ralphie shared with me that he had friends who worked there, and he had heard that the owner of this company was a ‘cheap skate’ and was not generous with pay raises, and did not normally promote from within.  The attraction for Ralphie is that this company handles more commercial accounts, which is what he enjoys most.  He is willing to sacrifice career advancement for a chance to do what he loves.

I thought it was interesting that one job ended in the Ship, and the other in the Coffin.  Both suggest that the positions are probably not permanent, but Ship suggests moving on to bigger and better things, while Coffin feels more like an ending, and starting again from scratch.  Ralphie has his heart set on the new position, and had already decided before the reading that he would take the new job offer.  At least he’s now aware of the challenges he may face with the new company.