Day job got you down? In this spread, we'll go deep to consider what's dragging you down at work, where your allies are, and how you can move forward without burning out.
How can we honour the fact that work plays an integral part in our lives without giving into the capitalist fallacy that work defines our value in this life? It’s a particularly hard balance to strike as creatives, when passion and identity play such an integral role in what and how we produce. and in present times, many of us finding the boundaries between work and life blurred in more extreme ways than ever before - so it makes total sense we need some space to think about that relationship!
This spread and reading are here to explore what it means to balance head and heart. The cards can help you reflect on how what you need to bring to work, where you need support and boundaries, and what matters to you when you’ve clocked out.
the key themes
pressure to grow and produce can be the enemy of good, valuable work.
recognising who shares our values within the work place, and how to nourish our values in ways that aren’t directly related to how we earn a living are crucial elements for self-care.
the cards
what’s sucking our energy at work? | the seed
When I first drew the seed in the position, I was a bit flummoxed, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. When we’re constantly under pressure to grow things - sales, accounts, ideas, revenue streams, whatever, we run out of time to nourish the things we’ve already grown.
An emphasis on accumulation over maintenance and sustainability is an age-old capitalist problem, and we see its effects everywhere. the stress we feel to be constantly producing, at higher rates as we go along is a global problem that we’re all feeling deep in our bones - and it’s even more frustrating during a time when we feel stuck at home.
what’s really important | the ocean
So if pressure to produce and accumulate is sucking our energy, the ocean comes in to remind us that there’s more on the horizon than this head-down attitude we may feel forced to adopt.
the ocean offers space, offers depth, offers clarity, offers possibility, offers abundance - offers a reframing of how and why we work.
We may not be able to change a manager or sales director’s approach, but we can center ourselves in the reality that there’s more out there than the pressure of any particular project. That abundance takes time and makes its own way.
Practically, when it comes to work, the ocean says: I don’t have to submit to every order, I only have to be open to how I can work best.
where do we need to set boundaries | the clover
The clover, to me, asks us to protect and respect what we’ve already managed to grow. rather than succumbing to pressure to keep planting new seeds, the card says - stick with sustaining and maintaining what you’re good at.
This attitude does two things for us: one, it helps us prioritize and sustain what’s already in play, rather than spreading ourselves too thin.
It also reminds us of what value we’ve already contributed - it can be easy at work to be gaslit into thinking that if we aren’t constantly producing new things, we aren’t earning our keep.
but it’s not true. set boundaries around our most valuable work - demand the respect we deserve for what we bring to the table.
Rather than hustling for a promotion, focus on what’s going right at work now and be proud of it in the moment. rather than allow ourselves to be taken advantage of, stand up for the advantages we’ve created.
who are our allies | the crystal
We’re looking for people who share our values in the workplace - people we vibe with, who we can enter into a symbiotic relationship of genuine support with. We’re looking for people whose qualities we admire, and whose approach to work makes us feel like collaborators instead of competitors.
When we allow ourselves to seek our relationships at work with people we really vibe with, we start to prioritize our value in the workplace instead of getting caught up in the rat race.
how can we nourish ourselves outside of work | the heart
Well, if this isn’t on the nose I don't know what it is. When we close our laptops for the day or drive away from work, let’s remember what we love, and promise to dedicate some time and attention to it in our off hours.
Even if it’s just five minutes to listen to a song we love, or scheduling in a night to cook our favorite meal. bring love into our off hours. honour our hearts in our off hours. sustain and protect our hearts in the same way these cards ask us to sustain and protect our most valuable work.
journal prompts
what accomplishments are you most proud of at work? what long-term value do these accomplishments give your employer? how can you protect and sustain these valuable contributions?
how can you give yourself five minutes of pure love every day? how can it be worked into your schedule? (I, for one, like to have a one-song dance party before I take a shower.) how can you carry that love with you into work, and use it to remember your value beyond your identity as an employee, business owner, or laborer?
the spread
