So recently, I’ve been in a bit of a dilemma. I haven’t been getting enough hours at my current job, I was getting by and surviving, but I wasn’t really building my savings up which left me feeling anxious a lot.

Because of that, I ended up with two real options in front of me.

I could pick up one extra shift a week at a new place. Simple enough. More money coming in, but it also meant giving up one of the busiest shifts at my current job. So it wasn’t just “extra hours,” it was a bit of a trade-off.

Or… I could just start fresh and take a completely new job altogether. More hours, more consistency, but also a much bigger commitment. The kind where your whole week starts to revolve around it. And that’s where it got tricky.

Because neither option was clearly better. One gave me flexibility but kept things a bit uncertain. The other gave me stability but locked me in more. So I kept going back and forth.

One day I’d think, just take the extra shift, keep things flexible.
Next day it was, why not just go all in and sort the problem properly?

And when you get stuck in that loop, you can make a case for both sides all day long. That’s exactly why I ended up using this spread.

Not to tell me what sounds like the right decision…
but to actually lay it out in front of me:

Wwhat I’m really trying to get out of the situation
what each option genuinely gives me
what each one quietly takes away
and where I’ll likely end up if I follow it through

Because once you see it like that, it stops being this abstract “what should I do?” question… and turns into:

Which version of my life do I actually want to live for the next few months?

The 7 Card Decision Making Spread I Used To Break Things Down

So to stop going back and forth in my head I just laid the situation out properly. I knew I didn’t need something overly complicated. I just needed something that would show me, clearly:

• what I actually wanted out of this
• what each option would realistically give me
• and what I’d be dealing with if I chose it

So I went with a simple 7-card decision spread, with one extra card sitting above everything which I always like to use as an “advice from the universe” card to really get grounded.

The way I laid the cards out are as followed:

The 7 Cards

1. What I actually want from this situation
This is clear as day, this helps you see exactly what you’re looking for. Not what sounds responsible, not what other people expect… what you genuinely want to get out of this.

2. Pros of Option 1
What noticeably improves if you go down this route?
What feels easier, better, or more in your favour?

3. Cons of Option 1
What starts to wear on you over time?
Where does it feel like you’re compromising or giving something up?

4. Pros of Option 2
What do you gain if you go all in on this instead?
What opens up that isn’t available in the first option?

5. Cons of Option 2
What’s the real cost here?
Not just on paper, but how it actually plays out day to day.

6. What this situation is pushing you towards overall
This is where things start to lean.
Even if both options seem equal, this card usually nudges the decision in one direction.

7. Advice From the Universe
This is the card that’s the nail in the coffin for your hesitation. It’s not about what’s easiest or most obvious, it’s about the move that actually puts you in a better position long term.

How I Interpreted The Reading

So now you know all the positions I think it would really help if you could see how I interpreted the reading, so you can start to see the patterns etc. to look for when doing your own readings.

First we’ll look at the obvious points and stories the cards are trying to tell us, but then after I’ll also show you what I’m looking at that really binds the cards together, and shows meaning a lot of other people miss when they’re starting out.

Position 1: What I actually want from this situation – Seven of Wands Reversed

Straight off the bat, this position 1 card makes the truth of the reading very obvious.

The upright Seven of Wands is often about defending your ground, pushing back, trying to hold your place when there’s pressure coming at you. Reversed, for me, this felt like the point where the motivation to keep going is wearing thin. Although it’s important to note, i often see it not as weakness but as tiredness and burnout.

I’ve been in a situation where I haven’t been getting enough hours, and even when nothing bad is happening, that kind of uncertainty was wearing me out day by day. You start feeling like you’re constantly trying to make things work, constantly adjusting, constantly hoping the next week will feel more secure.

So this card showed me that what I really wanted was not just more hours in a technical sense. It was relief from that feeling of having to fight for stability. That changes the whole reading, because if I had been reading from the idea that all I wanted was more money, I could have interpreted things differently. But this card made it clear that I also wanted a sense of security, consistency, and less strain.

It also being a Wands card matters when you compare it to the Eight of Wands above. Again, that seven-to-eight movement is strong. It says the spread is moving from struggle and exhaustion into action and forward motion.

So I read Position 1 as:

At the heart of this decision, I want to stop feeling like I’m constantly battling to stay level. I want something more solid and less draining.

Position 2: Pros of Option 1 – Queen of Swords

Option 1 was picking up the extra shift while keeping my current job arrangement.

The Queen of Swords is a strong card here, and I actually think it’s a very honest “pro” for this option. She’s clear-headed, capable, observant, and not easily pushed around. She sees what’s happening and makes practical decisions. So the benefit of Option 1 felt like this: I can stay in control especially when it comes to my own flexibility and gaining/shedding hours depending on my own business.

I keep some flexibility. I do not throw everything out and start over. I work with what I know, add something new, and try to make the numbers work in a sharper, more strategic way. There is intelligence in that. There is adaptability in that. It’s not a foolish choice at all.

I also think the Queen of Swords fits the idea of emotional distance. This option lets me approach the problem in a practical way instead of making a big leap. It is measured. Thoughtful. Controlled.

But it’s worth noticing that she is still a Sword card. So even the “pro” of this option still reminds us that the benefit from this comes from how it leaves your mind feeling. This is not a card of ease or comfort. It is a card of sharpness and judgment. So even at its best, Option 1 still asks me to stay switched on.

Because this is also a court card, it feels more like a role I would be playing than a new chapter I would be entering. I took this as Option 1 being less about life changing and more about how well I can handle the setup.

So I read Position 2 as:

The good side of Option 1 is that it lets me stay sharp, capable, and flexible. It feels like a smart, controlled response to the problem.

Position 3: Cons of Option 1

Knight of Swords

This is where Option 1 starts to show its real cost.

The Knight of Swords is fast, forceful, and full of momentum, but not in a calm way. He charges. He pushes. He moves at speed. In real life, this often feels like rushing, pressure, overstimulation, and not having enough room to breathe. For my situation, this felt incredibly clear.

If I picked up the extra shift while holding onto the current setup, I could make it work. But it would likely come with a lot of mental and physical intensity. I would be moving from one responsibility to another, trying to make the whole thing fit, staying alert, staying fast, and probably not getting much proper downtime.

So the downside of Option 1 is not that it fails. The downside is that it succeeds in a way that could become exhausting. What really stands out here is that both cards for Option 1 are Swords, and both are court cards.

And paying attention to this is what really separates you from a beginner reader, into someone who can read the whole story. In this scenario , it suggests this option is all about mindset, reaction, decision-making, speed, judgment, and staying mentally switched on. It feels active, but also tiring. It feels like something I could pull off, but only by staying in “go mode.”

That tells me a lot. This option does not actually remove the pressure. It just changes the way I manage it.

So I read Position 3 as:

The downside of Option 1 is that it could leave me rushing, mentally overloaded, and constantly on. I’d be handling the problem, but not really escaping it.

Position 4: Pros of Option 2 – Eight of Swords Reversed

Option 2 was taking the new job altogether. This was one of the clearest cards in the spread for me.

The upright Eight of Swords is that trapped feeling. Feeling restricted. Feeling like you can’t move properly. Feeling like your options are tighter than you want them to be. Reversed, it often shows release from that. Breaking out. Seeing that you do have a way forward.

That fit my situation almost too well. The whole problem started because I wasn’t getting enough hours and I felt boxed in by that, as well as being in a job role I wasn’t really enjoying. So for the “pros” position of Option 2 to be Eight of Swords Reversed felt like a direct answer. This option actually removes the stuckness.

That does not mean it is easy. It just means it changes the underlying issue.

This card also links beautifully with the advice from the universe, Eight of Wands. Both are eights. Both show movement out of a stalled state. One shows release from restriction, the other shows forward momentum once things are moving. That tells me this option has a strong connection to the spread’s bigger message.

And because this is the only Sword card in Option 2, it feels different from the two Sword court cards in Option 1. This is not me staying mentally sharp to manage the same setup. This is me actually opening the door and stepping out of it. And it’s also important to note, the Eight of Swords Reversed is more positive than negative, so this sword card brings with it a really positive message.

So I read Position 4 as:

Position 5: Cons of Option 2 – Seven of Pentacles

This is a very different kind of downside.

The Seven of Pentacles is not a chaotic card. It does not scream crisis or burnout. It is slower than that. It is the feeling of putting work in and then standing back to ask, “Alright, so what is this really giving me?”

That made perfect sense as the con. If I take the new job, the downside is not that everything becomes impossible. The downside is that it might take time to feel fully worth it. There may be a period where I’m adjusting, settling in, waiting to see the long-term benefit, and asking myself whether choice is going to pay off in the way I hoped.

That is a very different kind of cost from the Knight of Swords.

The Knight of Swords says, “this could wear you out quickly.”
The Seven of Pentacles says, “this could test your patience.”

I think that difference is huge. Because one cost is frantic and immediate, and the other is slower and more reflective. One is pressure. The other is waiting. One feels like strain. The other feels like delayed reward.

It is also another seven, which links back to Position 1 and Position 6. So again, the spread keeps showing that I’m in a stage of reassessment. But unlike the Seven of Wands Reversed, which felt like weariness, the Seven of Pentacles feels more like careful evaluation.

So I read Position 5 as:

The downside of Option 2 is that the payoff might not feel immediate. I may need patience before I really feel the benefit of making the change.

Position 6: Likely outcome if I follow the right choice – Seven of Cups Reversed

This card is one of my favourites in this whole spread because it feels like a true resolution of the reading.

The upright Seven of Cups is choice overload, fantasy, too many possibilities, getting lost in what-ifs. Reversed, things start to become more tangible. The options narrow. The confusion drops away. You stop drifting around in possibilities and start seeing what is real. That is exactly what I needed.

This job situation was taking up a lot of time in my thoughts. I could argue for one option one day and the other option the next. I could keep spinning both futures in my head. So seeing the Seven of Cups Reversed in the outcome position felt like reassurance that the right decision would bring clarity, not more chaos.

There is also something visually striking here. Every other card in the spread has a clear figure you can look at. Here, the person is darker, less defined, almost swallowed up. To me, that made the card feel less about identity and more about perspective. Less “who will I become?” and more “what becomes clear once I stop confusing myself?”

That matters because the reading is not really about self-discovery in a big spiritual sense. It’s about getting focused again and making a grounded decision

And again, it is another seven. That means Positions 1, 5, and 6 are all sevens. That creates a really interesting rhythm in the spread. The sevens show where I am in the process: tired of struggle, weighing long-term value, and trying to see through confusion.

So I read Position 6 as:

If I choose properly, I move out of overthinking and into clarity. The right choice simplifies things instead of making my head noisier.

Position 7: Advice from the Universe – Eight of Wands

This card sat above the spread, so I read it as the overall message hanging over the whole situation.

The first thing that stood out to me is how direct this card feels. There’s no hesitation in it. No one is standing there wondering what to do. The wands are already in motion. Something has already been set off, and now it needs to keep moving. In my situation, that felt like a very blunt message: stop hovering in the middle.

I’d already spent enough time thinking this through. I’d already looked at the pros, the downsides, the money, the pressure, the hours, the future. So this card did not feel like advice to sit with it longer. It felt like advice to stop treating the decision itself as the job.

That matters even more when you look at the rest of the spread, because there are so many cards here that show thinking, weighing things up, feeling boxed in, trying to stay sharp, trying to judge things properly. The Eight of Wands cuts straight through that and says there comes a point where more thought is not helping you anymore.

It also links beautifully with Position 1, the Seven of Wands Reversed. That’s what I actually wanted: to stop feeling like I was always defending my position, always trying to hold things together. So to go from Seven of Wands Reversed to Eight of Wands feels like a progression. First, I admit I’m tired of the struggle. Then I’m told to move.

That’s important. The spread is not saying, “learn to cope with this better.” It’s saying, “if you don’t want to keep fighting, then move out of the pattern that’s making you fight.”

So as advice from the universe, I read the Eight of Wands as:

Make the decision. Commit properly. Movement will help you more than more analysis will.

Bonus Tip: Looking At The Skies In The Spread

This is something I didn’t even plan to look at at first, but once I noticed it, it added a whole extra layer to the reading.

If you take a step back from the individual meanings and just look at the cards visually, the skies across the spread tell a really clear story about what each path actually feels like to live through.

Option 1: Cloudy, Windy, Mentally Busy Skies

(Queen of Swords + Knight of Swords)

On this side, the skies aren’t calm. There’s movement, there’s tension in the air, and everything feels slightly switched on and almost turbulent (but remember court cards, show more and more control over thought as they progress, so I’d argue this means I’d be able to handle it, or grow to handle it).

That lines up exactly with the cards themselves:

• The Queen of Swords is sharp, alert, constantly thinking
• The Knight of Swords is fast, reactive, always pushing forward

So this path feels like:

you’re always thinking things through
always adjusting
always moving from one thing to the next

It’s not necessarily negative, but it’s not restful either. It’s the kind of setup where you can handle it, but you’re rarely fully switched off.

Option 2: Beige, Muted, Slower Skies

(Eight of Swords Reversed + Seven of Pentacles)

This side feels completely different. The skies here are softer, more neutral, almost faded. There’s no urgency in them.

And that matches the cards:

• Eight of Swords Reversed shows stepping out of a stuck situation
• Seven of Pentacles shows waiting, assessing, and letting things grow

So this path feels like:

things calm down
there’s less pressure
but it takes time to see the results

There’s more breathing room here, but also a need for patience.

The Middle Cards: Clear Blue Skies

(Seven of Wands Reversed + Seven of Cups Reversed)

The cards that represent what I actually want and where this is likely going both sit in clear, open blue skies.

No chaos. No tension. No heaviness.

That says a lot.

• Seven of Wands Reversed shows being tired of the constant effort
• Seven of Cups Reversed shows wanting clarity instead of confusion

So my very base desire it clear. I’m not chasing intensity or even just stability. I’m looking for something that feels clear and straightforward again.

The Advice Above It All

(Eight of Wands)

Then you’ve got the Eight of Wands sitting above the spread. No waiting. No hesitation. Just movement. Which ties everything together:

I don’t get to those clear blue skies by staying stuck in the same pattern
I get there by actually choosing a direction and moving into it