Why astrology and Tarot cards are now key in job recruitment

The popularity of Tarot and astrology today is comparable to the fame of television psychics in the 1990s. Tarot readers, astrologers, and fortune-tellers not only answer personal questions but also advise large companies on which employees to hire and which to avoid. Our colleague from 161.RU examined the reasons for magical thinking in the labor market and why it is a marker of a deep systemic crisis.

Work by zodiac sign, not by specialty

Vera, a resident of Rostov, wanted to get a job in a bedding store. The work did not require specialized knowledge or higher education. But the employer still found the Rostov woman unsuitable.

— I was rejected because of my zodiac sign. They said: «Scorpios are such a bold zodiac sign.» It«s good that I didn»t go there; I found a job in my field. But my friend worked there, and the owner told her to keep the toilet lid down because money flows away there, — Vera recalls with irony.

Yulia Bestuzheva, an HR consultant and author of the book «Where Resumes Disappear,» in a conversation with 161.RU, says that using astrology and Tarot in personnel selection is no longer exotic or «the quirks of individual recruiters.»

— This is a symptom of a systemic hiring problem. When companies stop understanding what criteria they should actually use to select people, any surrogates come into play — from psychological tests of dubious validity to horoscopes. The modern hiring system is designed to filter by characteristics, not by work. Resumes, tests, questionnaires, interviews — all this creates an illusion of objectivity, — says Bestuzheva.

According to the expert«s observations, esoteric methods are most often resorted to in areas with high competition, where precise requirements for employees are blurred. For example, creative industries, marketing, media, administrative roles.

— Where work results are difficult to measure directly, the temptation to replace analysis with superstition increases, — believes Yulia Bestuzheva.

They ask an astrologer if an employee will steal

Alexander (name changed. — Ed. note) has been working in a large IT company for several years. He told 161.RU that fortune-tellers are often invited to their corporate events and «useful breakfasts» with a Tarot reader are organized. Fortune-tellers help in his company and the HR department.

— They give us advice from their «expertise.» They assign us stupid training sessions, — shares Alexander.

Tarot reader and astrologer Boris Zak has been working with IT companies for six years, helping them hire employees.

— There is steady demand for these services, but I can«t say that many companies directly turn to these tools, — says Boris Zak in a conversation with 161.RU.

According to him, astrologers and Tarot readers are most often asked to analyze key employees and managers.

— One of the topics that interests many owners is whether a new top manager will steal, — shares Boris Zak.

He notes that companies do not like to publicize the help of esotericists. This is a niche story, not a widespread trend.

Numerologist and astrologer Stalina Artamonova agrees with Zak. She also collaborated with a technology company.

— Officially, the company does not use esoteric services. IT people almost all, one way or another, «sort» their future employees in teams. They use the Myers–Briggs system, standard Jungian psychotyping, sociometric tests, and many other methods. So describing a person using Tarot«s projective methods is no worse in this sense, — says Artamonova in a conversation with 161.RU.

A beauty salon also turned to her services. The employer was worried whether a new employee would fit into the team.

— It was necessary for the new employee not to disrupt the already established female company. I gave a description of how and what could motivate her and which of her abilities could be most fully used in this work, — recalls Artamonova.

Energy consultant Angelina Myalik also collaborates with IT companies and startups. She gives advice before deals, investments, and appointments to important positions.

— My task is not fortune-telling with Tarot cards or interpreting horoscopes, but directly reading information from the energy-informational field to answer specific business questions: about a candidate«s potential, project risks, or the energetic compatibility of future partners, — Angelina tells 161.RU.

Such a consultation is conducted under the condition of non-disclosure of personal data. Myalik believes that Tarot and astrology are work with symbolic systems. She describes her method differently. The energy consultant makes a «request to the person»s informational field« and receives »specific« information.

— For example, not «the Aries candidate will be proactive,» but «in this candidate»s energy field — with a specific name and offer — there is a specific block on quick adaptation in a stressful environment, which should be explored in more detail in the interview.« This points to non-obvious areas of attention, — says Myalik.

She believes that energy practice indicates hidden talents of an employee, «resonance with the company»s values.« And this saves the employer»s resources.

«Not those who work better, but those who cause less anxiety»

HR director Vera Chernichkina notes: in her field, it is generally believed that every HR professional is a bit of an esotericist themselves.

— Over a long professional life, they study patterns of people«s behavior at work and can indeed make some »predictions« about work success based on personal data, — says Chernichkina to 161.RU.

She gives another example of how astrology helped an employee get a promotion.

— I know of a case where a girl who studied astrology achieved rapid career growth. She was appointed head of the product department in a jewelry company after she gave presentations on stone sales taking into account astrological knowledge. The company received a hype-driven development impulse and actually increased sales, — shares Vera Chernichkina.

HR consultant Yulia Bestuzheva is less optimistic about the trend. In her opinion, the employer trusts intuition when they do not understand how an employee will perform specific work in specific conditions.

— Intuition, «gut feeling,» «cultural fit» — it sounds beautiful and professional. But in practice, it«s the taste, habits, and personal biases of the decision-makers. Astrology and Tarot in this sense are simply an honest form of what has been happening for a long time. Instead of the phrase »he«s not our vibe,» it becomes «he has a difficult sign,» instead of «I»m uncomfortable with him« — »we have bad astrological compatibility,« — says Bestuzheva.

She warns that in the long term, such a trend is dangerous for the labor market. Teams become standard, homogeneous, and with similar types.

— The company starts selecting not those who work better, but those who cause less anxiety. The price of this is missed talents, weak teams, and management errors that are not obvious for a long time. The problem is not that people have intuition. The problem is that it becomes the deciding factor where the system no longer distinguishes professional suitability, — says the expert.

Bestuzheva believes that business and HR in particular should focus on real work tasks.

— Esotericism in HR is not mysticism. It«s a marker of a crisis in hiring, — concludes the consultant in the field of personnel recruitment.

What else to read

But not only astrologers make forecasts for 2026. Read the predictions of a white witch who warned about global changes for all humanity.

Also read what the year will be like specifically for the Arkhangelsk region considering its energy code and geographical location — this was told to 29.RU by Irina Pocherney, a coach and expert in working with human potential.

People who offer «magical» services are easy to find in Arkhangelsk. We reported how much money they ask for their consultations, as well as what employees of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a lawyer, and a psychologist think about this phenomenon.

Once we asked a neural network to create a horoscope — read what predictions we received from artificial intelligence.